Star Command

Most of the reviews are pretty negative, but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed this piece of hokum. Someone compared the film to the Hornblower stories and I have to agree, but I'll go one step further and suggest that the Hornblower influence comes via David Feintuch's Nicholas Seafort books, the first of which, Midshipman's Hope, must have appeared a year or so before this film.

The parallels are almost too striking. Junior Officers on first cruise in space, Senior officers killed in sneak attack, one hero becomes captain, sense of honour forces him to execute traitor, overcomes incredible odds, defeats enemy, etc, etc, etc. Leaving aside the hokey teen telemovie elements, this film contains a lot of the classic story elements that you often find the best space operas but rarely find in effects-driven, high-concept, Trek inspired Sci-fi films we are forced to contend with.

Go on, give it chance -- A guilty pleasure.

I'm not sure what they were going for when they created this movie, but i'll attempt to fathom it out for some. In the far future we find that a group of students are about to graduate a space academy. But if anyone has closely looked at the uniforms being shown during the first ten minutes, the students are in fact two different groups. Much like the military cadre was breaking down between two distinct ideologies before the outbreak of the civil war in the United States. As the story progresses we learn that there is the possibility of a civil war between two groups of humanity. One bent on exploration and peaceful mindset...and the other group which is bent on expansion by any means necessary.

I also believe this was a failed pilot which never really took off. The show really did surround the youthful ensemble put together. I really didn't believe the character story arcs were ever that strong to begin with, and by the end was more of a coming of age film for the actors themselves and NOT the characters.

And my worst comment will have to be for the space footage, with some of the worst spaceships and video toaster graphics I have ever seen to date. Well, besides the dragons from the Dungeons and Dragons, probably the worst flying tin cans I had a hard time believing could even fly in space.

I suspect that "Star Command"gained it's genesis from "Starship Troopers", the success of which probably prompted it's inception. However it is a very different type of sci-fi film to "Troopers", which I saw as a good old fashioned shoot 'em up war movie. And a good one at that.

Rather, "Star Command" reminded me very much of the recent and excellent British "Hornblower" TV series, where the protagonist/s use initiative and daring to outwit the enemy rather than guts and straight out firepower.

I'd not class this as even a very good movie, the acting, by a very pretty cast, is only just adequate, the characterisation stereotypical and some of the lines embarrassingly bad.

However the story itself is interest holding and the special effects/sets quite good. Not a deep film by any means but not excreable either.

2½ *'s out of 4

Though I would have like to seen more of Chad and Morgan, and though the acting wasn't exactly Academy Award (it was a bit kitchy), this was a fun story with an interesting plot, watchable special effects, and a storyline that I always like (junior officer takes command and saves the day).

Seeing the hero win by cleverness and bravery instead of a plot trick makes it worth watching. The bad guys were suitably evil to deserve their fate. There was probably an even better movie in here somewhere, but what we got was a lot of fun.

I'd compare it to Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch or On Basilisk Station by David Weber (though those are probably a cut above this movie in story). Seafort in Midshipman's Hope is a bit more doom ridden though, and that gets kind of old. The hero here is gets to actually enjoy the experience, finding his forte at last instead of washing out of the academy.

This Made-For-Tv film is a mish-mash of pulpy cliches, solid military sci-fi and 90210-esque Beautiful American Teens.

I think it would be too easy and grossly unfair to write this film off as 'Bad' which, in fairness, it does approach... But it has that certain something. A lot of the story is pure fluff, feel-good TV with formulaic text, but the actors and actresses who are playing the roles manage to bring a degree of feeling to the proceedings that you don't expect. If you look beyond the shake-and-bake storyline, the tennis-skirted female officers and the slightly poor effects you find a selection of highly emotional scenes that convey their meaning without needing extra... Padding.

My personal favourite is the conclusion of the court-martial hearing. As those five marbles roll out onto the table... The sheer power of that scene still moves me. Of course, that might just be me.

Of the actors, Jay Underwood, Ivan Sergei and Chad Everett provide enjoyable and believeable performances. I don't believe it's fair to judge the actors based on this particular outing. A lot of their talent may have been submerged under the poor writing, but there are times when quality shines through.

This TV-Movie is mostly a cheap, feel-good, sci-fi romp only worth watching if you're feeling low and want pure sacharine. Beautiful Heroines, Square-jawed Heroes, predictable action and a happy ending with all the horrible baddies meeting their maker. But it's also worth watching this if you're willing to look for the hardcore Military Sci-Fi centre. It is there and it's worth watching if you can find it.

But don't take my word for it...