354 reviews
I was intrigued, after hearing many different points of views on this movie, to go see it. So I go to this used tape store, (why rent it for $5 when you can buy it for $2?) and buy it. I just wanted to see which side I agreed with. Most people that stated their opinions, said that this movie was a waste of time. Other people said it was the best movie they've ever seen, but I'm guessing they were fans of the video game or the 1977 version of this movie, both of which I've never seen. To go straight to the point and make it easy for those who don't know whether to see it or not, I'll let you decide for yourself based on my opinion. So to make it simple I'll just say the good and bad stuff about it.
Bad Stuff:
~Freddie Prinze Jr. sucks at acting. There's no other way to put it. I got very bored watching his one expression and monotone voice.
~Right from the beginning, I thought the music was terrible. Music is supposed to drag you in from the beginning and give you a sense of what's coming, (think "Jaws.") This just made me feel like I was about to see Captain America.
~The alien make-up was so extremely ridiculous that they looked like overgrown house pets. Not scary at all.
~I got tired of hearing people state the obvious. "Hey! I think something's wrong!" Well, aren't you the sharp one. The exploding bombs and loud "red alert" beeping didn't give it away, did it?
~The story had it's boring moments. There were parts I didn't follow and soon didn't even care, because I had gotten so lost by then it didn't matter.
~*This may or may not be a downside* I wasn't sure if the accents in this movie were taken from the video game or original, but it was way too weird. We had a Scottish guy, a ton of Englishmen, Americans, and some Asians. How did they all get on this one ship?
Good Stuff:
~Matthew Lillard did a fabulous job. I'm so used to seeing him act like an a**hole, (no offense, think "Scream.") that I wasn't expecting the serious performance he gave. It blew me away how serious he had to be in some scenes, and he pulled it off beautifully. (Although I gave the movie 5 stars, I would like to give his performance a 10.)
~The plotline, although confusing, did have it's certain interesting moments. I don't know which came first, Starship Troopers or this, but I have a feeling one of them is a rip-off of the first. However, it certainly had it's moments that put you in suspense.
~The special effect were great. It reminded me a lot of Star Wars. And the battle scenes were exciting.
~The rest of the cast didn't do too bad a job of acting. I was able to feel sorry for most of them.
I gave this movie a 5. If you have nothing better to do, I suggest you watch it. I certainly have seen worse, (read my review of "Jeepers Creepers.") If you liked "Starship Troopers" this is a movie for you. However, if you want something more out of a Sci-Fi movie of this sort, I suggest "Pitch Black." *****/10
Bad Stuff:
~Freddie Prinze Jr. sucks at acting. There's no other way to put it. I got very bored watching his one expression and monotone voice.
~Right from the beginning, I thought the music was terrible. Music is supposed to drag you in from the beginning and give you a sense of what's coming, (think "Jaws.") This just made me feel like I was about to see Captain America.
~The alien make-up was so extremely ridiculous that they looked like overgrown house pets. Not scary at all.
~I got tired of hearing people state the obvious. "Hey! I think something's wrong!" Well, aren't you the sharp one. The exploding bombs and loud "red alert" beeping didn't give it away, did it?
~The story had it's boring moments. There were parts I didn't follow and soon didn't even care, because I had gotten so lost by then it didn't matter.
~*This may or may not be a downside* I wasn't sure if the accents in this movie were taken from the video game or original, but it was way too weird. We had a Scottish guy, a ton of Englishmen, Americans, and some Asians. How did they all get on this one ship?
Good Stuff:
~Matthew Lillard did a fabulous job. I'm so used to seeing him act like an a**hole, (no offense, think "Scream.") that I wasn't expecting the serious performance he gave. It blew me away how serious he had to be in some scenes, and he pulled it off beautifully. (Although I gave the movie 5 stars, I would like to give his performance a 10.)
~The plotline, although confusing, did have it's certain interesting moments. I don't know which came first, Starship Troopers or this, but I have a feeling one of them is a rip-off of the first. However, it certainly had it's moments that put you in suspense.
~The special effect were great. It reminded me a lot of Star Wars. And the battle scenes were exciting.
~The rest of the cast didn't do too bad a job of acting. I was able to feel sorry for most of them.
I gave this movie a 5. If you have nothing better to do, I suggest you watch it. I certainly have seen worse, (read my review of "Jeepers Creepers.") If you liked "Starship Troopers" this is a movie for you. However, if you want something more out of a Sci-Fi movie of this sort, I suggest "Pitch Black." *****/10
- lemon_magic
- Aug 26, 2005
- Permalink
- La Gremlin
- Nov 22, 2001
- Permalink
I finally gave into my curiosity and rented "Wing Commander" last night... and I found myself kinda... you know... liking it.
It is NOT great cinema or great science fiction -- everyone likes to climb all over this movie for scientific errors and not being close enough to the Wing Commander games. Well, scientific inaccuracies don't bug me (I'm an English major!), and I never played the Wing Commander game. Maybe that's the secret to enjoying this movie -- if you take it completely on its (meager) merits, it's not all that bad. It's nowhere near as good as classics like "Star Wars" or even somewhat similar films like "The Last Starfighter" or "Starship Troopers," but it entertained me. I dunno, sometimes you don't need your horizons challenged, you just want to sit back and watch aliens get blow'd up real good, you know?
I consider this a guilty pleasure.
