... Worse is to come when you discover the director has no previous experience OTHER than directing cut sequences from within the Wing Commander games and when you rummage around the net for reviews and find it compared unfavourably to the likes of Judge Dredd and Battlestar Gallactica you’d be ... Read review
Starship Troopers meets Top Gun in this no-holds-barred battle on the far reaches of ... more
space. A vicious alien race, the Kilrathi, has discovered the coordinates to Earth and is heading there with plans for total destruction. Now all that stands between E...
At the edge of our universe all hell is about to break loose. A vicious alien race the ... more
Kilrathi has discovered the coordinates to Earth and is heading there with plans for its total destruction. Now all that stands between Earth and this new breed ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: So bad you might laugh a bit, kids might like it(although they'll probably get bored with the lack of action) Disadvantages: Numbskullish screenplay, dire acting, weak special effects, sluggish pace, no thrills, no tension, no excitement...and it goes on
...cut sequences from within the Wing Commander games and when you rummage around the net for reviews and find it compared unfavourably to the likes of Judge Dredd and Battlestar Gallactica you’d be a fool to watch it. I am that fool. I knew the cast list, read the reviews, saw the 3.7/10 rating on the imdb, ignored the warnings and sat through all 100 painful minutes of this sci-fi crap last night...
As a little background for the uninitiated ... ...and does just that. Watching Wing Commander then becomes the equivalent of watching someone else play a computer game during the ‘action’ sequences(and I use the term ‘action’ loosely) and all dialogue feels like a poorly acted cut-scene. It ain’t good.
The movie plays out in space, never once touching down on the planet Earth the battle is being fought for. We spend our time on some huge battle cruisers which are obviously meant to ... more
When you see a movie which has assembled the combined talents of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard for it’s main characters then you really don’t need to read a review of it to know the kind of cinematic tripe what you are in store for. Equally, when you find a movie is based on a video game you know it’s not exactly going to be high art either. Worse is to come when you discover the director has no previous experience OTHER than directing cut sequences from within the Wing Commander games and when you rummage around the net for reviews and find it compared unfavourably to the likes of Judge Dredd and Battlestar Gallactica you’d be a fool to watch it. I am that fool. I knew the cast list, read the reviews, saw the 3.7/10 rating on the imdb, ignored the warnings and sat through all 100 painful minutes of this sci-fi crap last night...
As a little background for the uninitiated it should be pointed out that the “Wing Commander” series is a very successful franchise of video games in which the Earth is in conflict with an alien race and you take control of a spaceship and fly missions to obliterate your enemies. There is quite a strong storyline running throughout which outlines the history and the politics of the war and detailed battle strategies and actors such as the likes of Mark Hamill(Luke Skywalker in Star Wars), Malcolm McDowell and erm, Ginger Lynn (grin) have graced the cut scenes in between which are incidentally also directed by the director of this movie. Therein lies the problem sadly, because whereas other movies based upon computer games have recognised the need to actually do some a little different other than to extend the 2 minute cut-scenes out to a 90 minute movie, Chris Roberts misses the point and does just that. Watching Wing Commander then becomes the equivalent of watching someone else play a computer game during the ‘action’ sequences(and I use the term ‘action’ loosely) and all dialogue feels like a poorly acted cut-scene. It ain’t good.
The movie plays out in space, never once touching down on the planet Earth the battle is being fought for. We spend our time on some huge battle cruisers which are obviously meant to have a submarine feel about them with the occasional torpedo launch at the enemy battle cruisers and foraying runs and attacks by our heroes and villains in smaller craft which bear a resemblance to broken down WW2 fighters...and unfortunately are about as sluggish as well. Someone, somewhere forgot the idea that the future ought to have advanced technology beyond this level and failed to appreciate that for action sequence dogfights to be exciting they need a little ‘pace’ about them. But anyway...I got a whole submarine movie feel about things, not helped by our crusty old captain pawing over old stellar maps like an old sea dog, Jürgen Prochnow from “Das Boot” getting a role, the use of sonar(or something like it) for searching and...well it goes on. It’s all very ‘naval’ feeling which wouldn’t be a bad thing were it not to feel so...wrong!
