Nothing But Star Wars Episode Seven (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015)

After the prequels, Star Wars appeared to be…well, complete. Lucas was no longer talking about a third trilogy. All had gone quiet on that front. Instead, Star Wars thrived in animated fare like the Cone Wars cartoon and in comic books through Dark Horse. Dark Horse had even started a Canon series that took place between a New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.

But then, in 2012, came a very unexpected announcement. Disney had purchased Lucasfilm and all it’s properties. And with this announcement came the news that they were working on a new trilogy. And on top of that, Disney would also be making Star Wars films set outside the main storyline.

This came with some controversy, as Disney declared that the extended universe of Novels and comics were, in no way, canon. Only the Six movies counted. This was partially to allow new novels and comic books to start building the universe anew. Dark Horse lost the rights and Marvel took up telling all new stories within the Star Wars universe.

J.J. Abrams was brought in fresh from rebooting Star Trek (ironically enough, he was often criticized for bring a Star Wars attitude to the franchise) to create the new story that would continue the adventures. Of course, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were all brought in to reprise their roles (some more limited than others). So let us go forward, back to that galaxy far, far away…and be ready for spoilers!

Opening up about thirty years after Return of the Jedi, we are greeted by a star destroyer. It appears that while the Republic was restored, the remnants of the Empire formed as the First Order. The First Order is getting bolder and are trying to wipe out the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa. She has sent a top Resistance Pilot named Poe Dameron to the planet Jakku in an effort to get information that could lead them to Luke Skywalker.

First Order ships arrive on the scene, and Poe tries to escape, but his ship is damaged. He puts the top secret info into his astro droid BB-8. The droid goes on the run and Poe is captured by the mysterious Kylo Ren. It is quickly revealed that this is the son of Leia and Han Solo.

In the middle of this, one of the Stormtroopers seems out of step with the others. When they return from Jakku, he removes his helmet to reveal a young man who is not a clone (later in the film, it is explained the First Order takes young children from their families and trains them to be unquestioning soldiers rather than clones). The Storm Trooper helps Poe escape. In the middle of their escape, Dameron asks what his name is, and the Trooper responds with FN2187. Poe determines that he will just call him Finn, and the newly christened Finn declares he likes it. They crash back on Jakku. Finn cannot find anything but Poe’s leather jacket. He wanders the desert planet, tossing aside his Storm Trooper armor.

Meanwhile, BB-8 has been found by the young scavenger Rey. She helped BB get away from a junk collector and offers to help the droid get to the city. They arrive and Rey finds herself being followed. BB-8 sees Finn in Poe’s jacket and Rey attacks. Finn claims to be a member of the resistance, and that he can help. Finn hears a familiar sound and they realize they are under attack from the First Order.

They rush to find a spaceship. Finn points to a ship offscreen and Rey mocks it as being garbage, but the ship she wants blows up…resulting in her yelling out “The garbage it is”…but it turns out to be a very famous hunk of junk. It is the Millennium Falcon. Rey pilots while Finn mans the guns. This leads to a very exciting chase through the air forcing the two to rely on their best wits. At one point, Rey flies the ship through the carcass of a crashed Star Destroyer.

Once they reach space, they start to try and figure out how to get BB-8 and Finn back to the Resistance. Finn, of course, has no knowledge of the Resistance, but manages to convince BB-8 to play along. They are overtaken by a larger ship, and it turns out to be Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Things take a turn for the worse as two factions Han has double crossed show up. After a narrow escape, the newly formed crew head to meet up with someone Han knows can help. Their mission is now to get BB-8 to the Resistance, especially after they find that BB-8 holds coordinates to finding Luke Skywalker. They reach a lush planet and Han brings them to the temple of Maz.

Maz is a small alien who is even older than Yoda. She apparently has a crush on Chewbacca (she refers to him as her boyfriend, and it is unclear if this is playful or serious).

Finn confesses that he was a Stormtrooper and he is terrified. He only wants to run as far from the First Order as possible. Maz points him out to a couple of guys he could run with. Rey gets distracted, believing she hears a child calling for help. She goes to the basement of Maz’s temple where she finds a trunk with a familar item. Luke’s lightsaber, last seen in the Empire Strikes Back. As soon as she touches it, she faces a barrage of visions and sounds, voices and images of the past and future.

Rey runs from the Temple in terror. Unbeknownst to Maz, Han or the others, spies for both the Resistance and the First Order have sent out alerts, as the First Order and Resistance are both on the hunt for BB-8.

The first order has a new weapon they call Starkiller Base (this is a reference to the original scripts for Star Wars, when Luke was named Luke Starkiller). It is basically a variation on the Deathstar, except they used an actual planet to create it.

Having seen Rey run off, Finn starts to run for her, but everyone is stopped by a sight in the sky. The Starkiller Base has fired on the Republic’s central planets. The First Order knows that the Republic has been helping the Resistance, and without them, the Resistance loses key support. Everyone on the ground near Maz’s temple can see the lasers burning through space towards their targets.

Then, the First Order shows up, firing on the temple and it’s fleeing occupants. Rey and BB-8 are running through the forest while Stormtroopers are in pursuit. Han, Chewbacca and Finn fight Stormtroopers trying to get to Rey, but end up overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren has found Rey.

Ren discovers that Rey has seen the map and dismisses the need for BB-8, instead taking Rey with him. In the meantime, the Resistance shows up with X-Wings to chase off the First Order troops, saving Han, Finn and Chewbacca.

They are greeted by General Leia Organa, who embraces Han. Now, instead of running from the First Order, Finn argues for a direct assault on Starkiller base so they can save Rey. It is also revealed that Poe survived the crash landing, just as Finn had.

Rey is being interrogated by Kylo Ren, though, he seems to have deeper motives. He sees that Rey seems to have a natural gift for the Force, much like his grandfather.

After Ren leaves, Rey feels emboldened and tries a “force” trick by getting a guard to unlock her restraints. The seen is quite entertaining, and more played for the humor than the drama. But the scene works pretty well, showing Rey both a quick learner and more than willing to accept things on faith.

Back at the Resistance base, they prepare for their attack. They plan for Han, Finn and Chewbacca to take out the shields that will allow the Resistance fighters, led by Poe to take out the base before it can fire. The Starkiller Base’s primary weapon actually requires the energy of a star, so they have until the star being used for power is snuffed out.

Arriving in the Millennium Falcon, the heroes go in to find both Rey and set up the destruction of the base. As they search for Rey, Han realizes she has already escaped. They meet up with Rey and start planting explosives. Han sees Kylo and calls out to him. Han and Kylo meet on a bridge. Han reaches out, and Kylo speaks hesitantly, wanting his fathers help. Solo promises to help him, in this moment, Han’s facade of cocky hero drops to reveal a father who lost his son, and sees an opportunity to heal the relationship.

Instead, Kylo impales him with his lightsaber. Han, in a touching moment, touches the face of his son before falling from the bridge. Angrily, Chewbacca fires and hits Kylo Ren. The horrified trio of Rey, Finn and Chewbacca race out of the structure, setting off the bombs. This allows the X-Wings to start strafing the surface. Chewbacca heads for the Falcon, while Finn and Rey run into another obstacle…

Finn turns on the lightsaber and engages Ren, but it is a short fight. He starts to use the Force to grab the lightsaber the unconscious Finn dropped, but instead, it find’s Rey’s hands. This is a really nice dramatic and exciting moment, scored just tight by John Williams.

Rey and Kylo have a furious lightsaber duel, only to have the planet starting to break up around them. Ren tells Rey he could train her, she may be a strong raw user of the Force, but he can teach her better control. They are split apart by the turmoil around them. Chewbacca appears with the Falcon and they get Finn, leaving before the Starkiller Base is fully destroyed.

Returning to the base, Rey meets Leia (an they embrace, which Abrams admits was probably a mistake, there is no reason for the attachment, as Leia and Rey have never met). Using the information from BB-8, they have the missing puzzle piece. Earlier in the film, it is revealed R2-D2 has been in powersave mode, he wakes up and provides the rest of the map. Rey and Chewbacca fly off to the remote planet that Luke is staying on. Rey walks up and stands before Luke reaching out with his old lightsaber and the film ends…

Probably the two biggest knocks against the film were the fact that it mirrors A New Hope far to much and Rey is a Mary Sue.

