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Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Barbara Bosson ... see more see more... , Norman Snow , Kay E. Kuter , Dan Mason , Bruce Abbott , Marc Alaimo , Ed Berke , Al Berry , Ellen Blake , Geoffrey Blake , Owen Bush , Maggie Cooper , Cameron Dye , Chris Herbert , Britt Leach , John Maio , George McDaniel , Charlene Nelson , John O'Leary , Peggy Pope , Kimberly Ross , Suzanne Snyder , Robert Starr , Bunny Summers , Vernon Washington , Wil Wheaton , Meg Wyllie , Bob Kenaston , Peter Nelson

Trailer-park teenager Lance Guest regularly escapes from his humdrum existence by playing the video game Starfighter. His expertise at this recreational endeavor attracts the attention of affable stra... read more read more...nger Robert Preston. Before he knows what's happening, Guest is whisked by Preston into the outer reaches of the galaxy! It turns out that the Starfighter game is being played in deadly earnest in outer space, and that Guest is expected to join Preston's Star League, then do battle with the wicked Kodan forces. Guest's principal ally is the lizardlike Grig (Dan O'Herlihy--and we didn't recognize him either). His great rival is the traitorous Xur (Norman Snow). The contrast between Guest's earthbound life as the son of single-mother Barbara Bosson and his new position as Starfighter is daunting at first, but soon the boy is manning a spacecraft and zapping the baddies as though he's been doing it all his life. The Last Starfighter was clearly designed with "sequel" in mind: giveaways include the resurrection of a "dead" character and the surprisingly casual escape of the villain. While the film didn't stir up enough business to warrant a sequel, the Starfighter video game remained a much-sought-after commodity by joystick-happy "warriors" all over the country. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

65% liked it

45,651 ratings

Critics

74% liked it

27 critics

PG, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Nick Castle Jr.

Release Date: July 13, 1984

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DVD Release Date: June 8, 1999

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Stats: 1,762 reviews

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Beta Louis Rogan Xur Alex Rogan Zando Zan The Last Starfighter The Last Starfighter Centauri Death Blossom Centauri Kodan soldiers The Last Starfighter Bogati Commander Krill The Last Starfighter The Last Starfighter The Last Starfighter Centauri
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Flixster Reviews (1,762)

  • TomBowler
    October 7, 2011
    TomBowler
    Despite the obvious Star Wars overtones/wholesale rip-offs, this is a fun film with some great scenes. Full review later.
  • ajv2688
    January 16, 2011
    ajv2688
    Even for a sci-fi movie the story is really out there, and not in a good way. This movie is corny and predictable. I didn't care for it.
  • ythelastman89
    July 1, 2010
    ythelastman89
    I really don't care if this is a so-called rip off of Star Wars, it's too amazing and fun to be just as simple as that. This really takes the generation's mindset of the time, hoping to see what space and adventure had to offer. It has a very fun story, great acting and character... read mores, and enough early oddball cgi to keep anyone entertained and intrigued. I just find this to have some of the best qualities that both Sci-Fi and Fantasy have to offer.
  • FilmFanatik
    March 19, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    Goofy as can be, but enjoyable.
  • stormyweather980
    October 14, 2009
    stormyweather980
    A movie I've seen a few times, once recently, that my dad always had taped. I'm surprised he had it taped because he never cared much for video games, and after watching it, I was equally surprised that I wasn't that impressed, cause I usually love movies based off video games, e... read morespecially ones like "Tron". Not horrible, but not worth owning either....to me.
  • SirPant
    September 21, 2009
    SirPant
    If this is a poor man's Star Wars I'm proud to call myself a poor man.
  • phubbs1
    February 10, 2009
    phubbs1
    Hmmm even when this came out it was a poor mans Star Wars and even a poor mans Battlestar Gallactica. Sure it was for kids but it was pretty lame stuff, the effects were crap back then and terrible now, the aliens were all unoriginal much like the starships and plot (very much li... read moreke Tron) and it was so cliched and predictable...even then.

