The Difference Between Critics and Fans

Plenty of fans hate what critics may say about their favorite movies; the problem is that the critics are fans as well.

One of the more interesting SF movies, this is a great movie with some interesting issues.

Iabsolutely love “Battle Beyond The Stars” (1980). However, as a reviewer there are quite a few problems with the movie. Due to that dichotomy, I thought it would be interesting to look at the movie, from the viewpoints of both a fan and a critic to show how different those viewpoints can be when it comes to reviewing movies, showing that reviewers are fans but with a different perspective.

The Story
Yet another retelling of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” but in space, “Battle Beyond The Stars” tells the story of farmboy Shad’s quest to find warriors to protect his space colony against the depredations of the villainous Shador, resulting in one of the best space battles in cinematic history.

The story is pretty simple: Space Warlord Shador gives Akir a simple choice: Pay him off or he’ll attack the peaceful world. They are given time to get the money together. At a meeting, it’s decided that they will instead seek out some mercenaries to defend the planet. Richard Thomas’ Shad volunteers to find them. He eventually finds seven (depending on how you count them) warriors that will not only defend the planet but also teach the farmers how to defend themselves. Shador invades and, after a suitably epic fight, is killed in battle…