It is NOT great cinema or great science fiction -- everyone likes to climb all over this movie for scientific errors and not being close enough to the Wing Commander games. Well, scientific inaccuracies don't bug me (I'm an English major!), and I never played the Wing Commander game. Maybe that's the secret to enjoying this movie -- if you take it completely on its (meager) merits, it's not all that bad. It's nowhere near as good as classics like "Star Wars" or even somewhat similar films like "The Last Starfighter" or "Starship Troopers," but it entertained me. I dunno, sometimes you don't need your horizons challenged, you just want to sit back and watch aliens get blow'd up real good, you know?
I consider this a guilty pleasure.
First of all, the games in the Wing Commander series are some of the best video games I've ever played. Technology has gotten to the point where these games look dated and the full motion video seems impractical, but the story lines and combat sequences are amazing. If anyone has the opportunity to play these games and hasn't do yourself a favor and do it. That said...
This movie is ridiculous and the storyline might just as well be from a 1950's B movie. The dialogue is awful, the acting worse, and the supposedly futuristic spacecraft looked like they were bought from a studio auctioning off props from old World War II movies. The director, who happens to have designed the games, apparently thought that it would be cool to throw his story lines from the games out the window in favor of some World War II allegory. If I wanted to see World War II, I would've put in my "Saving Private Ryan" DVD and not watched this crap on basic cable.
The characters are extremely well crafted in the game series, well, for a video game series anyway. Here, they come off as a bunch of tired clichés. Also, I take issue with the fact that Blair, the main character, is some kind of chosen one with special powers. The Wing Commander games gave us characters who were normal people forced into an extraordinary situation, something direly lacking in the genre of science fiction. In other words, there were no mythical "Pilgrims" or other hocus pocus like there are in the movie. I wouldn't mind if it was well done but it just feels tacked on for no good reason.
Speaking of the Kilrathi, its not even discussed in the film why the Humans are at war with them or what they are. Instead of the ten foot tall, menacing, tiger creatures from the games they look like hamsters on steroids. Also, one of the best characters from the games, the evil kilrathi prince thrakath (in the games Thrakath is a cross between hanibal lectar and josef stalin), is not in the movie, leaving it without a strong villain.
Now, of course, as a fan of the games I'm a little bitter that this movie is one of the worst that I've ever seen. But I know a horrible movie when I see one, and this movie is pretty much unwatchable whether you've played the games or not. Honestly, if you're in the mood for sci fi and if you see it anywhere, just ignore it and watch Star Wars again.
This movie is ridiculous and the storyline might just as well be from a 1950's B movie. The dialogue is awful, the acting worse, and the supposedly futuristic spacecraft looked like they were bought from a studio auctioning off props from old World War II movies. The director, who happens to have designed the games, apparently thought that it would be cool to throw his story lines from the games out the window in favor of some World War II allegory. If I wanted to see World War II, I would've put in my "Saving Private Ryan" DVD and not watched this crap on basic cable.
The characters are extremely well crafted in the game series, well, for a video game series anyway. Here, they come off as a bunch of tired clichés. Also, I take issue with the fact that Blair, the main character, is some kind of chosen one with special powers. The Wing Commander games gave us characters who were normal people forced into an extraordinary situation, something direly lacking in the genre of science fiction. In other words, there were no mythical "Pilgrims" or other hocus pocus like there are in the movie. I wouldn't mind if it was well done but it just feels tacked on for no good reason.
Speaking of the Kilrathi, its not even discussed in the film why the Humans are at war with them or what they are. Instead of the ten foot tall, menacing, tiger creatures from the games they look like hamsters on steroids. Also, one of the best characters from the games, the evil kilrathi prince thrakath (in the games Thrakath is a cross between hanibal lectar and josef stalin), is not in the movie, leaving it without a strong villain.
Now, of course, as a fan of the games I'm a little bitter that this movie is one of the worst that I've ever seen. But I know a horrible movie when I see one, and this movie is pretty much unwatchable whether you've played the games or not. Honestly, if you're in the mood for sci fi and if you see it anywhere, just ignore it and watch Star Wars again.
Have you ever heard the expression "so stupid it is brilliant"? Well, you will see plenty of stupidity on offer here. So much of it, in fact, that you will begin to understand where the expression "so bad that it is awesome" comes from. Forget about Mortal Kombat, or even Resident Evil: Apocalypse. This is the film that video game adaptations get their reputation from. Every error of film-making you can think of, and even some you can't, is committed here. So many acting careers die here that the film should have been called Career Holocaust. You can bet that many members of the support cast neglect to mention this effort when discussing their CVs. About the only cast member who seems to have recovered from being in this abomination is Tchéky Karyo, and I am sure even he would rather forget this one. Incidentally, since when do you cast an actor with a French accent as thick as pea soup to play a character who was known in the early video games for having a Scottish accent so broad that it cemented the games reputation as a collection of stereotypes. Incidentally, Angel was supposed to be the French accent.
But this is all pure digression. The cast's collective heart was in it, and the crew did the best job they could, but the direction is so weak that the film winds up looking like it was intended to form the cutscenes of a video game. No explanation for the technology on show is offered. No reference to the time in which the film takes place is offered. Many references place the film in the time just after the declaration of war against the Kilrathi. But the scenario being depicted shows the Kilrathi imminently approaching Earth, which was one of the available scenarios in the third video game, which in turn is set decades into the war. Not to mention the stealth technology, which is introduced some years into the war, and yet the most prominent fighters of the Terran confederation look like rejected designs for World War II aircraft with shower nozzles stuck to their fronts.
