Rating: Summary: A spectacular film which is very sadly, highly underrated Review: Many people seem to criticise this film for varying reasons. Some say there is bad acting, which I personally think is untrue - that seems to be a matter of opinion, and therefore nobody should judge this film on such a viewpoint that is clearly not shared by all. For example, not every Sci-Fi fan likes Star Trek or Star Wars. Doesn't mean either of them are substandard.So, I urge people to ignore things people say about this film and see it for themselves. I for one can say, I'm not being blindly devoted to Wing Commander in general, as, for example, I do not particularly like the second game in the series. The FX in this film are mind blowing at times - even the most subtle scenes look wonderful - eg a shot where the camera pans across space and in through the viewport of a ship and inside the cockpit to view a conversation between two characters, all in a single shot. As for the direction, I was very impressed with Chris Roberts in Wing Commander IV. I was looking forward to seeing what he'd do with a full motion picture, and it was well worth the wait. From the beginning titles to the last shot, it was very richly directed using excellent and often inventive visual and audio techniques. Speaking of audio, the music in this film is fantastic. Although many fans were probably hoping for some of the music from the games (the first one had hugely atmospheric music) it was not a disappointment in the end. I agree, there is much about this film that can be argued with, but I would say the same about almost any film - especially Sci-Fi movies. There are whole websites devoted to picking holes in Star Wars, but, to me that's just part of the fun. The things I think stand out in Wing Commander, are a couple of plot devices and events that are necessary, but that could have been accomplished a little more realistically. But, as Blair would say, that's no reason to hate it. :)
Rating: Summary: Good movie could be better Review: when I first saw this movie I was captivated by the special effects and the storyline. But being a big fan of the PC game I think a few things could have been better. First with the characters Paladin should have remained an Irishman, Angel was the one who was supposed to be a french woman. Although I think they did a good job at portraying Maniac's wild persona. Second, the fight scenes, in the gun battle on the Kilrathi ship the fighting just wasn't intense enough for me. there wasn't a sense of ergency that I was expectiong. It would have also been cool to see what the Kilrathi looked like in thier fighters and see thier perspective. Lastly the ending. I was left a little dissapointed. Now I've heard rumors of a second WC movie and if this is true there was no lead in to the next movie. It just kinda stops. But the ending goes pretty well with the quality of the movie. all in all I liked it.
Rating: Summary: get the game please!!!!!!! Review: not a movie for you if you have never played the game. better ships may help the movie. but better story line on the wc games.
Rating: Summary: Bad, bad, bad and then even more bad Review: Throw out everything good about the Wing Commander games and what's left will be the Wing Commander movie. It's got bad acting, bad special effects, bad dialouge and a bad story. Save yourself a few bucks and a headache and go buy the WCIII game from K-Mart's bargin bin -- you'll enjoy it more.
Rating: Summary: DECENT FIRST ATTEMPT Review: Okay, I'm a WC fan. I've played all the games and read all the books. I saw the movie twice and though I had several problems with it the first time, I actually liked it better the second time around. Sure, there were a good many general problems. I'll list the WC specific ones later. They cut the sabotage scene, which confused the story. Roberts insisted on unnecessarily Jedi-izing the film by making the Pilgrims have inexplicable, innate powers. The Kilrathi needed more work and screentime. At one point, they as much as said sound can travel in the vacuum of space. Acting and script could have both have used another couple of go-arounds. They also could have used a military advisor to keep some of their albeit fictionalized future protocols straight. Lastly, the Scylla deus ex machina was a stretch even in a sci-fi film. These were my general contentions with the film, ones many people (not just WC buffs) shared and I consider them realistic. The film also had its moments. The audio on the opening was incredible, though I would have opted for less illustrations of the Kilrathi and their villainy in favor of actual shots of the aliens in action. The starmap was nevertheless a nice effect. Maniac and Rosie were a success as an on-screen duo, one of several examples of good acting in the film. Warner lent a presence to the Tolwyn character many worried would be missing. His ability to make unpopular decisions was conveyed brilliantly. Paladin was also played well. The space battles were exceptionally well done as were nearly all of the space-based FX. Digital Anvil's handling of starship explosions inside shields was both plausible and exciting. The sets were more in line with what ships' interiors actually look like (though actual spacers would likely not leave so much debris adrift since soda cans do hurt when they crash into you with any velocity). The soundtrack, which I bought later, is also excellent. WC contentions: They changed the ships! Okay, I gave Roberts the benefit of the doubt for these changes since they were mostly financially driven. He wanted a specific look and X amount of dollars. I think he did a good job of maintaining that gritty used look. They changed peoples nationalities! Angel was British, not French and Paladin was French, not Scottish. Considering the acting talent he had, Roberts could have stuck to the original nationalities. No defense here, but then I didn't really find it that distracting. The Pilgrims! This was an unnecessary addition to the story and redirected acting and directing attention away from areas where they could have been better focused. And that's about it. Overall, weighed on its own merits, it's a decent movie. Not Casablanca, but not Ishtar either. Suspend your disbelief and (if you're a WC player your preconceived, and perhaps too rigid picture of the WC universe) enjoy the film.
