{"id":2483,"date":"2023-05-29T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"

MOVIE REVIEW
\r\nThe Last Starfighter<\/strong>
\r\n - \n

\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>4 Minute, 20 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

MOVIE REVIEW
\nThe Last Starfighter<\/strong>
\n –     <\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
\nYear Released:<\/strong> 1984, 2023 Arrow Video 4k release
\nRuntime:<\/strong> 1h 41m
\nDirector(s):<\/strong> Nick Castle
\nWriter(s):<\/strong> Jonathan R. Betuel
\nCast:<\/strong> Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Kay E. Kuter, Catherine Mary Stewart, Dan O'Herlihy, Barbara Bosson, Dan Mason, Norman Snow, Chris Hebert, John O'Leary, Vernon Washington, Peter Nelson, Scott Dunlop
\nWhere To Watch:<\/strong> Available May 30, 2023; pre-order now from www.mvdshop.com<\/a> or www.arrowvideo.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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RAVING REVIEW: <\/strong>Hello, space travelers! Fasten your seat belts as we power our way back to 1984. Nick Castle takes the director's chair here; Castle’s name may sound familiar as he portrayed “The Shape” in HALLOWEEN (1978). Shockingly Castle also directed DENNIS THE MENACE and MAJOR PAYNE, two 90s classics for kids who grew up with them.<\/p>\n

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Let's rewind the clock to the genesis of video gaming when the novel thrill of this evolving entertainment form first wormed its way into our homes and local hangouts. THE LAST STARFIGHTER was a trailblazer during this period, with this fresh surge of digital entertainment with cinema. Let me get this out: I had never seen this classic from the early 80s and believed much of the love for this ride was purely on nostalgia. I would’ve eaten this up as a kid!<\/p>\n

As played by Lance Guest, our hero, Alex, is tied to a life of hardship in a trailer park but still clings to his dreams of a brighter academic future. Despite the relentless grind of adversity, Alex maintains his fight to be something better. His daily life orbits academics, aiding his neighbors, enjoying family time, and sharing moments with his girlfriend. But when the opportunity arises, he submerges himself in his digital haven – the "Starfighter" video game. His skill for dispatching digital adversaries is exceptional, drawing the attention of Centauri, who takes Alex on a journey that transcends the mundane.<\/p>\n

THE LAST STARFIGHTER'S plot does pay homage to the genre and its bold foray into digital animation. While the results may not always be seamless, it was awe-inspiring for 1984, there are a few moments where they may have tried a bit too hard, but in general, it was still pretty impressive.<\/p>\n

THE LAST STARFIGHTER resonates with its viewers as it echoes the aspirations, challenges, and adolescent rites of teenage passage prevalent during the 1980s. For Alex, the aspirational and ambitious teenager, video gaming becomes a pedestal for showcasing his capabilities rather than just a way to kill some time.<\/p>\n

The narrative, aimed at a younger audience, may ignite the fires of wonder for some. More mature viewers could find themselves longing for a deeper exploration and sophistication of themes. Again, this had to be one of those experiences you get at the right time.<\/p>\n

It illustrates the harsh dichotomy between dreams of climbing the social ladder. This beloved 80s feature continues to be a fascinating segment of cinematic history, providing a window into the dreams and realities of its time. While I haven’t seen previous transfers, this 4k restoration is gorgeous, with incredible sound and making the 80s graphics look pretty solid within this bubble.<\/p>\n

BONUS MATERIALS:
\nBrand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative
\n4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
\nUncompressed 2.0 stereo, 5.1 DTS-HD MA, and 4.1 audio
\nOptional English subtitles for people who are hard of hearing
\nAudio commentary with star Lance Guest and his son Jackson Guest
\nAudio commentary with Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
\nArchival audio paper with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb
\nMaggie’s Memories: Revisiting The Last Starfighter – interview with actor Catherine Mary Stewart
\nInto the Starscape: Composing The Last Starfighter – interview with composer Craig Safan
\nIncredible Odds: Writing The Last Starfighter – interview with screenwriter Jonathan Betuel
\nInterstellar Hit-Beast: Creating the Special Effects – interview with special effects supervisor Kevin Pike
\nExcalibur Test: Inside Digital Productions – interview with sci-fi author Greg Bear on Digital Productions, the company responsible for the CGI in The Last Starfighter
\nGreetings Starfighter! Inside the Arcade Game – an interview with arcade game collector Estil Vance on reconstructing the Starfighter game
\nHeroes of the Screen – archival featurette
\nCrossing the Frontier: The Making of The Last Starfighter – archival 4-part documentary
\nImage galleries
\nTheatrical and teaser trailers
\nReversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Ferguson
\nCollector's booklet featuring writing by Amanda Reyes and sci-fi author Greg Bear's Omni magazine article on Digital Productions, the company responsible for the CGI in The Last Starfighter<\/p>\n

For more reviews, please visit – https:\/\/linktr.ee\/Overlyhonestmoviereviews for more info.<\/p>\n

Follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Find my social media accounts on most platforms simply by searching Overly Honest Movie Reviews.<\/p>\n

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please say hi or send me any questions about movies.<\/p>\n

[photo courtesy of MVD ENTERTAINMENT\/ARROW VIDEO]<\/em><\/p>\n

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MOVIE REVIEW The Last Starfighter  –      Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Year Released: 1984, 2023 Arrow Video 4k release Runtime: 1h 41m Director(s): Nick Castle Writer(s): Jonathan R. Betuel Cast: Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Kay E. Kuter, Catherine Mary Stewart, Dan O'Herlihy, Barbara Bosson, Dan Mason, Norman Snow, Chris Hebert, John O'Leary, Vernon Washington, Peter Nelson, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}