The spacecraft design leads me to believe that members of the crew might be at least half right when they say that the problem with this film is the budget. In a time when science-fiction theatre was costing upwards of a hundred million per film, a miniscule thirty million was spent on this production. It shows. Shots of the main enemy in anything other than spacecraft form are rare, and when we do finally get to see the Kilrathi, they look more like big turds than humanoid cats. In one memorable sequence, we get to see a wrecked space fighter, with its pilot still within, pushed off the runway by a futuristic bulldozer that seems to grip the tarmac using the traditional wheel arrangement. In zero gravity, mind you. Of course, the runway could have gravity wells, or the bulldozer could have magnetically-charged wheels, but this is something the director or the screenwriter is supposed to explain to the audience. Very little explanation of anything, even why the Pilgrims are so space-savvy, is offered. There is basically a whole lot of tell and very little show.
Speaking of the Pilgrims, a subplot is added to this film that states the original Human explorers of space were a group dubbed the Pilgrims, who began to renounce their Human qualities. Apparently, a war started between the Pilgrims and the rest of Humanity, with the present Terran Confederation beset by a severe prejudice against Pilgrims. This is all well and fine, but it adds nothing to the actual plot, and only muddies the waters as to what the Humans are fighting about. All it really serves to do is give our central hero a Luke Skywalker sort of quality, and not a very convincing one at that. The idiotic game the Terran pilots play that dead pilots basically never existed flies right in the face of every convention set in the original video games. And it isn't like the crew have the excuse of not having played the games, because the director is the same guy who oversaw their creation. All this turns out to be is a very stupid attempt at a creative plot arc that, like the Pilgrim element, has no bearing upon the story whatsoever.
Unlike most of the rotten films I have commented about lately, I gave Wing Commander a one out of ten. Watching the cast, respectable otherwise or no, trying to chew their way through boot-like dialogue is pure comedy gold. Realising that the director expects us to feel scared of these gigantic turd monsters he calls the Kilrathi is even funnier. Therefore, Wing Commander is not just so bad it is good. It is so stupid it is utterly brilliant.
But this is all pure digression. The cast's collective heart was in it, and the crew did the best job they could, but the direction is so weak that the film winds up looking like it was intended to form the cutscenes of a video game. No explanation for the technology on show is offered. No reference to the time in which the film takes place is offered. Many references place the film in the time just after the declaration of war against the Kilrathi. But the scenario being depicted shows the Kilrathi imminently approaching Earth, which was one of the available scenarios in the third video game, which in turn is set decades into the war. Not to mention the stealth technology, which is introduced some years into the war, and yet the most prominent fighters of the Terran confederation look like rejected designs for World War II aircraft with shower nozzles stuck to their fronts.
The spacecraft design leads me to believe that members of the crew might be at least half right when they say that the problem with this film is the budget. In a time when science-fiction theatre was costing upwards of a hundred million per film, a miniscule thirty million was spent on this production. It shows. Shots of the main enemy in anything other than spacecraft form are rare, and when we do finally get to see the Kilrathi, they look more like big turds than humanoid cats. In one memorable sequence, we get to see a wrecked space fighter, with its pilot still within, pushed off the runway by a futuristic bulldozer that seems to grip the tarmac using the traditional wheel arrangement. In zero gravity, mind you. Of course, the runway could have gravity wells, or the bulldozer could have magnetically-charged wheels, but this is something the director or the screenwriter is supposed to explain to the audience. Very little explanation of anything, even why the Pilgrims are so space-savvy, is offered. There is basically a whole lot of tell and very little show.
Speaking of the Pilgrims, a subplot is added to this film that states the original Human explorers of space were a group dubbed the Pilgrims, who began to renounce their Human qualities. Apparently, a war started between the Pilgrims and the rest of Humanity, with the present Terran Confederation beset by a severe prejudice against Pilgrims. This is all well and fine, but it adds nothing to the actual plot, and only muddies the waters as to what the Humans are fighting about. All it really serves to do is give our central hero a Luke Skywalker sort of quality, and not a very convincing one at that. The idiotic game the Terran pilots play that dead pilots basically never existed flies right in the face of every convention set in the original video games. And it isn't like the crew have the excuse of not having played the games, because the director is the same guy who oversaw their creation. All this turns out to be is a very stupid attempt at a creative plot arc that, like the Pilgrim element, has no bearing upon the story whatsoever.
Unlike most of the rotten films I have commented about lately, I gave Wing Commander a one out of ten. Watching the cast, respectable otherwise or no, trying to chew their way through boot-like dialogue is pure comedy gold. Realising that the director expects us to feel scared of these gigantic turd monsters he calls the Kilrathi is even funnier. Therefore, Wing Commander is not just so bad it is good. It is so stupid it is utterly brilliant.
- mentalcritic
- May 19, 2005
- Permalink
First of all, I went see this movie only because I heard it was going to be the first one to have the trailer for the new Star Wars movie. And it did and that was by far the best part of the experience.
