The Last Starfighter

Alex Rogan lives in a trailer park and spends his evenings at an arcade machine called Starfighter. When he sets a record on the game, an unusual visitor named Centauri arrives and takes him away from Earth. Alex learns that the game was a test used to find recruits for an interstellar conflict, and that his skill has made him a candidate to fly for the Star League against an invading armada.

The Last Starfighter is a 1984 American science fiction adventure directed by Nick Castle, his first feature behind the camera, from a screenplay by Jonathan R. Betuel. Lance Guest plays Alex, with Robert Preston as Centauri, Chris Hebert as Alex's brother Louis, Kay E. Kuter as Enduran, Dan Mason as Lord Kril and Dan O'Herlihy as Grig. The film was produced by Universal Pictures and Lorimar, and mixes a small-town teenage story with space combat.

Made for about 15 million dollars, it took in roughly 29 million worldwide, a modest return for its era. On IMDb and TMDB, audience ratings sit around the mid-six range from hundreds of votes, and the critics' rating stands at 6.6/10 from 89 reviews, closely matching the audience response. Castle went on to direct The Boy Who Could Fly, Dennis the Menace and Major Payne, among other films.