The Last Starfighter

It’s the summer of 1984. Frankie Goes to Hollywood rules the radio, the Transformers roll out to toy stores, and I’m the proud owner of a Commodore 64!

The Last Starfighter arrived in cinemas after Star Wars’ success and capitalised on the video game craze sweeping the world. A couple of years earlier Disney released Tron at Christmas, which coincided with my first home computer, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K (I still use a spectrum wallpaper on my iPad Pro).

As a child of the Atari age, I was ready for a CGI-powered hero’s quest across the stars.

I watched an interview with Lance Guest (Alex Rogan) on Saturday Superstore and entered a competition to win a copy of Craig Safan’s stellar soundtrack on LP - suffice it to say I didn’t win (I’m listening to an expanded edition of the soundtrack on Apple Music). The Last Starfighter ticked all the boxes for this 12-year-old about to start high school and part ways with friends from primary school. As a side note, if only I could travel back in time and warn my younger self not to take Transformers toys in my school bag on the first day of high school!

What could go wrong?

Monkey brains and open heart surgery were a far cry from cosmic crusades!

Due to a lacklustre box office, The Last Starfighter quickly disappeared from cinemas. So childhood friends, with whom I’d watched Star Wars: Return of the Jedi the previous summer, and I chose Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark on home video).

An official video game tie-in from Atari was abandoned (an Atari VCS was retired to the attic).

A few months later, I was at a neighbour friend’s video rental store, The Picture Palace, perusing the sci-fi section and there was The Last Starfighter…

I hurried home with my treasure on a Raleigh Super Grifter (with Acorn mag wheels and custom decals), in a scene that could have been lifted from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or Poltergeist.

As I was about to turn into the close where I grew up, it dawned on me that a childhood friend and video gaming partner in crime would want to see this, too. So, I sped off to Kevin’s house. He was home alone long before his more famous namesake.

For the next two hours, we were enthralled by the adventures of Alex Rogan. From arcade ace to saving the galaxy from the threat of invasion by the Ko-Dan Armada. Rogan was our people. The movie ends. I rewind the tape and press play a second time.

40 years on and memories of watching The Last Starfighter always elicit nostalgia. Gary “Rogue One” Whitta is developing a sequel and I’ll be one of the first in line.