It's an acceptable movie, though not particularly impressive. The 1980s were defined by arcade games and the rise of personal computers and information technology, and how these things could impact everyday life. I’m not entirely convinced about the quality of the films that came out of this period, however. The film starts with a teenager obsessed with an arcade game. After mastering it, he's whisked away in a futuristic vehicle by a stranger who reveals that everything depicted in the game was real—essentially, it was training to find and recruit space pilots for a war far from Earth, very much in the vein of “Star Wars.” A predictable romance is also woven into the story. I initially had reservations about the script’s believability, but I later learned that modern military systems and even weapons are often designed to be easily controlled by soldiers familiar with video games and possessing a certain level of dexterity. This is an unsettling idea: clever because it's practical, disturbing because it equates seemingly harmless video games with instruments of destruction that harm real people. Regardless of the philosophical implications, I found this film more engaging than many others from its era and genre. The writing isn’t brilliant, and you can generally see what’s coming, but it executes its ideas competently enough. The acting isn't a highlight. There are no well-known performers involved, and the movie feels like it was made with largely inexperienced actors. Lance Guest is believable as the protagonist, fulfilling his role adequately, though not exceptionally or powerfully. Robert Preston fares slightly better, but mostly serves as the film’s equivalent of Yoda. Catherine Mary Stewart seems to be present simply because the hero needed a girlfriend who met a basic standard of attractiveness. From a technical standpoint, the movie relies heavily on cinematography, which is well-executed, and effective visual and sound effects that feel realistic for their time, even if they seem primitive compared to what’s possible now. This does make the film feel dated, but it remains enjoyable.

Source on TMDB