    Jumping on the Star Wars, BSG bandwagon Im afraid.
  • Deano78
    September 6, 2008
    Deano78
    A poor 80's action film.
  • shiftyeyeddog
    July 15, 2008
    shiftyeyeddog
    What do you get when you decide to use CG effects before they're good enough to use? You get The Last Starfighter. Every time they go to a computer-created shot of a ship or planet, it's quite jarring - takes you right out of the film. Technology just wasn't up to where... read more it needed to be yet.

    The movie felt like a giant cash-in attempt, trying to suck in kids based on both their love of videogames and their love of Star Wars. That Star Wars envy is most obvious in the score. While decent music, you can hear the SW inspiration in almost every piece, and a few cues almost sound like direct copies.

    24-year-old star Lance Guest looks every bit of 24, though we're supposed to believe he and his friends are teenagers, getting ready to go off to college. But at least he's a passable actor, which is more than I can say for most of the supporting cast.

    I think if I saw this as a kid, i might have enjoyed it (as I was one of those kids into videogames and Star Wars), but I had never seen it until now; and as an adult, it's just another silly, mediocre Star Wars knockoff.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 11, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Cool story, but I just wasn't too thrilled with any of it. The main character (Lance Guest) seemed too old to be living at home and playing videogames. The aliens just weren't too interesting either. The ships looked goofy as well. It didn't have enough of an 80's feeling to it. ... read moreI wish they had shown more classic games from the era. The trailer park setting wasn't Spielberg enough.

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Critic Reviews

Kevin Carr
March 2, 2011
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

full of 80s cheese, but for someone like me who grew up with this kind of stuff, it was the perfect escape Full Review

Brian Orndorf
August 26, 2009
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

One of the few successful Spielberg clones, administering the usual routine of aliens and mouth-agape wonder with friendly determination and a perfect, just perfect, game boy screenwriting hook. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
August 17, 2009
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

The simplistic plot and simple story work thanks to the energy and light touch of director Nick Castle. Full Review

Peter Canavese
August 12, 2009
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

Charmingly hokey...takes the suburban-working-class-folks-meet-space-aliens paradigm of early Spielberg and marries it to Lucas' Star Wars. [Blu-ray] Full Review

Keith Breese
May 24, 2009
Keith Breese, Filmcritic.com

the rousing kind of kid flick that inspires ten-year-old boys to grab broomsticks, storm the neighborhood hill, and go nuts on pretend aliens with ridiculous faux karate moves. Full Review

Steve Crum
February 21, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Definite "Star Wars" influenced, this trailer park adventure takes off, succeeds on own.

Gerry Shamray
April 13, 2003
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

Overlooked sci-fi tale. Great fun.

Rob Vaux
March 28, 2003
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium

If you're going to shamelessly rip off Star Wars, make sure you do it with as much spirit as this film.

Luke Y. Thompson
February 2, 2003
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

A cult classic long overdue its proper respect!

Luis Martinez
December 12, 2002
Luis Martinez, Cinenganos

A children's movie. Good visuals...plot no so good.

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    • Alex Rogan: Hold it! There's no fleet? No Starfighters, no plan? One ship, you, me, and that's it?
    • Grig: Exactly! Xur thinks you're still on Earth. Classic military strategy, surprise attack.
    • Alex Rogan: It'll be a slaughter!
    • Grig: That's the spirit!
    • Alex Rogan: No, *my* slaughter!
    • Alex Rogan: [to an alien] Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your, uh, whatever that is.
    • Grig: Up to your old 'Excalibur' tricks again, eh, Centauri?
    • Alex Rogan: Teriffic. I'm about to get killed a million miles from nowhere with a gung-ho iguana who tells me to relax.
    • Centauri: [voice in video game] Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.
    • Grig: I've always wanted to fight a desperate battle against incredible odds.
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The Last Starfighter Trivia

  • In which Sci-Fi adventure did the main hero(s) did not carry any form of weapons?  Answer »
  • ***The First Movie To Do All Special Effects (Except Makeup) On A Computer.***  Answer »
  • Which 80s movie sees a young videogamer beat an arcade game and then be recruited as a gunner for an alien defense force?  Answer »
  • Name the movie this quote is from:"You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against the Kodan Armada."  Answer »
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