Movies - Wing Commander

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	Movies - Wing Commander

Wing Commander is a 1999 science fiction film based on the Wing Commander computer game series.

Directed by Chris Roberts, the creator of the computer game series, it stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Saffron Burrows, Matthew Lillard, Tchéky Karyo, and Jürgen Prochnow.

In the United States, the film was rated PG-13 for sexual references and Sci-Fi action/violence.

The film borrows heavily from naval warfare films such as Das Boot
, going so far as to include a scene where the TCS Tiger's Claw is "depth-charged" (the imitation went so far as to have all of the characters try to be perfectly quiet during this scene so they wouldn't be detected, despite the fact that sound doesn't travel in space). It was shot on a minuscule budget - resulting in, among other things, unconvincing aliens that appear as little as possible in the final edit of the film - and was a commercial and critical failure.

The Rapier fighters in the film were built from heavily modified cockpit sections of English Electric Lightning fighter jets; most space special effects were computer-generated.

Plot

Set about one month before the first Wing Commander computer game, the story unfolds in the middle of an interstellar war between the human Terran Confederation and the cat-like alien Kilrathi Empire. The movie follows the exploits of Christopher Blair, a young pilot assigned to the TCS Tiger's Claw. There he and the crew of that carrier are given the mission to buy time for the Confederation's fleet to set up a defensive line to protect Earth and to help stop the invading Kilrathi armada. While this is going on, there is also tension between Blair and the crew of the Tiger's Claw due to the fact that he was born a "Pilgrim", one of a strain of humanity (who have special powers) that had previously fought against the Confederation.

Relations to other Wing Commander works

The movie, while having several similar features to the games and the books (the names of the characters and ships), has some differences, such as the inclusion of the Pilgrims as a subset of humanity that had not been mentioned before. Other differences are the way the ships look (those in the movie are presented as an earlier model of those in the games), and changes to several characters' ranks and positions. The appearance of the fighters is mainly due to the resourcefulness of the special effects team, who built the fighter mock-ups from scrapped RAF fighters. Character backgrounds have been altered (in particular, Admiral Tolwyn's), rendering the movie of dubious canonicity. The post-film novel Pilgrim Stars takes the conflict with the Pilgrims in Sol Sector well into the time that the Tiger's Claw is known in the game series to have been fighting the Kilrathi in Vega Sector. Additionally, Angel who is of French background in the games and speaks with a French accent, in the film she has a clear British accent while no mention is made about her background. Ironicaly Paladin, instead of Scottish, is shown as French and speaks with a French accent (actor Tcheky Karyo is Turkish-born but French-raised).

Several sub-plots developed in Wing Commander II and III, including Blair's relationship with Angel and Paladin's assignment to Special Operations, are developed in the film.

Also, the Kilrathi, portrayed in the games as heavily furred, cat-like aliens, became far more lizard like in the single movie scene where they are witnessed in the flesh ( vs ). However, according to Roberts, the appearance of the movie Kilrathi is how he always intended it to be, while the Kzin-like appearance of the games is non-canon. Roberts, like Star Wars creator George Lucas is, however, known to have changed his creative vision multiple times.

Star Wars Episode I Trailer Premiere

An unusually high percentage of those who saw Wing Commander only did so in order to see the highly anticipated exclusive premiere of the first teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Many people saw the trailer and walked out without even staying for the movie.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Wing Commander (film) ]

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Movies - Wing Commander

Plot

Relations to other Wing Commander works

Star Wars Episode I Trailer Premiere

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