LET `WING COMMANDER' WHET SPACE-OPERA APPETITE.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

It may be the most eagerly awaited film of all time, causing some people to buy a movie ticket just to watch its preview trailer. The story line, the special effects, the long-ago galaxy far, far away, all have been driving some folks into a ``Phantom Menace'' frenzy.

Well, ``Wing Commander'' isn't going to menace the ``Menace.''

That said, ``Wing Commander'' remains a pretty entertaining piece of work, the kind of grade-A movie of the B variety that's just made for wasting a hot Saturday afternoon in the summer.

Except that this year, the hot Saturday afternoons cooling in a theater may be devoted to the 15th watching of the new ``Star Wars'' epic, due out in late May.

So the producers of this movie wisely pushed its production schedule a bit to let the show take wing before all falls under the looming shadow of a young Darth Vader's story.

``Wing Commander'' is based on a hugely successful series of video games of the same name created by Chris Roberts, who also directed the movie and created its story line.

Given the cinematic nature of the games - which populated hours of full-motion video and special effects with big-budget casts including Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell and John Rhys-Davies - Roberts' jump to the wide screen isn't so preposterous as it might otherwise sound.

And in fact, he does a good job keeping the pace brisk and engaging, though the story treads over extremely well-traveled ground.

To start with, there's the gifted and sensitive young half-breed protagonist, Blair (Freddie Prinze Jr.), on whom the fate of Earth turns as a menacing (though goofy-looking) race of aliens tries a surprise attack. There's the gonzo sidekick, Maniac (Matthew Lillard), destined to get himself or others killed.

Their relationship is straight out of the ``Top Gun'' screenwriting school, where testosterone drips off every fighter pilot in the ready room of the aircraft carrier-like TigerClaw ship.

Throw in a tough-guy ship's executive officer who's hard on the half-breed (Jurgen Prochnow), a more-forgiving commanding officer (David Suchet), the war-weary admiral who knew the half-breed's father (David Warner) and a somewhat mystical freighter pilot who has his own hidden forces, er, talents (Tcheky Karyo).

If any of this sounds unfamiliar, surely you've never watched a Hollywood movie.

There are some minor, though refreshing differences in the space navy of the future, however.

For instance, the initially standoffish love interest (Saffron Burrows) also commands the fighter squadron. And Maniac carries on an instant love affair with another female pilot who's better than he is (in and out of bed) before his rashness shortens the relationship tragically.

Roberts said he explicitly wanted to create a film evocative of the old World War II films he grew up watching, such as ``Battle of Britain'' and ``Midway.''

That's clear, even down to the retro design of the fighter ships, which look far more like the gull-wing Chance-Vought Corsairs of World War II than a Lucasian Tie fighter or X-Wing.

For further inspiration/recycling, Roberts also taps into the old submarine-being-hunted-by-a-destroyer scene and even dips into the days of wooden ships, with a lethal broadside battle between two space ships.

The special effects are fabulous, however, and Roberts doesn't let too much emotional stuff sog up the zippy ride. And if this spring proves to be unseasonably hot, you could do far worse than devote a Saturday afternoon to ``Wing Commander,'' getting ready for the ``Menace'' of summer.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Wing Commander'' (PG-13; mild sexual situation, strong language, slaughter of goofy menacing aliens and largely off-camera deaths of humans).

The stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Saffron Burrows, Matthew Lillard, Tcheky Karyo, Jurgen Prochnow, David Suchet, David Warner.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Chris Roberts, who also created the story line and characters. Produced by Todd Moyer. Production design by Peter Lamont. Screenplay by Kevin Droney. Released by 20th Century Fox.

Running time: One hour, 35 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two and one half stars.