the movie was about what i expected... they obviously blew the entire budget on effects. amusingly, wc 3 and wc 4 (the games) had better casts than the movie (Freddie Pinze Jr vs Mark Hammil, Mathew Lillard vs Thomas "Biff Tannon" Wilson, Tchéky Karyo vs John Rhys-Davies, and David Warner vs Malcolm McDowell).
the plot had some holes, the most dramatic moments came off as cheesy, and there were a few continuity issues with the games that will probably bother the more avid fans (skipper missles being used before the first game, even though they weren't introduced until wc2, bossman being dead before blair sets foot on the tiger's claw, etc).
on the upside, the special effects were pretty good. a few years ago (before the rise of mass numbers of special effects movies) i would have considered them outstanding. the fighters (almost entirely rapiers, and a few broadswords) have a wonderfully unique "world war 1 in space" feel. the rapiers, however, look uncannily similar to A-10 Thunderbolt II "Tankkiller" "Warthogs."
the best review i've heard came from a kid as we were leaving the theater. he was having trouble articulating himself, but finally settled on something like "that was the coolest humans vs futuristic aliens movie i've ever seen!"
basically, if you're looking for a fun mindless (and that is a very important word) space combat movie, this is a good choice. if you want a better cast, a better plot, and some interaction, skip the movie and get yourself a copy of one of the games.
