"Wing Commander"

by Thom Bennett

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When I used to sit and play my Atari 2600, the thought never really crossed my mind that this would somehow make a good movie. Yet, in recent years, the adaptation of video games for the big screen has become Hollywood's newest source of inspiration (if it can be called that.) As computer generated special effects already begin to dominate the cinema, does the line between movies and video games have to be even further blurred?

Enter "Wing Commander". Replace the joystick in front of you with a bucket of popcorn and you have the general idea. As one would expect, the special effects are wonderful and that's pretty much the extent of it. Something along the lines of a brain dead "Top Gun" meets "Space Invaders." The result is a completely vapid, special effects reel that would make a pretty nice screensaver for a computer, but as far as an hour and a half movie, it can lean somewhat towards the tedious.

The story - a group of young hotshot fighter pilots must save the earth. They fly around, they speak in one-liners and what I presume is jargon that means something to those who are fans of the game. For those who are not familiar with "Wing Commander" the video game, there is truly nothing to see here.