Ash P
Hey, remember this movie? This year, for the month of May, or Star Wars month, I decided to add this to the equation like I've done for Spaceballs and both of the Rebel Moon movies. Dear lore, this was bad, as some folks were saying. Although, not a godawful movie, if you ask me. I mean, I've seen worse animated movies. Whether from the past or in modern media, I wouldn't go far as to say that this was an awful film. It's technically a kind of rip-off of Star Wars. Not only that, it does have some of the vibes from Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings, He-Man, and even the Heavy Metal if we're looking at 80s-style animated features.
First of all, the animation is a mixed bag. I love the look of the backgrounds and the designs of what they were going for. Although the characters themselves are pretty much a hit-or-miss in terms of designs and what characteristics they were written to have. There are elements of explanation except that not everything was explained very well. Especially with that sword that Orin, the main protagonist, had found in the mine where he worked along with his comrades under the rule of their "god" Zygon. Not to mention the few times when it felt like some segments were cut out. Like I had to rewind on some parts to find out what'd happened like any film critic or animation fanatic would do.
Orin goes out on a quest as the new Kha-Khan while running into a smuggler named Dagg, who was delivering the crystals that Orin and his people were mining for, and now they run off. Honestly, the story goes a little all over the since Orin and Dagg are being chased by Zygon's robotic henchmen who are more like bounty hunters. Along the way, they crash landed on the planet, Novalna. Orin was nursed back to health by the planet's daughter of the Governor of Bordogon, Aviana. There was little chemistry with the characters, yet most of them are just bland. Dagg got a little bit of development the more Orin hung out along with his ship, Arthur, and a fembot he reprogrammed called Silica. Not so much with Orin or Aviana since their chemistry wasn't shown at all.
I know I'm rambling on and could already be told that this is just your average, cheesy 80s film that you're not supposed to take seriously. You are right on that one. However, this is as much a rip-off of a few projects that if I were to choose one or the other, I'd take the Secret of NIHM or Heavy Metal over this. Like, some of the lore of this animated film's universe isn't explained too well. We get a little bit of such like the sword, the Kha-Khan's before Orin became the new Kha-Khan and Zygon's plan to conquer the universe. Also, some of the dialogue is just laughable, while some others I'd just say are outdated. Come to think of it, I laughed with this movie most of the time with whatever decision some characters make. Some of the logic just has me question like my brain was about to explode. Also, am I the only one that has the say Kha-Khan sounds like a dirty word? When you think about it, it'd be like mispronouncing it as either ca-ca or ca-caw or cacade. Stupid nitpick, I know, but I'm just throwing that out there.
The other positive that I can throw out there is the action is fine. Well, the gunplay seems a little low on impression, but I actually like the space battles with the ships. The times that Orin uses that sword, despite the logic that I question, is as serviceable as it gets when needed to get out of a messy situation. Without spoiling anything, the final fight between Orin and Zygon wasn't too impressive. Yet it was fine enough for how you would see the "chosen one" had to figure out. Even when I told the character that he had the blade all along. Seriously, the logic of his movie was weird.
Overall, I don't think this is a godawful film. It is bad, but hilariously bad. It had some moments, yet I don't think that I would call this the worst thing that existed in the 80s. I already have specific movies that came from the 80s that are just better than this. I don't blame folks to say that this is either so bad, it's good or so bad, it's bad. This is technically an 80s movie that had its moments. With that said, I'm gonna give it four blood red-eyed man-droid staring into your soul out of 10. 4/10.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
05/30/25
Full Review
Audience Member
This movie is an underrated gem. Great story line, seriously would have fit into the Star Wars universe much better than some instalments. It's funny, serious, engaging, and while the level of animation is definitely wanting, once you accept it the characters start to grow on you.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It’s fun. That’s what it comes down to. I can feel the theatrical scope of production in what is an impressive hand animated feature with hand rotoscoped computer art. Good times
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
11/19/20
Full Review
Audience Member
"Starchaser: The Legend Of Orin". This Film Bluntly Shows The Very Definition Of Unoriginality. The Animation, Although It Apes "Heavy Metal" (1981), Can Be Pretty Good At Times, This Film Felt Like An Overt Film Experience. The Characters Are Uninteresting, The Editing Is Clumsy, The Film's Entirety Reeks Of The Cheeziness Of The '80s, There's A Couple Of Jump-Cuts That Cut Out (What Would Be Perhaps) The Most Important Parts Of The Film's Storyline, & Of Course, To Put The Icing On The Cake (...) IT RIPS OFF MOTHERFUCKIN' "STAR WARS"! That Shows How Much This Film Lacks Creativity & Imagination, Which Makes The Plot & Characters Painfully The Exact Same Ones From The Original "Star Wars" Trilogy.
I Give The Film Credit For Being 1 Of The 1st Animated Movies To Combine Hand-Drawn & Computer Animation & For Being 1 Of The 1st Few Films To Be Released In 3D, But This '80s Family Film Lacks Originality & Effort. So In Conclusion, "Starchaser: The Legend Of Orin" Is Boring, Unimaginative, & Is Just A Stupid Excuse To Recreate "Star Wars". Grrrr! Yeah, Sorry, I'm Still Bothered About That. So It's Safe To Say... This Movie Sucks!
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
After watching Nostalgia Critic's review of the movie, I decided to watch the movie thinking it was gonna be hilariously bad as he described it. But after watching it, I thought different: I love this movie!!!! I love the story, animation, characters, and the history of the Ka-Khan. Honestly, I'd rather watch this then some of the other Disney animated films.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin makes no attempt at hiding the fact that it's a Star Wars ripoff while also having some other flaws such as hit-or-miss voice acting and an infamous scene involving a reprogrammed robot that makes it hard to regard the Han Solo expy as on the good guys' side. Yet, despite making no effort to hide the fact that its a Star Wars knockoff, Starchaser is still a decent, surprisingly well-made movie at times with decent animation, genuinely fun scenes and also not being ashamed of being rather dark at times. Ah, the '80s. There is more to this movie than just being an animated copyright-friendly remake of Star Wars but how much you're going to focus on the film's own strengths over just how blatantly they copied scenes from A New Hope depends on just how nitpicky of a person you are. After all, you know what they say: To each their own.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
Full Review
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