For a movie that was no doubt jumping on the E.T. and Star Wars bandwagon, The Last Starfighter manages to carve a niche for itself. Teenager Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) wins the high score on a mysterious video game and is suddenly recruited by an alien to defend the universe from some cosmic bad asses. What counts here is charm. The Last Starfighter oozes with the stuff, and it’s not forced. I love the trailer court setting and the depiction of the tight-knit community that live there. Casting “The Music Man” himself, Robert Preston, as a charlatan recruitment officer named Centauri is a stroke of genius. You can’t help but love Preston, even when he’s peddling bullshit. Dan O’Herlihy also does a commendable job acting through heavy prosthetics as Grig, Alex’s lizard-like trainer and shipmate.