The film does follow the beats of a New Hope quite closely. A young desert planet nobody is drawn into a larger battle of intergalactic forces and learns to use the force…while helping to destroy a planet sized planet destroyer. But I do not find this overall a problem. The repetition is certainly a valid storytelling device. I confess, I wish the big plot device did not hinge on a planet killer all over again, but I do like the visual design of Starkiller Base.

But the whole “Rey is a Mary Sue” thing. This is often leveled as a criticism along with folks upset by the film having “diversity”. Finn is played by a black man, Rey is, of course, a girl and Poe is played by a man of Cuban and Guatemalan heritage.

Before then, the casts were largely white. Lando and Mace Windu were exceptions. And I think Mace was mainly “Wouldn’t it be bad ass if Samuel L. Jackson was a Jedi???” There is a silly contingent of people out there that are certain having non-white male actors in roles is a problem. It somehow ruins the stories to have a variety of actors. They claim, of course, not that their problem is the diversity, but forced diversity. But John Boyega’s presence did not force some magical change on the story. Opening up considerations for actors in the Star Wars universe is hardly a problem. Especially when you consider how baked in the cake it is with Star Trek. And it sure seems to work okay there.

But back to Rey. So, Mary Sue is a term that is a part of fan fiction. If you are not aware, Fan Fiction communities are folks who love to write stories continuing the adventures of shows, movies, comics, etc that they love. Sometimes they work within the cannon of the franchise, but often, this is their way of saying “what should have happened.” Some writers are specifically focused on relationships they want to see that the official works clearly won’t be doing (*cough, cough* Finn and Poe *cough, cough*). But the most derided thing in fan fiction is the dreaded “Mary Sue”. A Mary sue is a character that is created by the author that is simply better and smarter than everyone else. There is nothing they cannot do. They always save the day and fix everything. It is generally believed that a Mary Sue is a way for the author to insert themselves into the story.

In the film we see Rey fly the Millennium Falcon, fix the Millennium Falcon, use the Force and have a lightsaber duel with a trained Sith Lord. Does this make her an all powerful Mary Sue?

No.

There, that was not so hard.

Not satisfied? Okay…then we are going to break this all down.

Rey just happens to be a pilot who can just happen to fly and fix the Millennium Falcon. She even seems to understand it better than Han Solo. But let us look at Rey’s history. As a child, she is left with junk dealer Unkar Plutt. Her whole life has been as a scavenger. She plunders the ruins of the crashed ships that litter the surface of Jakku. This means she has some basic technical understanding of how ships function.
We know Rey is familiar with the Millennium Falcon, because when she is running with Finn, he calls out the Falcon and she says they are not going to take it because it is garbage. Unkar Plutt owns the Falcon at the beginning of the film. We know this in part because as Rey fires it up, he yells out about his ship. Later Rey tells Han about modifications that Plutt made that she disagreed with. So, she has been in the Falcon probably many times. So, between being a scavenger and working for Plutt? It stands to reason fixing ships would be a skill she might have.

She also points out how she has flown ships before, though never in space. And even with this, the film portrays her as a pilot who gets farther on luck than actual skill. When she first tries flying the Falcon, she nearly crashes it. This is not Mary Sue Territory.
Rey uses the force pretty well with no training. So?
Okay, okay. First off, the films have clearly established that those who are Force Sensitive may find themselves using it without even realizing it. You do not have to have training to use it, training simply helps you better control it it. Rey does a bit more than we see Luke do in the first film, which does not mean anything. Luke has nobody to duel Lightsabers with, that falls to Obi Wan in the first film. Luke has no more training than Rey in the beginning of Empire when he uses the Force to retrieve his lightsaber from the snow. There is no in movie argument that he could not have done that in a New Hope. So, this notion that a person who is Force Sensitive cannot do Jedi mind tricks and the like is not based in anything other than “It was not done by Luke in a New Hope”, which is, frankly, not much of a point at all. Still not Mary Sue territory.
Rey fights a trained Sith in a lightsaber duel. This often is argued that she wins. But that is absolutely false. Nobody won the fight. It was a draw. And you might think this still favors the Mary Sue Argument. But, no, it does not. Early on in the film, we see Rey protects herself with a staff. As a scavenger, a weapon is probably a necessity. And she uses a staff. It is pretty clear she uses the lightsaber in a similar fashion. But still, how could she fight Kylo Ren to a standstill? Well, right before this confrontation, Ren has killed his father and Chewbacca shot him with his bow. They spend the entire film establishing just how powerful that bow is. In the fight, Ren is clearly in pain, and he constantly pauses to punch himself in the side, apparently trying to blunt his pain. He also has been wounded by Finn in their brief lightsaber duel. Rey is fighting a wounded man who still manages to nearly best her, only the destruction of the Starkiller Base ends their fight.

So, in closing, the Mary Sue accusation does not hold up under scrutiny. In addition, unless you are condemning the original trilogy, the arguments for Rey as Mary Sue apply every bit to Luke Skywalker. If you think Luke is not a Mary Sue (or, Gary Sue, because people seem uncomfortable applying a feminine descriptor to a male character) than Rey cannot be either.

A few things that were bothersome…

Captain Phasma played by Game of Throne’s Gwendolyn Christie. While I liked the character’s visual look (and loved that they were comfortable always keeping the Helmet on, leaving for mystery), I felt like the character never got to show off, so to speak. They hired Christie, who is a commanding physical presence and she never really gets her moment.

Supreme Leader Snoke is only seen in in the form of a giant hologram. Who he is gets played up as a big mystery, but I do not find him particularly threatening here.

I was not sure how I felt about Luke being this legend and enigma in this film, the Last Jedi has given me perspective I will address in that piece.

But, for me, the positives vastly outweigh the negatives. I enjoyed returning to the universe and the characters. Seeing Han Solo and Chewie and General Leia were all welcome.

Driver gives a fascinating performance. His Kylo Ren worships his grandfather Darth Vader. He seeks to be like him, but he is a young fanboy desperate for approval from Snoke, but struggling with a part of him that still desires the love of his parents. The first six films all focused on the allure and deceit of the Dark Side. The Dark Side is an almost romantic threat that can overpower good. The Force Awakens is the first time we see the idea that the Light Side of the force has it’s own pull. And I like this.

I really like Rey and Finn. Both are in struggles that sometimes cause them to be overtaken by fear. Finn has only known the First Order, and the concept of friends like Rey and Poe quickly start to give him a new kind of hope. Rey has never had the courage of Jakku believing that some day her parents will return. When Maz points out that Rey knows this is not true, but she has the potential of a new family, Rey is terrified to face this and runs. Poe Dameron is one of those fun swashbucklers, who makes things work by kind of flying by the seat of his pants and hoping it all pays off.

When I saw the Force Awakens in 2015, I enjoyed it a lot. I have revisited the film a few times in the past few years, and my feelings have not changed.

December 26, 2017 0

What a Scrooge Part 10 (Scrooge, 1970)

Before cementing his career as Jedi Ghost Ben Kenobi, Alec Guinness played non-Jedi Ghost Jacob Marley. As you may recall, Marley had been seven long years as our tale begins. Scrooge is, in this adaption as prior adaptions, uncharitable and cold.

Along with the traditional mockeries of Christmas as humbug, and he unwillingness to offer support to charity, we see him seeming merciful to two older women, offering to let them wait to pay their rent, only to let them know it would be costing more than they even take in there shop in a weeks time.

At his door appears the face of Marley…but he quickly discounts it.

Entering the house he starts to prepare dinner, only to notice the bells in his home start ringing uncontrollably. He cries out for them to stop and in enters Marley. While the visual queues of Marley are there…his chains, the cloth holding his jaw (though the film never has this come untied, so the cloth just seems to be a fashion choice)…but Guinness makes an interesting choice in Marley’s movement. He walks almost as if he is trying to elegantly walk through water.