This is the kind of movie that really bothers me. Because when scripts or ideas are pitched to studio executives, they must sit around in a room and decide whether or not they are going to spend 40 million dollars on some film that they hope will give them a significnat return. With Wing Commander, I would like to know how anyone could actually read the script and say to themselves " Yea!!!! We are going to make a huge profit off this one. " How exactly do executives do it? How do they get paid the ridiculous amounts of money that they do and then give the green light to make unbelievably bad movies like this? I know sometimes it is a gamble because you never know what will succeed and what won't ( remember the unbelievable success of Lethal Weapon? No one saw that coming ) but at least when you gamble, there should be some educated reasoning behind it. And any educated person would tell you that this film was destined to fail right from the beginning. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Mathew Lilliard are not that big enough yet to carry a film by themselves, especially if they are working with the deck stacked against them. And plus, another film sort of like this one was scheduled to get released in mere months after this came out, and that film is called The Phantom Menace. And I think everyone could wait a few more months to get their fix than to catch some simple imitation called Wing Commander.
I won't even get into the story because it is so simple that I'm sure you already know. Some bad guys want to take over the world and some good guys have to stop them.
The story is uninteresting, the acting is okay and the direction is a muddled confusing mess. And to top it off they wasted Lilliard in this film. He deserves better than this. He has a presence on film and he makes almost every scene he's in better. Even in this film he was good, but he can't help something that is this bad.
Don't waste your money or your inteligence on this piece of garbage. It is terrible. Bad Bad Bad. Awful.... You get the point!
This is the kind of movie that really bothers me. Because when scripts or ideas are pitched to studio executives, they must sit around in a room and decide whether or not they are going to spend 40 million dollars on some film that they hope will give them a significnat return. With Wing Commander, I would like to know how anyone could actually read the script and say to themselves " Yea!!!! We are going to make a huge profit off this one. " How exactly do executives do it? How do they get paid the ridiculous amounts of money that they do and then give the green light to make unbelievably bad movies like this? I know sometimes it is a gamble because you never know what will succeed and what won't ( remember the unbelievable success of Lethal Weapon? No one saw that coming ) but at least when you gamble, there should be some educated reasoning behind it. And any educated person would tell you that this film was destined to fail right from the beginning. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Mathew Lilliard are not that big enough yet to carry a film by themselves, especially if they are working with the deck stacked against them. And plus, another film sort of like this one was scheduled to get released in mere months after this came out, and that film is called The Phantom Menace. And I think everyone could wait a few more months to get their fix than to catch some simple imitation called Wing Commander.
I won't even get into the story because it is so simple that I'm sure you already know. Some bad guys want to take over the world and some good guys have to stop them.
The story is uninteresting, the acting is okay and the direction is a muddled confusing mess. And to top it off they wasted Lilliard in this film. He deserves better than this. He has a presence on film and he makes almost every scene he's in better. Even in this film he was good, but he can't help something that is this bad.
Don't waste your money or your inteligence on this piece of garbage. It is terrible. Bad Bad Bad. Awful.... You get the point!
Let's see. Space ships painted jungle cameo. - useless in a black environment. "Radar" in space that pings like sonar, even though sonar pings would not work in vacuum.
A fighter gets bulldozed off a landing area and falls down past the ship - when there is no gravity! There are just so many stupid mistakes on that level - or worse - that it boggles the mind.
The writers, director, an everyone thought they were directing a WWII submarine movie - that's the only explanation, as they apply the behavior and physics of water to space.
The acting is pathetic. Only a 10 year old could enjoy this movie. Even the script can't get the action right - one line described ships coming through one at a time, but the movie shows three and four coming through.
If you want a laugh and have time to kill, watch it. Otherwise, avoid at all costs!
A fighter gets bulldozed off a landing area and falls down past the ship - when there is no gravity! There are just so many stupid mistakes on that level - or worse - that it boggles the mind.
The writers, director, an everyone thought they were directing a WWII submarine movie - that's the only explanation, as they apply the behavior and physics of water to space.
The acting is pathetic. Only a 10 year old could enjoy this movie. Even the script can't get the action right - one line described ships coming through one at a time, but the movie shows three and four coming through.
If you want a laugh and have time to kill, watch it. Otherwise, avoid at all costs!
I can't say I was actually disappointed in this movie because I went in fully expecting it to be junky, wunky, and what's that other word, oh yeah, stunky. So in a sense, I got more than I bargained for because it was even worse than that.
If you're a loyal Wing Commander games fan (I'm not, but you may be), don't bother seeing this one because you'll be disappointed. Only the names haven't been changed to protect the innocent.
It almost seems Roberts (creator of the Wing Commander series)at some point was attempting to make a movie that was as far removed from the actual idea of the game as he could get just in case he didn't want the Wing Commander name tacked on it. The strange thing is he still called it Wing Commander and stuck his name in the credits. This movie might have done well as an anonymous, direct-to-video B science fiction action flick if he had.
I can't criticize the plot as there wasn't much of one other than the Earth is at war with the Kilrathi and the hero has to do something or other just in the nick of time to save everyone.
Characters: nothing much there either. Pouty kid fresh out of the academy with cocky friend. Straight-laced commander types and a couple women who have bigger balls than the guys.
Sets, take some cheesy WWII submarine sets and put flashy lights in them, done.
Fighters, take fighter models from same cheesy WWII flick, tear off the propellor and put some jet engine type things on it, done.