Anyway, we’re told it’s the 25th century and the Earth is at war with a race called the Kilrathi who won’t stop until the Earth and all its peoples are obliterated. The swines! Well, not ‘swine’ maybe because they look more like scruffy catty lizard things straight out of the Jim Henson studios, but they’re the enemy scum for what it’s worth. The movie centres solely around the good guys, we get to see virtually nothing from the alien point of view, but rather focus upon a couple of rookie pilots - the half-breed Blair(Prinze Jr.) and Marshall(Lillard) - and their pilot sidekicks to give us a kind of teen soap opera in space interspersed with combat action. There’s not much to say about the plot to be fair, two fall in love, one kills a friend by accident, there’s some clumsy attempt to pass commentary on racism with a ludicrous allegory and laughable attempts at character building and the rest is CGI action of the lowest order.
In all honesty, I can’t even imagine fans of the computer game having any interest whatsoever in this movie. The sets are appalling, looking like the kind of thing you would have seen in Buck Rogers not something made years later and the alien race are simply hilarious to look at - fortunately you only see a few rare glimpses of them, but they look like a bizarre hybrid of the trash can grouch from Sesame Street, Larry the Lizard and the family pet . Not exactly the most fearsome of enemies, probably the only scary thought of them invading earth is they’re probably not house trained and might cough up a furball on your Axminster rug. Let’s just say the special effects are none too special eh? The computer generated action sequences which quickly come to characterise the movie completely lack any form of excitement or tension, not least because it’s virtually impossible to pick out the difference between the Kilrathi craft and the Earth ones...and also because you’ll be hoping the very cheesy main cast members get shot to bits anyway.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is consistently crap in his movies, we all know that, but here he puts in a performance which has to be seen to be believed. Aside from a dazzling smile he is so lacking in charisma and lifeless that within 10 minutes he has disappeared into the background and is quickly forgotten...maybe that’s a plus point though? Yes, it’s a plus point, even if he is meant to be one of the lead characters. On the negative side then you’ve got Matthew Lillard who does goofy really well but who I can only see as Shaggy now after the Scooby-Doo movie and Shaggy gunning down alien scum to save the planet doesn’t cut it. His interactions with Ginny Holder are amusing for a while but it’s fleeting. The entire cast are basically poor, not mis-cast because they are given NOTHING to work with here in a screenplay which consists of lines like a petulant “Oh like I care!” in response to a threat of court marshall and a catalogue of others which will have you laughing out loud in disbelief. It’s difficult to say I hated this movie because I laughed far more at this supposedly straight-laced movie than I did at the Matthew Perry/Elizabeth Hurley ‘comedy’ “Serving Sara” recently and if a movie can make you laugh for whatever reason then it’s gotta be worth another star or two.
Surely there is something to like here though? No not really, not in the sense of what it was meant to be anyway, but you can have a damn good laugh at it’s expense so it’s not all bad. You’ll learn that in the future we’ll be able to do all this jiggery-pokery in space but still navigate via paper maps, that if you push something out of the back of a spaceship it’ll drop like a stone(in what gravity??), that people wearing gloves can sense a map through their fingertips, Bagpuss will mutate and come back to conquer the Earth and loads more. In that sense, it’s great fun. Equally, if you are between the ages of 4 and 12 you might like it because that’s about the level of intellect behind the screenplay although the sexual themes it explores in it’s occasional bursts of violence earned it a certification of 12 in many countries(it was a PG in the UK but it’s worth bearing in mind).
The bottom line? Don’t watch it unless you’re desperate for a sci-fi fix and have an extraordinarily high tolerance for naffness.
I’ll leave you with the imdb’s memorable quote from the movie:
Forbes: You’ve got balls Maniac: You should see ‘em Forbes: Mine are bigger Maniac: I’ve been told size doesn’t matter Forbes: She lied
...and it doesn’t get much better than that.
