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The Last Starfighter (1984)
31 Plays4 months ago
This week on the Everything Actioncast, Zach and Chris join the Starleague to defend The Frontier and talk about 1984's The Last Starfighter, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Lance Guest stars as Alex Rogan, who wishes to escape his trailer park home and unexpectedly gets his chance when, after beating the record on the arcade machine Starfighter, he's recruited by intergalactic hustler Centauri (Robert Preston) to put his skills to the test for real, become a Starfighter for the planet Rylos, and help them defeat the evil Xur (Norman Snow) and the invading Ko-Dan armada. Zach and Chris try to figure out Centauri's scheme for making money off Starfighter, celebrate the greatness of Grig (Dan O'Herlihy), the wacky adventures of Beta, the (at the time) cutting-edge CG effects, and more.
You can rent or buy The Last Starfighter on platforms like Amazon. Next week, we'll face the dark side of nature and discuss Twister to prepare for the release of Twisters next weekend.
We want to hear your comments and feedback. Send them all to [email protected]. Also, let us know your suggestions for movies for us to discuss.
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Transcript
Introduction & Host Introductions
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Everything Action Cast, the official podcast of EverythingAction.com.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Everything Action Cast, the podcast week of July 8th, 2024. I'm your host Zach. And we're co-host Chris.
40th Anniversary of 'The Last Starfighter'
00:00:27
Speaker
And yeah, this week we are defending the star league and talking about the last starfighter, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It came out ah July 13th, 1984.
00:00:40
Speaker
And- Are we defending the star league, Zach, or are we defending the frontier? Well, I think the star league and the frontier are both the same thing. Like it' like the star league owns the frontier. But like the Star League defends the frontier against Xur, I guess. but whatever Whatever like the opening spiel of the Starfighter game is.
00:01:03
Speaker
you recruited if that's the way You've recruited by Star League to defend the frontier against Xur, the Coda and Armada. Which is not a lot in terms of an Armada. It was just like 10 ships. It's like one ship with like a squadron of fighters. yeah But the squadron is maybe 12 ships. Yeah, definitely doesn't seem enough for like like ah ah like an or like ah like ah apparently like like the like most difficult video game ever made. the Only like one person can ever beat. Oh, I forgot that it was supposed to be like an insanely hard video game. Yeah. Yeah, yeah this this movie is like this movies like is like the ultimate kind of like if you're like a video game player in like the 80s or even like now, it's just like the ultimate like validation of your video game play.
00:01:51
Speaker
if you If you're good enough at a game, you could ah like someone's gonna come down and like like recruit you for like a secret mission or something. Yeah, this movie's only legacy was that. It was like, if you're good at this video game, like it recruited you. I don't think a lot of things did that at the time, besides Cloak and Dagger. Yeah.
Video Game Elements & Comparisons
00:02:10
Speaker
Cloak and Dagger was the first like hidden message in a video game kind of thing. that would Yeah, but that wasn't even like you recruited. It's like, oh, we discovered these government documents in this game. We hacked the game. but
00:02:24
Speaker
And like war games was also like, oh, we hacked, we like hacked into like this, the thing we shouldn't have hacked into. Yeah, but that was like a hacker. Yeah. Hacked into a mainframe because it was a flaw in the like the dial up internet. Mm hmm. But yeah, last year, it's like it's like you you you're you've proven your skills in this game and now you can use your skills in real life yeah in this thing. Yeah, it's the same thing. It's a whole different like genre of of like of like skill thing. Like, hey, you use your skill to accidentally ah prove yourself. Like, your hero's journey was that you're good at this arcade game, yes which was ah supposedly a flight sim thing.
Film Setting & Character Relationships
00:03:14
Speaker
But there really should have been a stipulation where, as soon as you beat it,
00:03:20
Speaker
Maybe you send that message. Don't don't just, like, guess that you'll be around in the same town you beat this, because what if Alex beats this game and then just leaves? There's that whole part where it's like a little, like, realistic part just goes out the window. I mean, there's a ton of that, but... Yeah, I was i um definitely trying to figure, like, Sentari's plan of, like, because he's like, I marketed the game, I got the game out into arcades, like... So well I think Sintari is supposed to be like a trickster alien because he's been around for Earth for like centuries. because Yeah. He just like he just got into video game development. That's like his latest stick. But I want to spend more time with that and we don't. Yeah, because it's like like like how long is the and has the starfighter been out like, you know, like available to people like no and no one's ever beaten except Alex at this point like.
00:04:20
Speaker
Cause I mean, it seemed, I mean, it seems hard, but like you would, you would think like other people have beaten it, but they haven't. But yeah, there's there's no sense of like, where, like, is it in, cause like Centurion says like, like it's the machine that's in like, uh, Alex's trailer park is supposed to be, was supposed to go to Las Vegas. But it got like this delivered, but like is it it's gotta it's gotta be like like if it's just gotta be like once in like New York and like Los Angeles like all you know all these major cities probably have like a firefighter did he just say this one and he just left it there God that would be so like such a terrible plan of like um I'm not making one machine to like to like find like but you know like
00:05:04
Speaker
the great like the greatest starfighter of the galaxy. Well, if you think about it, that was the only arcade cab in that town. It's not even a town, it's a trailer park. That's true. And then it's like, and the centaurs getting paid by like the star league, but like, how is, is he getting paid for like, because he brought like our fruit in? Like, I don't know what his like, he's like, he's obviously like a con man, but I don't know what his con is or what his scheme is or like, what he's like, cause he's like, he's like, he's like, Hey, you got to pay me. I brought this guy in. You got to pay me. I gotta, I gotta recoup the losses for marketing this game.
Design & Influence Discussion
00:05:46
Speaker
I mean, it's it's clear, it's clear because like it's ah Robert Preston, which this was his final movie, but like he was in the music band as Harold Hill, which is, you know, is like one of the all time, like iconic, like kind of like movie con men. So, so, so he has that Carney attitude and yes, that I don't know. Alex is just like Lord and he's like, okay, I'll get in your strange yeah car. like the like the pre DeLorean because like it's it's it's weird because we cannot before back to the future but it feels like this is like a ripoff of back to the future I got that vibe too yeah it's like it's like a like it's like here's here's our it's we could have we could afford DeLorean we just built our own DeLorean they cobbled together like a boat and then uh like a Honda and then just whatever future bumper they can grab from a a fake car from the car of the future and then they made this because you're right like it
00:06:41
Speaker
it This should have been an iconic vehicle, but it's not. It just looks like a shoebox. and and like it looks like okay mountain It looks like a like a GI i Joe like future like tech tank. Yeah, you know, you're like a mask, like a mask vehicle. The best vehicles are grounded in reality since I don't think they can. They always are based on some realistic thing. This this looks like a monorail like front car, you know, like the lead conductor car because it's so sleek in the front, but then it gets like boxy in the back. I think they said it was um like somewhat inspired by Blade Runner, like they're trying like they're working off like ah
00:07:25
Speaker
There was like a feel like like there was like a design and from maybe the constant art for Blade Runner that he kind of based the Sarcar on. That makes sense. like It definitely was like they... could they was It wasn't like a lot... Okay. To be honest, a lot of this movie doesn't have 100% original designs. Everything kind of looks like a ripoff of other yeah existing designs and alien concepts and and like sets almost. It's like like they raided the Star Wars warehouse where all the aliens are really kept. like
00:08:01
Speaker
Just grab masks, just grab whatever you can grab. Yeah. And then it's like, all right, well, we only have like a hand from here. and We have like ah a hand from here. Whatever. Fuck it. Like, we'll just cover it up in a jumpsuit. Yeah. ah ah Also, I feel like during this time, the Star Trek movies were still in production. So like, yeah, like they they were pretty much borrowing anything the CBS studio wasn't using. And then um I this is 1984. So.
