This movie is pure Sci fi

Have you ever seen Blade Runner, 2001, or The Matrix? How are those not pure sci-fi?

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http://www.last.fm/music/tyler+hellner

This is certainly an intriguing film that found an audience on video soon after its release.

Its that man again!!

I just watched it with no childhood nostalgia to influence me and I thought it was quite interesting. Major respect for the enormous undertaking this story required from a technical standpoint. I didn't know it was Wolfgang who directed it until end credits but I doesn't surprise me when I heard. The Never Ending Story also had a spared no expense 80s production to it also.

I loved that the story was simple and focused on characters. Too few movies exist that tell a focused story. It is always the universe at stake. It gets very dull when every time you turn around there is some new sci fi movie telling the same darn story about some person like Neo or that new stupid looking Jupiter Rising thing. Ordinary person suddenly finds out they are not ordinary and must save the entire universe with some super power they notice... sighhh. Nothing WRONG with that archetype of the Hero's Journey but it is getting old and predictable. This was a refreshing story.

Instead we got two characters who build an unlikely friendship through a twist of fate that brought them together. Eventually that simple friendship managed to transcend a generation and race. Very cool. Both characters have an arch and learn something by the end. Look at how carelessly Willis killed Draks in the opening scene and then see what he did by the end?

Also, the movie had some great anecdotal scenes. I loved the weird antlion-like creature with the tentacle. I especially loved the entire dialog subplot of Mickey Mouse haha! Plus, how strange and unique was it that Jerry was PREGNANT? That was a very unexpected twist especially when Jerry died. The movie was very much an interesting journey tha twas mostly free of the standard three-act hero's journey mold. I can honestly say there is a lot in this movie visually and narratively I have not seen.

The 80s had a lot of cheesiness to them and this movie was not free of that. Sometimes they overdo things with music in that time period. There were also some loose ends left hanging. Like did Willis get in trouble for blowing up the hangar and killing people? Why did the Draks totally let him meander over to do the ceremony with Yammies? That guy was a murderer and enemy to them I don't think they'd just up and forgive him. There was some sloppiness here and there in this movie and early on I was not on board.

However the 80s also had a lot more freedom to explore alternate story archetypes in the sci fi and fantasy genres. It was weird that for the most part fantasy movies like Dark Crystal, Krull, Labyrinth, or NeverEnding Story and sci fi movies like this with wandering plotlines and fully realized universes died out by the 90s. I think they get disregarded by too many people for the cheesiness and music of the time. But honestly, it was just the style back then. I'd like to see a resurgence of these kinds of movies and the practical in-camera effects and sets.

So there were some issues in this movie BUT... the story and characters really grew on me as it went on. And the twists and turns made it very engaging. Good action scene at the end. Great art direction/set design etc. I enjoyed that the scale didn't go too crazy epic and stayed focused on just a couple characters and their story in a big world. Good movie.

I love it, I watch it all the time and every time I watch it I think "Wow this looks awesome for a 1985 movie" it doesn't look dated to me at all. I think it's sad it didn't make any money as it's an excellent movie. It's one of those movies I can watch and never get sick of it, any movie that can do that for me gets a 10 out of 10 in my book.

Yes, it is ALMOST in the same league with Blade Runner......almost.