Arrow Video

An arcade game whizz-kid’s wildest dreams come true when he finds himself enlisted to fight in an interstellar war.

Newly restored from a 4K scan of the original negative and featuring a 4.1 mix originally created for the film’s 70mm release, Arrow’s release of Nick Castle’s 1984 family-friendly sci-fi pic certainly looks and sounds great.

Quite how excited you are about this release will presumably depend on how old you were when you first saw it. As a 15-year-old, I felt  that it skewed a little too young for my then tastes, a variation of Tron bit with less appeal. Watching it now, there’s an appealing 80s vibe, and it does exactly what it sets it to do – to provide some wish fulfilment adventure for all ages.

Following his (inter)stellar mastery of arcade game Starfighter, Alex Logan (an amiable Lance Guest) is plucked from his trailer park existence to defend the Star League from the evil Lord Kril. It’s corny and highly derivative of other 80s sci-fi fare, but it’s breezy and doesn’t outstay its welcome, showcasing some primitive CGI effects.

There’s audio commentaries from star Lance Guest and his son, as well as Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast. Additionally, there are interviews with actor Catherine Mary Stewart, composer Craig Safan and screenwriter Jonathan Betuel, special effects supervisor Kevin Pike. There are also features about the CGI used in the movie and an arcade games collector, trailers and a booklet of new writing.

Verdict: 80s sci-fi never looked punchier than this impressive transfer of a minor league release. 7/10

Nick Joy