Check out http://www.ew.com for the full article
Category: Movie Articles
STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (PART 6) EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
Hi everybody,
First of all thank you all so much supporting this series of articles. We had a great time putting them together. We’re really getting down to the wire here because today our article is on Star Wars Episode VI Return of The Jedi. I originally asked Marc Rodolfo, the author of today’s article, to just right the article for Episode VI. But I thought it was so damn good, that I asked him to write the Empire Strikes Back article, which we published last week. So this is absolutely one of my favorite articles in this series ( I feel like I say that for every piece because all of them are so damn good, I love them all!). Please enjoy!
– Paul
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi written by Marc Rodolfo
Cartoons and Carbonite: A Reflection on Return of the Jedi
I hated Return of the Jedi the first time I saw it. Strange, I know. Especially since I am now such a huge Star Wars fan. But there was a reason for my initial ignorance; Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie I had ever seen. And because it was the first Star Wars movie I had ever seen, I had absolutely no fucking clue what the hell was going on.
At the behest of my mother, I was told over and over “you should watch this movie,” and my mother, bless her heart and all that, didn’t quite remember that Star Wars was a trilogy and that Jedi was the end of that trilogy. See this was the early 90’s before the word “Prequel” became so dirty, and at a time when the words “Special Edition” were still just a mere twinkling in daddy Lucas’ eyes. Star Wars had hit a lull in popularity and at the time, it wasn’t quite on my burgeoning nerd radar. Star Wars, to early 90’s me anyway, was nerd stuff. I had better things to do like watch Batman the Animated Series, or the saturday morning Spider-Man cartoon, or set-up and play out elaborate and dramatic scenes with my action figures from the aforementioned shows. Yeah, Star Wars was nerd stuff and I was, decidedly, not a nerd. Denial is a funny thing.
Anyway, I ultimately gave in to my mother’s suggestions and we went to the video store to rent a VHS copy of pre-special edition Return of the Jedi. If I had been less moody that day, maybe I would have noticed that what sat right next to Jedi on the rack were VHS copies of The Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope; and yes, it was called A New Hope back then. Lucas began his artistic OCD in 81’ with Star Wars’ first re-release. But I was a little jerk back then and DID NOT want to watch some old movie with crappy special effects. Hell, I had just seen Jurassic Park. The dinosaurs looked like they were pulled right out of the past and plopped on a Hollywood soundstage. The rancor…looked like something out of a nightmare version of a christmas special. It was some cheesy claymation crap that made me cringe instead of fear for Luke’s life.
And that…is exactly where I stopped watching. Right at the rancor. I shut it off and counted the days until Jurassic Park would release on VHS. Jedi just couldn’t hold my interest. Besides having no idea what was going on, not knowing who these weird looking robots were, or why Indiana Jones was frozen like he was about to get hit by a car, or what that gross looking slug was all about, or why this guy dressed all in black was talking like some bad ass when he looked like anything but a badass, this stop animation monster was in no way as realistic as the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. I had my fingers stuck in my ears and my feet firmly planted in the ground.
It wasn’t until years later that the trailers for Episode IV dropped in all their special edition glory. “Wait a minute,” I said to myself, “how do I know these characters?” I even remember getting in a short lived tiff with my mother. Now I knew. Now I knew that you weren’t supposed to start with Jedi. How could she have done this to me? Start me off with the END of a story? It was like reading Return of the King without Fellowship, or A Storm of Swords without A Game of Thrones. A New Hope was first. Duh! THAT is why I couldn’t get into Jedi. That is why I spurned it and didn’t give it a chance. And that really was the reason I never liked the movie. Eventually, I saw A New Hope and I fell in love; the rest of the trilogy came after and I fell further into the fandom.
At the time, there not being an internet community to bitch about everything, people actually seemed excited. Star Wars was getting re-released (re-re-released?) and in the way George Lucas originally intended. The special effects were getting cleaned up, the creatures actually looked as realistic as the dinos, and all the little nuances were being perfected. It was time to embrace Star Wars. Of course, this was all in preparation for The Phantom Menace which had hyped me even further, but the excitement was real. I became a Star Wars fan and Jedi, a movie I once “hated,” became my favorite.
Why did I love it so dearly? Jedi was the redemption story for one of, if not, the greatest villains of all time (rivalled only by the Joker). The feeling of finally seeing what was under the mask of Darth Vader was indescribable; I was both alleviated that he was just another guy and saddened that he wasn’t something more.
Yet, I loved every bit of Return of the Jedi. I loved the Max Rebo band’s new song, as corny as it was. I loved the sarlacc’s beak coming out of the pit. I even loved the “Victory Celebration” song that replaced “Yub Nub.” In fact, “Yub Nub” can go screw. I even loved the damn ewoks, as crappy as they seem now. It was also when I fell in love with Leia. Yeah, sure there was the golden bikini and all, but seeing her in the army digs later in the movie during the Battle of Endor, is what really made me fall for her. This cemented my appreciation for a strong woman that wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty and kick some ass when she needed to; Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver were on that list too.
