Rating: 
Summary: An excellent movie - extremely under-rated!
Review: Wing Commander has been generally hated by the mainstream media reviewers, and their sometimes vehement hatred of the film usually springs from simple misunderstandings that they see in the film which, when seen for what they really are in logical context, are simply silly.
They criticize that it's too much like a submarine movie-- what's wrong with that! The need for sealing bulkheads is not only practical, but in the context of the movie, totally believable. This isn't "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" where little force fields are everywhere around the ship to protect it from the vacuum; shields are a big deal in this universe, and only exist in the big ships that can have the power supplies to use them. If a section of the ship is damaged, it's sealed off the old fashioned, simple way-- you seal the doors!
Sound usage is something that critics also use to rip the film apart. First, we all know that space is a vacuum and that sound can't travel in a vacuum. In a movie like "Star Wars" where there's laser-gun sounds and explosions going off all over the place in space where there shouldn't be any noise, yet people don't criticize it for that unrealistic use of sound. Did anybody stop to think that maybe the "pinging" noise that the so-called "sonar" on the Tiger Claw's bridge was just the noise that its RADAR system made to indicate that it was "pinging" off of the Kilrathi Battleship? The reason why everybody needs to be "shushed!" is because they thought that the kilrathi fleet had passed by them and that they were safe. They had just gone through a rather intense battle that saw the wounding of their Captain. They were celebrating! They couldn't hear the radar "pinger" indicator going off that there was one Kilrathi ship that was still hanging around to search for them, so they had to be shushed. . . and when they hear that pinging, they have to be shushed to hear that their still being looked for. When they hear that pinging, a sign that the Kilrathi are out there still, they all go silent. Yes, this scene is a bit melodramatic with people holding their breaths, but now that the scene is out into actual perspective, it?s understood that they?re not holding their breaths to not be heard by the passing Kilrathi.
?Wing Commander? actually has a lot or realistic ingenuity in it. There were no ?laser beams? at this point, so the best natural weapon to use would be bullets (or some form of), which is even more practical when you see that the smaller ships don?t have shielding. To fire bullets is much more practical compared to the taxing and complicated technology of laser systems. The tractor systems can be explained with electro-magnetic?s, and that?s a technology that we could have developed by the time the movie takes place.
A lot of people make fun of the Pilgrims ?force? ability to sense magnetic fields and make them easier to navigate. It?s been scientifically proven that inside carrier pigeons cochleas, the fluid that maintains equilibrium is magnetically charge, to a very small extent, allowing the birds to easily find magnetic north and south. That?s why they were so good at doing that. Is it not then possible, that this could happen with humans exposed to gravimetric forces over a prolonged length of time as the Pilgrims did?
?Wing Commander? is not the greatest movie ever made. It does have it?s problems. Some of the really great talent? David Suchet, David Warner, Jurgen Prochnow, and Tcheky Karyo? aren?t utilized as well as they really could?ve been. Suchet disappears halfway through the film and we?re given no information as to what happened to him, and Prochnow plays the xenophobic card a bit too much. Warner does a good job of it, and Karyo is reasonably good as the wise but rough Paladin. Freddie Prinze, Jr. is able to carry the film as the young Christopher Blair with great skill, and Saffron Burrows is the tragically tempered Angel. Ginny Holder makes a good break-out role as Rosie Forbes.
Fans of the video game series (the earlier PC games) will see a lot of their favorite wingmates given breath and form here: Iceman, Knight, Hunter, etc. and Matthew Lillard does a great job of bringing the manic Maniac to life. It?s hard to think of anyone but Tom Wilson doing the part, but Lillard is able to deftly play a funny, crazy, and ultimately caring comrade to Blair, in an earlier stage of development of their relationship, when they had first graduated from the academy and were starting out in the universe. The pilots are frattish, because they?re all young. The Kilrathi are more reptilian than they?ve been in the earlier games, and we don?t see them as well as they?re obscured by smoke and machinery, so they end up looking like overgrown puppets; but they?re not that bad and easily forgiven.
The effects are excellent, and hold up to those of the ?Star Wars? movies easily. The energy wave explosion effects are especially great, and the sound is great, too. Turn up the speakers high to get a full sensory experience out of the fight and jump scenes. Kevin Kiner and David Arnolds old naval military sounding score brings back the WWII movie epics while adding a good modern flair of excitement. The main Wing Commander Theme is one of the best done in movies, and the opening title sequence is beautiful and stunning.
Is this movie going to win any awards? No way. ?Wing Commander? is a fun popcorn flick that has more depth than people care to give. It?s much better than the other sci-fi movie released that year, ?The Phantom Menace,? and a good DVD buy. Enjoy and have fun, don?t listen to the detractors!
