keithr@hercules.UUCP (Keith Rule) (07/14/84)
I saw a sneak preview (the whole thing, not a trailer) of the
movie the "Last Star Fighter" on Saturday July 7th. I was very
entertained by this movie. It is a movie that both an adult and
a child would enjoy. So parents take your kiddies to see this
movie (instead of GREMLINS).
The story is about a guy, Alex, who lives in a trailer park with his
mother and younger brother Lewis. His girl friend, Maggie, also
lives in the park with her grandmother. He feels trapped in the
life he has. He wants to make something of himself but, is held back
by circumstances beyond his control. He's an ordinary guy who feels
there is more to life than polishing your pickup truck.
He does have one unusual talent, which is that he is the best at
a video game called "Starfighter" (expect to see this one the the
arcades soon, Atari was listed in the credits). From here the story
takes off.
There are some dazzling COMPUTER GRAPHICS in this movie. After the
box office failure of TRON I thought it would be some time before
I saw another movie with ALOT of computer graphics. The credits
listed several SOFTWARE folks and a CRAY X-MP computer.
Robert Preston plays Centari, who is an alien with a very hot car.
Barbara Bosson (who also plays the ex-wife of the Captain on
Hillstreet Blues) plays Alex's mother. The performances of all
the actors and actresses are believable.
One minor warning to parents, this movie does contain some violence,
however it is very similar to the type of violence in the first
STAR WARS movie. If you'd let your kids see STAR WARS then you can
feel safe taking them to this one.
This movie is worth the $4.50 I paid to see it. And I might even
be willing to pay 4.50 to see it again.
Keith Rule
tektronix!teklds!hercules!keithrmoriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (07/14/84)
Hmmm... one occasionally feels like playing the profit with a movie. There
is no doubt in my mind that this will be on of the summers most popular
movies... right up there with GHOSTBUSTERS. The question is: is this
another STAR WARS, at least in popularity? Well, I saw it with a Saturday
night preview audience, so it's tough to say... everyone appluaded at the
end, but for all I know, they may do the same thing at the end of CANNONBALL
II...
Well, what did I think of it. Standard space movie with excellent lines and
characters. Another excellent balance between humor and adventure. Some
excellent twists on the "Space fight to save the galaxy" bit, and most of
the spunk credit goes to the director, writer, and Lance Guest, who plays
Alex Rogan, the Last Starfighter, with such wit that it's really enjoyable.
There are some excellent performances put in by quite a few people in this
movie. And, at several places in this movie.... "a presence I've not felt
for many years." Specifically, I saw RETURN OF THE JEDI once because of
it's lackluster imitation of STAR WARS. I saw THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 3
times, because while it was no STAR WARS it didn't try to be... took up a
different bent altogether. I saw STAR WARS 7 times... because I was 17 and
even stupider than I am now, I guess, but it had moments of pure abandon for
me. THE LAST STARFIGHTER isn't that good, but it does capture a few of
those moments (thanks to Guest, Robert Preston (I would like this man in
anything!), and Dan O'Herlihy (sp?) as Rogan's co-pilot with scales). A
definate $4.50 movie, as there are plenty of laughs to go with the action
(probably more). You also get to see Fay Furillo deal with a space ship :-)
Oh, the special effects... well, you don't look up and say, "this is a
quantum leap from TRON!" You look up and say, "Tron in space! But it still
looks good -- different, but good". Basically, the spaceships look good
until you get up close... then they assume the uniformity one comes to
expect from computer graphics. Some are better than others, but there are
some things done that could NEVER have been done with blue-screen and motion
control. It's easy to get used to...
SPOILERS FROM HERE IN.....
This thing resemble Star Wars in more ways than just the good humor. They
are definately looking for sequels. I hope they decide against it... Maggie
& Alex in Space are just not gonna cut it. Unless they decide to drop by to
pick up some more recruits (and bring Robert Preston with 'em). Still, this
is a no-sequel pic... I hope others realize this.