Special effects, film explosions through a green filter to make them look like they might be atomic or something.
There, now you've seen the movie and saved $8.00. You can thank me later.
If you're a loyal Wing Commander games fan (I'm not, but you may be), don't bother seeing this one because you'll be disappointed. Only the names haven't been changed to protect the innocent.
It almost seems Roberts (creator of the Wing Commander series)at some point was attempting to make a movie that was as far removed from the actual idea of the game as he could get just in case he didn't want the Wing Commander name tacked on it. The strange thing is he still called it Wing Commander and stuck his name in the credits. This movie might have done well as an anonymous, direct-to-video B science fiction action flick if he had.
I can't criticize the plot as there wasn't much of one other than the Earth is at war with the Kilrathi and the hero has to do something or other just in the nick of time to save everyone.
Characters: nothing much there either. Pouty kid fresh out of the academy with cocky friend. Straight-laced commander types and a couple women who have bigger balls than the guys.
Sets, take some cheesy WWII submarine sets and put flashy lights in them, done.
Fighters, take fighter models from same cheesy WWII flick, tear off the propellor and put some jet engine type things on it, done.
Special effects, film explosions through a green filter to make them look like they might be atomic or something.
There, now you've seen the movie and saved $8.00. You can thank me later.
The film has been critically panned and it bombed at the cinemas. But it's actually a pretty good film. Yes it isn't technically the best, nor is it scientifically plausible. And for devotees of the games it kinda screws with history, but for all that it is a good ride. You watch it and appreciate it. Saffron Burrows is great. David Warner and David Suchet excel in their (small) roles. It's a shame John Rhys-Davis and Mark Hamill don't reprise their roles, but their replacements do well enough.
You get caught up in the story, and the visual effects are fantastic, aided by good acting with the actors working well together.
So overall I would recommend this film. Don't expect it to be fantastic, but just enjoy it. It's a fun film and a worthy addition to Wing Commander lore.
You get caught up in the story, and the visual effects are fantastic, aided by good acting with the actors working well together.
So overall I would recommend this film. Don't expect it to be fantastic, but just enjoy it. It's a fun film and a worthy addition to Wing Commander lore.
This film assembles one of the strangest casts of the late 1990s to play out a plot loosely based on the Wing Commander PC Game series. I have never played these games, but I was intrigued by the film for a variety of reasons, so I have now seen it a couple of times. I have to admit, I was more impressed and entertained the first time around. Sure, the film is reality-challenged, with several absurdities (misinterpretation of a black-hole, gravity problems etc), but I do not think that the film-makers were attempting to do anything as artistic as Star Wars nor anything as philosophical as Star Trek. This film, instead, fits solidly into the FUN, action-based sci-fi tradition, like Starship Troopers.
The plot is pretty cliché. Freddy Prinze Jr and Matt Lillard play young hotshot fighter pilots assigned to their first deep space mission. They are being delivered by Tchéky Karyo. As they arrive on a ship commanded by David Suchet and Jurgen Prochnow, they learn that the Sol System is about to fall under attack by Kilrathi invaders with a powerful armada. There is little time for complexity and character development as the single Confederation (earth) cruiser tries to make its way to a nearby jumpgate (basically the film's equivalent of warp ten or a "hyperspace button") before the Kilrathi do, fending off Kilrathi attacks the whole way. There are a couple of weakly explored love stories and a few surprises along the way concerning the identities of the characters, but there is little time for these to truly develop. So many of the characters do feel a bit one-dimensional, and the more intriguing plot points (such as "the pilgrims") are left unsatisfactorily explored.
I think this film would have made a better miniseries than a cinematic release. Given a little more breathing room, and perhaps time to consult with astronomers or even people with a couple of higher education science courses under their belt, this could have been a really good sci fi film. The cast was certainly decent (some of the European cast-members were very good); the money was obviously there, and the script would have been fine had it not been stretched by the overly ambitious scope of the film.
Bottom line: Entertaining with the help of a few drinks. Fun for action fans. Generally not recommended for the average moviewatcher.
The plot is pretty cliché. Freddy Prinze Jr and Matt Lillard play young hotshot fighter pilots assigned to their first deep space mission. They are being delivered by Tchéky Karyo. As they arrive on a ship commanded by David Suchet and Jurgen Prochnow, they learn that the Sol System is about to fall under attack by Kilrathi invaders with a powerful armada. There is little time for complexity and character development as the single Confederation (earth) cruiser tries to make its way to a nearby jumpgate (basically the film's equivalent of warp ten or a "hyperspace button") before the Kilrathi do, fending off Kilrathi attacks the whole way. There are a couple of weakly explored love stories and a few surprises along the way concerning the identities of the characters, but there is little time for these to truly develop. So many of the characters do feel a bit one-dimensional, and the more intriguing plot points (such as "the pilgrims") are left unsatisfactorily explored.
I think this film would have made a better miniseries than a cinematic release. Given a little more breathing room, and perhaps time to consult with astronomers or even people with a couple of higher education science courses under their belt, this could have been a really good sci fi film. The cast was certainly decent (some of the European cast-members were very good); the money was obviously there, and the script would have been fine had it not been stretched by the overly ambitious scope of the film.
Bottom line: Entertaining with the help of a few drinks. Fun for action fans. Generally not recommended for the average moviewatcher.
