Wing Commander (1999)

Blair, a fighter pilot, joins an interstellar war to fight the evil Kilrathi who are trying to destroy the universe.

Director:

Chris Roberts

Writers:

Chris Roberts (characters), Chris Roberts (story)

Stars:

Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Freddie Prinze Jr.	...	Lt. Christopher Blair
Saffron Burrows	...	Lt. Cdr. 'Angel' Deveraux
Matthew Lillard	...	Lt. Todd 'Maniac' Marshall
Tchéky Karyo	...	Commodore James 'Paladin' Taggart
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Cdr. Paul Gerald
David Suchet	...	Capt. Jason Sansky
David Warner	...	Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn
Ginny Holder	...	Lt. Rosie Forbes
Hugh Quarshie	...	Lt. Obutu
Ken Bones	...	Admiral Bill Wilson
John McGlynn	...	Richard Bellegarde
Richard Dillane	...	Lt. Hunter
Mark Powley	...	Lt. Polanski
David Fahm	...	Lt. Knight
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Flight Boss (as Simon McCorkindale)

Storyline

In the mid-27th century, the Terran Confederation is at war with the felinoid Kilrathi Empire. After destroying a Terran base, the Kilrathi have seized a NAVCOM unit with the hyperspace jump coordinates to Earth. With Terran reinforcements scheduled to arrive two hours after the Kilrathi hit Earth, it falls upon the starfighter carrier TCS Tiger Claw to keep the Kilrathi busy.

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Plot Keywords:

fictional war | alien | based on video game | space fighter pilot | space fighter | 

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Taglines:

An Action-Packed Thrill Ride!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual references and sci-fi action/violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Warner took over the role of Admiral Tolwyn from Malcolm McDowell, who had played the character in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995) and Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994) and the spin-off animated TV series Wing Commander Academy (1996). Warner previously played McDowell's nemesis in Time After Time (1979).

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Goofs

Machine guns would make no sound in outer space.

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Quotes

Rosie Forbes: You've got balls.
Maniac: You should see 'em.
Rosie Forbes: Mine are bigger.
Maniac: I've been told size doesn't matter.
Rosie Forbes: She lied.

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Crazy Credits

Voice of Merlin: ?

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Alternate Versions

Merlin was also mean't to be Blair's private digital companionmentor. The character was supposed to add comic relief to the film but it was decided that Maniac could fill that position, so Merlin was relegated to a background computer system onboard the fighters.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Shutter Island/The Ghost Writer/Happy Tears (2010)

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Soundtracks

Trio from 'Cosi Fan Tutte'
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

it's ok...

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.

Details

Country:

USA Luxembourg

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wing Commander

Filming Locations:

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,114,365, 14 March 1999

Gross USA:

$11,578,059

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,578,059

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centurion, American Entertainment Investors, Digital Anvil

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1