WING COMMANDER Reviewed by Jamie Peck
The movie, then, is a missed opportunity for director Chris Roberts, who created the original, groundbreaking PC incarnation of "Wing Commander" back in 1990. How an interactive brainchild so revered could end up such a cinematic pile of junk under the helm of the same guy is a head-scratcher. "Wing Commander"'s story, credited to Roberts and screenwriter Kevin Droney, is clueless chaos melding incoherent narrative and unoriginal ideas. It rips off the finest films of its genre, Top Gun and, in one scene, even those spiffy "stereoscopic freeze" Gap commercials.
Set in 2654, "Wing Commander" stars Freddie Prinze Jr. as a daredevil cosmos cowboy who hopes to be a great fighter pilot like his father before him. Along the way, he plays kissy-face with his stoic superior (Saffron Burrows) at the new galaxy hangout where he's posted, comes to terms with bigots who resent him for his "Pilgrim" heritage (don't ask), and goes on a top-secret mission involving the "jump coordinates" (what, no Death Star plans?) of a nasty alien race known as the Kilrathi. Or something like that. Given the immensely confusing activity, it's hard to tell.
On the other hand, what's easy to see is that "Wing Commander" is a big old mess. The lame dialogue strains, filled with such original lines as "Don't you die on me!", "Battle stations!" and repeated (and frequently unanswered) calls for a "Medic!" Action sequences fizzle. The character conflict garners unintentional giggles. The sole source of suspense here is what these Kilrathi creeps look like, as they're kept out of view until the concluding 15 minutes. Imagine bearded Siamese cats crossed with something from a ‘50s Roger Corman cheapie and you've got a good idea.
Little but techno-babble happens for an hour, and then it's as if "Wing Commander" tries to do too much at once; when it appears as though the movie's about to show signs of a pulse, it instead provides a hilarious touch of human drama culminating with a use for a bulldozer that has probably never been seen in this kind of space camp before. Matthew Lillard, featured prominently in said sequence, is cast as Prinze's hotshot partner, and though the two are fine young actors - recently paired in the hit "She's All That" - they're fighting more than otherworldly evil here.
Rumor has it that "Wing Commander" was slated as a later-in-the-year release, bumped up to capitalize off this hot casting coup as well as the premiere of the new "Star Wars: Episode I" trailer. But in my audience, there were no females present to make goo-goo eyes at Prinze or Lillard, and many a member exited after the much-ballyhooed sneak peek. Since most cineplexes won't be granting refunds to the latter contingency, "Commander" might rake in some dough, but be warned: The high wears off as soon as the coming attraction gives way to the feature presentation.
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