The film makes a great use of his chains when he becomes angry with Scrooge, they all seem to lurch forward as he rises into the air. I do wish they had kept the line about there being “More of gravy than the grave” when Scrooge explains why he refuses to accept what he is seeing. It is just a great line. The other interesting style choice is the phantoms. In most adaptions, these phantoms are humans tormented by their inability to help the living…and that is if we see them at all. In this film we get something out of a horror movie.

The ghosts stay pretty traditional for the Present and the Future…but I confess, the Ghost of Christmas Past seems to be an odd stylistic choice. Admittedly, the book’s version is pretty unfilmable but this just seems to be…uninspired.

Although, I do get a chuckle when Scrooge tells her that she does not look like a ghost and she politely thanks him.

Christmas Present deviates the least of the three ghosts.

But truthfully, the ghosts in this adaption don’t really excite me all that much. They are kind of lackluster performances. And then we see the face of the the Ghost of Christmas Future. Bad idea.

This is where the film deviates from previous (and later adaptions in a massive way. You see, Scrooge finds himself in Hell.

Marley really seems to delight in Scrooge’s misfortune here. He lets Scrooge know that the Satan himself wanted to have Scrooge work as his clerk.

The sequence gets goofy as a much of muscled men in hoods march in to wrap his chain around him. Again, Marley seems to delight in this turn of events, and that flies in the face of the Marley of the story. This sequence is a bold idea that ends up just feeling a little on the nose. Fear of hell is not what drives this story, and this borders on a Chick Tract.

At 34, Finney would normally be to young to play Scrooge, but he is aided by some simple makeup and a bit of physical acting to sell himself as much older. Aside from a couple of moments where it gets almost campy, Finney turns in a good performance as Scrooge.

This is the first Musical adaption of Dicken’s tale, and it ends up a bit hit or miss when it comes to songs. The Marley number is pretty dull and thankfully short. Many of the songs are decent and enjoyable. I think the best two are the song sung at Scrooge’s funeral and the final big number as Scrooge goes around making merry.

This is a strong adaption overall, in spite of some random mis-steps and certainly an enjoyable take on the classic tale.

December 25, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars Episode Three (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, 2005)

And finally…we see how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader!

Spoilers are about to slice through here like a lightsaber through butter!

Revenge_Of_the_Sith__Spoilers — Spoilers! Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-*cough* *wheeze*

Opening in the tail end of the Clone Wars, we begin in the middle of a heated space Battle. The Jedi and the Clone Army are trying to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the Separatist leadership of Count Dooku and General Grievous. Anakin and Obi Wan end up in Grievous’ ship. The fight Dooku, who again knocks Obi Wan out quickly (Obi Wan is looking pretty incompetent here). This time, Anakin gets the upper hand, and at the encouragement of Palpatine, beheads Dooku.

Remember my complaint about how they killed Darth Maul in the first film? Revenge of the Sith does sort of do my suggestion. Christopher Lee has a great expression of fear on his face as he realizes Sidious (Palpatine) is wanting him to be killed by Anakin. Except, it occurs at the beginning of the film, making it not a special line being crossed. Sure, it indicates Palpatine’s growing influence, but it is not that last step before accepting the role of Darth Vader. And Dooku has not been a character really built up. We barely got to know him. I believe he appeared a bit in the Clone Wars cartoon on the Cartoon Network, but in the movies, he never gets to be a major heavy. Like Mace Windu, he is primarily earning credibility via the face in the role.

General Grievous, a character introduced in the Clone Wars cartoon, escapes in a lifeboat, while sending his warship plummeting down towards Corsucant’s surface. Anakin and Obi Wan manage an amazing crash landing.

Padme reveals that she is pregnant. Though worried about people discovering their secret relationship, Anakin is overjoyed by the news. However, he is soon beset by nightmares of Padme dying while giving birth.

Anakin is asked to spy on Chancellor Palpatine for the Jedi Council while Obi Wan checks on a lead for General Grievous. Anakin is uncomfortable with this, as Palpatine has taken on a mentoring role and even a father figure for him. Palpatine starts to drop hints about the power of the Dark Side, especially the power to save and even resurrect life.

Obi Wan finds and confronts Grievous. Grievous is actually kind of a neat character. A bit of a proto-Darth Vader, he is an alien cyborg. Like Obi Wan said of Vader, Grievous is more machine than man. He collects lightsabers of fallen Jedi, and his arms split from two to four. This creates a pretty cool visual where he spins his arms while holding four lightsabers.

Obi Wan manages to send Grievous packing into the great galaxy beyond. Meanwhile, Anakin is troubled by the realization that Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Palpatine has control of the Republic and is secretly leading the Separatists.

After learning of the news from Anakin, Mace brings several Jedi to take Palpatine into custody. He surprises them and manages to kill all the Jedi except Mace. Mace proves far stronger, and has Palpatine’s back (literally) against the wall.

While trying to use his force lightning against Mace, Anakin arrives. Palpatine begs Anakin for mercy. Windu is ready to kill Palpatine, stating there is no other option, but Anakin states he should face trial, not merely executed on Mace’s whim. Mace refuses and as he goes to strike, Anakin chops off Mace’s hand. Sidious takes this opportunity to fire another Force Lightning blast and launch Mace out a window to his death.

Now, I always assumed that the Emperor’s appearance was him being old (there was also once a version that he was constantly cloning himself, and the clone bodies were breaking down, but this is no longer canon).

Apparently, however, it is a result of expending ridiculous amounts of energy. He anoints Anakin as Darth Vader. He sends out the secret Order 66, which commands the clone soldiers to kill any Jedi they are with.

Now, Ben Kenobi told Luke how Darth Vader hunted down and slaughtered the Jedi. But it turns out he was not the frontline for this. Instead, he is sent to the temple looking all tough and scary…

To kill a bunch of little kids.

And while that is monstrous, it also makes Vader seem like less of a threat in general. He kills the easy prey, while the Clones are killing fully trained Jedi. Darth Vader is then sent to the Mustafar system, on a volcanic planet to remove the separatists. Obi Wan and Yoda survive the attempts on their life. Obi Wan and a very pregnant Amidala go to find Anakin.

Yoda takes on Darth Sidious in a powerful battle, leaping around and dodging Sidious’ attacks.

Yoda ultimately slips away and meets with Senator Bail Organa. Both Sidious and Vader proclaim the Jedi have attempted a coup, forcing Organa and Yoda to flee. When Obi Wan and Amidala reach the volcanic planet, they try and talk Anakin down, so to speak. But he believes they are betraying him, and starts to force choke Amidala. This results in a dramatic life and death lightsaber duel in the middle of flowing rivers of lava.

Obi Wan delivers one of the dumbest lines of the entire franchise. “Only Sith deal in Absolutes”. It makes a certain amount of sense regarding Obi Wan’s attitudes towards facts in the original trilogy. But it is just a dumb line, as we saw Jedi dealing in absolutes just…heck…twenty minutes earlier. As the fight concludes, Obi Wan cuts off Anakin’s arms and legs. There is a lot of dramatic but weird dialog. Obi Wan laments that Anakin was his friend, he was supposed to bring balance to the force, yadda yadda yadda.

And then he leaves Anakin to slowly burn to death.

The Emperor pops over and picks up Anakin. Then we get scenes of Amidala giving birth, while Darth Vader is encased in his new suit. Amidala dies as she looks upon her twins. They give Leia to Organa and take Luke to Anakin’s half brother Owen Lars. Because if you want to hide a kid from his dad, his family is probably the best place. And you know, don’t give him the last name of Owen or anything. And seriously, Amidala died why? Other than she had to as a plot contrivance? They seriously don’t have the technology to save her? She appears to have died of a broken heart. Really?

And speaking of Amidala? She is practically set dressing in the film. Poor Natalie Portman is sidelined the majority of the film to be Anakin’s plot device.

I really found the prequel film rules about the things like the Rule of Two, which states there are only two Sith Lords at a time. A master and an apprentice. This makes no real sense, and the original films had no such implication. The idea that there would only be two Sith in comparison to endless Jedi seems bizarre. Within the legends (books and comics, mostly), this is also challenged by Darth Plagueis, who was the master to Palpatine. But the rule makes no real sense, because it is not a notion that there is like a single Sith Emperor over all other Sith…It is literally that there are two Sith at a time.