00:08:29
Speaker
Star Wars Return of the Jedi just came out, I think? I think Return of the Jedi was the year before. OK. This is the same year as Search for Spock, if you're talking Star Trek. Yeah, yeah. Wow, I can't see like maybe the quality of the film I saw like I didn't see the 4K like upper like Blu-ray of this. Yeah, I have a Blu-ray of it.
80s Film Comparisons
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah. So I know the quality can differ and it really enhances some of those retro graphics. ah But yeah, it's like hard to place like where this is. It's like technology wise, you know, it's the 80s, the dressing and all that. Then when you see the like teen parts and then the um
00:09:16
Speaker
just like the trailer park life. It's like, Oh, this is 1970. You know, like it it just, it it differs in that. Like you just get like a tonal shift. The weird trailer park just like totally isolated from anything. It's just like this. What is weird community of everyone that like they they like yelling to each other to like, to like, it's not like calling each other is yelled. have to relay it to to each other. They don't have phones for that. yeah no this is This is a hippie commune. this kind yeah These are all sister wives and and father husbands. ah but and they'll get They all get extremely excited about video games. The smallest thing that's happening this small town. like yeah And everyone's peeping at each other kissing a lot.
00:10:05
Speaker
but Before that before we get into like the actual star fighting what's been the first like few minutes of this review? Talking about the first 10 minutes of this like the first 20 minutes of this movie that has nothing to do with the starfighter part It's just more about Alex's life for the trailer park. I wrote down This movie has all the hallmarks of a late 70s early 80s like anything high school movie Alright, I'm gonna read it in this list and you try to figure out what movie anyway this applies to Alright Dead dad. Dead or missing dad? Yeah, divorced. Who knows? yeah Pervert brother. Yeah, well, Lewis is an enigma because he sees Alex and Maggie like making out. He's like, ew, diarrhea. But then later, he has a collection of playboys. So he does he does like nudity and stuff. that's like he doesn't like But then I get it. It's your brother. So OK. Hot neat girlfriend neighbor.
00:11:03
Speaker
yeah like the only girl in the trailer park. Only age-appropriate girl in that trailer park. Yeah, and Alex is like the only like teenager in that trailer park. Right, right. right are they i But also, ah teenagers, are they... like i Because they're talking about going to college. But are they already out of high school? Like is it summer? like I think it might be summer because it explains why the brothers still like there because like he's not going to school. Yeah. So the whole summer is them like drinking and going to
Character Tropes & Archetypes
00:11:33
Speaker
the lake. So that kind of makes sense. kind of kind of It kind of feels like, yeah, maybe maybe they already graduated and they're like, but now they're like waiting to go to college or something. But then he got his like rejection letter so late in that time. Like, yeah, you got rejected. It's like August. over yeah It's August.
00:11:50
Speaker
um Okay, bully friends like he's got friends that are both Yeah, like the bullies and his friends cuz he hangs it like they're just forced to hang out with each other But the bullies don't live in the neighborhood. No, they don't live in the trailer park like they all live somewhere else. Yeah The only connection to them is like his girlfriend. Yeah Cuz the one cuz the one guy is like seems like he's trying to like constantly hit on her Yeah, he's like protect if you don't don't guard your girlfriend on this dude's dude in the truck is gonna steal her and And then lastly, ah Diner Working Mom. yep I mean, we're naming things that are basically, this is Karate Kid at some point. like This is Karate Kid, this is ET, this is... ah
00:12:34
Speaker
like so many other movies. I'm like, I've seen these tropes. And now they're all in one area. The fact also that there's a ah wise, older gentleman running a diner, like running a, yeah like a food shop, giving Alex like advice about life and stuff. I'm like, wow, okay. You got like a Mr. Miyagi thing going on. Yeah, I thought maybe he's gonna be like play the starfighter game, you know, he's gonna give him quarters He's gonna do something and he really just like just tells him to live and it's like all right Get the hell out of the trail park. This is the guy's nice way of explaining that There's a beauty. Yeah, Otis is more like a hype man because he just gets like very excited about places like oh good He's gonna do it. He's gonna beat the record
00:13:19
Speaker
Yeah, man. Otis shows up. He's the one with the best attitude. He's feeding his dog table scraps. Yep. He has like an attitude towards the sun. He's like, it's gonna be a great sunny day. ah Yeah. And then Otis just leaves the movie for a while, but he gets replaced by another kind of Otis guy, yeah which is Griggs. But yeah, I think that's just like Alex's constant. He always needs like a hype man.
00:13:45
Speaker
ah So yeah, ah like I said, After Otis hypes up that Alex is going for the record, which, um, you know, world record in the machine somehow lets. yeah is it has It must be built into the machine that there's like a record you you need to break. Like, I mean, there has to be like a satellite in there. So like, it makes sense that that's how, uh, Sentry. Sentari. Sentari can keep track of like who actually beat the game.
00:14:15
Speaker
Cause he, cause, cause Alex is like nine was at 900,000 points. And then it's like, oh man, he's close to the record. But then it's, you know, but then it seems like, you know, there's like, it's like the goal of the game is to blow up the, like the main ship, the command ship. It's not like to like get the highest score, but then cause it's like he blows up the command ship. The game ends. This is, this is his record breaker. Yeah, I'm confused about that rule. So you got a point. So can you make it to the end without like blow? I guess you can then. Like if you're not some games can do that, like you could beat the game, but then not have the high score. Yeah. Well, you think of it, you think of this like loop, just start like, you know, all those A's are came to but just like loop back to like at the beginning again. i'm Like now it's harder. Keep playing until you die. Like, well, some games do that. Some games would just like make you play again and on the same life.