Rating: 
Summary: nice outer space romp
Review: nice brainless outer space fight with preety boy
freddie prinze jr, and a number of british speaking actors
and some french canadians...
this flick is full of hi tech gagetry, and is best seen
on a rainy nite, or saturday, if their is nothing to do.
Rating:
Summary: The movie was too far over the edge of the universe
Review: Perhaps as a computer game, this whole story would work well. As a film, it gets a little lost in space.The best thing about the film is that it has well-developed special effects and quality. It is also not a difficult story to comprehend, nor is it too unbelievable. Even the characters are fairly well developed. Regardless, the movie seems underdone. The characters, despite their development, don't neccessarily come off as very likable characters. There are aspects that the film doesn't touch upon, and many of the important scenes of the story are so short that they leave little to the imagination. The film overall is so-so. It is enjoyable at cerain levels, but dull at many other levels that normally make movies great. I myself would recommend seeing it at least once for anybody who enjoys sci-fi adventures.
Rating:
Summary: It was OK
Review: I loved the games so I thought I would love the movie. Let me explian it all boils down to one word PILGRAMS. The concept for this group of wandering vagaonds who explored the stars was totally laugable. The acting and dialog are also 3rd rate but it does well to kill some time. My impression-I wanted very much to like this movie and I do somewhat, however I don't see one bit of difference between the movie and an episode of Dawson's Creek(only with spaceships)
Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment Movie
Review: I thought this movie was great. Don't listen to people whine because it's not like the game... it isn't the game, it's a frickkin movie. It's sci-fi and very entertaining. I just like watching all the space battles and even the marines boarding kilrathi ships. Anyway, if you're a cynic like every else writing these bad reviews, don't bother watching 99% of the movies that ever come out. If you're in for a good time and enjoy sci-fi space flicks that don't layer on the corn and pretent to be all that, you'll like this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Painfully Wrong
Review: I am a rabid fan of the computer game series, and eagerly went to see this movie when it came out. Boy was I disappointed. If you don't know the games at all, you might find the movie worthwhile, but those familiar with the games will find that the movie radically departs from the game storyline. The only similarities are the character names. Pilgrims? There are no pilgrims in the real (game) WC universe. I'm amazed that the movie was made like this since it was written by the creator of the games.
Rating:
Summary: Chicken Wing Commander
Review: Great game, lousy movie. The beginning sequence of the game, Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger had more believable animatronic Kilrathi rather than the poorly done slow moving armor bearing CGI variety. I guess in the Earth/Kilrathi war all the Marines are dead, and the pilots (who are supposed to just be flying) take on the role of boarding enemy ships in full Marine armor. Who designed those ships? I was waiting for the deck crews to spin the prop on the nose section to get the thing started. They could have used the game designs. They were at least more believable. The TCS Tiger's Claw looked more like a WWII submarine, rather than a space carrier. That's what you get when you put a game director in a real director's chair. Here's a tip, next time a movie of this inane caliber is made, do us all a favor, print it and burn it. In that order.
Rating:
Summary: In space, no one can hear the [crud] this movie generates...
Review: Oh Freddy. What's next for your painfully suffering career? You're a painfully awful actor with somewhat good looks but no talent, and you have a horrible knack for making Matthew Lillard look bad. This time, you've gone too far. Not only does Lillard look bad, but legends Tcheky Karyo, Jurgen Prochnow, and David Warner simply flutter useless on the screen in what is supposed to be a submarine flick but was accidentally written in space. Chris Roberts, director of this shlock and creator of the video game, puts little enthusiasm into the movie and it's very plain the actors were doing this film for a paycheck. The action doesn't go over too well and the dialogue is worse than "Armageddon." The tagline for "Alien" says that in space, no one can hear you scream. By the end of this film, I wanted to scream.
Rating:
Summary: A new spin on space movies, and it works
Review: unlike other space movies that are just main character blows up everything that moves, Wing Commander focuses on the main charecter's background and how he hides it to avoid being persacuted, his best friend, and how he has to use his background to servive and to help the entire human race.
Rating: 
Summary: This Movie Can Grow On You.
Review: At first this movie is hokey with aliens that look like a low budget film. You follow along with the hotshot pilots that are defending the earth against alien invaders...sound familiar...
But, if you can get beyond the appearance and the beginning, this turns into a fairly good story.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is one of the hotshot pilots. He is the son of Settlers, early humans that ventured into space colonizing other planets. Because Settlers and earth humans engaged in a war in the past, a lot of hatred is still harbored against anyone with Settlers' blood. Because of this hatred, he keeps this aspect a secret. As the story unfolds, we learn that Settlers' have an instinctive 'feel' for space travel. This special ability will clearly give Freddie Prinze Jr. an advantage as he survives against higher odds. As he encounters Saffron Barrows, his wing commander, he learns to how to trust others as he also falls in love. One added feature, the DVD version has excellent surround sound for the attack scenes.
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