Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Paul Magne Haakonsen Having been a fan of the "Wing Commander" game franchise back in the day then it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch "Wing Commander", although I had a gut feeling that I knew that it had a high possibility of being a poor movie experience.And once this 1999 movie ended, I must admit that you are left with a hollow feeling and a somewhat sour taste in your mouth. Director Chris Roberts didn't manage to capture the essence of the games, and the movie turned out to be a shallow experience and poor movie in general.The story in "Wing Commander" was adequate, albeit not super thrilling. But the movie was killed by the lack of convincing effects and the choice of acting talents. It just felt like you were watching a movie made for teenagers, given the actors and actresses they had opted to cast for the movie. And not even with talents such as David Warner and Jürgen Prochnow making appearances were director Chris Roberts able to salvage this movie.The fans of the game franchise will remember the Kilrathi as being menacing feline humanoids, but they are presented as something that resembles an over-sized gerbil in the movie, and do not really look like the feline creatures that were in the games. And that feature was really a hard pill to swallow and it really sent a low blow to the movie.If you were fan of the games, then stay well clear of the movie, because it is nowhere near to having captured the spirit and heart of the game franchise. If you are unfamiliar with the games, then this 1999 movie doesn't really offer anything that you can't find in other Sci-Fi movies."Wing Commander" manages to harvest a more than generous three out of ten stars from me, just because I wanted my love for the game franchise to go to the big screen.

Thursasprengir There's more ham in this movie than a Lutheran Easter picnic. I can't believe that anyone went to the trouble to make this movie. Yes, I toughed it out to the end - mostly because I'm a masochist. The dialogue is stilted and juvenile. The characters are so one dimensional I expected them to disappear when they turned. The special effects are only 'meh' for 1999, but are laughable compared to now. I saw another reviewer say that s/he preferred this (at times) to SW Episode 1. That's another ham-fest, but at least it has LIGHTSABERS. The ships in this looked amateur. I mean, come on, Rapiers (a light, lithe weapon IRL) were these chunky, pig-nosed things that looked like A-10 Warthogs... in space. No, it just doesn't feel consistent, or cool, or watchable ever again.

Ed Heath There is a little quip in Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide about a job - "The hours are good but most of the actual minutes are lousy" (paraphrasing).Wing Commander has a phenomenal cast, but that is about all. Even in saying that, all of the big name performers in this movie have been in at least one (other) stinker in their career I believe. The script is at about an eight grade level, the year is 26 something and yet we are still using torpedoes (of the submarine type), missiles and some kind of guns. I swear they throw in a submarine hiding on the ocean floor and getting depth charged type scene just to remind us what else Jurgen Prochnow is known for (and to give him a chance to look at the ceiling again).Look, if you let the movie wash over you it *is* mildly entertaining, even as it throws cliché after movie cliché at you. Don't think too hard about the script, don't worry if a scene is boring or painful because the movie moves briskly along.

Helio Copter First of all, no, Wing Commander is not a great film. It has some problems, the most notable being the very underwhelming (to say the least) portrayal of the Kilrathi. However, this is not a terrible film, and if you are a certain type of sci-fi fan, it's not just passable but genuinely enjoyable. Anyone who says that this film is horrible is being a bit more pessimistic than necessary. It may not seem like a serious film, but internally within its own structure, I find it very respectable. For its target audience, it does not totally fail.The visual design, when it works, is very interesting. The opening title sequence, in particular, is simply one of the best that you will find in any such genre film, in my opinion. A truly captivating, beautiful creation. To give another visual example, the ship interiors feel like what deep space battleships would actually be like. That may be just the sort of niche quality that suggests an appeal to video gamers and/or sci-fi enthusiasts, but it ties into this film's atmosphere, which when you factor in the mostly excellent cast and solid script, is fairly realistic feeling.There is also a rather unique, compelling mythology at work in the background of this film's story. It may not be wholly original (I detect some influence from the novel Hyperion, for example) but as far as movies go, this one has a certain quality that sets it apart. On a basic level, yes it appeals to the fascination with being a starfighter pilot in the vein of the first Star Wars film and the Wing Commander video game source material. But there is something more to it, something that is mostly untapped in sci-fi cinema.There is a great group of characters. I do not know how closely all of them tie into the games, but they feel like real people and again the cast is for the most part very good. Tcheky Karyo, Saffron Burrows, David Warner, Jurgen Prochnow. That's some real talent right there. And the presence of Hugh Quarshie can't help but lead me to note that Wing Commander is parsecs better than the Star Wars prequels in every way except for visual effects budget. The trio of fighter pilots consisting of lead Freddie Prinze Jr, Matthew Lillard and Ginny Holder play more into an "attractive teen movie" trope that takes away from the film just a little, but Holder and Lillard especially do a great job of generating some true emotional resonance in the heavy scenes.Problems? The Kilrathi, who should have been the frightening counterpoint to the human characters, mostly provide unseen menace and when they do make the screen, it is one of the biggest letdowns in any film. Also, some of the Rapier (starfighter) graphics are less than stellar. Those and a few other glitches are what kept this film from being solidly respectable, but they don't keep it from being a lot of fun nonetheless.I will say again that this is really one of the most unique-feeling sci- fi films that I have seen, and it fills a surprising gap in the number of similarly-themed movies about starfighter pilots. With a bigger budget and maybe a different lead actor, Wing Commander could have been something serious. As is, in spite of its flaws, it's a real gem of a genre film, and well worth checking out if you focus on the positives. Great cast, good story, interesting graphics, fuel for imagination.