The Weekly Planet - Wing Commander - Caravan Of Garbage

Episode Date: April 11, 2025

Wing Commander is a bad movie that came out in 1999. Sure it's based on a much beloved computer game series (that features the likes of Mark Hamill) and stars both Freddie Prinze Jr and Matthew Lillard. Plus it was directed by Chris Roberts who not only created the original series but also the upcoming Star Citizen video game which is going to change the way you do video games. All in all though it was a horrible experience. Thanks for watching our Caravan Of Garbare reviewSUBSCRIBE HERE ►► http://goo.gl/pQ39jNHelp support the show and get early episodes ► https://bigsandwich.co/Patreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesJames' Twitter ► http://twitter.coQm/mrsundaymoviesMaso's Twitter ► http://twitter.com/wikipediabrownPatreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesT-Shirts/Merch ► https://www.teepublic.com/stores/mr-sunday-movies The Weekly Planet iTunes ► https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-planet/id718158767?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 The Weekly Planet Direct Download ► https://play.acast.com/s/theweeklyplanetAmazon Affiliate Link ► https://amzn.to/2nc12P4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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the story the world's been waiting for. Welcome to the 50th Hunger Games. Experience the worldwide best-selling series in a whole new way and listen with the world. Sunrise on the Reaping, available now at audible.ca slash sunrise. Welcome back everybody to another episode of Caravan of Garbage where we're making our way through some video game movies. Oh hell yeah. So Mason in 1999, please leave a like. Sure.

But also 1999 is widely known as one of the best years for movies, people say that. The Matrix. That's right. The Fight Club. The Phantom Menace? De Two Hands? Sure. The Iron Giant, The Talented Mr Ripley, Sixth Sense, Notting Hill, Bowfinger, Wild Wild West, Office Space or Classics. I could go on. When did the movie Wing Commander come out? If you had to guess, what year would you say it came out? Probably 1999. Correct, that's right. Sort of kills the streak, doesn't it? It really does what a bad year for movies

Oh right awful Yuck. Well, I mean that big streak of incredible movies explains why I didn't see this in cinemas. Yeah Also, this was an era when when we saw everything so why not this and I think it's because I saw the reviews and I Believed them. Yeah, and they were right a hundred percent, right? Well, also this got rushed and we'll talk about the production of it a bit more in depth but because they had to get this out before the Phantom Menace. Right. Now you might have this in trivia later. Sure. But did this movie have trailers for the Phantom Menace in front of it? Yes it did. It's one of those. Yeah. Where people

went to see it and they're like, well we'll see a Phantom Menace trailer and that's cool and then we can watch a cool space movie. Oh no! This is bad and also the Phantom Menace is bad. This is a bad year for movies. I'm just kidding Mason, the Phantom Menace is actually a classic now. I don't know if you've heard. I've heard. We covered them. We looked at all of those. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the production of this went from 12 months to six months to get it out. And boy can you see it and feel it.

Yeah, this feels like a movie that was knocked out real quick at Warner Brothers movie world Hollywood on the Gold Coast. But it's not. It was filmed in like Lithuania or something. Yeah, it also feels like it was filmed in Lithuania. Though I would say this cool cast. Cool. Very cool cast. It's got Freddie Prinze Jr and Matthew Lillard, who I consider to be the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis of their era. You got a cool guy and a goofy guy. They were in She's All That before this, they were in this, then they were in both Scooby Doo movies.

Hell yeah. You know, just touring the world. Having the best time. One of them going, wah lady! You know. And the other one going, I'm Matthew Lillard. Same joke. We did the same joke.

Which is good, that's a good sign. I think so too, we're on the same wavelength of this movie which we think is... Terrible, it's awful. It's not good. Freddie Prinze the same wavelength of this movie, which we think is terrible. It's awful It's not good. Freddy Prince jr. Said of this movie. I can't stand Wing Commander. I can't watch one second of that movie I read the script and loved it. So did my buddy Matthew Lillard We both got the parts we went on location and they said hey, here's the new script. It was a piece of shit Damn. Yeah, so the director of this though, and you probably know is Chris Roberts who created the Wing Commander video game series James It's a computer game series. That's a whole different kettle of fish. Is it now?

