The Last Starfighter is the greatest example of a simple sci-fi concept executed well, as again, the entire plot is that Alex, an angry, going-nowhere teenager, is really good at playing Starfighter. He’s so good that once he gets the high score, the game’s creator, Centauri, meets with him….and then kidnaps him and replaces him with an android. Centauri was tasked with using Starfighter to find recruits for the Rylan Star League in their conflict with the Ko-Dan Empire.

To give you an idea as to how simple and by-the-book The Last Starfighter is, English professors could use it to teach Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, as the film manages to hit every single beat with all the grace and elegance of Babylon 5’s Kosh.