00:15:03
Speaker
Also, like the ah the UI, like the UI of that Starfighter game is like so cluttered. Oh, my God. Yeah. youre I mean, you went to school for game design, Chris, like that, like like the the main play area is like a tiny circle in the middle of the screen. It's a tiny and a circle, a tiny octagon. Yeah. It's got vector lines on it. And then you're supposed to be like a turret, I guess, in that ship. Yeah. um
Starfighter Game Mechanics & Critique
00:15:30
Speaker
No, it's not a good layout because like three quarters of that screen is like like useless, like UI, like garbage around the edges. Yep. You got it. It's just, I get it. It's supposed to simulate a spaceship. Yeah. But you think by then in 1984, uh, uh, like
00:15:51
Speaker
other first person flight sim games would have gotten that done. Vector graphics have been fine. Like it could have just been um like like like the like the Star Wars like arcade game. Yeah. That came out earlier than this. Yeah.
00:16:08
Speaker
And it's also it's it's crazy too, because like, when you see like the actual like screen that's supposed to be replicating later on, it's it's so much bigger than an arcade machine. Like it's like, it's like a full like, you know, like TV sized like ah screen that you're looking at. So you have like, it makes more sense that you're like, you have like, this like stuff around the edges and like the aiming radical, but like, and in like an 80s like cabinet, it's like, it feels so cramped. I believe since Harry got really cheap on hiring whatever game dev have company to make that. He's bought like some bootleg instead of making his own cabinet. He's like, well, sell me that cabinet. I don't care. Whatever that game was, just put my my Starfighter in there. Let's take it out. and like This was a Pac-Man game. It's like, OK, well, I'm going to take that out and put this in. It's like you you were require way more specs and power. They're like, no. We're just going to zoom out a bit.
00:17:04
Speaker
ah but Also, I think around this time, the video game market is crashing. Well, the whole market is crashing. Arcade is still going strong. OK, yeah. So it kind of makes sense that Sintari made like arcade like ah you know an arcade machine and not a console. Yeah. Yeah, Sintari's plan is kind of crazy, but makes sense and in an 80s technology way. but
00:17:31
Speaker
I don't know how he knows that Alex is the one that played it unless he, Alex beat it and then put his full name on the machine. Or like, or like, it's like
Sci-Fi Elements & Alien Technology
00:17:42
Speaker
scanned him or something. Cause it seems like that machine can like scan things. Cause like the like bounty hunter shows up later and it scans him. Yeah. And like it reveals like his true form.
00:17:55
Speaker
So there's like, there's like other like technology, but seemingly they built it like the star fighter cabinet. that's a lot of things going on that cabinet it's a arcade game it's a fax machine the satellite it's it's a like I don't know like hologram detector
00:18:19
Speaker
But yeah, but yeah, but yeah, Alex is, uh, after he, after he beats the game, he, is yeah, he, Centauri shows up and he's whisked away to, uh, Rylos where the star league is, is, is, uh, based. And yeah, Alex is like, like, so there is like, Hey, get in my car. And I was like, okay. like But then like instantly red said, but then they're like, they're going like three hundred miles an hour. So he's like, he's like forcing there.
00:18:49
Speaker
It's also just like, like, I'm not going to tell you where we're going. It's a surprise. Oh, man. That you know, you've messed up when an old man is telling you that. And yeah you're going to get sold in some sort of weird carnival. Don't worry about boy.
00:19:07
Speaker
But yeah, so we have the Star League. Oh, pretty much every almost everyone's like, ah are they Riley? And I think it's like the people are very lost and they're all like I like these like ball balled with like a hair rim around even male and female have like bald heads and then uh but there's also like this like eclectic group of like yeah other aliens from like other planets that like got recruited to be starfighters and i i do like i do like the um like just like the like all the like the weird like the awkward little like orientation stuff of like alex was like waiting in like in like uh like getting his uniform and stuff and then
00:19:47
Speaker
Eventually they give him like the babble fish kind of style like a translator. Yeah, I thought that was pretty cool. I thought that that was a nice way of like making it seem very foreign and then familiarizing it and then make it easy for the audience not to like need subtitles or anything.
00:20:07
Speaker
And yeah, he does he does meet Greg, who is the best. Played by Daniel Hurley, who is ah I didn't realize until I was looking it up, but like he's also he's the old man in RoboCop. Is he? Yeah. Did not know that. It doesn't sound the same at all. And I think he's the think he might be the bad guy in Halloween 3, like Connell Cochran.
00:20:41
Speaker
I've never seen Season of the Witch. Yeah, I think i think he like runs like a Silver Shamrock or something. But here, he is just like like just just super patient, super like this like just the sweetest, patient most patient like alien and guy. He has great traces of humor. Yeah, he's very accommodating. Yeah. I feel like he should be in charge of his army, man not like not this human who showed up and no idea what to do.
00:21:14
Speaker
Yeah, because because Greg is just the he well, I guess he's the he passed the ship and does all the like the systems and Alex would be like, he all his main thing is being the gunner, the driver and the gunner, I guess. I don't know. Yeah, he's the driver. I think Greg is driving and then Alex is just shooting. Huh? Because Greg is like the pilot and also like moderating all the systems. It's true.
00:21:44
Speaker
Which kind of seems like a weird, like, that seems like a weird setup for, like, why couldn't, like, one, like, what, just have one person do all that for, like, and the gun star? Because that's, like, what the game was.
Character Motivations & Conflicts
00:21:53
Speaker
You're, like... Yeah, you're doing both roles. Yeah. You have to do that both both roles for a lot of, like, fire pilots. Except for, like, in the back, and you're the turret guy. But now the turret guy's in the front. out I guess they're trying to, do like, that, um... you know, like some of those like, you know, like, like, fight like fighter jets at Earth, you know, had like those the two, two, the two man fighter jets, where like one one person was like the gunner, one person's like the pilot, I guess, or something of the navigator and pilot. Yeah, I could see that.
00:22:29
Speaker
But, uh, Alex is like, he fights out everything and he's just like, I'm out of here. Like, goes, yeah, I just wanted to get out of my, I just want to get to state college go to college, my girlfriend. like
00:22:44
Speaker
Well, also also, I think you he's also like freaked out with like, sir, shows up on like a hologram. Oh, and then, yeah, it's scary as hologram, let alone the scary, like torture video he then puts out. Oh, yes. Which I mean, sir, it's a great feel like he's just just just just like a Uh, if it's like, if it was watching like House of the Dragon right now, I get very like, uh, like Aegon, the Targaryen, Targaryen vibes for him. He's just like this like little shit who just like somehow got into like, uh, like a power position.
00:23:18
Speaker
I mean, it is hilarious when you see him and then he's got, he's, it amps up every time. Like his peak always keeps topping his performances. Like he's, he's so pompous and like, ah just a huge dick and they're like everyone and like all the code ads hate him, but they're just like putting up with them because like he can get them into like the frontier or through the frontier and it's like invading like Rylos. But the, the crazy thing is then he gets a scepter. He's like, Hey, I made myself a sweet scepter. And they're like, you don't have to earn that. He's not. No, I have a see this. I got a sweet sword on it, bro. I'll stab you if you don't don't agree with me. But it's such a dumb like thing. All it does is like extend the handle and then a spike shows up. And then I'm thinking, don't you all have laser weapons? Yeah. Are you afraid of a melee thing now?
