THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984) Revisited - Sci-Fi Movie Review

Greetings, Starfighter! Welcome to The Best Movie You Never Saw where, this week, we dive into one of the most revered cult classics of the 1980s, The Last Starfighter. Released in 1984, one year after Return of the Jedi closed out the original Star Wars trilogy, The Last Starfighter was one of the first feature films to use CGI special effects for the majority of starships, environments and battle sequences. Along with Tron in 1982, The Last Starfighter is widely regarded as ushering in a new wave of science fiction visuals that changed the way movies looked forever. It also influenced everything from video games to books, especially Ready Player One author Ernie Cline whose novel "Armada" is eerily similar. While we have long awaited a sequel (as well as the promised arcade version teased in the end credits), lets look back at this awesome movie.

While generally well regarded by critics, The Last Starfighter was a financial disappointment for Universal, grossing $28 million domestically against a $15 million budget. Developed to ride the Star Wars bandwagon, The Last Starfighter follows a pretty basic premise: teen video game phenom is recruited to pilot a spacecraft thanks to his skills playing an arcade game that is actually a recruitment tool for an intergalactic army. It's a fun movie that has a rabid cult following to this day and just might get remade before too long. Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Dan O'Herlihy and the great Robert Preston star, with Nick Castle (Michael Myers himself!) directing.

JOBLO YOUTUBE NETWORK:

SUPPORT OUR CHANNEL - PURCHASE VIA OUR LINKS BELOW:

JOBLO MOVIE NEWS AND REVIEWS:

JOBLO ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

#TheLastStarfighter #BestMovieYouNeverSaw

[guitargodthor]

One of the most underrated movies of all time!

[maxcovfefe]

The most impressive thing about this movie was how it seemed to literally jump right out of our imaginations. As kids, we used to go to the arcade, and the discussions on the way home were about the kinds of things that happen in this movie! "There's a space agency using video games to recruit for secret missions..." As a kid, that's pure magic when a movie is made about your pretend world.

[kevinmckinney]

Back in the 80's I watched this movie on cable over and over again. Great film and Robert Preston was a joy to watch.

[DOSdaze]

Contains one of my all-time favorite lines around the end; "WHAT DO WE DO?!? .... we die ... "

With the solid delivery, always gave me respect for the bad dude.

[stiimuli]

The thing that haunted me the most from this movie when I was a kid was when the assassin is lurking around the trailer park and the game cabinet seems to "sense" its presence and starts playing distorted lines from the game. It starts saying "Xur" over and over in this really creepy voice and then melts the assassin's face off O_O

[TheArchangel]

One of the first movies I can remember where CGI was used to make everything look like a video game. Great movie.

[alfredthegreat]

A wonderful, wonderful movie. Watched it in the cinema on release when I was a kid and was blown away by the effects, but the reason it worked so well was the story being so well executed by all involved. Classic.

[WordUnheard]

The Last Starfighter, Flight of the Navigator, and Enemy Mine are three of the most underrated sci-fi movies of the 80's.

[LaurenMiddleton]

The boy who could fly had literally the perfect "girl next door" actress ever...

[ThePoorBoy]

I was born in 1980 and had the privilege of seeing The Last Starfighter for the first time on LaserDisc in 1990 in a video store while spending the summer with my dad in Fort Lauderdale. He worked next door to this video store, and when I'd hang out while he was working, I would go over to the video store for hours and watch movies with the clerks (they also let me borrow VHS tapes so I would have movies to watch at my dad's work!). The Last Starfighter immediately became one my favorite movies, and I still watch it every few years. Time to watch it again after this!

[BuckarooBanzai]

Fun Fact; the late Gene Siskel once confessed that this film was "one of his favorite guilty pleasures". =)

[JnEricsonx]

Getting to finally see this in theaters a few years ago was great. The number of adults who took their kids to see it as well was heartening.

[tjnaples]

One of the best 80’s movies to be made. Here’s to hoping Hollywood forgets that fact so it never gets remade.

[tkskagen]

Yet another great movie from my youth!
Now I get to Watch it. Because I own it on VHS...

[mikelitoris]

This movie was on HBO every day when i was home during summer ! Loved it

[grapeshot]

Yeah it brings back memories. I remember watching this movie all the time on HBO. Back in the day when I was in Middle School. The Death Blossom.

[WilliamTheMovieFan]

Great little movie! I saw it in the theaters when I was in high school. Loved video arcades too. I don't know why it wasn't a bigger hit. It was just a fun movie!

[Funem]

One of my fave films in the 80's, I wore the VHS out I watch this so many times

[VorpalDerringer]

I loved this movie as a kid in the 80s. I think the CG still looks cool today.

[countgeekula]

Great movie. One of my faves since I was a kid seeing it for the first time back in '84. Need that sequel pronto!