History Film / TheLastStarfighter

'''Alex''': ''(after a long pause)'' Grig? Maybe there is one left.

* TrashyTrailerHome: Alex lives in the StarLite StarBrite trailer park, which his mom manages. Alex is responsible for repairs and maintenance.

* MotileVehicularComponents: Gunstar One had an unique new feature that separated it from other Gunstars, a prototype weapon called Death Blossom Mode, installed by Grig. Panels along the engine block would open up, referred to by Grig as Petals, and expose [[PhotoProtoNeutronTorpedoes Photon Orb launchers]] and extra laser cannons, which would, when engaged, allow the Gunstar to spin in a spherical axis and obliterate every target in range.

-->'''Grig''': Your plan might really have worked. ''(in a tone heavy with implication)'' What a pity there are no Starfighters left to carry it out.\\

* EurekaMoment: Alex realizes that hide and seek can be used to bypass the armada to get to the communication turret.

* FacePalm: A rather unusual one by Beta when he sees a Zando-Zan landing on Earth, since his ''head'' is on the desk. It's sort of a third-person face palm.

* CranialProcessingUnit: When the Beta unit (robot) impersonating Alex takes off its head, the head can continue to talk normally.

* BeamSpam: The Death Blossom attack fires both lasers and missiles in all directions to take out all enemies within a certain radius of the Starfighter. The attack uses a tremendous amount of energy and leaves the ship defenseless until the batteries to recharge.

* NintendoHard: Starfighter. Despite being a RailShooter, the second Alex lets Louis take over, he's immediately killed. Apparently, no one has ever defeated the Command Ship before, which attracts Centauri's attention.

* AsYouKnow: Ambassador Enduran uses this trope almost by name -- "as you all know" -- as he mentions to the Starfighters what the Frontier is, why it's important, and how, because of a dark betrayal (he means Xur), the Frontier will soon collapse. Naturally, the audience and Alex are hearing this for the first time. Justified in that the Ambassador is giving a standard "Welcome to the Star League, New Starfighters" speech given to new recruits.

* BloodKnight / ProudWarriorRace: The Bogati, though they're never seen in action.

* DreamDeception: During the period where a robot duplicate is standing in for Alex, his little brother Louis wakes up in the middle of the night and sees the robot performing self-maintenance. The robot tells Louis he's having a nightmare and should go back to sleep.

* EvilIsHammy: Xur, oh so very much. It's amazing the hull of his command ship was able to withstand his vast [[ChewingTheScenery scenery chewing]].

* {{Irony}}: Centauri chuckles to Alex that the Starfighter arcade machine was never intended to be delivered to a trailer community -- it was intended to be shipped to UsefulNotes/LasVegas. One of the greatest Starfighters who ever lived (Centauri's words) was found in the middle of nowhere.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While Centauri seems like SnakeOilSalesman, he means it when he says he always had the best intentions for Alex. He's also correct in pointing out that while Earth isn't advanced enough to be introduced to the Star League, they're still in danger from the Ko-Dan armada and thus Alex has every right to help fight the Ko-Dans.

* LargeHam: Xur, to the point that even his Ko-Dan allies find him testing their patience.

* ActorAllusion: The character of Centauri is clearly based on Robert Preston's most famous character, Harold Hill from ''Film/TheMusicMan''.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: By one of the villains.

* TheGameComeToLife: Or the game was based on an already real situation.

* TheGreys: What Centauri looks like without his human mask.

* LargeHam: Xur, to the point that even his Ko-Dan allies find him annoying.

* ActualPacifist: The novelization features the League as such. They had some real trouble recruiting soldiers - or even finding a politician to read them a RousingSpeech.

* AcePilot: Alex actually kind of subverts this trope as he is a talented ''gunner'', not a pilot; Grig, the navigator, takes care of that, and the Gunstar, though fast and heavily armored, doesn't seem to be particularly maneuverable. The trope is otherwise played straight.

* AcePilot: Alex actually subverts this trope as he is a talented ''gunner'', not a pilot - Grig, the navigator, takes care of that, and the Gunstar, though fast and heavily armored, doesn't seem to be particularly maneuverable.

* {{Novelization}}: Written by Creator/AlanDeanFoster. Most noted for a ''vastly'' expanded showdown against the Ko-Dan, including "refueling" the Gunstar by flying it near the surface of a star.

* ExcaliburInTheStone: It's implied that Centauri has recruited starfighters this way before as he's accused if using the "Excalibur Test" to recruit Alex from Earth.