00:24:09
Speaker
It's like, it's like, I think the Kodans have an emperor because like, because like Sarah mentioned, is like, oh, this is the same stuff your coded emperors have. So I guess the Emperor like gave Xur the like authority to like run this invasion.
00:24:26
Speaker
But like ah but i like Commander Krill, who's like the main Kodak guy, just like hates him and everyone else, all the other like coins hate him. yeah like barely They're like barely putting up with him.
00:24:41
Speaker
oh We never really meet what the codex wanted to do besides invade, but they they're doing really well, right? Like that was the point. Is that they push back the frontier and now it's now it's like a Kodak Well, Rylos has the frontier. like those or The Star League has the frontier up, which is shielding them from like the Kodans. But then Zyrd affects the Kodans and gives them the secret to bore through the frontier. So then that's what now they can now they can finally break through and like invade Rylos. And like then I guess the rest of the galaxy after that. I see. I see. I think it's definitely a Star Trek. there's like You know, a Star Trek has these different areas of space. and like
00:25:26
Speaker
Like the you know, like like the ah the Romulans can't go into like this like if you cross this border like it's a war now, so Yeah, you figure if they're doing that they should have like their own the Rylons have their own Amara like their own defensive force Not just not just fighter. and Yeah, not just fighter jets. Yeah, not just fighter jets, but like a whole fleet or something
00:25:55
Speaker
And they're also, they're also like so easily taken out by like, like asteroids. Like the code had to shoot, have like an ass, a meteor gun that shoots meteors, like explosive meteors. And like two of them hit like the base and blow it that kills the entire base. Yep. And I mean, it destroys the, like, I guess the hangar, but yeah, no, all, all the original star fighters are just dead.
00:26:21
Speaker
And, um, Yeah, this ah it's the gimmick of the movie to make him the last one, but there really should have been a better plan. Besides, all right, you're the last hope, I guess. the Well, they didn't expect that like that like shifty Rylos guy. There was like ah the inside man that like played like the one bomb in the base that took all their guns.
Beta Character & Comedic Elements
00:26:45
Speaker
But then did he like did he get out of the base? like i like It seemed like pretty fast. seem pretty fast like
00:26:51
Speaker
He blew up like the guns to stop them and then they get blown up. So I don't think he had time to like escape the base. I think he got caught. He probably got kelly killed too, yeah. That's a good point. ah Yeah, I mean, the movie doesn't focus on that, which is OK, because that's just like something you're not supposed to focus on. You're supposed to just get to the starfighter parts. Uh, but the movie flip flops between that and then beta. Yes. Which was, uh, initially there was, I think there was only like, like, uh, like one or two scenes of beta who was like a robotic copy of Alex. Like when when Alex first meets the tower, like he shakes hands with beta and there's like a spark. And that's supposed to, I guess that like transferred like Alex's DNA or like is like some somehow that like a lot of beta that transformed into Alex.
00:27:42
Speaker
So there's only like like one or two scenes of beta, but then they did like a screen test and like everyone loved the scenes of beta on earth. So then they're like, oh, they had to bring last guest, like last guest back to like film scenes, but you already he already cut his hair short. So you have to wear a wig for like all the scenes, which is like, and as if it goes on, like the it just gets worse and worse. Like the wig, like, I don't know, like that scene, the truck were like, ba like, they're all like betas, like hanging on the back of the truck with Maggie, like they got um everyone else. Like his hair looks so terrible. let's see yeah I thought that was just like, I don't know, 80s hair? No, is a wig until yeah it was it was a terrible 80s wig that he had to wear because here he already cut his hair.
00:28:21
Speaker
But beta scenes weren't bad. I just feel like it's a different movie with him. Oh, yeah. It's like he' he's he's like a weird like 80s like comedy, like sex comedy or something. Yeah, it was like a coming in age story between him and his girlfriend. And I mean, he was putting sweet moves on her. well is Well, at first, like, she's, like, she's putting sweet moves at him, and then he's like, like, she's, like, licking his ear, and then, like, he's just, like, freaked out and ran away. ands And then, like, when Alex comes back from, like, like as trying to, like, from fleeing, the like, the Star League, like, he shows up and, like, Maggie slaps him in the face, and he's like, like, don't talk to me again. Like, I'm too weird for you. Yeah. I'm too of a kink. Yeah. I mean, he kink-shamed her. You can't do that to trailer park girls.
00:29:12
Speaker
Yeah, but yeah, but then yeah later on like later on that when they go to like, they go to like the like make out like campsite or whatever. And he's like listening to like the other guy like like, like, try to like win back his, his girlfriends.
00:29:28
Speaker
I thought that was funny. You see all the pickup lines on her. Yeah. and I think that part is like a nice break from the Starfighter thing. However, I feel like that's where some audiences got lost in this movie, because like if you're here for the video game parts, it's finished, I think, in the first 10 minutes of the movie. So that's that's completed. Yeah. And then if you're here for like a Star Wars-esque movie, you have to deal with this. You have to deal with the keen romance. Yeah, you have the cost to go back to these pure comedy bits. Yeah. I mean, it's like happen-sense romance.
00:30:07
Speaker
but You get ah like this robot who can't understand like love. It reminds me of a lot of other kind of comedies that have to deal with like trying to be human and they don't understand like the traditions. what he When when but Maggie's like, yo, you should like relax, lean back, laugh. And he's like, oh, laughing. I know what that is. He's like, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I would have been like, Billy, stop the car. Yes. My boyfriend is having a psychotic break and we should not leave the home. yeah Take us to a hospital.
00:30:48
Speaker
It's like, all right, I know you didn't get into state college. It's like, oh, I'm having good time. Oh, no. Oh, yeah. Mm hmm. These are all trouble signs. I mean, there is a lot with the counties of there is there is like, you know, alien bounty hunters like trying to like kill him.
