t BE
the movies
Film gives life to an old cliche
At first glance, the film appears to be just
another take-off of the “Star Wars” line of space
flicks. The outer-galactic creatures, both good
and evil, are there. The futuristic space ships are
there. The pretty girl is there, and the handsome,
young rookie-astronaut is there, too.
All the essentials which made Lucas’ series
so successful are ever-so-dangerously present in
the Lorimar/Universal production of “The Last
Starfighter,” directed by Nick Castle.
But with all its superficial resemblance,
“Starfighter” surprisingly succeeds as a separate,
even innovative, film in its own place. Some of
this is due to a couple of new special effects and
some should be credited to the movie’s
refreshing, down-home plot.
Though a little on the stale side at moments,
the story is generally original and .full of sur
prises. Alex Rogan, played by Lance Guest, is a
soon-to-be high school graduate who has had
more than he cares of living in “Nowhere,”
Nevada in a dumpy mobile-home park with his
mother and little brother.
His girlfriend Maggie (Catherine Mary
Steward of “Days of Our Lives”) also dreams of
leaving the park and going with Alex to college in
the city but is more reluctant to leave the safety of
home than she at first can admit.
With nothing better to do, the community’s
younger generation spends its time in the bed of a
fast-driven pickup and in the hills making out.
Alex, however, must spend his free hours with
the park’s plumbing problems. In what time is
leftover, he manages to become an expert at one
of the local video games.
This talent gathers the attention of not only
the community but an alien wheeler-and-dealer
named Centauri, marvelously played by Robert
Preston of “Victor Victoria” and a couple dozen
other films. As the creator of the game, Centauri
tricks Alex into a drive around the block, or so it
seems, to discuss his success and possible
reward.
But soon Alex finds himself in another
galaxy amid a handful of martian video-junkies
who have been donned with the honor of Star
fighter, also the game’s title, because of their skill
at what they thought was just a game.
It is the Starfighters’ mission now to save the
Rylos empire and the rest of the universe from the
evil Ko-Dan forces. This is more adventure than
the young toilet-fixer bargained for, and it is some
time before he is convinced he must do his duty.
And there the fun begins.
Noteworthy in “The Last Starfighter” are the
computerized special effects seen in the
manuevering of the spaceships and in the battles
that eventually take place between Alex and the
Ko-Dan command ship, which he had repeatedly
eliminated on the video game back at the local hot
dog stand.
The crafts are cleanly designed and jet
around the galaxy just as flawlessly. Sometimes
this perfection is too sanitized and not as realistic
as the hand-operated mechanics of the ‘‘Star
Wars” scenes.
One of the docking scenes where Centauri in
itially brings Alex to Rylos is masterfully done.
Through computerized graphics the camera
tracks the spaceship in complete sequence, from
outside the base into the mouth of the landing
hanger and through a long tunnel before the ship
finally stops.
The film’s producers also came up with an
original, though nauseating, way to wipe out an
entire fleet with the firing power of just one ship.
Centauri’s DeLorean-like cruiser exhibits
some of the versatile qualities of a 007 toy and
provides some needed excitement at the “earthy”
level.
Preston, too, is an added surprise bonus to
the film. His fast-talking character covers all the
bases as first captor then friend to Alex, who soon
finds himself in debt to the not-so-humanlike
Centauri.
As Alex, Guest’s performance stands on its
own feet. Never quite content or at ease in his sur
roundings, he still seems at-home in his
character. Guest also plays a double-part in a cou
ple of scenes, one as Alex and the other as his
robot replacement, whose presence offers an
amusing look at the perils of young love.
Dan O’Herlihy makes reptiles look charming
in his role as “Grig,” Alex’s mentor and
navigator through the last half of the film. A little
on the soft-side at first, the “gung-ho iguana”
finally forces Alex into using his ability with the
help of his fatherly guidance.
As in Star Wars, this film also has a threaten
ing ruler from the dark side, so to speak, in the
form of Xur, who happens to be the evil son of En
duran, Lord of the Star League at Rylos. Played by
Norman Snow, Xur’s adolescent snottiness' is
eventually dealt with by the grotesque Ko-danese
warriors.
Other performances that make “Starfighters”
complete include that of Stewart, who plays
Alex’s girl “Mags,” and Chris Hubert, the cast’s
youngest member as Alex’s younger brother, who
witnesses more than he realizes in one very comic
scene.
All in all, “Starfighter” is a well-done
movie. It receives its PG rating only from the
scenes that include alien creatures and some rare
violent moments.
“Starfighter” plays at the Springfield Quad
and Cinema World.
By Julie Shippen
Kesey
Continued from Page 1
budget were larger, Kesey said,
"we wouldn’t have had to bor
row a van from the chicken
company to transport our
wrestling team to Pullman.”
The team was traveling in a van
owned by Fircrest Foods to a
meet at Washington State
University when the accident
occurred.
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