Nobody has any real chemistry in this film. It just feels like everyone is delivering their dialog so they can be done with it.

In spite of this, Revenge of the Sith (a title meant to recall the original working title of Return of the Jedi) is far from the worst of the prequels. The first twenty minutes are terrific. The various action sequences that follow are quite good, especially the Mustafar battle.

I also like how the technology of the world feels fresh and shiny, like this is everything at it’s heights. Contrasting that with episodes four through six where everything seems old and broken, like the rule of the Empire has crushed any sense of beauty and design and left only the most industrial sense of design.

But unfortunately, the entire prequel series was obsessed with answering questions nobody had. And this one is no different, making a mad rush to pack in stuff we don’t really need. The film takes place twenty years before a New Hope. And we get a shot of Gran Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader watching the beginning of the Death Star. Now, is the idea it could take twenty years to build the Death Star is not implausible. But they built a second Death Star with totally different specs in a couple years. Infant Leia sees Amidala, while infant Luke’s eyes are closed. Why? Because in Return of the Jedi? Leia tells Luke that she remembers her mother’s smile. Luke cannot remember anything about her. It is like Lucas sat down and watched the original films making a list of things he thinks have to be in the new films.

However, the three prequels just never meet the goal of being a great new trilogy, because they are bogged down in weird choices of storytelling and fan service.

December 24, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars Episode Two (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, 2002)

The Star Wars machine keeps plugging on. Episode one had a rather mixed reception, but it made money. It would have taken a catastrophic return to derail new trilogy.

The film would make a jump and start to try and “right the ship” so to speak. As much as Lucas tried to defend Jar Jar Binks, his role gets diminished greatly in both this and the next film.

And let us go back on our spoilerific journey!!!! Send in the clooooooones!

Picking up around ten years after the Phantom Menace, Amidala is now a Senator. This is, funny enough how they move Jar Jar out of the picture…he is a representative for Naboo. But anyways, after an attack on her ship as she arrives on Corsucant, the Jedi Council sends Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to protect the Senator.

Anakin apparently still has his crush on Amidala, who is shocked to see Ani went from nine year old boy to a good looking teenager. They plan to stand guard in her apartment as they also try and determine how best to investigate the attempt on her life.

The investigation gets a boost though when a second attempt is made by letting to poisonous bugs into her bedroom. Artoo derails the attempt by alerting the Jedi. They pursue the shadowy killer through the skies of Corsucant (the skies are full with levels of traffic).

This leads to an exciting chase sequence with Anakin being incredibly reckless.

Really, it is a pretty enjoyable scene. It ends with them crash landing in a seedy part of town. They follow their target into a bar. It turns out she is a shape shifting bounty hunter. She starts to confess, only to be shot with a poison dart, dying almost instantly.

The Jedi Council formulate a new plan. Anakin will accompany Amidala undercover to a remote part of Naboo, while Obi Wan will focus on the investigation. Obi Wan starts by focusing on the dart. But he really cannot connect it to anything. He visits a friend who runs a dive restaurant who tells him that the dart belongs to the Cloners of Kamino.

This starts a new mystery, as Kamino does not appear in any star maps he can find. With Yoda’s help, he locates his destination. When he arrives, he is surprised to find that they were expecting a visit. Not from Obi Wan, but another Jedi Master who Kenobi reveals died several years before.

He discovers that the previous Jedi master had hired the Kimino people to create an army of Clones. He is introduced to Jango Fett, a bounty hunter who is the basis of the clone army. Jango had one requirement, and that was a clone untouched by the Cloner’s programming to raise as a son (can you see where this is going?). Lucas actually added actor Temuera Morrison’s voice as Stormtroopers and Boba Fett in the original trilogy.

There is a fight and Jango escapes with Boba, but Obi Wan follows them to the planet Geonosis. There, Obi Wan discovers the Separatist army, led by Count Dooku. Dooku is an ex-Jedi (and gets cool points because it is Christopher Lee).

Meanwhile, Anakin confesses feelings for Amidala. At first she pushes back due to her career and the Jedi rules against love and marriage. Anakin argues they can love, and follows the Jedi tradition of loopholes. But he becomes distracted by nightmares of his mother in trouble. He returns to Tatooine. He discovers that his mother was sold to the Lars family. However, rather than keep her as a slave she has married the farmer. She was kidnapped by Sandmen. Anakin locates the Sandmen village and discovers his dying mother. In a fit of rage, he slaughters all of the folks in the village.

As they ready to depart, they get a message from Obi Wan. Anakin and Amidala head off to Geonosis (taking C-3PO, who was with the Lars family, with them). When they arrive, they are instructed to wait, but Anakin gets impulsive and they enter a factory making a droid army. Elsewhere, the Galactic Senate gives approval to the Clone army.

Obi Wan has already been caught, but Anakin and Amidala are fighting their way through the factory, dodging the automated machines building droids. Instead of saving Obi Wan, they end up captured as well.

After getting caught, the three are brought into an arena to fight to their deaths against three very unique monsters. In the midst of this battle Amidala gets a totally implausible rip to her uniform…like, comically implausible. Just as it looks like the Separatists will when, the other Jedi arrive along with the Clone Army.

There is a big fight in the arena between the separatists and the Jedi and Count Dooku runs off. Everybody takes chase after he and the retreating droid separatists. Anakin and Obi Wan reach Dooku’s lair. Dooku manages to incapacitate Kenobi, but Anakin puts up more of a fight. Dooku manages to sever Anakin’s hand and get the high ground so to speak. Suddenly, before he can dispatch the two Jedi, Yoda walks in and they have the fight nobody knew they wanted.

Once Dooku realizes he probably won’t win this fight, he retreats to his ship and escapes to fight another day. The Clone Wars have begun. Anakin gets his robot hand and secretly marries Amidala.

The film ends one this note, with a rather weak cliffhanger. The Empire Strikes back ended on the note of the big reveal. Here there is no big reveal really. “Luke, I am your father” drives discussion and anticipation for the nextr installment. Here it is just…”Well, there is one more!”

So…about the whole romance. Amidala was about fourteen when she met Anakin. And generally I would not balk at a five year age difference. But as they are tied together by her time where he was just a cute kid…it seems like the intended romance might have been able to spring more organically had they started out more like a year or two apart (her sixteen and him fifteen or something). Christiensen and and Portman also lack any chemistry to sell the fast moving relationship. The relationship just feels so rushed it is hard to buy it ever happens. And again, had they been much closer in age in the Phantom Menace, the seeds could have been laid much more organically.

This film is really the first to make a big show about the Jedi rules forbidding marriage and attachments. Frankly, it is a dumb and terrible rule that calls into question the concept of the Jedi as an organization. How is not having attachments going to make you a better protector? But then, we have seen that the Jedi are pretty sketchy.

To a certain extent, I don’t see this concept as bad. The original films gave us only Obi Wan’s portrayal of the Jedi as noble Knights who fought oppression and stood for Justice in the galaxy. That the prequel films are revealing a far more political organization is not a problem…but how it pulls it off is leaving a lot to be desired. It is kind of dull, and in spite of their ineptness, it is pretty obvious we are supposed to be rooting for the Jedi.

Attack_of_the_Clones_arena_jedi — Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) Directed by George Lucas Shown: Hayden Christensen (as Anakin Skywalker), Natalie Portman (as Senator Padmé Amidala), Samuel L. Jackson (as Mace Windu), Ewan McGregor (as Obi-Wan Kenobi)

The whole subplot with Boba Fett is really pointless. It is, in fact, one of the most pointless fan service moments of the franchise. Jango is killed, beheaded by Mace Windu in front of Boba. We see young Boba holding his father’s helmet to his face. And, this might have been a powerful image had Boba Fett been a major player who we saw a lot of in the original trilogy. But he has, like, three lines including a scream before he dies Between Empire and Return of the Jedi. This gives us no insight, and frankly, undermines part of what made him popular. He was mysterious. Things in Star Wars that needed no backstory? C-3PO and Boba Fett.

One thing that stands out is how lazy the world building is. In the original trilogy, things that paralleled our world still felt unique. When Obi Wan is offered an illicit substance, he refers to it as “Death Sticks”. I know there have been cigarette brands with ironic names like that…but really? Obi Wan’s friend with the diner? The diner looks just like a fifties diner. And they have drinks like “Jawa Juice”. It just feels like there was no effort put into this world.

