This is from his more straightforward period where he simply made a parody out of another film (or in this case, a franchise). Not as flexible as the concept of "Blazing Saddles", but Brooks was always quick with a joke and for anyone who actually saw "Star Wars", they will find much to muse at in this flick.
First a problem though, and it is a directorial one: Someone should have noticed that Pullman and Zuniga in the leads have different thresholds of parody in them. Whereas Pullman finds a certain balance, Zuniga is a full-fledged parody, making their interactions lacking to the point of confusing in a lot of their scenes. It should have been fairly easy to adjust, but alas. Their time together on screen is limited, and therefore, so is the damage. And as a rugged parody of Harrison Ford, Pullman works brilliantly.
The parody of Star Wars itself is fairly funny but not very imaginative. As usual Brooks hurls puns and gags at the viewer at an alarming pace, and that guarantees a certain amount of laughs. Some of them are more subtle though, so paying attention will be rewarded. The best gag is actually quite without both sound and facial expressions. Genius. Brooks knows the entire spectre of comedy. From the embarrassingly simple and stupid to the brilliantly clever.
This comedy suffers from the same fault as most, though: The simple fact that it has a funny premise, a funny start followed by some good jokes, but then falls into the trap of keeping too much focus on a story that wasn't too good to begin with.
As a the top-billed comedian here, John Candy knows his place perfectly as the highly enjoyable Barf. Other than him, there is limited talent, though Brooks has 2 small parts and Rick Moranis stars as Dark Helmet, nicely flanked by George Wyner.
All in all, Brooks provides more than enough gags for anyone to laugh. As always. And that really is the key thing for a comedy
7/10
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