In the 80s, a lot of filmmakers ripped off Steven Spielberg and a lot of filmmakers ripped off Star Wars, but the producers of The Last Starfighter thought bigger than that.
They ripped off both Spielberg AND Star Wars. Simultaneously.
In this story of a kid summoned to save the galaxy from bad guys because of his high scores on a shoot-’em-up video game, we get Luke Skywalker living with the family from E.T. in a trailer park. We also get laser beam fights in outer space. We get exotic rubber suit aliens. We get some of the earliest uses of computer animation effects in a Hollywood movie. We get large glops of sentimentality. And we get it all with a big John Williams-esque heroic orchestral score booming and charging beneath.
This is enjoyable, but nostalgia for 80s kid flicks is all but required.
Like so many cult films of that time, this made a modest ripple in theaters and then became a hit on home video and cable. Even today, they trot this one out early on when new formats (HD-DVD, Blu-Ray) start up.