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stephbgI've just watched The Last Starfighter (1984) for the first time in a very long time. I'm not sure how many times I watched it on video back in the day, but it was probably a lot. It stood up very well indeed.
But how could that be? The digital effects were so primitive (all those straight lines, shock horror), and the aliens were all conveniently human-shaped with rubber masks! And the whole thing was in 2D. Pfft.
Well, yes, all of the above are indeed true, but did they affect my enjoyment of the film? Nope, not one little bit. It had a script worth my time, some genuinely funny performances, and a basic but workable plot. And a cat.
But the physics in the space battles was wonky! And the explosions were unrealistic!
That's just part of the fun. Actually the whole thing was at least internally consistent in terms of production design which makes a big difference, and there were only a few occasions where the alien props were distractingly domestic. That lamp/satellite dish haunts me still, but that was an exception. If anything I noticed the quality of the CG as equivalent to the kind pre-vis stuff you sometime see these days in deleted scenes but I say again it didn't matter.
I've always believed that rubber Yoda was far more believable than CG Yoda.
I hope this film never gets remade. They'll just break it.
But what happened to that guy's truck? And why could the people understand Grig at the end when they didn't have translator chips? And wasn't the hero's translator chip attached to his shirt just before he was given his uniform? That didn't seem very practical. Did they wipe everyone's memory at the end, or did they leave the trailer trash to be condemned for insanity? Wouldn't the police be a little bit curious about the dead cop, the robot, the multiple alien bodies and their ships?
Ah, get off my lawn.
But how could that be? The digital effects were so primitive (all those straight lines, shock horror), and the aliens were all conveniently human-shaped with rubber masks! And the whole thing was in 2D. Pfft.
Well, yes, all of the above are indeed true, but did they affect my enjoyment of the film? Nope, not one little bit. It had a script worth my time, some genuinely funny performances, and a basic but workable plot. And a cat.
But the physics in the space battles was wonky! And the explosions were unrealistic!
That's just part of the fun. Actually the whole thing was at least internally consistent in terms of production design which makes a big difference, and there were only a few occasions where the alien props were distractingly domestic. That lamp/satellite dish haunts me still, but that was an exception. If anything I noticed the quality of the CG as equivalent to the kind pre-vis stuff you sometime see these days in deleted scenes but I say again it didn't matter.
I've always believed that rubber Yoda was far more believable than CG Yoda.
I hope this film never gets remade. They'll just break it.
But what happened to that guy's truck? And why could the people understand Grig at the end when they didn't have translator chips? And wasn't the hero's translator chip attached to his shirt just before he was given his uniform? That didn't seem very practical. Did they wipe everyone's memory at the end, or did they leave the trailer trash to be condemned for insanity? Wouldn't the police be a little bit curious about the dead cop, the robot, the multiple alien bodies and their ships?
Ah, get off my lawn.
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Date: 2010-12-17 02:26 pm (UTC)Now I'm feeling the urge to re-watch it myself. ^_^