Bounty Hunters & Plot Development
00:31:07
Speaker
So I guess, I guess you still get a little bit of like sci-fi stuff going on. Although I don't understand like, so like these like body hunters can like shape shift and like steal people's identities, but then they pretty much instantly just like revert back to like their like, or like they're like weird, like normal form. Well, if you yell at them, I got, yeah. Cause like he goes, like the one, the one goes through all the trouble, like every person in the cop and then showing up and like, try to like, like as like the cop, but then he pretty much just like like instantly turned back into like his normal form. Yeah. And then, uh, I know the one bounty hunter, which was the hitchhiker, dude, the Burt Reynolds looking guy. Yeah. Uh, he, his disguise fails. Like as soon as he passes the arcade machine. Yeah. He's the one that gets scammed. I can't machine some of the arcade machine referred to him. Like this destroys his like hologram or like his like shape shifting abilities. And he reverts back like his, uh, what are they like? They're like, uh, like like,
00:32:07
Speaker
Which all they know is like to hunt. So yeah that's their thing. But you figure they'll leave Beta with a gun, right? but you so or or have like have yes He's a robot. like having him like Have something built into him that he can, like, fence hit himself with, yeah. Because even, like, Centauri has a gun. Like, Centauri has a laser gun. They didn't battle all that. You still need it. It's still a war. Yeah, it's that it's that they said they steal that with the one guy's truck and like ram it It's like the say those hands like either like radio or ship or something and blow it up Yeah, I don't know if he that he killed that like if beta killed the xanos and from that I think you just ass destroy the communications and now there's just a ah stuck xanos and like on earth oh, I think yeah I think he killed the xanos and himself and I blew up then to blew up like the transmitter and
00:32:58
Speaker
which which is another great observed moment because he's just like, they're like, they're like getting the message. Like the last star fighter. He's like, is dead. Great. Let's go. I filled in the blank. Yeah. i mean that's awesome i mean It's obviously it was.
00:33:16
Speaker
But I love that scene right after that explodes. Then his girlfriend turns to the camera. It's like, I love you, Alex. Like what? Yeah. How did you know? like
00:33:29
Speaker
It's like for like you sort of like you kind of understand like the one that you're the boyfriend you thought you had was a robot right now but then like you also just blew himself up. Yeah. And you declare your love to no one. Yeah. it's and It makes sense in the context of what we're watching between Alex kind of feeling her across the universe, I guess. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah, maybe. But like. Is this game ready to let you guys accepting his destiny as a starfighter? But not in that context of her on Earth. but She just turns around from that explosion and says, I love you, Alex. OK, you should probably confirm that that wasn't like a like a real robot you know that was a robot, and not just Alex having a a psychotic episode. Yeah, yeah you you saw him like laughing like a maniac, and he also was like awkwardly trying to like like make out with you using like horrible pickup lines. Yeah. I mean, granted, you did see a laser beam and possibly a pig man. but
00:34:29
Speaker
That can't just be aliens. Yeah. I don't know. For someone who saw this, she's pretty calm. Mm hmm. Alex saw this and you wanted to go home. He was like having a mental freak it out. Yeah. Yeah. She's just like, it's another day make out code.
Alex's Role & Recruitment
00:34:49
Speaker
Go back to the trailer park. Go back, go back with Granny.
00:34:56
Speaker
But yeah, but el but yeah, Alex, but Alex is back. What goes back to because Centauri's like well if you don't if I mean you can just stay here and get hunted by these bounty hunters You can like go back and fight in the gunfighter like a gun star and have a chance. I Mean, this is really Centauri's fault. He never emits it. He's like I you brought out never says you brought me into this thing and you legally illegally brought me into it because like Greek is like I It's illegal to recruit someone from a non-Star League planet. like Earth, is it and supposed to be recruited until hundreds of years from now or after something? Yeah, the they can't comprehend all this. And then Centauri is just like, whatever, pay me my crystals. Give me my weird like like ah like triangle dice money.
00:35:47
Speaker
And Centauri is just a scam artist. And they try to hype him up. He's more than that. but i mean I mean, he I mean, a scam I mean, Robert Preston is basically just doing his like, he's basically just doing his music man character, but is it alien? Yeah. ah so I surprised as you like launched like ah ah i'm sorry was like like a song and dance number in this. I mean, if the movie was 10 minutes longer, I bet you there would have been.
00:36:14
Speaker
Like him him him doing like a song to like explain like the starfighter. Yeah, it on the car ride like, hey, kid. Do you want to be the last Starfighter? Well now you are! hot chatt chattta cha It's not a game, it was a training thing. It was real. like
00:36:35
Speaker
ah But what happens if someone else beats a Starfighter? Do they get like another visit from Zhentarii and then it's like they just keep recruiting through that?
00:36:46
Speaker
yeah Yeah, is he is he good like now the like is he gonna like go and like to recall all the Starfighters? Like it's it's we don't need you don't need to play us anymore. We don't need anymore We have our starfighter well, I guess not I guess like they have to keep recruiting because the point of it is that they want more starfighters. Yeah It's nothing that special. I mean besides having good reflexes. It's not like you had to have Well, I guess the requirement is that you fit the jumpsuit requirement, right? Yeah. You fit the jumpsuit and then your hand or tentacles can tentacle and use the controller. But like like we mentioned, if you're good at like the like the Star Wars arcade game, then you're probably good at Starfighter. So it's like there's got to be other people that like got close to beating the game or like like winning the game. But you need the perfect record of beat the game and hit the high score of a billion points, I guess.
00:37:46
Speaker
Yeah.
00:37:50
Speaker
Which I don't know how long it takes. Maybe it's just a long game because they don't show Alex dying in the game first, right? It's just, I think like he plays it twice. He plays it in the beginning and he has to leave. And then the end where he just, he's, he's so frustrated from mistaking his load. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why his best thing to do is play his arcade game at the time. Which is, uh, something a lot of like Twitch readers and YouTubers, are like they get famous for playing a video game. So, you know, but so it's also, it's also like, so we're like, that's like his, like, oh, like besides like going, like getting that loan and going to college, like that's like his only like life ambition is to like beat the record. Cause like, when he, when he beats the records, like his mom goes home, he's like, guess what, mom, I beat the record. She's like, Oh, that's nice. That game, whatever that stupid game you play all the time. All right.
00:38:43
Speaker
Was that before or after the, that was, that was, that was, that was like, he's like, Hey, I beat him. I beat the record. He's like, she's like, here, here's a, right here's a, here's a letter from the, from the the bank saying you don't get a college loan. Yeah. Yeah. So it was after he beats the record, then he finds out he's not going to college. Yeah. And then Atari shows up. but One of the worst and best days of his life. Also like if, if it was literally just a game and like, it wasn't like the security thing, like what, And so it's like, he's not going to college. He's achieved like like the goal he's been trying to achieve in that game for like like however however long he's been playing that game. What is left for Alex now? If he like he if he didn't get recruited by Satori to become a starfighter, like you just like he's he's like that's like at the peak of his life. He's just like he's peak. He's never going to achieve anything ever again. Well, I mean, you probably have to go to like a different college.
00:39:39
Speaker
yeah this ah this knowledge You're saying you can go to a city college, right? I guess it's like, like the, you know, like, yeah, like the local college. But he wanted to be like, he wanted to go to like, like, uh, some other city, like a bigger, a bigger college. Well, I like how they want to be vague about it. They don't want to tell you what hair. He's just someplace in California, I think. Yeah, it feels like they're like somewhere in California.
00:40:04
Speaker
So state colleges, state of California, and city colleges, whatever town this is. Community
Technical Specs & CGI Innovations
00:40:12
Speaker
college. where Yeah. yeah
00:40:19
Speaker
I mean, it's better. He had ambitions. It's not like it's better than just becoming the repairman, I guess. But I don't know. like That's it. It's a weird drama where it gets really realistic. The beginning where it's like, OK, you couldn't afford to go here because your loan was denied. Mm hmm. I don't think he he could um he couldn't go. He just couldn't afford to go. Yeah. It would have been nice if the star league gave him money. Yeah. Go come come recruit for war. Mm hmm.
