History Film / WingCommander

* TheCavalry: {{Subverted}}. Admiral Tolwyn's fleet manages to get to Sol System before the Kilrathi do, and take up orbit over Venus to await the Kilrathi arrival. When Blair arrives in Sol System [[spoiler: pursued by a Kilrathi Cruiser,]] Tolwyn can't send any ships to help Blair without tipping off the Kilrathi to the presence of the Enigma Sector Fleet in Sol System. Even considering that their non-intervention will [[spoiler: leave the Kilrathi cruiser free to [[DeathFromAbove open fire on Earth]]]], the cost of springing their trap early before the Kilrathi fleet had stepped into it would be much worse. [[spoiler: Blair's broadcasting the Kilrathi fleet's intended jump coordinates does allow Tolwyn to move his fleet into position to [[CurbStompBattle wail on the Kilrathi as they are forced to make the jump one ship at a time.]]]]

** If you look closely, you can see a distinctive chain around Taggart's neck [[spoiler:supporting his [[MembershipToken Pilgrim's Cross]]]] through the entire movie.
* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Quite a few references throughout the plot to ''Literature/TheOdyssey''

* TheDeadHaveNames: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Anyone who dies is said to have not existed, and mention of their name actually forbidden. Blair finds this deplorable, and [[CallingTheOldManOut calls Angel on it]].

* AsteroidThicket: The Ulysses Corridor

* TimTaylorTechnology: [[DeconstructedTrope Played to its logical conclusion]]: Several of Tolywn's ships suffer [[ExplosiveOverclocking catastrophic meltdowns]] from running their engines too hard in the push to get in position to defend Earth. Upon being informed of this, [[RaceAgainstTheClock he orders the ships to raise their engine output again.]]

* PeopleInRubberSuits: The Kilrathi. However, Chris Roberts has never liked the appearance of ''any'' of the Kilrathi, from ''any'' source. Sources (i.e. rumors circulating on-line) say that the Kilrathi costumes [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome actually were very imposing]] when allowed to stand to their full height, but cramped sets meant they spent the movie hunched at the waist and shoulders, resulting in their [[SpecialEffectsFailure less-than-impressive final appearance]].

* VanillaEdition: All three releases (non-anamorphic {{DVD}} in 1999, anamorphic DVD in 2011, and UsefulNotes/BluRay in 2013) have nothing more than a fairly barebones menu and the theatrical trailer included.

* ComingInHot: Complete with the crashed fighter being pushed off the edge of the deck and falling into [[SpaceIsAnOcean the ocean, er, space]]

New pilots Christopher Blair (Creator/FreddiePrinzeJr) and his best friend/rival Todd "Maniac" Marshall (Matthew Lillard) are assigned to the TCS ''Tiger Claw'' [sic] as the Kilrathi fleet prepares to mount a massive assault on Sol Sector, using navigational information gained in a raid on a major Terran Confederation naval base. Time is short for Admiral Tolwyn (Creator/DavidWarner) to mount a defense, and the ''Tiger Claw'' is ordered to buy them more time. Whilst integrating with the ''Claw'''s flight wing, led by Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux (Saffron Burrows), Blair finds himself fighting some of the most crucial battles of the war--and trying to keep secret the fact that he's half "Pilgrim," a sub-species of humans subject to FantasticRacism.

New pilots Christopher Blair (Freddie Prinze Jr) and his best friend/rival Todd "Maniac" Marshall (Matthew Lillard) are assigned to the TCS ''Tiger Claw'' [sic] as the Kilrathi fleet prepares to mount a massive assault on Sol Sector, using navigational information gained in a raid on a major Terran Confederation naval base. Time is short for Admiral Tolwyn (Creator/DavidWarner) to mount a defense, and the ''Tiger Claw'' is ordered to buy them more time. Whilst integrating with the ''Claw'''s flight wing, led by Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux (Saffron Burrows), Blair finds himself fighting some of the most crucial battles of the war--and trying to keep secret the fact that he's half "Pilgrim," a sub-species of humans subject to FantasticRacism.

** TCS ''Tiger Claw'' is a carrier that is ''capable'' of fighting enemy capital ships toe to toe, but anything from a cruiser on up is considered long odds. She relies on her fighter wing to keep the fight away from her.
*** RealityEnsues: The follow-on novel (and the outline for the never-completed trilogy capping second sequel) shows that the ''Claw'' never quite recovered from the mauling she took during the movie.

* VanillaEdition: Although more a case of the Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox executives [[TheyJustDidntCare simply not caring]] about the film than a quest for more sales, all three releases (non-anamorphic {{DVD}} in 1999, anamorphic DVD in 2011, and UsefulNotes/BluRay in 2013) have nothing more than a fairly barebones menu and the theatrical trailer included.

* BetterThanSex: Rosie claims that some hotdog flying with Maniac was better than sex. Angel calls "bullshit" on the claim, to which Rosie replies "better than sex with myself"[[note]]which would be [[ADateWithRosiePalms a date with Rosie]][[{{Irony}} ... yeah]][[/note]].

* BetterThanSex: Rosie claims that some hotdog flying with Maniac was better than sex. Angel calls "bullshit" on the claim, to which Rosie replies "better than sex with myself"[[note]]which would be [[ADateWithRosiePalms a date with Rosie... yeah]][[/note]].