Go on you've got to play it on your PC. You've got to boot up your 386 you've got to boot up your 386. Yep You gotta you gotta ensure the sound card is set to the correct settings You got to buy a copy of this from a weird market a weird bootleg copy of wing Commander you got the disk and you got the box and you got the game manual the whole thing Yeah, I mean I would what I would say is this this series is notable because it was like, you know One of the early kind of space sims like space action. Yeah, but by the third game They'd switched to like full motion video cut scenes. Oh, yeah, prior versions were all like, you know

Yes, your standard pixel fare. So you're saying that people had a really good idea of what this universe should look like and maybe they should adhere to that. Yeah, and Wing Commander 3 had Mark Hamill, it had Malcolm McDowell, it had John Rhys Davies, it even had Tom Wilson. Tom Wilson from Back to the Future, he's Griff from Back to the Future and many other things. And Griff and Mad Dog Tannen.

That's right. But he is the Matthew Lillard role in those games. Ah. Yeah. And when the movie was announced I think I went, oh this is okay. Yeah because this is sort of supposed to be a prequel sort of, sort of, not really sort of but also a different universe but also some of the games later reference events in this movie sort of.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I did a bit of a deep dive on Wing Commander lore. No, I don't know, this movie seems wrong from my very basic Understanding of these games and what things are supposed to look like and history of etc. And who's got magic? Navigational powers aka the force I feel like even if you didn't do that deep dive this movie does feel wrong Something about it. Yeah, there's so it's all exposition in this movie. Oh my god, Mason.

Like for a space action movie, there's so much just talking on the bridge. You know what, and it's not only that, there's so much information that they throw at you in text. In the opening it says, Vector Fleet headquarters, Pegasus asteroid base Ulysses corridor March 15th, Earth year 2654 0900 hours Zulu time. None of that is important. Maybe the year. Sure. But just because also like looking at that it's worthless. It's worthless information and it's too much information.

Also I don't really know often what's going on. Like everything is about jump points and getting to a jump point and going to a location, but also you can't use the jump point because it's impossible actually, unless you've got magic powers or a cross with a knife in it. The knife never really comes into play either, and they're always just telling you what time it is. That's important information, James. They don't a time to check

Yeah, I guess the movies like a ticking clock Yeah, because they have to get somewhere before the bad guys get there I have to get to earth before the kill rathi get to it. Yeah, the killer rathi have acquired an earth navcom James Yeah in the games. They're like lion people. Yeah, they shaved lion people. Yeah, I don't know what alopecia Yeah, I guess they- oh, okay. They're the angriest clan of Kilrathi, because they've been ostracized. Because they have alopecia. But they've acquired this navcom, which will allow them to use a jump point to get to Earth,

and the good guys are behind them by like two hours. Yeah. So, you know, who knows how much damage they can do in the two hours before, you know, the good guys get- Sure. You know. Who knows? Yeah. Yeah.

Unless the shops aren't open yet. That's true. But the information is just fucked. I remember seeing like a navigational kind of computer interface. And it's like a bunch of lines. And it says Sol. Then it says Cherubois, Quasar, and then Vega, and then Pegasus,

and then Killrath Battle Group, and also Time to Target. And I'm looking at this, and I'm like, I don't know what this is. And it's often they're talking about places they need to go or have been. And I'm just not following it Mason. And it's also because I am bored. And also there's that bit where that guy goes to shoot the glass and the glass doesn't break

and then he hits it with the butt of the gun and then there's a mark on the glass. And I'm like, what is the glass in this universe? We all know glass isn't frozen air. We've established that in previous videos. But is it frozen air in this universe? Is it fantastical enough that it is frozen air? Is glass frozen air?

I don't know what any of that is, James. Anyways. I guess that the, because the action is to a minimum because of, I assume, budget restraints and the reduced shooting schedule They did cut the budget. Yeah, I Guess what we're supposed to get from this is like the it's it's sort of like we're supposed to you know the interpersonal stuff We're supposed to yeah on board with like for you know, Freddie Prinze, Jr. He shows up. He so his his mom

Yeah, was a pill room. There's a bit of space racism in this universe. Spacism. Spacism. So in this universe, the first explorers of the universe were from Earth and they're called pilgrims. But then there was a war between the pilgrims and the regulars. So everybody hates the pilgrims. But Freddie Prinze Jr. is the son of pilgrims. So maybe he has this special, the force power where he can navigate. He's got the force. The jump points faster than any computer kind of thing he can't do anything else yeah yeah but he's kind of like a you know he's kind of like a he's the cool hot shot kind of guy

and he shows up and he sits in somebody's sits in somebody's little space fighter you know and he gets a he gets a talking to yeah that's a weird situation from some lady James yeah from some lady lady who is this woman even pushed around by some lady some Grease monkey some grease monkey, but then it turns out she's the wing commander Girl she's the titular wing commander yeah from the movies in the game Well, I've come they've gone off on a rocky start James. They're not gonna. They're not gonna ever get along I don't think also she's selling him scenario. She's like what would you do in this situation? He's like well, I'd do this and she's like no you die and then she's like what would you do in this scenario? And he goes well, I'd shoot all the bad guys and she goes well