00:40:56
Speaker
Yeah, and also so and luckily when he goes back to like, ah sorry brings it back, like the gun star that he he gets to like pilot is like this like experimental like super like, like, like ramped up version like gun star, like, Like so even if like it was like all the other like like concert like surfers so they're like he was in like this like like super special Gun star with with like, uh, I think he had like an enhanced shields and also his death blossom Like the special weapons awesome. I thought would be this awesome weapon and it's just silly
00:41:33
Speaker
yeah it's awesome It's just like spin like a gyroscope. like I don't even know it targets anything. I think it just spins and it hopes it hits things. it I mean it is targeting because like gros like yeah it's like waiting for them to get like the sphere, ah the target sphere of death blossom. But yeah once it goes off it's just like ah like yeah it's it's like the ship spins around like blasts all the ships somehow.
00:42:02
Speaker
Dead on accurate shots, which I get it. Spin attacks are pretty popular. I just didn't expect how visually weird it's gonna look. I kind of forgot that. I thought i as a kid it looked cool, but as an adult I'm like, this is reckless. This just, it's spinning on an axis sort of in space.
00:42:24
Speaker
Well, it's also the CG, which we haven't talked about yet, which is like the driving force of this entire movie is like the CG effects, which is like one of the first times ever in a movie that there was like this much CGI going on. It was like this and Tron were like the two first massive CGI movies.
00:42:51
Speaker
And you know I thought ah I thought this was like also made by Disney, because I was wondering how the quality dipped for some parts. But yeah, no, this is a Universal Pictures movie. Yeah. So this was their like big forte into trying to be a Star Wars Tron-esque thing. Well, I think we're i think we we were talking before we started recording. like um I feel like the graphics in this, I think, look better than Tron for the most part. like If you look at the Gunstar, I think it looks better. like
00:43:24
Speaker
than like the light cycles or something, but then the overall kind of like visual style of Tron is like, obviously like way more iconic and like, with like, just like all like, you know, the neon, like all, and like the the way everything looks at Tron is like more iconic. Right. But like in individual, like the vehicles and stuff, I think look better in Last Starfighter.
00:43:46
Speaker
Yeah, I think this is like a mix of practical,
00:43:51
Speaker
Like there's the use of models that they definitely make it look more I don't know like it holds up. I don't I don't think there's any like I think I think all the gun star stuff is all CG. I think there's some parts that look like it's like actually like a model that they held up on string. I know in the cockpit inside. Yeah. like Yeah. But there's some shots where they definitely have like a miniature.
00:44:22
Speaker
There's no way they were that advanced in 1984.
00:44:28
Speaker
Well, so they had to make it out like the, like the, you know, like the cray supercomputers, which are like the insane, like 80s, like, like, like the room sized, like, like supercomputers.
00:44:47
Speaker
Which, like, if if you like if you've read Jurassic Park the novel, that's, like, but like they, like, write nice, like, constant time about, like, cray supercomputers, and that's how they, like, but they, like, render, like, the dinosaur DNA in Jurassic Park the novel.
00:45:02
Speaker
And it took, like, I think it was, it was like, 27 minutes, and it took, like, I think it took, like, two weeks to render or something. God damn. And it, like, it, the movie cost $15 million, $14 million of that was, like, the CGI.
00:45:20
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's why they just took most of the sets in a trailer park. They're just like, OK, we'll just get like an empty lot and we'll just make our own set here. We don't need to pay for any filming permits because nothing's here. I think the only thing that's real is the arcade cafe, like the that food stand, I think is still was still like a real place. Yeah. I'm not sure if it's there anymore.
Cult Status & 80s Culture Influence
00:45:51
Speaker
and And like, there's a picture of it from like 2014 Wikipedia, but yeah, maybe it's wrote if it's still there. I hope they're trying to catch up. They cashed in like last starfighter stuff. I don't know. Like as much as I think this is a cult classic, it's not as big as people were like demanding it, right?
00:46:17
Speaker
No, it's it's definitely like a I don't know, like a B or C level 80s classic. Yeah, I agree. Just because I guess like I think I said I said earlier, it's a ripoff of so many different concepts. Yeah. the The thing is, like you see it for the effects of the dated effects. But honestly, it's like just the kind of like campiness from the story and then some of the acting. Yeah.
00:46:52
Speaker
And the whole, like, the whole, like, final, like, battle is, like, very, like, Star Wars. Like, they're kind of, like, gaping Star Wars. Yeah. Like, they kind of do, like, a trench run at the end when they, like, they kind of, like, they kind of, like, blaze over the spaceship. Is it a trench run? I just, I think they were just hiding, and then they just, like... I guess, I guess it's more like, it's more like, I bet it restricts back because we're hiding in an asteroid, like, waiting for, like, the, like, our body to pass over. Yeah. But... Also, the final battle is just them doing the blossom, the death blossom, and then just avoid being rammed. It's not as badass as a trench run, but I feel like they wanted to and they're like, oh no, that's too much. That command ship is is like very like seemingly very weak. but because like Alex only shoots like a couple lasers at it. It's like blowing up. yeah It's super vulnerable. like yeah They couldn't just shoot it from a distance.
00:47:51
Speaker
And also like it's it's ah it's so weird because like the gun star has missiles, but like Alex barely uses them. You just use the laser a lot most of the time, but they they seem they have they seem to have like like, you know, like long range missiles that he could use. I think the missiles only work when you like turn around because that was the thing that they did where the missiles like face the other direction. Yeah.
00:48:15
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't I didn't understand that. That was weird. But I do. I do love. I think one of my one of my favorite scenes in the entire movie is when like the like the code in ships is exploding. And then ah well was was there escapes and like a skateboard and it's setting up like a sequel that never happened. for It's like there's there's still out there. But then like the one the like the second command guy is like like let's do everything. It's like but going down. It's like Our entries are going down, we're going to pull into the moon. What do we do? And then like, Lord Krill's just like, we die. Which is like, one of the best like, light reason movie history. Yep. it's it's it's It's so dramatic for what's going to happen. And then they smash it to the moon. Is that our moon or our moon? It's like, it's like Rylos' moon. and Okay. So like, that's going to fuck up a lot of things to just crash into a moon.
00:49:10
Speaker
it it It was very it's very like the scale that is also like 80 CGI cannot capture that very well. because It's like it's sort of like it's sort of like it's like the moon but then like the chip kind of just like like collapses around it. So it's it's not like it like impacted like the surface of the moon. It's just got like like the moon is like a like a ball like a ball the size of the spaceship and it just like crashes into it. It explodes. That has to be a model, right? That can't all be CG. I think almost everything that's like a spaceship in this is like CG. Like the main like practical like vehicle is like the star car but even that like turns like a CGI thing once it like launches into space. Like that felt like an 80s like music video. It's like the bay is like a rush or something is like flying off into space and there's like space car.
