Wing Commander (1999)

Directed by Chris Roberts. Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows, Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, Ginny Holder, David Suchet, David Warner, Hugh Quarshie, Ken Bones. [PG-13]

The famous 3-D space combat simulator game comes to the big screen as the sort of clunky, junky time-waster gaming-haters accuse the versatile art form of being. Real-life compadres Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard are cast even worse here as space fighter pilots than they would be a couple years later as ballplayers in Summer Catch, but it’s their job—nay, prerogative—to protect the Terran Confederacy from the threat of the Kilrathi (cue the “Muppet Show” voiceover: “Caaaats…innnn…spaaaace!”). Targeted and blasted out of the sky (er, deep space?) by incomprehensible plotting, hapless acting, juvenile dialogue, pitiful visual effects, and no rooting interest whatsoever. Director Chris Roberts also created the game series, so you can’t write off this fiasco as being in the hands of a filmmaker who didn’t understand the source material (studio interference, on the other hand…). An uncredited Mark Hamill provides some voice work.

12/100