Battle Beyond the Stars (Dir. Jimmy T. Murakami, 1980)

In Battle Beyond the Stars, an enemy threatens to destroy the culture of Akir if the inhabitants do not submit their planet to the enemy, Sador’s, demands. Now a young hero, Shad (played by Richard Thomas) must travel through the Galaxy to gather a team of rebel fighters to defend his planet against the enemy.

Shad’s home planet of Akir is a peaceful, non-violent culture with its own religion. Unfortunately, the movie does not explore the Akirians beliefs in any depth. All we learn is that they are pacifists who cannot kill anyone, and that means that it is against their beliefs to defend themselves, unless someone else does it for them. And Shad’s spunky computer pilot Nell does just that. She playfully executes kill commands on her own to teach Shad that pacifism can’t win a war.

And since this is war, pacifism loses. The ideas in this movie are shallow and underdeveloped, but there is an interesting collection of new alien races from across this galaxy. Shad and Nell recruit a space cowboy from earth, a clone alien race (somewhat comparable in concept to the borg, but not nearly as cool), a beautiful woman, a sexy warrior, and a mercenary looking for a place to hide. With this team, Shad is ready to defend Akir.

While the moral problem is a simplistic good verses evil, the movie is enjoyable for its exploration of alien races (though they are hardly developed) and strong set design. The effects are lacking but add to the campy feel of the movie. Battle Beyond the Stars stems most directly from Star Wars, which I do not love. However, like Star Wars, it’s a fun ride. It enjoyed the movie, even if I wasn’t challenged or moved by it.

Richard Thomas gives a fine performance and at times rises beyond the material. Ok, maybe only one time (when he turns his own gun on himself). And the enemy, Sador, played by John Saxon, is a lot of fun to watch. There’s enough good to make these tired ideas watchable, so I give it a recommendation.

2.5 our of 4 stars.