This was playing on a nearly continuous loop throughout a better part of my childhood, but as I hadn't seen it in over two decades, I was basically watching it again for the first time. It doesn't hold up magnificently and bows to a huge number of clichés from the decade's pop-friendly films, but still retains a strong sense of endearing sincerity and naiveté. The back of my mind kept reminding me of how terribly hackneyed the story and characters were, but that wasn't enough to wipe the stars out of my eyes nor the grin from my face. It's a staggeringly rudimentary plot - teen going nowhere in life gets a high score in a video game, only to learn it was a secret recruiting tool for an intergalactic war - but a thorough coating in childlike whimsy and wonder, plus a few startlingly good special effects (given the era) are just enough to pull it back from the brink. Anyone younger than twenty will likely roll their eyes and snort at its simplicity, but audiences with a memory of the eighties should enjoy it for the sentimentality alone.
Review of The Last Starfighter