In spite of my complaints, this is a step up from the Phantom Menace. We get some cool lightsaber duels, for one. Seeing Yoda in action turns out to be surprisingly fun.

Lastly, remember how I said Amidala gets an implausible rip in her outfit? A cat monster things takes a swipe at here…this is the result:

December 23, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars Episode One (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, 1999)

As previously noted, people were pretty resigned to Star Wars remaining a trilogy of parts four through six. Then it was announced, Lucas had decided episodes one through three could finally be made. He stated that the technology had reached a point that he could truly make the stories he desired to tell.

The geek net was still in it’s infancy in a lot of ways, but it was set ablaze with rumors and claims of leaked scripts and insider knowledge.

A lot of those rumors turned out to be false…but in May of 1999 we got the long hoped for return to a galaxy far, far away…

And now, the standard warning of the spoilers…endless spoilers!

Opening in space (of course) we meet two Jedi Knights on an exciting diplomatic mission with a trade…federation…aw crap. Our Jedi are Qui-Gon Jin and a young Obi Wan Kenobi. Kenobi is a padawan, a Jedi-in-Training. As they wait for Trade Federation diplomats to enter, they are instead greeted with poison gas. They fight their way through droids to try and get to the bridge to confront the Trade Federation, but are forced to run. They hitch a ride on troop transports down to the planet of Naboo.

Knowing they must warn the government of Naboo, they try and find a way to the main city population. They run into a local, a giant amphibious creature who speaks with a weird variation of an Jamaican Accent (The Trade Federation is run by a guys with distinctly Asian Accents…this ends up being a recurring issue of accents that seem connected to negative traits) named Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar takes the Jedi to an underwater city with more of his race. There they find out Jar Jar was banished for being clumsy. Really. Qui-Gon convinces the Gungan leader Boss Nass (who looks suspiciously like Boss Hogg from the Dukes of Hazzard) to give them a ship and Jar Jar. The ship gets them to the capital, where they save Queen Amidala and a small band of her guards .

As they escape the planet the ship is damaged. They land on the planet Tatooine. While there, Qui-Gon, Padme (an attendant to the queen) and Jar Jar happen across a junk dealer and his boy slave, Anakin. Anakin makes an impression on Qui-Gon who he senses is strong in the force. Due to an impending sand storm, Anakin offers them shelter with he and his mother. The boy of about nine gets a crush on Padme while Qui-Gon questions his mother about their lineage. She notes that there was no father, but rather it was a spontaneous pregnancy. You know, like Jesus.

Meanwhile, on the Planet Corsucant, the Senate is debating how best to deal with the Naboo situation. Unknown to everyone, Senator Palpatine is pushing for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Velorum. He is manipulating people to nominate him as replacement. His motives are shrouded in darkness, but we know he is a Sith Lord and he has an agent, his apprentice Darth Maul.

Darth Maul is on the hunt for the missing Princess and Jedi. Qui-Gon makes a bet with the owner of Anakin for the parts needed to fix their ship. He also makes a side bet for Anakin’s freedom. The bet revolves around one of the film’s best sequences. Anakin is a pod racer and if he wins, Qui-Gon can take both the ship parts and Anakin with him.

The Pod race is a pretty thrilling sequence and plays like “space NASCAR”. The primary story purpose of this scene is to establish his piloting skills. This relates back to a New Hope when Ben explains that when he first met Anakin, he was an accomplished pilot. Phantom Menace kind of creates a problem, in that Anakin is a nine year old kid. There is not really any doubt when listening to the dialog in a New Hope Anakin would likely have been very late teens or even early twenties. But Lucas wanted to make a statement on meeting Vader as a boy.

Anakin wins his freedom and joins Qui-Gon and Padme on their ship. As they are leaving, Darth Maul appears and Qui-Gon has a lightsaber duel. Qui-Gon jumps onto the ship and leaves Maul behind. They arrive at Corsucant, where Qui-Gon warns of Maul and presents young Anakin, who he believes could be the fulfillment of a prophecy about the Force, to the Jedi Council. The Council is far more hesitant, believing that Anakin has lived to long without proper Jedi training.

This actually makes no sense when we look to what the series had presented us with. Beings gifted in the use of the Force have access to it regardless, would not trainig, no matter their age be good?

Admittedly, the Jedi Council seems to be a rather ineffective group. They often seem to want to take a hands off approach, showing that, maybe, the legend of the Jedi as magical and wise space knights may be…a bit fictitious.

Qui-Gon states he will take on Anakin’s training himself, in spite of already having a padawan. They take the Princess back to Naboo in a plan to fight back against the Trade Federation. They recruit the Gungan’s for the fight. They need to take out the space station of the Federation, which will render their battle droids useless. It is revealed that Padme is actually Princess Amidala and the girl we thought was the Princess was actually a decoy.

The Naboo pilots take back some ships and head out to destroy the main Trade Federation ship, while Anakin is told to stay put hiding in a ship. The ship conveniently goes to autopilot and takes him straight into battle.

Qui-Gon and Obi Wan are confronted by Darth Maul. During their fight, Maul impales Qui-Gon. Angrily, Kenobi charges in and manages to slice Maul in half. Meanwhile, R2 (who is co-piloting the ship Anakin is in) turns off auto-pilot. Anakin tries to get turned around, and in doing so, manages to blow up the command ship, disabling the droid on the planet surface.

Kenobi promises to train Anakin in accordance with Qui-Gon’s wishes. Then, there is an awards ceremony in a reflection of the end of Episode Four.

Honestly, of all the Star Wars films, I probably find this one the most frustrating. It introduces something call midichlorians. They are the microscopic sentient life forms in all bodies that indicate how perceptive one is to the force. This allowed there to be a scientific test. Qui-Gon explains that Anakin is “off the charts”. But truthfully, the original trilogy stayed firmly in the world of the Force being a form of mysticism. It seems weirder to have a scientific explanation, even as just an indicator. In spite of this film being the first mention, they do apparently date back to about 1977 in stuff Lucas wrote up for the expanded universe material.

Add to that, Lucas still uses mysticism like Prophecy. Ben never mentions any prophecy in the original films, though the extended universe was apparently full of them.

Anakin is made out to be a boy genius. Both C-3PO and R2-D2 are in the film, with R2 being introduced as a service droid on Amidala’s space ship. But 3PO is used to show how mechanically inclined Anakin is by revealing that 3PO was built by Anakin. This is one of those rather silly additions that does not have the intended effect.

Having Anakin blow up the Trade Federation ship purely by dumb luck is not a good choice, either. As noted earlier, Ben certainly suggests to Luke that Anakin was a gifted pilot. It diminishes Anakin to have him stumble into success as a kid. The idea, I suspect, was to sell just how powerfully Force Sensitive he was. It just makes him seem lucky. And this is really a simple solution. Had they cast Anakin as a young man, he parallels Luke. The idea that he is skilled as a pilot does not need as much proof. Anakin never needed to be a child prodigy.

The choice to kill Darth Maul is another stumble. Darth Maul, for one thing, has a terrific design. He is automatically imposing with his red skin and facial tattoos. He has a cool double lightsaber.

It would have been a much better plot device to play him up as the Darth Vader of the series. He is the big bad guy who makes it until the end…as Darth Sidious begins grooming Anakin he subtly plays them against each other. Finally, in the third film, Anakin and Maul are in a pitch battle. Anakin has him against the ropes and then, in a dramatic moment, Sidious startles Maul by commanding Anakin to kill him. In that moment, Maul realizes Anakin is going to replace him.

Another thing the film establishes is the Jedi Gear. In Return of the Jedi, Luke wears that slick black outfit. According to Lucas, this was proper Jedi attire. Ben wore the robes not because that was a Jedi outfit. He was hiding out as a desert hermit. The Phantom Menace, instead, establishes that he was just wearing his Jedi robes.

Frustratingly, with the Phantom Menace, there is not a ton that I find enjoyable. The Pod Racing scene is terrific stuff. It is an exciting roller coaster ride. And the lightsaber duel with Qui-Gon, Obi Wan and Darth Maul is great stuff as well. But the rest of the film feels like it was bogged down in fan service that never actually serves the story.