Many complain about the changes of the special edition episodes today, but I was never disillusioned by them. Jedi was a perfect movie in every way. Though I will admit, that as I have grown older, Empire has replaced it as my favorite. As Dante from Clerks said, “[Empire] ends on such a down note. That’s all life is: a series of down endings.” It’s interesting that Jedi was my favorite as a kid and now, as an adult, Empire, the darker of the two, has become my favorite. If that’s not a metaphor for…something I don’t know what is. But Jedi will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s a movie that taught me to give things a second chance, to not judge right away, to embrace my nerdom, to love princesses that kick as much ass as the princes, and to have an appreciation and love for old cinema.
May The Force Be With You…
STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (PART 5): EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Hey, everybody
It’s Paul, today we have the next piece of our series of articles looking back at The Star Wars Saga with Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Our guest writer today is Marc Rodolfo who is a Incredible wordsmith. He’ll also be writing our Return of The Jedi article which I’m excited for you guys to read, (it’s one of my favorites from the entire series of articles). Without further ado, please enjoy our article on arguably the best Star Wars film: The Empire Strikes Back…
Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back Written by Marc Rodolfo
The Darkside of Dagobah: Reflecting on The Empire Strikes Back
Empire…Empire…Man…If you tell me that A New Hope truly made you a Star Wars fan, I simply, and unequivocally, don’t believe you. And I mean, a true fan. I’m sure you liked A New Hope. I am sure you thought it fun and interesting and if pressed you may even admit you WERE a fan. However, it was Empire that truly made you a fan. Empire that turned you from a fair-weather Storm Trooper (puns!) to a Darkside lovin’ Darth Vader. This is how it was for me and for the purposes of this article, for you too.
What follows is a piece written with an unmitigated love for the best Star Wars film ever…and yes, I am going to be THAT stubborn and say it will be better than Episode VIII and Episode IX and any A Star Wars Story movie that is bestowed upon us in the future. Because this is Empire and Empire changed the essence of Star Wars. Empire took a franchise that was supposedly created for the enjoyment of children and made it for everyone.
It’s funny, I don’t really have a nostalgic story for Empire like I do for A New Hope and, as you will see in the next article, for Return of the Jedi. All I truly remember is that I went to the movie theater and I saw the movie. I don’t remember who I was with. I don’t remember if it was at the old General Cinema in Shopper’s World or the new AMC “A Lesson in Excess” Theater. I don’t remember the trailers or the ticket. I don’t remember if I got popcorn or soda. I don’t remember anything except for the movie. All that mattered was Empire. Yes, once the auditorium lights dimmed and the excited voices drifted off into soft murmurs and then to silence and the opening crawl accompanied that oh-so-familiar theme, I was back: enraptured in a universe that the previous chapter didn’t quite prepare me for…
And as the opening preamble drifted upwards and the camera panned down towards this new planet, the hushed silence of the theater began to echo the icy azure aerospace of Hoth. Soon though the silence would be broken by a roar, a flash of a lightsaber, mumblings about someone called Yoda, and the incoming Imperial onslaught of the AT-ATs. Those AT-ATs…I mean, the Death Star was huge, sure, but it never really gave a menacing presence. It was just a giant steel ball after all; a “small moon.” But these new machines, these new tanks, looked like giant mechanical camels or elephants or something and slowly, they stalked towards their tiny prey, not unlike a monster in a slasher flick.
And then, we got Vader. The last we saw of him he was spinning away into the eternal blackness of space. But now he was back, on the ground, and cutting rebels down left and right. Sounds of lasers, explosions, and the whirring of a red lightsaber pervaded the once tranquil theater. We were all on the edge.
Empire started with a bang and continued throughout with more and more revelations: “I am your father!” (Notice he didn’t say Luke first?) Force ghosts. Removable hands. Immovable Hans. Betrayals and backstabbing. Cities in the clouds. And an ending…an ending that tipped us over that edge.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Yoda. But let’s face it-Yoda was a risk. In a complete tonal shift from the maturity of the movie, we got a seemingly goofy puppet with a weird backward voice. We all complain about Jar-Jar, but if Yoda wasn’t putting us on and pulling a fast one, he would have made no sense in that movie. Luckily for us, it was a ruse; it was a test for Luke to see if he had the patience to start his training. It was then that Yoda quickly went from just another Star Wars muppet, to the wizened Jedi Master we know today. It was from Yoda we learned the true extent of what “the force” was capable.
More than a “bad feeling about this” (a cliche that is uttered over ten times throughout the movies and is even mocked in Rogue One), more than intuition, more than mental connections, the force was a strength that awed even the most skeptical of us (Han Solo-lookin’ at you). It was Yoda that made us all, and I’m admitting it, actually try to move things with our minds. Yoda who taught us even the smallest of us can have strength and power as well as wisdom. Yoda that taught us the path to becoming a Jedi was found in patience and virtue. Yes, our little Buddhist monk quickly became a fan favorite.