Rating: Summary: It's a shame that the computer games were better movies ... Review: Terrible. A slap in the face to Wing Commander fans, and sci-fi fans in general. This had the potential to be so much more (as shown by the PC games).
Rating: Summary: This movie is fun and has World Class space battle action Review: Wing Commander Brings new levels of action adventure and technology to the classic sci-fi theme. PS..great to finally see it as a movie!
Rating: Summary: A Star Wars fan speaks out. Review: All right, the first reason I saw this movie was to only see the 2nd trailer for Star Wars EP1. After that I figured I'd leave the movie and blow some money in the arcade. But as the EP1 trailer ended, I felt I should at least try to get the feel of Wing Commander. And as I sat there in front of the screen, I realized I didn't regret seeing the movie. Wing Commander reminded me of the WWII era of our century, where people died left and right to protect their homeland. I also liked the fact that the carriers and fighters did look like those of WWII. This was not a bad quality of the movie, it gave it a sense times gone by. The special effects did stand on equal with those of EP1, (and that coming from a Star Wars fan tells you they were good.) The cast performed a little stiff, but it didn't really take away from the movie. (I'm sure they didn't have the sense of storyline that the WC games had.) All in all this was a good Sci-Fi flick of the summer that wasn't Star Wars.
Rating: Summary: A GUILTY PLEASURE Review: THIS MOVIE IS MY GUILTY PLEASURE I SAY THAT BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT AND THE SCRIPT AND STORYLINE ARE _BAD__ AND THE PERFORMANCES WERE OK AT BEST BUT NONE THE LESS I LOVED IT MAINLY BECAUSE OF ITS RELENTLESS ACTION SEQUENCES AND ALSO THE VISUAL STYLE WHICH WHICH WAS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE MOVIE BESIDES THE F/X. BUT THE STORY WAS BAD IT HAD NO TWISTS OR ANYTHING IT WAS STANDARD ISSUE NO NOTHING AND THE CAST WAS OK. BUT ONE THING THAT SAVE THIS MOVIE FROM BEING BAD WAS THE MUSIC FROM DAVID ARNOLD AND KEVIN KINER IT WAS LOUD LIKEABLE AND A HOLE LOTTA OTHER THINGS. IF YOU DON'T MIND A BAD SCRIPT AND STORYLINE BUT LIKE ACTION AND COOL F/X THEN THIS IS YOUR MOVIE. LET'S HOPE IS CHRIS ROBERTS DECIDES TO MAKE ANOTHER WING COMMANDER MOVIE IT HAS A BIGGER BUDGET AND A BETTER STORYLINE AND MORE ACTION.
Rating: Summary: Truly, one of this years greatest examples of stupidity Review: The final year of this century will be marked by the release of one of movie history's worse productions. A classic example of bad acting, poor scripting and mediocre directing. Wing Commander has value as a "how not" to make a movie. The people who liked this movie obviously would have liked a jello commercial titled Wing Commander equally well. It seems that to those gaming junkies who like the idea, they were too heartbroken to admit the horrid nature of this movie. Instead, they have all gone into denial. "If I say it's a great movie, and ten others do the same, it can't be that bad". Let's face it, this was a goofy, boring, stupid movie.
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