Wing Commander is a science fiction film based on the Wing Commander computer game series, released to U.S. theatres on March 12, 1999.

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

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 (in Luxembourg) - 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.

External link

1999 films | Films based on computer and video games | Science fiction films | Wing Commander | Space opera | Films shot in Super 35

Wing Commander (Film) | Wing Commander (film, 1999) | Командир эскадрильи (фильм)