High schooler Alex Rogan conquers the Starfighter video game, only to find out it was just a test, and is transported to another planet. He has been recruited to join a team of the best star... Read allHigh schooler Alex Rogan conquers the Starfighter video game, only to find out it was just a test, and is transported to another planet. He has been recruited to join a team of the best starfighters to defend their world from the attack.High schooler Alex Rogan conquers the Starfighter video game, only to find out it was just a test, and is transported to another planet. He has been recruited to join a team of the best starfighters to defend their world from the attack.
- Awards
- 5 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
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Featured reviews
Fun film about a youngster who is recruited to help save a far planet under attack
This agreeable comedy/Sci-Fi film packs action , comic dialog ,hilarious situations, thrills , a love story and is pretty entertaining . Passable computer generator FX , though nowadays dated , with spectacular dogfighting and innovative by that time of the 80s. Very good and rousing musical score by Craig Safan in John Williams style .
Likable Lance Guest as a videogaming boy living in a trailer park home who undertakes a risked adventure , a gorgeous and enjoyable Catherine Mary Stewart and Dan O'Herlihy who's unrecognizable in lizard-like makeup ; of course , excellent, as always, veteran Robert Preston as Centauri who actually is a disguised alien who whisks him off to another planet . The motion picture is professionally directed by Nick Castle . He is a prestigious writer and filmmaker as ¨The boy who could fly , ¨Tag : assassination game¨ , ¨Delivering Milo¨ , ¨Dennis the menace¨, ¨Major Payne¨ and ¨Tap¨. It's viewing delight and amusing though toothless entertainment that benefits greatly from sympathetic acting and rudimentary but effective special effects.
A "gem" from the 80's
When a friend showed it to me on VHS in 1984 I loved it for its originality, warmth & humor, as well as being impressed with the first-time computer-generated special effects for this kind of sci-fi film.
When I saw the 'special edition' DVD in Widescreen I snatched it right up and found that I enjoyed it as much as I did 20 years ago! The movie's special effects still looked good to me, especially the "Star Car" (my personal favorite).
But the special effects are not the centerpiece of this film. It has plenty of charm of its own to offer in plot, story, warmth, humor & good performances. Craig Safan's music score for this film is one of my all-time favorites. It almost outsizes this movie but it fits just the same.
"Starfighter" is a real gem from the 80's I will treasure in my movie collection.
A fun movie and... hey in it's own way... Legendary
80's Classic Sci-Fi Movie
Its not the plot or effects, its the characters that work...
This film is totally driven by the characters. The plot, and even the CGI, while groundbreaking for the day, are not the real magic here. It is the characters.
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to screenwriter Jonathan R. Betuel, the idea for this movie came about because he wandered into a video arcade and saw a young boy playing a video game. At that time, he was reading the book about King Arthur, "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White. He wondered what would happen if a video game were a metaphorical sword in a stone, and a boy racked up an incredible score, which would cause a ripple effect across the universe. During the movie, when Centauri gets into trouble for using the game to recruit starfighters, it's referred to as "The Excalibur Test". Excalibur was, of course, King Arthur's sword.
- GoofsWhen Grig is trying to restore power shortly after using the Death Blossom, there is a cable for a 9-volt battery attached to the circuit board in his hand. However, it does not automatically mean that it can only connect to a 9-volt battery, or that something that looks like Earth-technology must be from Earth.
- Quotes
Lord Kril: [their last lines] Damage report!
Kodan Officer: Guidance system out. Auxiliary navigation out.
Lord Kril: Divert! DIVERT!
Kodan Officer: She won't answer the helm! We're locked into the moon's gravitational pull. What do we do?
[Kril's eyepiece swings into place]
Lord Kril: We die.
- Alternate versionsOn the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray and DVD, a brief musical cue is missing from the soundtrack. In previous versions, the reveal of Beta's half-formed face as he pulls the bed covers away (about a half-hour into the film) is accompanied by a string/cymbal crescendo, followed by a loud, low brass/percussion sting, which then crescendos into the next scene. This cue is completely absent on the 25th Anniversary Edition (though it is audible on the commentary track).
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El último guerrero espacial
- Filming locations
- 9411 Soledad Canyon Rd., Canyon Country, California, USA(small town where Alex lived)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $28,733,290
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,011,695
- Jul 15, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $28,736,154
- Runtime
- 1h 40m(100 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1