Well, I've seen it twice now. I'm sure that says something. The one thing that I told myself as I went into the theater was "This isn't the game". Too many people were expecting Mark Hammil, or Biff from Back to the Future, and were miffed that the movie didn't include them, or anyone that looked like them. So far, I haven't heard anyone say complain that Val Kilmer or George Clooney didn't LOOK like Michael Keaton; the portrayal of their character is a different story...
I'll admit, the movie had a cookie-cutter plot. Young guy doesn't realize his potential, young guy is mocked, best friend stands up for him, young guy saves the day. That, and the standard "Have someone how loves and loses, and someone who falls in love at the end." But, then again, how many movies have been made that have a cookie cutter plot?
I was quite impressed with the acting. I'll admit, I haven't been a big fan of the teen slasher movies, so this was my first experience at seeing a lot of these guys. The young Blair was portrayed exactly as I would have expected, not too sure of himself, too willing to scurry into a corner rather than face confrontation. Maniac was great; much better than the poor portrayal in the last 3 iterations of the video game. I mean, let's face it, Maniac's character was completely re-done in WC3, to make him exactly like Biff. And Paladin was excellent. Not anything like the Paladin of the games (it took a while to get used to a non-scottish Paladin), but a very good, dark, but fatherly figure.
The effects were incredible, especially when you consider the (relatively) meager budget the film was done on. Yeah, the NavCom looked like a car battery, and the Kilrathi were lacking. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the original intent was to NOT show the Kilrathi at all; someone decided this would be too artistic of a move, and created some cheesy looking aliens at the last minute.
My favorite aspect of the movie, though, was how it abandons the standard "Everything is bright and pretty and technological in Sci-Fi". The ships were beat on. The cruisers looked like they had to be held together with bailing wire. The bridges of the vessels were dark, cramped, and simple. The ships shot bullets, rather giving us bright and technical laser beams. Also, humanity wasn't portrayed as being perfect; there were factions, and racism, and everything else that we experience on earth today.
I'm just waiting for the DVD...
I'll admit, the movie had a cookie-cutter plot. Young guy doesn't realize his potential, young guy is mocked, best friend stands up for him, young guy saves the day. That, and the standard "Have someone how loves and loses, and someone who falls in love at the end." But, then again, how many movies have been made that have a cookie cutter plot?
I was quite impressed with the acting. I'll admit, I haven't been a big fan of the teen slasher movies, so this was my first experience at seeing a lot of these guys. The young Blair was portrayed exactly as I would have expected, not too sure of himself, too willing to scurry into a corner rather than face confrontation. Maniac was great; much better than the poor portrayal in the last 3 iterations of the video game. I mean, let's face it, Maniac's character was completely re-done in WC3, to make him exactly like Biff. And Paladin was excellent. Not anything like the Paladin of the games (it took a while to get used to a non-scottish Paladin), but a very good, dark, but fatherly figure.
The effects were incredible, especially when you consider the (relatively) meager budget the film was done on. Yeah, the NavCom looked like a car battery, and the Kilrathi were lacking. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the original intent was to NOT show the Kilrathi at all; someone decided this would be too artistic of a move, and created some cheesy looking aliens at the last minute.
My favorite aspect of the movie, though, was how it abandons the standard "Everything is bright and pretty and technological in Sci-Fi". The ships were beat on. The cruisers looked like they had to be held together with bailing wire. The bridges of the vessels were dark, cramped, and simple. The ships shot bullets, rather giving us bright and technical laser beams. Also, humanity wasn't portrayed as being perfect; there were factions, and racism, and everything else that we experience on earth today.
I'm just waiting for the DVD...
First of all, I avoided this movie when it was first released because of the bad reviews. I never played the game so I had no idea what to expect.
I should know better...
I saw this movie for the first time on DVD, sat down with a low expectation, and cranked up my Dolby Digital 5.1 sound system. Was I ever BLOWN away! It was more than I expected and the characters were not as "forgettable" as some critics said. I found the performances of Tcheky Kanyo (Paladin) and David Warner (Admiral Tolwyn) were memorable. Saffron Burrows (Angel) was great, except that she handled her "crisis" at the end rather badly. But overall the movie was a treat. I would recommend it for anyone to at least rent this and check it out!
I should know better...
I saw this movie for the first time on DVD, sat down with a low expectation, and cranked up my Dolby Digital 5.1 sound system. Was I ever BLOWN away! It was more than I expected and the characters were not as "forgettable" as some critics said. I found the performances of Tcheky Kanyo (Paladin) and David Warner (Admiral Tolwyn) were memorable. Saffron Burrows (Angel) was great, except that she handled her "crisis" at the end rather badly. But overall the movie was a treat. I would recommend it for anyone to at least rent this and check it out!
I had to ask my brother if we did in fact see this in the theater back in the day. Sadly, we did. But doesn't that tell you everything? If you watched a movie but you can't even really remember watching it, that isn't a good sign. I remember they kind of ripped off the new bullet time Matrix effect for a time travel jump thing (it's in the trailer so not a spoiler I'd say) but dang this came out the same year as The Matrix? If only they hadn't made such awful sequels to that but still the first film is a masterpiece and Wing Commander is not. I played the games a lot as a kid and I'm still surprised they made a movie out of them but I don't think anyone is shocked that it really isn't very good.
