After Action Report: The Last Starfighter

Greetings WingNuts,

The Wing Commander movie club is back from Rylos and we're happy to report that it's still pretty nice! The Last Starfighter is a movie that deserves its cult classic status and if anything a modern viewing finds a more balanced and enjoyable film than it once seemed. It's easy to say that all of the cuts back to the robot duplicate on Earth are getting in the way of what you want to see… but in reality they did a pretty good job of making you appreciate the space action. A movie that's all fighter pilots shooting things wouldn't have come together like this!

For the Wing Commander connections, we have to start with the Gunstar which obviously inspired Glen Johnson's design of the Raptor. The recent 4k restoration of Last Starfighter is stunning and it is full of incredibly clear shots of the computer generated Gunstar. We've picked a few favorites here and have included an appendix of others for future reference at the end of the update!

Here's a sample of Raptor art from the original Wing Commander, from the initial concept diagrams to the blueprints and then the computer generated in-game sprite and hand painted side view. The Raptor is a fighter rarely seen in Wing Commander beyond the original game and a couple of cameos in Fleet Action and False Colors. We've got an update detailing the entire history coming up soon, so stay tuned!

It's here that we meet an old friend: Ron Cobb! We've already seen Cobb's work on Alien which Wing Commander has mined multiple times and we've seen his unused work for the Wing Commander movie. Cobb did an extensive amount of work on The Last Starfighter, including developing the Gunstars themselves. Here's some of his process on that ship from his website… imagine seeing these sorts of revisions for his Wing Commander art!

The movie's EPK included a great segment showing how the CG in the movie worked which includes a look at Cobb's development of the Gunstar from sketch to model:

The inside of the Gunstar should be familiar to Wing Commander fans, too! Just compare Alex's UI to the one in the Wing Commander movie… or even the famous hand on the joystick, prevalent in both!

And here's the famous death blossom, the last ditch attack that has the Gunstar firing lasers and missiles in every direction. Wing Commander references this with the Raptor's unique minelayer which drops an explosive behind the ship!

Ron Cobb also designed the movie's other big vehicle, the tonally distinct Starcar. And guess what: the Starcar stops by New Detroit in Privateer, complete with the same takeoff animation!

Wing Commander is also clearly saluting the most distinct aspect of The Last Starfighter with the Squadron TrainSim. Look at the similar cabinet art!

Cobb even designed the helmets which it looks like Super Wing Commander in particular referenced!

... and the logo worn on the helmet and shoulder (and seen on the sides of the Gunstars) is a pretty close match for the Origin Jump Point Terran Confederation sigil!

Briefings often look similar although this one designed by Cobb certainly reminds us of the Concordia in Wing Commander III…

... but the lineup of pilots has a connection to Wing Commander III: in both cases once you've noticed that they're just standing in front of a lineup of ordinary desk chairs you can't unsee it!

The launch tube, which was actually inspired by Battlestar Galactica in Wing Commander, is pretty similar.

... and the reverse angle is right out of Super Wing Commander's version! Or vice versa.

The enemy minefield is similar to the mines seen in the early Wing Commanders. And visually close to the ones created by Alan Gutierrez for the Wing Commander TCTG!

Finally, there's the font itself. The Last Starfighter game is decorated with STOP, a sci-fi looking font first created in 1970. STOP was also the basis for Wing Commander's original distinct logo!

Gunstar Annex

Keep in mind that these renderings are a lot more detail than the Wing Commander I artists would've had in 1990! At best they might have had a copy of the photobook or the blueprints included in one of the FASA guides. A blurry home video capture wouldn't have looked like these!