December 22, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars Episode Six (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, 1983)

It took three agonizing years for the audience to get the answers to our questions. Excitement built with the initial announcement of Revenge of the Jedi. A bold and powerful title, it had fans eager. Before long, the title shifted to Return of the Jedi. Lucas noted that the Jedi do not deal in revenge.

And this seems a fair assessment for what little we really knew about the Jedi at this point. It did not matter though. Return was a good enough title and certainly not something to dampen the fan excitement.

And so, here we go…as with the previous installments, we are going to spoil the heck out of this one.

Picking up some time after Empire (weeks? Months? It is not entirely clear) we are introduced to Darth Vader arriving at a…half built Death Star. Did not work the first time, but the Empire does not give up so easily.

Meanwhile, C-3PO and R2-D2 arrive at Jabba’s palace. 3PO notes a sense of dread as he points out that Lando never returned from his visit. Upon gaining their audience with the immense slug-like creature, R2 plays a message which understandably freaks 3PO out, as Luke bargains for Han Solo and offers the droids as good will gifts. Jabba laughs this off, keeps the droids and starts up a party, complete with singers and a dancer. Half way through, he pulls the dancer towards him aggressively, as soon as she is close, he drops her down a pit. We don’t see what is down there, but it sounds pretty terrible.

3PO is now his translator, and that is good, because a bounty hunter shows up to claim a bounty on Chewbacca. After a tense negotiation, the party goes on and Chewie is led away. We discover later the Bounty Hunter is Leia in disguise. She frees Han from the Carbonite only for them to get caught. Han is jailed away, while Leia suffers a creepier situation…

Leia gets to be the sex object for a good chunk of the film. While the films had not shied away from the notion that Leia is beautiful, this feels…a bit creepier. The film implies some unsavory things for a film largely seen as a kids film. Granted, when I was eleven, all of it went over my head. But still…anyways, Luke shows up and Jabba instantly tosses him into his death basement. There, look has to outwit the Rancor, a large creature with a big appetite. I suddenly find myself wondering just where Jabba got this thing. Is it native to Tatooine? Is it something Jabba imported? Like an exotic pet? Are there laws against importing Rancors? Anyways, Luke kills it, angering Jabba, who decides to have Luke, Han and Chewbacca tossed into the Sarlaac Pit, where they will be digested for thousands of years.

No worries though, Luke has a plan. R2 has his lightsaber and shoots it to Luke from his barge. It turns out Lando is posing as a guard and Leia finally gets in on the action again and chokes Jabba with her chains. This sequence has one of the original trilogy’s most infuriating moments for many fans. Remember this guy?

He is the bounty hunter who caught Han Solo because Darth Vader gave him Han encased in Carbonite. And yet, somehow? The guy has a reputation as an intergalactic badass. Boba Fett does nothing on film to warrant this, but his rather embarrassing death (Han Solo accidentally sets off Fett’s jet pack, shooting him into the side of the barge and then on down the Sarlaac’s gullet.

This so bothered some people that in the comics being published at the time (by Marvel) had an issue that brought him back. After laying waste to Jabba’s thugs, the heroes head off.

Luke Makes a stop on Dagobah where he finds Yoda near death. Yoda confirms that Vader is indeed his father. After Yoda passes away, Obi Wan’s ghost visits.

Old Ben explains that really, when he said that Darth Vader killed Luke’s father, it was true…in a way. It all depends on how you look at it. Of course, a person being corrupted is not actually the same thing as another person killing them. And frankly, this should have been a hint for us all that maybe the Jedi were a bit ridiculous. In Empire, there was a reference made to their being another in an exchange between Ben and Yoda as look sped off for Bespin. This becomes clarified to explain that Luke had a Twin sister, who he realizes is Leia.

Luke shows up at the rebel fleet just in time to join Han and Leia as they lead a team to take down the shield protecting the new Death Star that is powered on the forest moon of Endor. Lando will lead the fleet in the assault on the Death Star itself, taking the Falcon with Han’s blessing…and a promise to not get a scratch on the ol’ ship.

On Endor, the rebels get help from the natives, little teddy bear creatures called Ewoks. They help Leia and Han make an assault on the base powering the shield. Luke has gone to meet Darth Vader and is brought before the Emperor. The hope of the Emperor is to win Luke over to the Dark Side. He taunts Luke repeatedly trying to drive Luke into trying to kill him in anger.

Luke and the rebels are shocked to discover that the Death Star is fully operational, and Luke gives into his anger. Vader protects the Emperor and they two duel. After near defeat, the rebels on Endor take out the shield and Lando’s forces are able to set off the chain reaction necessary to destroy the Death Star.

Before it reaches critical mass, Luke has almost defeated Vader, only to find himself halted seeing Vader’s mechanical hand, and looking to his own mechanical hand.

“MARTHA!”

Just kidding. This is actually a good call back moment. Luke sees that he is in some ways now like his father, and is shaken back to reality. He tosses aside his lightsaber. The Emperor uses his force lightning to kill Luke…as he is dying, Luke calls out to his father…And Vader picks up the Emperor and throws him down a shaft.

With his dying breathes, he asks Luke to remove that dark visage and allow him to look upon Luke with his own eyes. He asks Luke to let Leia know that Luke was right…that there had been some good in him after all.

On the moon of Endor there is celebration with a song containing the lyric Yub Yub. Luke stands with his friends and then looks off and sees Anakin, Ben and Yoda smiling at him and the credits roll!

Jedi has always taken a lot of crap for the Ewoks. It turns out they were originally supposed to be Wookies, but Lucas felt that Chewbacca had established that they were to technically minded. This does not make sense. Chewbacca merely proves Wookies are adaptable and intelligent. But while the Ewoks are a bit to cutesy at times, their inspirations are kind of interesting. Lucas had a fascination with how effective the Viet Cong was, in spite of their technological inferiority. They knew their land and turned it into their strategy.

Return of the Jedi really cemented the myth that Lucas had this all planned out. That he had this big screen play that he chopped into three parts. And it only got bigger from there. Supposedly, this was actually a nine part series. But by the early 90’s Star Wars was mainly kept alive through the expanded universe of comics and novels. Every now and then there would be a story about Lucas and his massive epic…but it seemed pretty clear that we were never going to see more movies.

This allowed people to ignore those little leaks where people would point out that when they started filming Empire nobody knew Vader would be Luke’s father. Or that while the line about “there is another” did indeed refer to a sister for Luke, it was not Leia…they had no idea who or where the sister was.

Harrison Ford did return for Jedi, but he really felt that Han Solo should have died. I kind of agree. It would have been a tough pill to swallow, but it would have hit home that they were at war. Not everyone gets that happy ending. But the film really does act like the story is over. The Rebels win, Vader is redeemed and Jabba is a grease spot on the desert floor.

There have been rumblings of late from folks who feel the later films present the Jedi in a disparaging light, but I disagree. This was always there. We just wanted to ignore it for the legend. Ben Kenobi deceives Luke throughout the series. He does not want Luke to redeem Vader, he hides the information thinking it will be easier for Luke to kill Vader. Empire and Jedi both call Ben’s wisdom into question, heavily.

With the impending prequel films, the Special Edition of Return of the Jedi was, again, largely cosmetic in it’s changes. Some were more extreme than others. For example, the Sarlaac Pit was not just a pit with tentacles. Now it had an extendable beak or mouth or something. But the largest change was in two sequences. One was Jabba’s palace. The musical number that proceeds the death of a slave girl was a pretty small affair. Now there is a space rock number with dancers and a really articulate digital band. The song is…well, not really terrible, but certainly not going to find it in many folks digital playlists.

And then there is the final scene. Instead of just showing us the celebration with the ewoks, we see various planets celebrating the end of the Empire. And this:

This was before Attack of the Clones had cast it’s grown up Anakin. By the time the movies were released on blu-ray, we got this revision:

Anakin sure is looking creepy there. This change creates un-necessary questions. Why are Ben and Yoda Old? Why is Anakin looking younger? I suppose the argument is based on the idea that this was the last time from before he turned to the Dark Side…but that is kind of a silly and arbitrary choice.