Related Links
Unofficial fan site: http://www.users.nac.net/splat/wc/
The official movie site has been taken down, probably because the movie sunk without a trace within days of being released, but this is the best fan site I’ve personally come across. Here you’ll find the official trailer, storyboards, other reviews, background information to the movie and a whole lot more. It’s very well put together...just rather wasted considering the rather naff nature of the movie! Worth a look if it still sounds like fun though.
Massive Wing Commander Information site: http://www.wcnews.com/
It’s rather scary how much information there is on here, right down to linking through to ebay auctions for the latest closing Wing Commander related auctions of all things! There’s not much to say, if you need to know anything at all about Wing Commander, the games, the movie or any of the other spin-offs then you’ll find it here!
Advantages: Spectactular Space Battles Disadvantages: Nothing New
Wing Commander
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A decent Sci-Fi film this one.
The human race has split into two distinctive sides. One left for the stars and are considered lesser beings, they are the ‘Pilgrims’. The other stayed home and advanced their technology on planet. They consider themselves more civilised and superior.
Not so civilised though to avoid war with an alien race called the Kilrathi. The Kilrathi are determined to exterminate humans and an ... ...the Pilgrims who eventually come to humanities rescue. The pilgrims have the power to navigate through the dark space zones without the need for the high Tec Navcoms and it’s this ability that will eventually prove vital in the on going war. With the huge Earth space fleet two hours away it is up to a small force to defend the Earth against overwhelming odds. Can the crew of the ‘Tiger Claw’ hold back the mass of the Kilrathi Empires battle fleet?
...
Maximus-Qualitus 02.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wing Commander (DVD)
...David Warner turns up in Wing Commander as Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn. Also notably David 'Poirot' Suchet as Captain Jason Sansky (Did you know he was ITN newscaster John Suchet's brother? - IMDB.com). The story is of Christopher "Maverick" Blair (Freddie Prinze Jr.) who joins an interstellar war to save the universe against the Kilrathi. OK, the plot is a tad predictable but it is carried well by the cast. There are a few good moments and reasnoble ...
stevesm 20.07.2000
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Review of Wing Commander (DVD)
Advantages: A good Sci-Fi film. Disadvantages: None
Wing Commander
=============
A well thought out and superbly acted movie.
It is set in the mid 27th century and the earth is at war with well basically Aliens, (The Felinoid Kilrathi Empire).
The Empire launches a surprise attack on earth and it falls to our heroes to defend the earth until reinforcements arrive. They find themselves under fierce attack and are massively outnumbered but they valiantly fight on.
The film has plenty of special ... ...battle scenes are quite spectacular and it is suspenseful and the accompanying music is complimentary to the plot scenes.
This film was in the same vein as star ship troopers and had that little cheesy aspect but to be honest it was fun to watch. The special effects where quite good, the acting as previously stated good and the whole movie trundled along at a respectable pace.
Watch this film and I think you will enjoy it. ...
MaldivesHoliday 11.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Wing Commander (DVD)
Advantages: Good film, well acted and throughly enjoyable Disadvantages: Plot is somewhat predictable in places
Based on the Wing Commander games on PC from the time when games came on several floppy discs this is a very typical space fighter style movie.
It basically follows the story of a small but elite fighter pilot team that all range from the ages i would say of 20-25. Freddie Prinze Junior stars as the lead cast member and plays his usual enigmatic style of character.
A vicious alien race, called the Kilrathi, have discovered Earth and are hellbent ... ...this vicious new enemy are two young hotshot fighter pilots and their elite fighter squadron. In an attempt to stop the Kilrathi from obliterating all mankind the brave young squadron go on a direct assault mission to try to stop the Kilrathi from reaching earth.
Inevitably it's the usual story of happy ever after but there are a few twists and turns in the film which i felt was very watchable indeed. I was a massive massive fan of the pc games ...
The_Reviewer1980 24.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Wing Commander (DVD)
Contains mild fantasy violence, language and sex references
Video Category
Feature Film
Country Of Origin
United States of America
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
No of Discs
1
Release date
03/01/2005
Catalogue No
1438 DVD
Barcode
5039036019774
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD Description
The future of mankind is threatened by an alien race called the Kilrathi who have discovered the way to Earth. Only two fighter pilots stand in their way.
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