00:50:16
Speaker
But yeah, they, but yeah, they, they win the war. Um, and then Alex goes back and, uh, like has Maggie joy, like tells it like as many space. Before you get to that, before you get to that, let's talk about the, the like award ceremony that brings back the dead. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So Tari is like is like survives. It's almost like tossed off like my I said, wait for my body to heal itself. What? That's what we do. I also appreciate it. I was like, oh, maybe it's going to be alive. He's going to come back. He actually died.
00:50:57
Speaker
I do looks like a story like like whatever that like handkerchief that uses like put his face on. Yeah, why? He's doing like weird magic tricks.
00:51:08
Speaker
But man, yeah, Rob Preston, like, he just like, like, just like fully commits to that, like, reveal, just like, I'm back! Like, killing a magician, like, he pulls that hood off, like... Yeah. I was like kind of surprised too, because his death was actually pretty impactful. Yeah. In that beginning, it's actually kind of like a pungent, like, hey, save, fight. It's worth it. But it doesn't quite work, because then even then Alex is like, no, I want to leave. But yes, Satori's going to like help Alex recruit more starfighters somehow. I guess maybe building more machines. More games. Yeah, but if anything, he should be on Earth ah making arcade cabs, because that's how you recruit the best. It should end with them starting a game company.
00:51:57
Speaker
Instead of Alex like having to go back to Rylos, he just stays on Earth to make an Atari
Legacy & Modern Adaptations
00:52:03
Speaker
-style company. Yeah. And that's the style Nintendo who like comes back. It's just because Alex helps build ah cool-ass games from his own personal experience. Well, I think it was their... There was an NES game that was like the last Starfighter, but it had nothing to do with the movie. it was It was like a side-scroller. Was it? I thought it was an Atari game that they Yeah, they made some like Atari games, but then I think all the like all the Atari games were actually like Star... There was a game called Star Raider, and they made Star Raiders II, and that's then they made Star Raiders II into like the last Starfighter game. That makes sense.
00:52:48
Speaker
Because I know during this time, they were going to make a cap. But then they realized early that this movie wasn't going to do amazingly well. And they can never replicate the arcade machine in the game. Because they couldn't use supercomputers to make an arcade game in 1984. Oh my god. Can you imagine that arcade cap? They're going to do that. It didn't exist yet. It went until 1990 something. Yeah, it wasn it wasn't until like I think like you know fans made an actual like version for like PC that like actually played like the movie version. Yeah, you can accidentally make the Starfighter game now by today's graphics.
00:53:38
Speaker
Yeah, but this is crazy. The entire the terry movie hinges on like a video game. and then they don' like they were able to make a video game basically on the movie. They said like, so these like, like, turn these other like, like shooter games into like last starfighter games.
00:54:00
Speaker
Which isn't bad. Oh, I think there there was like, ah apparently there was a like, it's, I think it's in any credit store. They're like, they promise that there's going to be like an arc arcade version of the of the of the game in the credits. So like play, play the, play the Atari game.
00:54:16
Speaker
Wait, that actually happens? Yeah, and on Wikipedia, it says, a real last night for arcade game, my Atari is promising the you credit at its most never released.
00:54:29
Speaker
That makes sense. And if Atari saw the movie, they're like, we're not going to make a cabinet based on this. Yeah, I read that. I was like, no, they just were totally not in. Even though this is based on video games, they wanted no part of it. Yeah.
00:54:50
Speaker
Which is a shame because I feel like that would have been a good tie in.
00:55:00
Speaker
Yeah, like like the like the game like ah like Solaris for Atari 2600 is like what was going to be the last Starfighter game for like, but they just turned into like it this like a non-Last Starfighter game.
00:55:17
Speaker
Oh, you think the game industry has been shook up because I feel like 1984 and 1986 is still like a dark ages. Well, yeah, because like when when did the n NES release? That was like not until like 1985. Yeah. Yeah. So that was like a year or two away.
00:55:37
Speaker
And they didn't know it was going to be like this. Yeah, it was only like like 84 was like PC. It was like PC and arcades ah like were they the only ones like still You know, do arcade like video game stuff like the Atari television and Coleco vision all just like collapsed.
00:55:56
Speaker
Yeah, this would have been the death of those around this time. Wait, why these three was the big year for the crash. And then, yeah, don't know. It was like there was like making your buying or doing anything with like home video games in 1984.
00:56:17
Speaker
Uh, but yeah, what do you think would have been the, if you had to do a next starfighter kind of thing, what's the gimmick technology?
00:56:28
Speaker
Like a, ah like a modern one or like a sequel, like ah like a, like a modern one. Yeah. Like if it can be via games, what do you think it would be? Can they give it like a Jumanji where it's like they had to do the next level, like the next thing. I'm thinking what's the next thing about like a starfighter test? Like would it be a bunch of TikTok videos? I'm trying something stupid bit like try some like va like ah like a VR or something and then yeah VR would have been more so that makes more sense if like a test of skill then can you play as arcade gab now or maybe it gets retro and it's like you have to like play this board game and you have to be really good at like managing your supplies it's like salads can tan
00:57:12
Speaker
That's like suddenly it's like Sello's Catan was like, oh, hey, we need a mayor and you were good at Sello's Catan. And like, do that, do that for our town. Ernest Cline who wrote, uh, Ready Player One, he wrote a book called Ramada, which is basically like, like, it's basically like a kind of a modern Last Starfighter. Wait, isn't, uh, Ready Player One kind of like a Last Starfighter thing too? I mean, sort of. It's like, it's not, it's not like, it's not really like, You play one game and then you're like, you're recruited. It's like, you're already in the game and then it was like, there's like, you know, the questions inside the game already that you're playing already playing.
00:57:55
Speaker
It was like the, you know, it was like the the virtual world and it was like, there's like the Easter icon in the virtual world. Ah, okay.
00:58:09
Speaker
But yeah, Armada is like straight up just like the last Starfighter because it's like this like online flight sim game where it's like you're fighting aliens and it's like all all the kids who are good at that game here find out it's like, oh, we're actually there actually is like these the aliens in the game are actually real and then you've been trained like ah fight them. Yeah, ah I looked up online what movies are similar, like what concepts. And Ender's Game is like that, too, where it's like, hey, what you've been doing is real. The games that we've been doing matter now.
00:58:44
Speaker
Yeah, so there's a whole genre of things that some have become culturally relevant. Some haven't stuck around that bit much. But if everyone do like a whole back-to-back topic, it'd be like Cloak and Dagger, Ender's Game. Last Starfighter, maybe free guy.
00:59:08
Speaker
You know, it's like the game is actually real life. Well, they've been talking about like some sort of sequel to Last Starfighter for like, you know, years, but it's it's never, nothing's ever materialized.