* BetterThanSex: Rosie claims that some hotdog flying with Maniac was better than sex. Angel calls "bullshit" on the claim, to which Rosie replies "better than sex with myself"[[note]]which would be [[ADateWithRosiePalms a date with Rosie... yeah[[/note]].

* BetterThanSex: Rosie claims that some hotdog flying with Maniac was better than sex. Angel calls "bullshit" on the claim, to which Rosie replies "better than sex with myself".
* CallingTheOldManOut: Blair calls Angel, his squadron[[labelnote:*]]"wing" in the film dialog, a script editing error that was fixed in the {{Novelization}}[[/labelnote]] commander, on her policy that pilots who died "never existed", as being unfaithful to those who have died in service.

* Myth.ClassicalMythology: Quite a few references throughout the plot to ''Literature/TheOdyssey''

* ClassicalMythology: Quite a few references throughout the plot to ''Literature/TheOdyssey''

* VanillaEdition: Although more a case of the Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox executives [[TheyJustDidntCare simply not caring]] about the film than a quest for more sales, all three releases (non-anamorphic {{DVD}} in 1999, anamorphic DVD in 2011, and BluRay in 2013) have nothing more than a fairly barebones menu and the theatrical trailer included.

* InvisibilityCloak: The Kilrathi Skipper missile is a cloak-equipped missile that travels a certain distance, decloaks and changes course, then cloaks again. It's slower than a normal missile, but the cloaking makes it impossible to shoot down unless a fighter can chase it down.

* TheDeadHaveNames: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Anyone who dies is said to be forgotten, and mention of their name actually forbidden. Blair finds this deplorable, and [[CallingTheOldManOut calls Angel on it]].

* FinishHim: ''Give him a broadside, Mr Gerald!''

* GravitySucks: Beacon 147, a NegativeSpaceWedgie also known as [[MeaningfulName Scyllia]]. Two Confed ships nearly fall victim to this trope, and an unsuspecting Kilrathi warship ''does'' fall victim to this.

* InTheBlood: Pilgrims' navigational talents

* PlanarShockwave: from destroyed Kilrathi capships, and they look pretty freaking awesome. Also from a Skipper missile near the end of the movie, but this time Angel tries to [[OutrunTheFireball Outrun A Fireball]] which is less tall than her ship is, instead of, say, [[TwoDSpace pulling up a few meters]]. They even ''refer'' to it as the "[[LampshadeHanging Planar Wave]]" in dialog.

* ShoutOut: Quite a few to ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', evidently the Pilgrims who named everything were fans of the Classics.
* SilentRunningMode: Via StealthInSpace. Ships, from small fighters up to entire fleets of capital ships, try to avoid detection by shutting down all non-essential power systems and getting as close as they can to asteroids, debris, or planets (in the case of the aforementioned fleet). Works to varying degrees depending on how close the enemy gets. At one point the ''Tiger Claw'' plays up Roberts' inspiration by ''Film/DasBoot'' with the ''Claw'' doing this while damaged, to try to avoid the Kilrathi fleet. They go as far as requiring everyone aboard the ship to stay as quiet as possible, despite the fact that sound doesn't travel through vacuum.

* ArtificialGravity: Done in such a way that it affected objects even as they left the ship, as long as they were within a few meters of it. Caused [[HateDumb many a cry]] it was ruined when a wrecked fighter is pushed off the flight deck, causing it to "fall" off the edge into space. To be fair, the ArtificialGravity is at least consistently shown to affect objects leaving the flight deck that way.

* CallingTheOldManOut: Blair calls Angel, his squadron[[labelnote:*]]"wing" in the film dialog, a script editing error that was fixed in the {{Novelization}}[[/labelnote]] commander, on her policy that pilots who died "never existed" as being unfaithful to those who have died in service.

* CasualInterstellarTravel: Jump drive technology allows for interstellar travel, but can only be done from certain points and it can sometimes take days to reach a given destination when travelling at sub-light between jump points. It's implied the Pilgrim war and following Kilrathi war has resulted in the Confederation ceasing most exploration and sticking to safe jump points. Paladin demonstrates that ships can get around a lot faster if they're willing to jump things like pulsars and black holes, which is incredibly dangerous.

* TheDeadHaveNames: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Anyone who dies is said to be forgotten, and mention of their name actually forbidden. Maniac finds this deplorable.

* MembershipToken: The Pilgrim Crosses for Blair [[spoiler:and Taggart]], as well as the class ring [[spoiler:of Admiral Tolwyn]]: [[MilitaryAcademy Annapolis]], [[WorldWarTwo Class of 1942]].]] The novelization takes this further, with the Pilgrim Crosses also eventually identifying the traitors: [[spoiler:Admiral Wilson and Captain Sansky.]]

* OpeningMonologue: The intro pans over space charts while playing a recording of JFK giving a speech about the Space Race, which segues into other radio broadcasts delivering exposition about the Pilgrams, mankind's invention of FasterThanLightTravel, and the disasterous FirstContact with the Kilrathi.

* ActorAllusion: The SilentRunningMode scene when the ''Tiger Claw'' is hiding in an asteroid crater is a clear ShoutOut to ''Film/DasBoot'' with Jürgen Prochnow being in both films.