Why you are busy shooting one of the bad guys six other bad guys appeared and they killed you the fuck scenario is this? Oh, yeah And then and then I got and then you got hit by lightning and then you were hungry Like you're just making up you got distracted because you didn't eat a Snickers Before you left a space Snickers, then they've actually got an anti laser shield and you can't break through the shield I've just decided you there's a shield Like the worst dungeon master. Yeah, yeah horrible, but you're rooting for them James. You know no I'm not at all the only bit where I

Kind of got a little bit intrigued was when they did the Matrix camera. Yeah. But really badly, but also a month before the Matrix came out. Crazy. So I guess I will give her that. Yeah, but I mean, the Matrix used it for like incredible,

you know, climactic bullet dodging action. Yeah. Whereas in this, it's just a couple of guys falling over in a mess hall. That's true, yeah. Whoa. Wow, were you intrigued. We slipped on some Cheerios. Space Cheerios, Speerios. Did you like all the Ulysses stuff?

Do you think this is a good lead into Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey? Sure it is, we'll put that in title. I'll put a hashtag in. That'll get some clicks. Yeah I think so, will it? Is anyone looking at that yet? Yeah I don't know man. Anyway, the Kilrathi.

Director Chris Roberts He regretted how they turned out in this film. He wanted a suit that's similar to What was using alien? Uh-huh, but Patrick Teutopoulos. You might recognize that name Teutopoulos. Yeah, he's Godzilla. He's Matthew Broderick's character in Godzilla and also the guy who designed a bunch of design work and whatever He's an effects creature kind of dude. He cost too much so they couldn't to use him So they went with a team which had less experience and that looked bad and then he was like this looks bad I know what we'll do. We'll fix it in post classic 1999. This will work and 20th Century Fox said no We're making money on this film

Even if it sucks due to the video and TV deals we have. If we give you more money, that might not be the case anymore. So tough luck. So that's why they look like slippery frog man or whatever they ended up with. Do they speak English in the games? I don't know man. Because they're like blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I was a fan of the spin off Privateer where you were like a freelancer in that universe. Not privateer?

I don't know maybe. Okay. But you know, but I'm not, I'm not, I'm not working for the man, I'm working for myself. Yeah, okay. Making that sweet space coin for myself. Spoin. Some spoin. Yeah, okay.

My bank account's loaded down with spoin. I'm not saluting an admiral. I'm not saluting a wing commander. Get out of here. Given your dumb scenarios where you die in. I'm my own filthy grease monkey, you know? Yes you are, and in real life. That's true.

Yeah. They do a bit of a, like they do some submarine stuff in this, there's a depth charge kind of moment, which is obviously a classic submarine, or even space trope, they did it in, you know, Star Trek, some of those movies, two specifically, I guess, but other ones. It is in two, yes.

Yeah, but they're also like, shh, be quiet. Dude, you're in space. But I guess also this is the kind of space where there are they're also like shh be quiet. Dude you're in space. But I guess also this is the kind of space where there are explosions sounds like Star Wars or whatever so maybe if you do whisper you can be heard and you know what's going on. I often I didn't know whose ship was who I'm like is that the bad oh that ship's blowing up that's bad oh no that's good. Well you just got to see who cheers. Yeah that's true. You got to see who cheers in the mess hall and then you know who's winning. Yeah that's right yeah but I tell you what, Mason, it's not without its sad moments,

like when Rosie died and then they just unceremoniously dump a ship off the deck, just roll out a bulldozer and just, I don't know, push it into that ditch. Yeah, the dead pilot ditch. Yeah, they ever clear that out? They have a big broom that they can get in there with? They probably get some casuals in

when they're doing stock taking stuff. Oh, okay, yeah, fair enough. Just shove it away. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or they flush it at night when nobody's there. Yeah, that makes sense I guess. And then there's a moment where the whole, if we're not making specific moments in the movie. Oh, so many memorable moments. This is what I remember. This is our last memorable moment. Yeah, it is actually. Look it ahead, you're right. Because my next moment I want to talk about, I had to rewind it three times because I kept blanking on what was happening. So Freddie Prinze Jr. is a moment where he's going to get sucked down into space and at first like as he's getting pulled off the deck and he's like flying about, I'm getting pulled off, I'm getting

sucked out, help! But not just yet! Yeah just give me a minute. But everybody else in the background at first is just kind of casually kind of hanging on, just like a little wind whipping the hair, but they're like just watching him fly about. Poirot's in this. Poirot is in this! David Suchet, the most famous of the Poirot. Is he still doing it? Or is he dead? I don't know, James.

