jhamjohnston Every teenager could only wish this would happen to them. This movie is a guilty pleasure. If only playing a video game could lead to this kind of adventure. Back in 1984 this was early pioneering of computer generated graphics for special effects. The director had to reach for the stars on a shoe string budget(no models). What got pulled off turns out to be a sweet story of escaping the dead end life to the ultimate adventure.

john_vance-20806 My kids watched this movie over and over on VHS and I will admit I watched it with them pretty often - and even occasionally on my own.There's nothing special about the plot, characters or special effects, but there was a dream-come-true quality that worked better than usual. I even felt it myself as an adult male. Imagine flying off into space with a beautiful girl after having unexpectedly discovered you had hidden talents that suddenly made you an indispensable hero to the universe. What guy ever loses that dream? Robert Preston and Dan O'Herlihy were superb of course, and that undoubtedly added to the impact.Modern CGI might make the film look out-of-date to most kids today, but it might be worth giving it a shot. And watch it with them, you might have more fun that you think.

mike48128 Lost in the summer releases and technically very inferior to the "Star Wars" series, but a lot of fun. The film that probably killed Lorimar-Filmways! The digital effects are crude. The spaceship matte is very inferior and fake-looking by today's standards. What does it have in it's favor? Several things: It has a great intentional sense-of-humor. (You will notice this more on the 2nd viewing.) The villain is a spoiled brat that looks like a bald Kryptonian. He bombs the space academy while the spacesuit-tailors are arguing about modifying the uniform for "humans"! Great intentional "miscasting" with a green lizard man (nice rubber suit) and Robert Preston plays himself as a Harold Hill-alien "flim-flam man". Great low budget special effects and some of it takes place on Earth in a boring trailer park! The alien assassin smells like a rotten pork chop and disguises itself as a policeman-shape-shifter! The "Space Blossom" secret weapon is powered by a 9-volt radio battery! Lot's of fun. Our hero, played by Lance Guest, (Alex) is a teenaged college student with a very-hot girl friend (Catherine Mary Stewart). "Alex" plays "the video game" at the trailer court. The game was shipped there by mistake! It was meant to go to another city or planet! By beating the game, he qualifies to become a space cadet and gets recruited by Robert Preston as "Centuri". Other nice touches: Alex (the Starfighter) is "replaced" temporarily by a robot duplicate. It takes off its head to adjust itself after taking a "tongue in the ear" by his girlfriend! The "Star Car" changes into a "Space-Car" just like in "The Men in Black".

utgard14 Trailer park kid Alex (Lance Guest) gets the high score on the video game Starfighter. Shortly after he finds himself recruited by an alien named Centauri (Robert Preston) to take part in an intergalactic war. One of my favorites from my childhood. I'm not sure if you have to be a child of the '80s to enjoy this but it probably doesn't hurt. It's a character-driven sci-fi adventure film with a wonderful cast. In addition to Guest and Preston, who are both excellent, there's the great Dan O'Herlihy and beautiful Catherine Mary Stewart. Special mention to kid actor Chris Hebert, who's lots of fun as Alex's little brother. If you don't walk around with your nose in the air or a stick up your rear, give this one a shot and you will probably enjoy it. It's a fun movie.