So, of the original trilogy, this is the weakest entry, but it still is a lot of fun. It has plenty of humor and excitement and really is an enjoyable watch.

December 21, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars Episode Five (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, 1980)

Star Wars became a world wide phenomenon. This meant that Lucas would get to build on his adventure. Already there were comics from Marvel, novels inspired by the first film and toys galore. How could they deny giving the audience more?!

And so, Lucas set forth to continue the story of intrepid rebels trying to take down the galactic Empire. This time he stepped back a bit from both writing and directing. Lawrence Kasdan stepped in as screen writer and Irvin Kershner as director.

Spoiling the Heck out of the Star Wars movies continues here!

Picking up anywhere from a few months to maybe even a year or two after a New hope, Empire opens on a secret Rebel base on an icy planet called Hoth. Han is trying to get out back on the run from Jabba the Hutt, feeling it is no longer safe for him. Han and Leia argue over his leaving, Han believing it is because Leia having feelings about him, Leia apparently feeling he is an asset against the Empire.

Luke has had a vision of Ben Kenobi which advises him to go to a planet called Dagobah and find a Jedi Master named Yoda. When the Empire finds the hidden base they attack. After getting the rebel fleet on it’s way, Han, Leia, Chewie, and C-3PO find themselves on the run in the Millenium Falcon. Luke and R2-D2 go off to find Yoda.

Dagobah turns out to be a swamp planet with no technology. Yoda himself seems to be a confused little kook at first, but really is a character meant to challenge Luke’s pre-conceived notions of what a Jedi Warrior is.

Darth Vader is on the hunt for Luke Skywalker. The motives for this are not entirely clearly during the film. We learn that Vader is, in fact, the right hand man of the Emperor.

The Emperor sanctions the search for Luke, for he sees the potential of a great new ally for the Empire. To this end, Vader has gone as far as hiring bounty hunters. I confess, one bounty hunter stood out to me above all the rest…

No, not him…

Yeah…Bossk. But he did not become the legend that was Boba Fett. Which is garbage.

Meanwhile, Han and Leia try hiding out with an old friend and associate of Han’s named Lando Calrissian. Lando is a reformed scoundrel turned legit businessman, running the sky based Bespin. But Lando, trying to protect his city cuts a deal with Darth Vader.

Vader torments Han and Leia enough to cause a disturbance within the force powerful enough to nudge Luke a few solar systems away (I am guessing, the fact is, the relationship of various planets to each other is never really clear in the world of Star Wars). Luke immediately seeks to rush off to help his friends, but Yoda and the Ghost of Obi Wan implore him to stay and focus on his training.

Vader has Han Solo frozen in Carbonite as a test to see if it will work for his plans to capture Luke. As Lando starts to realize he is going to see Vader continue to change the rules, he helps Leia and Chewbacca escape. Luke and R2-D2 arrive in Bespin, quickly becoming separated as Luke enters a confrontation with Vader.

Leia, Lando, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2 fail to save Han, with Boba Fett managing to leave with the frozen body. They make their way to the Falcon instead. Luke and Vader’s confrontation ends with Luke losing his hand and lightsaber, and nearly his sanity. In one of the most earth shattering moments of all cinema, Darth Vader reveals that Kenobi lied. Vader did not kill Luke’s father…he was Luke’s father. Luke cannot accept this and appears to leap to his death. He manages to catch some outcropping below the city and reaches out through the force, connecting to Leia. She has Lando turn the Falcon around until they can rescue Luke.

Empire felt like a bit of a revelation for a franchise films. It was not merely a retread of the the first film. It felt like a natural extension. Han and Leia’s relationship grows from a complicated adversarial friendship to a romantic one. Luke learns that the dark side is not merely an external force. And the film ends on that heavy note of Luke discovering that Vader may be his father and Han has gone missing. The Carbonite subplot with Han was actually something of a safety move. It was uncertain if Harrison Ford would be willing to return for the third film, so it was a way to write Han Solo out if necessary.

Yoda, a small green puppet with big ears came to amazing life, voiced by Frank Oz, who (as well as going on to be a noted director) was part of Henson’s Muppet troop and the voice of Miss Piggy. Yoda was small, but as noted earlier, was meant to teach Luke very important lessons about his expectations. He describes Yoda (not realizing he is talking to Yoda) as a great warrior. Yoda just laughs and declares that “Wars do not make one great!” Luke Struggles with the force, moving small rocks and the like. Yoda can move Luke’s X-Wing without breaking a sweat. Luke finds himself unable to deny his worry about his friends. He is easily given to fear.

And again, that reveal. For the next three years, we argued about whether it was true. I mean, surely, Darth Vader was a liar, right? There is no way this could be true!

For the special edition of Empire Strikes Back, the work was largely cosmetic. And for the most part, I approve. There were some dialog changed (there is a redundant scene of Darth Vader telling his people to ready his ship so he can return to his star destroyer). I really liked the changes like blending the snow speeders into the picture better. One of the issues when they made the film was compositing the speeder on a white background. The lines around the ship were glaring. So they faded the images just enough…which resulted in the ability to see through the snow speeders. This was fixed for the special edition.

The city of Bespin was now full of windows allowing sweeping cloud fill skylines. And they expanded some of the stuff with the Wampa snow creature, allowing us to see more of the creature. But there was not anything I would call a “new scene” in the sense of that the Jabba scene was. But there was one change that made some folks genuinely mad.

The original film features a hologram of the Emperor that is distinctly different from the version we see now. This is because the actor playing the Emperor in Empire is Marjorie Eaton. The voice provided was Clive Revell. In Return of the Jedi, they cast Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor. And so, for the special edition they more closely approximated the look of the Emperor for the hologram with McDiarmid.

The Empire Strikes Back is the high mark of the Star Wars franchise. It is powerful, without losing the sense of fun and grandeur of the first film.

December 20, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars: Episode Four (Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977)

In the 70’s a young filmmaker convince a movie company called 20th Century Fox to let him make a film by pretty much forgoing massive creative fees and keeping the licensing, which he turned into a massive empire. George Lucas had an idea for an epic space film. Now, if you follow the “Official Story”, Lucas had a bible he stuck to. He Cut the original film into parts and made the first part into Star Wars.

The truth is a bit murkier. It is certainly plausible he had a larger epic ready…but it is pretty obvious that the story was evolving as he went along. But I am getting way ahead of myself. Originally just released as Star Wars, the film was later retitled as episode 4 and “A New Hope”.

Nothing But Spoilers ensue!

The film opened with the now iconic screen crawl telling us of the war between the cruel empire and scrappy rebellion. We quickly are introduced to the villain Darth Vader. Dressed in black with ominous breathing apparatus, Darth Vader intimidates the crap out of people with his super deep voice.

A young woman sends two droids on a mission, which leads them to a nearby desert planet. There, the droids (named C-3PO and R2-D2) end up in the ownership of Lars Owen. R2-D2 is a spunky little droid who is actually trying to find a mysterious individual. This man is Obi Wan Kenobi, or as Luke Skywalker knows him, “Old Ben”. Skywalker is Owen Lar’s nephew. He is not content with being a farmer, he wants to join the rebellion.

Ben reveals he is a member of the order of Jedi. Knights who defended the galaxy against darkness and protected the weak. They get help from hotshot smuggler Han Solo and his partner Chewbacca (a large alien covered in hair, looks kind of like a bi-pedal dog). They save the Princess (well, sort of, as she ends up taking over the rescue) and the rebels lead an assault on the ultimate weapon…a planet killing space station called the Death Star.

And if that sounds like the most awesome thing in the world, five year me can assure that it most definitely was! But seriously, I saw A New Hope at five years old and it made a powerful impact on me. Both in general of a love for movies and as a specific thing, Star Wars. I wanted Star Wars clothes, I wanted the toys and Lucas got my parent’s hard earned cash.

But what did I love so much?

Was it how hard core science drove the images on the screen? Well, um, no. The films are not seeking to be scientifically accurate. The smaller spaceships fly like they are in World War 2 dog fights, there is sound in space and so on. Star Wars wants to draw you in and does so with exciting visuals and sounds.