- alienlegend
- Feb 18, 2023
- Permalink
I love SF
I own just about every SF movie made and have read upwards of 5000 SF titles. Wing Commander is a brilliant work of pulp war fiction based on WW2. Star ships with carrier decks. fighters with wings. torpedoes. Depth charging. Fighter cannons shooting bullets 'in space'. Hand loaded gun mounts.
And the science/.. how cheesy can you get.
The acting is above par for this type of flick. Prochnow is good and David Suchet outdoes all as captain.. what a great actor.
It all works.. And brilliantly. great music.. real nice graphics for the day -still stands up well today-
Star wars and the An*l Anti-SF BS Galactica bend over Wing Commander is here
MY all time favorites boys own SF romp
Nic
I own just about every SF movie made and have read upwards of 5000 SF titles. Wing Commander is a brilliant work of pulp war fiction based on WW2. Star ships with carrier decks. fighters with wings. torpedoes. Depth charging. Fighter cannons shooting bullets 'in space'. Hand loaded gun mounts.
And the science/.. how cheesy can you get.
The acting is above par for this type of flick. Prochnow is good and David Suchet outdoes all as captain.. what a great actor.
It all works.. And brilliantly. great music.. real nice graphics for the day -still stands up well today-
Star wars and the An*l Anti-SF BS Galactica bend over Wing Commander is here
MY all time favorites boys own SF romp
Nic
Wing Commander is for sure no hidden gem nor a masterpiece of the art of sci-fi but provides easy pop-corn cinema with some good old space fights. Production is okay (but looks very outdated compared to modern works), acting too. Interesting not only for those who played the game but for everyone who needs a dose of space war. Give Wing Commander a try if you like such stuff like Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Starship Troopers, Ender's Game and the like. Last note: the use of ballistics instead of laser guns gives the fights an extra special "vibe".
- Tweetienator
- Dec 15, 2021
- Permalink
As a fan of the Wing Commander franchise I watched this I thought nothing was worse then Wing Commander: Prophecy, unfortunately when I watched this I'll admit one thing: I was proved wrong! As I watched this I wonder 'Is this REALLY Wing Commander?' I beheld crap special effects were complete and utter crud! I understand the budget situation but shows like Blake's 7 and Doctor Who did FAR better on their own shoestring budgets then this! Also the Kilrathi were hardly shown and when they were, they were unconvincing unlike tiger-like warrior species I remembered.
Also the storyline was complete and total rubbish especially compared to the games and how space travel was presented in them! The ship designs were a disgrace and the Tiger's Claw didn't look like a carrier at all and the fighter craft were not very well designed and there was no light fighter or medium fighter or heavy fighter or bomber distinction that really defined the games! Because in the future that's how things will work! Because in space combat there will be fighter craft warfare as well as ship to ship battles.
Also I hated the touch of how they make it like modern jet fighters taking off while its obvious in the future and in space that's totally unbelievable.
Also I did not care much for the Pilgrim back-story let alone Blair being part one maybe its just me. Plus Blair and Maniac being friends from the beginning made no sense.
Kevin Droney's screenplay was complete and utter rubbish in short. Also how Chris Roberts approved it let alone be part of it I don't know but I imagine he was probably embarrassed by how the movie based on the classic franchise he created turned out and I doubt he would have been happy with Prophecy either.
Maybe Chris Roberts may well revive the franchise perhaps even manage to redeem himself in the respect of the Wing Commander franchise with either a movie or TV series or even a game reboot or he might give his blessings for someone else to do it, perhaps with him acting as some consultant or whatever or partner.
Only time will tell. Otherwise this movie is a total disgrace to a classic series!
Also the storyline was complete and total rubbish especially compared to the games and how space travel was presented in them! The ship designs were a disgrace and the Tiger's Claw didn't look like a carrier at all and the fighter craft were not very well designed and there was no light fighter or medium fighter or heavy fighter or bomber distinction that really defined the games! Because in the future that's how things will work! Because in space combat there will be fighter craft warfare as well as ship to ship battles.
Also I hated the touch of how they make it like modern jet fighters taking off while its obvious in the future and in space that's totally unbelievable.
Also I did not care much for the Pilgrim back-story let alone Blair being part one maybe its just me. Plus Blair and Maniac being friends from the beginning made no sense.
Kevin Droney's screenplay was complete and utter rubbish in short. Also how Chris Roberts approved it let alone be part of it I don't know but I imagine he was probably embarrassed by how the movie based on the classic franchise he created turned out and I doubt he would have been happy with Prophecy either.
Maybe Chris Roberts may well revive the franchise perhaps even manage to redeem himself in the respect of the Wing Commander franchise with either a movie or TV series or even a game reboot or he might give his blessings for someone else to do it, perhaps with him acting as some consultant or whatever or partner.
Only time will tell. Otherwise this movie is a total disgrace to a classic series!
- Sabre_Wolf
- Mar 7, 2012
- Permalink
What a piece of crap. Hey, everyone, it's the cast of Scream/I know what you did last summer jammed into the cockpits of world-war II style fighter planes in space! And hey, can you tell the difference between the bad guy ships and good guy ships? I couldn't. It brings new meaning to the term "friendly fire". Kee-rist. The worst SF movie since Godzilla.
I have to admit that a major incentive for me to see this movie was the 2nd "Phantom Menace" trailer that was playing before it. However, the previews for "Wing Commander" looked like it could be a pretty decent flick. Looks, as they say, can be deceiving.