Yeah. Here is his current status on the screen. But I'm like, is that, when he's introduced, I'm like, is that Michael Ironsides? No, it's David Suchethey. Yeah absolutely it is. It's crazy. Yeah. It's weird to see him without the mustache. Yeah I know what's he doing that's why I didn't recognize him I'm like I know this guy but I don't know from where. Yeah. This is a movie also where they're very casual about people dying and like if you'd once you're dead you're gone. Is that from the game and if

so is there a lesson in that? And like don't remember your mates but actually remember your mates? That's a lesson right? I was a lone wolf in a privateer or possibly privateer game. Your own Grease Monkey I remember. That's exactly right. Slipping and sliding around your cockpit covered in grease. Firing lasers or proton torpedoes or missiles or whatever they had I don't know. At who or whatever? Yeah just just blasting them around. Buying iron ore or something or wood. Did you play any of the like the Super Nintendo versions of these guys? No, why would you? Stupid non 3d graphics strike commander. Oh, yeah, that's the Iraq War era one. I played desert strike. That's a good one

Helicopters. Oh hell. Yeah. Yeah, I played syndicate. Remember that. Oh Absolutely, do you wanna name games we like I mean syndicate One of the I think Wing Commander 3 came, no you know what, Strike Commander came out in a pack with Syndicate Plus. Oh okay right, yeah. Like a pack of cigarettes. Like a pack of cigarettes, you got a cigarettes as well. Good. So in the ending in this, um, Freddy Prinze Jr. lures the killer Athey into a ditch. No, a void. A hole. Explosion. I don't know what it is.

Like I said, I literally had to rewind it three times because I I was I was watching it But I kept blanking and it wasn't like I was on my phone or whatever and I was literally on ketamine Yeah, I was on ketamine and I just have to it just wasn't Yet sinking in sticking like at all and this is my job Which is why I rewound and I eventually figured it out He he lures them close and they didn't see the big the big blue void or whatever Yeah, they didn't see the big blue void. He's able to get out. Yeah, cause he's a pilgrim. Yeah, he's got the force or whatever Also from what I can understand this does look very different from the games because you know you look at the cutscenes

Especially the live-action ones. They don't feel like they're inside of a submarine the entire time. The sets are very closed in, which is not an accident. They made it like that on purpose. Chris Roberts said, I took the look of the world too far away from the game look. I had my reasons, partly because I was paranoid about being accused of being too much of a Star Wars clone. And second of all, I lost the keys to the video game sets. Yeah, I guess.

The room with the video game sets in it. Yeah. He said, in retrospect, considering how Star Wars Episode 1 turned out and looked, it was the wrong decision. But at the time I was picturing the next Star Wars to have the awesomeness of the first three films, not the disappointing mess that was Episode 1. Oh, that's a bit of shade on a movie that made infinitely more money than yours. Oh my god, so much more money.

I want to talk about that. But Chris Roberts also, he's mostly known for game development and he's currently working on Star Citizen, a game that is constantly being funded but seems like it will never come out. Yes. I know there was there's like a beta version or whatever but I feel like everything they're trying to do this expansive universe and whatever, the longer you delay that, the more games come out that can do that. It's a Duke Nukem forever situation. Exactly. You kind of at certain points have

to scrap everything and then redo it all because all the technology has moved beyond what you're trying to do. And it's also I think one of those games where like the reach always exceeds the grasp. It's always like these, you know, it's a game that is so advanced. You can plan an acorn on a planet and then leave and then come back and then a hundred years time and it's grown into a tree or whatever. And it's like, come on, man. But why are you putting that in?

Yeah, I just want to shoot the big lion men, honestly. You want to be slippery in your cabin, don't you? Exactly, firing missiles or torpedoes or whatever. Using the force or whatever. Yeah, that's right. Biff's there. Yeah, give the money to Biff. Give it to Biff.