"... the all-weather breakfast cereal"
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
UUCP:
{cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \
{allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty
ARPA:
fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPAAPratt.PA@XEROX.ARPA (07/17/84)
From: <APratt.PA@XEROX.ARPA> I saw The Last Starfighter Saturday, and it was okay, but not great. As a movie I would give it a five (out of ten) but as a showcase for computer graphics, I give it an eight! The reason the scenes on the trailer look so hokey is that all the space scenes are computer-generated, with surface shading and all. It's not done with models like the Star Wars effects are, and it shows: the lines are just a little too sharp, and there is a curious lack of curved surfaces. But the effects are good, and some of them, I think, were done in real time (specifically, I believe the video game was actually used for the sequences featuring it, and it will look just that way in the arcades). The computer stuff is credited to Digital Productions in the credits, with the credit "Supercomputer: CRAY X-MP" near the end. Some of the computer scenes smacked of Tron, but most of them were of better quality (more detail, more and better movement). A couple of the computer-generated displays were breathtaking (to me, anyway, but I'm easily impressed). Also, I really like Robert Preston, who plays a character much like his trademark con-man. (Preston was the Music Man.) The plot is just what you see on the trailer, without much suspense or, in fact, acting. The movie also probably has an age limit -- High school shouldn't be too dim a memory for you. But the computer-generated effects made it worth $5.00 for me. If I were to see it again, though, it would have to be a bargain matinee. -- Allan Pratt
Isdale.es@XEROX.ARPA (07/17/84)
> ...the effects are good, and some of them, I think, were done in real time > (specifically, I believe the video game was actually used for the sequences > featuring it, and it will look just that way in the arcades). None of the computer graphics scenes were done in real time. Each frame took several seconds to load into the framebuffer and then three exposures had to be made (one each Red, Green, Blue). At our fastest pace, we shot approx. 1 frame per minute. The video game sequences were done using a CRAY 1S (traded in for the XMP last november/december). The were 3d images with low detail and without smooth shading thus giving the ship a faceted look. Such images are VERY difficult to compute and display in anything close to real time. There was some talk about using video disks to hold the simulations but the response of such games is not very good. Jerry Isdale Ex-DPeon
esmith@uok.UUCP (07/20/84)
#N:uok:5100034:000:1208
uok!esmith Jul 6 23:32:00 1984
The Last Starfighter... See it, my review.
Wonderful, Stupendous, Superb... and all other words of praise.
Better than Star Wars? (And I loved Star Wars) YES, If you like some
comedy, adventure, science fiction, and great special effects rolled
into one. The graphics were everything they were supposed to be,
out of this world. (no pun intended) In my opinion the movie was
to short, I wanted more, more and more. But I came away with the
same feeling I had after seeing Star Wars for the first time...
I looked up at the stars and said "take me please". The movie was
better than I had hoped it would be. The battle scenes were a little
short, but great. And as with all magnificant movies, of late, they
left themselves open for a sequel(s). I WANT MORE!!! Go see it.
It is well worth 5 bucks maybe more. I know this much It will be a
movie I want to see again, and again. So far the best Sci-Fi of
the summer, we will have to wait on "Dune". By the way they showed
a preview of "Dune" at the beginning of TLSf, and I might just prove
to be interesting.
I WANT MORE!!!!
- Eric L. Smith
!ctvax!uokvax!uok!esmithgm@trsvax.UUCP (07/23/84)
Another neat thing to look for in Starfighter: When Alex gets his Starfighter equipment and first walks into the big briefing/control room, look for a little robot to shuffle across the floor right in front of Alex. That little robot is a HERO-1, by Heathkit/Zenith. Funny thing to have in an alien control room. We must be ahead of them in robot technology. Of course, they have a slight lead in the manufacturing of starships. :-) George Moore Tandy System Software ...!allegra!convex!ctvax!trsvax!gm
john@hp-pcd.UUCP (john) (07/27/84)
Some neat things that you should look for in Starfighter: Coming in and out of stardrive they actually tried to show the red and blue shifts of the stars. When Alex first meets his navigator listen for the briefing that is being given to the starfighters. You hear a voice with a texas accent going through a item by item inventory of the emergency kit. Sounds just like Slim Pickens did in Dr Strangelove. Btw I missed the first five minutes of the movie because I forgot that when the paper says starting time 9:30 that it really means anytime from 9:20 to 9:40. John Eaton !hplabs!hp-pcd!john