The flat directing, ludicrous special effects - especially the evil aliens' appearance - and (mostly) sub-par acting would have prompted me to leave the theater early (the Star Wars trailer was worth the $9.00) were it not for the guys around me completely trashing the film as the story unfolded. Their MiSTing (that's Mystery Science Theater-style mocking) of the movie kept me (and others nearby) interested and laughing the entire time. So I had fun. Had I seen it alone, I would not be alive to write this review; I would have impaled myself on the broken, jagged, plastic cup holder/armrest thoughtfully provided for me by the movie theater.
This is the worst movie I have ever seen. Worse than Iron Eagle II, even.
The flat directing, ludicrous special effects - especially the evil aliens' appearance - and (mostly) sub-par acting would have prompted me to leave the theater early (the Star Wars trailer was worth the $9.00) were it not for the guys around me completely trashing the film as the story unfolded. Their MiSTing (that's Mystery Science Theater-style mocking) of the movie kept me (and others nearby) interested and laughing the entire time. So I had fun. Had I seen it alone, I would not be alive to write this review; I would have impaled myself on the broken, jagged, plastic cup holder/armrest thoughtfully provided for me by the movie theater.
This is the worst movie I have ever seen. Worse than Iron Eagle II, even.
I did not expect to watch a masterpiece, but, still, this movie was a bad shock for me. After having experienced the depth of the plot of the Wing Commander games and the attention to the production of the games' cutscenes, I cannot understand how the same person who was the mind and the soul behind the games could violate his own brainchild to such degree. The plot covered the events of only the first game (if they expected the audience to look forward to a sequel, they should have tried much harder), the story is full of holes and scientific inaccuracies of the greatest magnitude, the actors are worse than those in the game and it is evident that the creators of the film simply copied cliches from war movies in order to make their own (you get all kinds of anachronistic deja vus: a depth charge attack - in deep space!, a destroyed starfighter being pushed off the deck of a carrier - in zero gravity, etc.). Actually, the only reason I've spent five minutes of my life to write about this disaster is because I hated it so much.
This is not a Academy Award winner, nor is it an example of fine acting, nor is it a riveting plot with significant ties to philosophy, life, God, blah blah blah blah ... it's an action/sci-fi movie, so please leave your brain at door and just enjoy this for what it is.
I'm a fan of the Starship Troopers type genre (book was first, movie later) - lots of action, leave brain at door, watch the effects, enjoy the 2 hours of reckless fun! This film, like Starship and others like it, is *just* a fun film to enjoy! I never played the game - and this is the crux of my review - I played something else that seems to predate Wing Commander: "Descent: Freespace - The Great War". I couldn't help but think that there was SO much reference to everything about Freespace, it wasn't funny. The ships, the enemy, jump points, literally everything. It was like watching a movie of the game I just played. BTW, I still play Freespace from time to time - it's good fun.
I did briefly enjoy the "role reprisal" of Jürgen Prochnow in "Das Boot" - "reload tubes 1 and 2, fire when ready": said almost the same line in both movies.
Anyway, I enjoyed it; give it another go and see!
I'm a fan of the Starship Troopers type genre (book was first, movie later) - lots of action, leave brain at door, watch the effects, enjoy the 2 hours of reckless fun! This film, like Starship and others like it, is *just* a fun film to enjoy! I never played the game - and this is the crux of my review - I played something else that seems to predate Wing Commander: "Descent: Freespace - The Great War". I couldn't help but think that there was SO much reference to everything about Freespace, it wasn't funny. The ships, the enemy, jump points, literally everything. It was like watching a movie of the game I just played. BTW, I still play Freespace from time to time - it's good fun.
I did briefly enjoy the "role reprisal" of Jürgen Prochnow in "Das Boot" - "reload tubes 1 and 2, fire when ready": said almost the same line in both movies.
Anyway, I enjoyed it; give it another go and see!
Quite possibly the cheesiest movie I have seen this year. Not only was the plot a joke, but the special effects stunk. It was so bad that the audience was laughing throughout the movie - even at the "serious" moments in the movie. Save yourself the pain and cut yourself shaving instead.
- Steppin_Razor
- Mar 13, 1999
- Permalink
People are way too hard on this movie. The acting is better than average and action is awesome. This alone makes up for the weak plot and so so special effects. And it moves at such a pace that it is impossible to be bored unlike Star Wars Episode 1 where I sat through that entire pod race scene wondering when it was going to end. I'm not saying that this is better than Star Wars but I could watch this movie over and over which is something I couldn't say for Star Wars. (***/****)
Not a bad movie at all. Better than one would think. Great special effects and good battle scenes. The sets were a bit tacky but it had potential. Not so far removed from reality. I never saw the video game so it was a new story to me. It looked a bit like Space: Above and Beyond. I reckon there was even scope for a TV series. I presume it was made in Oz as there was a lot of Antipodeans/Brits in it (and it was 20th Century Fox which has a stuido down there). However, the titles say it was made in Luxembourg ! If it had a slightly better script, more depth to the characters, it could have been a real classic. It was 70% of the way there.
I saw Wing Commander as it came out in 1999, and I considered leaving the theatre because it was so bad. The acting, script, plot, and everything else about this movie was terribly, horribly, extremely bad. This is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen.