I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Ten-year-old boy Peter (a solid and likable performance by David Mendenhall) stows away on a spaceship that's hijacked by a motley band of intergalactic pirates led by hard-nosed ex-soldier Col. C.W. "Hawk" Hawkins (neatly essayed with gruff'n'growly aplomb by Vince Edwards). Hawk promises to return Peter to his home planet. However, things are complicated by both Hawk's arch nemesis Zeriatin (a nicely wicked portrayal by Ray Stewart) and a lethal robot ship that's been assigned to find Peter at any cost.Writer/director Howard R. Cohen keeps the entertaining story moving along at a swift pace, maintains an engaging good-natured tone throughout, stages the rousing action set pieces with gusto, and further spruces things up with amusing touches of zany humor. Moreover, it's acted with zest by an able and enthusiastic cast, with especially sturdy contributions from Patsy Pease as the scrappy Amanda, Thom Christopher as psychic alien Flightplan, Luca Bercovici as the rowdy Ace, and Drew Snyder as the amiable Aldebarian. Dick Miller pops up in a funny bit role as the hologram for fast-talking salesman Crazy Mel. The sweet relationship between Hawk and Peter gives this picture some real heart and warmth. In addition, the recycled sets from previous Roger Corman films and copious special effects footage from "Battle Beyond the Stars" -- along with James Horner's stirring and spirited score from same! -- add to this movie's irresistibly cheap'n'cheerful ramshackle appeal. An immensely enjoyable Grade B outing.

It took me a few years to hunt down this title, a major staple of my childhood. Almost every trip to the video shop I'd pick out Space Raiders and watch it three times every time my mother rented it for me. It was, I suppose, my Star Wars.It's a shame then that it's such a stinker. My memories were so hazy that it offered nothing in terms of nostalgia so I had to take it at face value. A crew of space pirates accidentally kidnap a pretty annoying little kid and spend the rest of the movie trying to get him home.Aimed squarely at the under-tens it's got unwelcome slapstick, very shoddy costumes and make-up, recycled special effects, wobbly sets and poor acting. But even with the unintentional comedy it's no fun to see it as an adult, where I can pick out not just the technical faults but wonder at how spectacularly the writer and director managed to botch an endless stream of no-brainer fun/powerful moments that have been seen in a million other sci-fi movies and in the hands of anyone remotely competent should have been successful.I imagine as a kid I probably found it quite empowering - there are lots of "I can't do this, I'm just a kid" "Sure you can kiddo, you just have to try!"-type exchanges; the kid drinks beer, etc., but even by low budget 1983 sci-fi standards this one's pretty awful, with a real snoozer of a "finale".

This movie is a classic. I own it and still watch it. Any Sci-Fi fan will love the cheesy fight scenes and graphics.The characters are timeless, with the tough but vulnerable chick, bad but soft middle aged man and the token alien that help comprise the crew of the ship. People who have done nothing but steal and cheat then find themselves running around to get a kid home, fighting "The Company" and other "bad" guy's along the way. "Run Peter!" And if you are a true fanatic you will notice that some of the spaceships and scenes are direct from "Battle Beyond the Stars", which just adds to the movie.For real fans I highly recommend it!!!! If you don't like classic Sci-Fi don't watch it, but don't knock it!

Most who worked crew on this film came from around the world, all given a shot at working on a Corman film. There were some talented people involved. Vince Edwards ("Ben Casey") had a great time with all this. Much of the foam latex make-up was quite involved. The purple scarf worn by the alien 'Flightplan' is a great comic book touch. Like all Corman films, he always manages to get the job done, and have a good time doing it ...