And the Star Wars films began a revolution in visual effects. He used the existing technology and worked with upstart creatives to make the technology that did not exist yet. And while today computers and CGI rule the day, the practical model work of Star Wars holds up in the present.

The characters drive this film. Luke Skywalker is one of those characters who works effectively as the audience proxy. He is young and stuck in a life that is less than the one he desires. He wants to break free. He is also a bit whiny, but in a way that is probably more relatable than we want to admit.

Princess Leia is an inversion of the damsel in distress. At first, it seems she is the woman who must be saved. But when Luke and Han Solo arrive, they muck up her rescue, requiring her to help get them out. Leia is brash and tough, and a really great character.

Ben Kenobi is the wise old knight. He tells us tales of the Jedi as the most noble policemen in the galaxy before they were decimated by the evil Darth Vader. Vader killed Luke’s father, who was Kenobi’s friend.

And this first film establishes Vader as a cruel master of the Force, though working in the service of Gran Moff Tarkin. He is not really a sidekick, in spite of a comment from Princess Leia, the film clearly implies Tarkin and Vader have discussions about how to proceed with their policies.

The interesting choice Lucas makes though, is to frame the story not through Luke’s eyes. Rather he does so through the two droids. R2-D2 and C-3PO are thrown into the center of the war which, well, C-3PO is woefully not qualified for. 3PO is a fussy butler, a protocol droid. He basically is a translator, his hands cannot even effectively hold weapons. His companion, on the other hand, is a tough little fighter. R2-D2 is an astro droid, essentially he is a co-pilot for smaller space ships and also maintenance for larger ships. R2 speaks exclusively in beeps and squawks. The film only gives us any kind of hint as to what he is saying through other characters. Apparently, it is a commonly understood language, and everyone knows what R2 is saying, and so their responses are able to give the viewer context.

Meanwhile, there is Han Solo and Chewbacca. Han is the adventurer Luke wants to believe he can be, but disappoints Luke because he is a craven mercenary. Technically, he and Chewie are smugglers for the underworld of the Star Wars universe. And Han has a price on his head, which may have made him an easier sell for Luke and Ben’s needs. Chewbacca is, like R2, a character who has no english dialog. He howls and growls. In this case, not everyone apparently speaks wookie, but Han clearly does and gives us insights into Chewie’s comments. Between this, body language and the various inflections of Chewie’s growls, Chewie can be funny and sympathetic. In one scene, Han warns C-3PO against letting R2-D2 beat Chewbacca in a game. 3PO notes that nobody worries about upsetting droids. Han notes Wookies are noted for…less than sportsmanlike responses to losing. Chewie leans back and puts his hands proudly behind his head which really sells the joke in the scene.

One of the defining moments for Han is when he is confronted by a bounty hunter named Greedo. Greedo tries to extort Han, but Han uses this to slowly get his gun, allowing him to fire on Greedo before Greedo can pull the trigger. When we reach the end of the film, Han has gone from focusing only on his own survival to taking a risk for Luke and a cause bigger than himself or money. Sort of.

The thing to remember with Star Wars is that it has been an ongoing adventure in revisionism. Lucas initially made subtle changes to the film. Calling it Episode 4, naming it a New Hope. But with the announcement of a planned new trilogy, Lucas saw another opportunity. He would use modern technology to beef up his original trilogy of films. He had his teams clean up effects, enlarge the impact of other effects and expand the scope of the films.

Some of this involved making Mos Eisely look bigger and more populated. Making some of the stiff creatures look more lively. making sure wheels were not visible beneath Luke’s landspeeder (kind of a hovering dune buggy) and so on. But Lucas also added scenes that had long been thought lost to time.

For instance, Han has a run in with Jabba the Hutt. The sequence was filmed with a human actor and they intended to super-impose a stop motion creature over the actor. But they could never make it work. So, by the time they reached Jedi, they got to totally come up with Jabba completely from scratch. But now the technology made it possible to go back and re-examine the scene. And so they got to work on creating a digital Jabba. The results were…well…

Mixed. It does not look awful, but it sure looks dated. And the scene is solely interesting as an artifact of history. As a story scene it adds nothing to the tale. And not knowing who Jabba was or what he looks like built up his threat across three films, and here, it kind of makes him seem…gentle.

Most of the additional stuff in the Special Editions does not bother me. I am totally fine with seeing effects cleaned up. But there is one intensely controversial change. Even people who have not seen any Star Wars films are probably aware of the “Han Shot First” movement. In the remastered and expanded edition, Greedo gets a shot off before Han shoots him. This of course, makes Han appear less cold blooded. Sure, you could argue self defense before, but it definitely made Han seem like a sketchier dude, and increasing the power of his arc in the original.

This is certainly not enough to kill my love for the original film. The good of Star Wars far outweighs the bad here. The story is exciting, the characters engaging and the film has a killer musical score. I feel like I should have mentioned that sooner. John Williams defined movie music for much of the seventies, eighties, and nineties. And Star Wars was the Cornerstone of that.

The Star Wars story kicked off with a bang and still fills me with the same joy I felt as a kid watching it in 1977.

December 19, 2017 0

Nothing But Star Wars: Episode Zero

Starting today, I am going to explore the Star Wars films. This will not be strict reviews. Instead, they are more “critical essays”. I will go through each of the films. I already have reviewed The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi. So those won’t focus on the reviews, as opposed to more express my thoughts without fear of spoiling the films. Specifically, my feelings on themes and the like.

So, if you have not scene the Star Wars films and are super concerned about spoilers of the franchise? You will want to avoid the “Nothing But Star Wars” Series. Oh, and I will be going in the release order, so today begins with…

December 19, 2017 0

Narnia Quest Part 3 (Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 2010)

Picking back up World War 2, Peter and Susan are with their father in America. Lucy and Edmund, on the other hand, are stuck with their unpleasant cousin Eustace. He is a remarkably anti-social kid. One afternoon he breaks in on a conversation between Lucy and Edmund. Lucy notices that a painting on the wall of a ship at sea seems to be moving. As Eustace berates them, water starts to poor from the frame of the painting, filling the room. Suddenly, the children are afloat in the ocean and picked up by a passing ship.

The ship is the Dawn Treader, captained by Prince Caspian. On the ship, Lucy and Edmund are thrilled to see Caspian, Reepicheep and other Narnians. Eustice is more…stupefied. Especially by things like a giant talking mouse. Who has a sword. Caspian explains that they are on a mission to find the missing seven Lords that were driven into exile by Lord Protector Miraz. Reepicheep has a separate mission to reach the end of the world and enter Aslan’s land.

The journey brings them to various islands with a variety of obstacles. Eventually, they find the dark island in their hopes to vanquish a dark force that is attacking Narnians.

This last part is a bit more confusing. There is the addition of a Green Mist that is not in the books. It appears to steal Narnian citizens and taken them from beyond the reach of Caspian. The film departs a lot from the book, changing character motivations and emphasizing others.

Disney was not involved in this film, instead, Walden Media teamed with 20th Century Fox for this installment. The Narnia films have struggled, in part, from inconsistent releasing. The first film came out in 2005, the second in 2008 and then this film in 2010. Compare this to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, which were consistently a year apart. Or the Harry Potter films, which had a fairly consistent schedule of every two years. We are seeing Star Wars films already on a regular yearly schedule. Three films in five years easily disrupts momentum that trying to pull off an adaption like this needs. Especially when Narnia does not have a variety of other outlets to be kept in the front of people’s minds.

And if the films had been ridiculously high quality, one might forgive the inconsistencies. But there is the problem.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is easily the best of the three films. Will Pouter is exceptional as Eustace and takes him from being an insufferable brat to a good kid convincingly. Simon Pegg’s Reepicheep (taking over for Eddie Izzard from the previous film) gives a likable performance.

The film’s visual effects are strong, and the Eustace Dragon looks great. And yet, the film never really manages to feel…urgent. Edmund envies Peter, Lucy envies Susan…the temptation of the White Witch (again!). It all feels like we have been there before, even though the setting is new.

While better than the prior films, it still never gets to be what it wants, because what it wants is to be something other than the story C.S. Lewis told.

December 18, 2017 0