Biff could be my computer, my ship's computer or whatever. I wanna talk about that, who's the ship's computer. Strafe left, butt head, you could say. Do a barrel roll, you idiot. Butt head, your butt head. You idiot, I mean butt head. No riffing in the booth. No biffing in the booth. No biffinging in the booth No biffing in the booth

Only biffing in the booth. That's probably more accurate. Anyway, it's time for wing gear command trivia I love this. Yeah, so a subplot about a trader was cut from the film However toy manufacturer X toys made it distributed the pilgrim traitor action figure It comes with a mask hiding the traders face when the mask is removed the identity of the trader is revealed Do you want to know do you want to guess who it is isn't one of the characters in the movie? Yeah, it's Admiral Bill Wilson classic Bill. Well yeah, which one was that? He's one of the characters the one that isn't David Suchet. Yeah, he's not David. She's not Poirot It's the other probably one of the other guys. I don't have any more information than that, but yeah, you are correct

Well, or you might or it might be I honestly don't know Do you think that actor is he has that action figure on his shelf and he just looks at it every once in a while He's like man. I could have been the traitor in Wing Commander the movie, but they cut it Yeah, now I'm just a you know a solemn military man in Wing Commander the movie I didn't even get a chance to do my classic betrayal scene. I know right take the mask off or whatever. Yeah, yeah So there's a few Star Wars alumni in this which is fun. Hugh Quashie is in this and the Phantom Menace Oh, he's Panaka. Okay, whatever his name is Freddie Prince, Jr. Of course plays Kanan in Star Wars Rebels Which one's that again? He's got a little soul patch in a

Guy sure yeah, yeah sure sure David Warner He voiced grand general Brashen in Star Wars Force commander and Mark Hamill is the voice of Freddie Prinze jr. Onboard computer well speaking of Hugh Quashie. Yeah, he's also the voice of a computer in an episode of Red Dwarf Which one the polymorph to upset? Oh, I like that episode. The one with Dwayne Dibley. Yeah. Here's Dwayne Dibley. Here he is. This is our Red Dwarf episode.

Yeah. Yeah. Cut Red Dwarf. Yeah see you want stuff like this and then... Just Red Dwarf, especially early Red Dwarf has done just so much sci-fi stuff better and first. Yeah absolutely. And on even less money somehow.

But looks better than this. I mean come on. Let's be real man. We're kicking this movie while it's down. I think... But not a lot of stuff looks better than this. I mean come on let's be real man we're kicking this movie while it's down. I think but not a lot of stuff looks worse than Red Dwarf. No I think a lot of it does look better especially like you know the model work and whatever Mason whatever. Anyways uh speaking of Red Dwarf and I guess Great Britain in particular this went straight to video slash DVD there. I see. So it didn't't help contribute to the box office for this on a budget of 27 million dollars Which I guess considering what they did with this. It's it's not terrible, but it made eleven point six million dollars less

Yeah, this is gonna be a whole franchise. This is gonna be like Star Wars and etc Sure was and it's not they already on the poster. They called it the better stars Don't even bother seeing episode one in a couple of months Yeah, but that's also for different reasons maybe don't but it's a classic now, and we all love it, and it's good Go on no, I don't like it in this bad Anyways People they voted on what the final video in this video game series is what is it they picked Uncharted? Oh, that's awful It's an awful movie for different reasons for this being an awful movie at least this feels like it was this video game series is. What is it? They picked Uncharted. Oh, that's awful.

It's an awful movie for different reasons. For this being an awful movie. At least this feels like it was genuine. Does it? You know what I mean? Yeah, I kinda, yeah. Like it was made with an earnestness, I think. Yeah. You know, given what they had to work with, which was no money and no resources and no time.

Yeah. But Uncharted, there's a Papa John's in Barcelona. They got a... But there's probably a Papa John's in Barcelona in real life. There is, I looked it up. There really is one. Well we will talk about that next week, and if you do want to see that early, you can actually head over to BigSandwich.co where all our videos go if you want to see them early. In addition to that, we do video game let's plays, we do bonus podcasts, we do movie commentaries.

Our podcast, The Weekly Planet, where we talk movies and comics and TV shows that comes out there Sunday as opposed to Monday we recently did an episode on the Minecraft movie a mind craft all the Minecraft movie. Yeah, okay. That's based on a video game kids love it kids love it They love the movie. I love a series of middle-aged men. Yep lepping around That's what they love. Okay. They love that action figure Jack Black action figure as we all do Jack Black action figure. Well, very good. All right, everybody. Thank you so much for watching this Thank you, and thank you to Ben for the edit. Thank you Ben, and we'll see you on the next one and it's uncharted Mark Wahlberg. Grab that jam everybody. We'll see you next week. Mark Wahlberg. Yuck. Could have been worse. We'll talk about it next week

You're not selling it. I'm trying to sell it. Mark Wahlberg yuck. You find him loathsome. I do! Stay pride up everyone