Cult Film Popularity & Streaming Impact
00:59:21
Speaker
They were like, it was going to be a movie and then it was going to be a TV show and then There's like the best it's going to do. It's going to be one of those universal studios like pop ups. I grew up watching this is more like a Sunday afternoon. I'm sick, you know, kind of movie. Yeah. It's because I think I don't know who used to put this on TV. It was like once a year this would be on TV and then just not seen again. I feel like this had to be like an HBO thing in the 80s, probably, right? Like I'm sure they probably like
00:59:56
Speaker
Grabbed it. I can see HBO doing it, but. It's how most of these like cult, like, you know, 80s cult classics became like cult classes. Like they failed the theaters and they're like, this is just like aired them constantly at HBO. It's like all the kids just watching HBO. Yeah.
01:00:18
Speaker
I definitely like believe that was like a big thing. That's why there's no there's not too many cult movies these days because now it's actually really hard to like put movies on those like services. Yeah, it's just yeah, you know, like fine, you know, like. The what like randomly, the one thing that people, everyone's watching it like Netflix or something, you know, for like a Netflix thing to like suddenly this movie is really insanely popular for no reason. Yeah, people like want to see what it is. But it's sometimes it's like it's just like a random old movie from like like 10 years ago that people just show up on Netflix and everyone's watching it for some reason. That makes absolutely no sense. It's not like a it's not like a new movie. Well, do you remember that time Suits was insanely popular on Netflix? It was like everyone's getting recommended Suits. Yep. I think right now it's Reba is like on Netflix and Hulu is like it's like constantly like a top 10 Nielsen rating show streaming show.
01:01:18
Speaker
Really? I think and then Young Sheldon was like massive on Netflix. But I mean, that makes sense because like that was a big CBS show. But I think there was I think there's one other there's similar. There's another show on Netflix. It was like everyone's everyone's watching this. Well, Plus Starfighter definitely is one of those things where I think it's not easily found. Like if you didn't have the movie, I got to take a while to seek this out. Yeah, it's not shrink for free right now. yeah You have to like buy it or rent it. I think you didn't because the movie is not bad. It just doesn't hold up all the time. Well, I think the main thing, yeah, the main thing is that you have to like just like roll with the graphics because obviously they're very the primitive and crude by today's standards.
01:02:19
Speaker
But at the time they were like incredible and like like groundbreaking.
01:02:25
Speaker
So in ways they are. I mean, it's there for a kid's movie that it does not feel like a kid's movie.
Director's Career & Film Themes
01:02:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. There's definitely some like ah like it was so we I don't know if you mentioned it was the director Nick Castle, who is Michael Myers in the original Halloween and then had this like strange kind of directing career where he just directed like like kids movies like that's the menace and major pain and let's start fighter but then he definitely definitely some like horrific elements in this movie like uh when beta is like forming himself into alex and you like like there's like a scene where like he pulls the covers off of his face and it's just like he's like this like horrific blob of just like eyeballs and like like no mouth and like no that that's how you i think i've ever seen as a kid and that is that is horrifying yes
01:03:18
Speaker
So this movie is weird like I think just because it's a time capsule of seeing an 80s movie that has no right to be this horrifying for a kids movie and then it has kind of like a weak uh like premise a bit because they they try to do so much and this movie is like if they just lean into like the teen stuff I think have been good but they kind of lean into more of a like
01:03:46
Speaker
like family values sort of thing. I don't know. Like I've always seen that because Alex really just wants to leave home. Yeah. And then his mom is sort of like, Oh, we can't afford to. And his brother is sort of like, okay, well, you got to do you. Well, he's like, he's like, he's like Luke Skywalker. Yeah. Yeah. He's, he's, he's ready for his journey and he's okay with like the consequence. But, uh, I guess his girlfriend's also like, Oh, I don't want to leave the trailer park as my grandma. I like the grandma's like, get out of here. Yeah. Your boyfriend is a starfighter. I don't know that is, but that's awesome. I definitely want to like. I like. There's never a sequel, like there's a sequel, like what is what is Maggie doing on Rylos? Yeah, she's got no particular fighting skill yet. And no, she definitely doesn't have the chip.
01:04:43
Speaker
So how does everyone understand, uh, I'm sure, I'm sure they probably give her, they'll probably pi give her a chip. Oh, that that is a good point. They're like, how does, how like, cause Greek is talking to everyone. How the hell is everyone understanding Greek? Yeah, no idea. ah Unless Alex is translating what he's saying that unless he has something that is, uh, translating as he's talking out loud, no idea.
Overall Film Evaluation
01:05:07
Speaker
but this is like The translation, it has like a sphere. If you're in like the sphere of like the chip, it'll like translate everyone for you. Just like a giant, like influential translation. If you're in the range, like a certain range, you you can, you'll understand whoever's in the range.
01:05:26
Speaker
Yeah. Because Greg's going to everyone, like interesting himself to everyone. And everyone's like, Oh, hello. Yes. Hello, Mr. Elliot. I mean, we shouldn't fear you. Okay.
01:05:45
Speaker
But yeah, it's overall, yeah, i soever it's it's ah it's a yeah, definitely a fun. um Yeah, not not talk to your like, you know, a tier 80s movies, but like being tries a beat, a beat like a B or C tier. a B a c tier is like perfectly adequate to this. I feel like it didn't culturally shift the perspective of arcade cabs to be any different than Tron's, but It's got, like, enough of 80s culture in it that it just, like, is a perfect example of an 80s, like, teen movie. Yeah, it's like, it's like, if if if War Games is, like, you know, top tier, it is, like, next tier down from War Games or something. Was War Games, like, a few years before this? I think War Games was, like, 82 maybe? 83? Yeah, the year before was War Games, so.
01:06:49
Speaker
But ah yes, I think they'll do it for last night for
Podcast Teaser & Closing Remarks
01:06:51
Speaker
Starfighter. Come back next week. We're obviously going to be talking about Twister because Twisters is hitting theaters next weekend. So we'll be headed back into the the dark side of nature and talking about all all the craziness of Twister, the original.
01:07:09
Speaker
So, uh, yeah, come back next week for that. And, uh, we are, our comment month, the commentary is coming soon as well. We're going to be doing, uh, superman four of the quest for peace. Another another, we're doing another, another horrible superhero movie, uh, after following up Madam web last month. So. Yeah. yeah
01:07:35
Speaker
And head over to the site, we got all of our usual stuff up there. We got trailers, we got news, we got reviews, all sorts of stuff over on the site, and check all that stuff out. And yes, for Chris, I am Zach, and we will see you next week. For more from Everything Action, head to www.everythingaction.com. You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com slash everything.action, and follow us on X at Evieaction. We're also on Instagram and threads at everything.action. Find more episodes of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your at podcast Apple Choice, and be sure to rate and subscribe.