The Empire Strikes Back is one of those rare near perfect films. It brings back old characters and introduces new ones that quickly became fan favorites. It is the movie that cemented the Star Wars fandom and expanded it from a somewhat claustrophobic space opera (Episode IV was really only Tatooine and the Death Star) to a vast open wide space epic. From tundra to jungle and cave, from space to cloud and sky, each of Empire’s set pieces is as epic as the next and each moment is as memorable as the last. It is the Star Wars movie that created a universe.
May The Force Be With You…
Mini-Pocast: Why We Should Care About The Justice League Movie? With Tim
For some reason it seems like people aren’t getting excited enough about the new Justice League movie hitting theatres this Friday. So, our very own Tim Cuff is here to give you a swift kick in the ass and tell you why you should get behind Earth’s FIRST greatest defenders! They’re the originals! They are the Mother Fucking Justice League! Let our old friend Tim tell you why you need to get your ass to the movie theatre this weekend! Listen here or subscribe on iTunes:
STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (PART 4): EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE
Hey everyone,
Here’s the next in our series of articles looking back at the Star Wars Saga. Today we look back at the one, the only, the ORIGINAL, STAR WARS EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE. This excellent article is written by our very own Ryan McDonald and it is not to be missed. With respect to all of my other fantastic writers, I think this may be my favorite article in our Star Wars series. Enjoy!
-Paul
Star Wars EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE written by Ryan McDonald
Unfortunately, I can’t remember the first time I saw Star Wars, (I can remember the copied VHS tape I had) but I really can’t remember the exact moment I saw it. I feel ashamed being as Tim called me in his Phantom Menace article, a “Star Wars Guy”. I wish I had some great “blown away” story about seeing it as a kid and it changing my life forever. What I can always remember though is, how it felt, or should I say how Star Wars makes me feel. Having watched Episodes I to VI in a single day (ladies, I’ll post my phone number in the comments) I know if someone had never seen a single Star Wars movie, I would definitely have them start with Star Wars Episode IV New Hope. A New Hope has a timeless quality to it that makes it feel brand new every time I see it and I keep getting sucked down the rabbit hole again and again every time I watch the movie.
I think what gives the movie this unique quality is how you’re just immediately thrown into this world. Most movies that take a place in a fictional universe tend to take up a lot of screen time, or even whole movies, setting up the history of the world before they can tell story they actually want to tell. I think George Lucas brilliantly began the Star Wars saga in medias res, with what would later learn was the fourth movie, right in the middle of a chaotic shoot-out between the Rebels and the Imperial army. He has you follow C-3PO and R2-D2, two seemingly unimportant characters as they escape from this conflict, unintentionally find Luke Skywalker and along the way uncover Princess Leia’s secret mission for R2 to find the mythic Obi-Wan Kenobi, thus our first steps into this larger world.
Let’s highlight Princess Leia Organa for a minute here. In my opinion she’s truly the first female bad-ass in science fiction movies. One moment I absolutely fucking love, is when one of the imperial Stormtroopers finds her during the aforementioned shoot-out and says “there’s one, set for stun” like she’s just some defenseless little thing who poses no threat, so I’ll just stun her and BOOM she just blows him away. She seems to have this stigma of being a damsel-in-distress. Yes, the fact that she did have to be rescued and the “help me Obi-Wan Kenobi” message doesn’t really help my case here. I love that she was hurling insults as Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin took her prisoner, tortured her and eventually blew up her home planet. She would later go on in the trilogy to have some truly great moments, like killing the Al Capone of the Star Wars universe, Jabba the Hutt. Princess Leia was a trailblazer in film. I think future sci-fi heroines like Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor owe Leia some kind of gratitude or at least their creators do.
Leia’s rescuers are our two heroes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Han was what every fan wanted to be, smooth, all the best lines, coolest ship and he had the best partner-in-crime ever, Chewbacca. Luke was who every fan actually was, the kid stuck in a rut, longing for more. Luke gazing off into the binary sunset on Tatooine with John Williams’ music doing what it does best is the epitome of that Star Wars feeling for me. I whole heartedly believe that a huge part of the success of these films is the Incredible music of John Williams. He’s carved out some of the best themes in movie history, but his music for the Star Wars Saga, is the playbook on how to score anything. Literally every character, moment and scene has some kind of musical acknowledgement. They never felt repetitive or feel copied and pasted from one scene to another, they just felt right. Williams is so fucking good he even makes the background music in the Cantina bar scene memorable.
Speaking of the Cantina, let’s talk about something I never saw before in any sci-fi movie, a dive bar. Filled with every awful looking creature you can think of: yeti-thing, thirsty-rat, butt-face, satan-guy etc. they’re all just hanging out, drinking like regulars you would see at any dive.
One of these scumbags makes the fatal mistake of messing with Luke and attacking old Ben Kenobi resulting in Ben cutting its fucking arm off. The band stops playing and all the patrons are just staring at Ben, Luke and the severed arm on the floor, only to immediately go back to what they were doing, the band continues to play, not giving the slightest shit, CLASSIC DIVE BAR, I love this place.
I obviously can’t talk about A New Hope without mentioning is main antagonist, the one, the only Darth Vader. Without the influence of the prequels, we only knew Vader as the half man/half machine Imperial Commander, who could strangle people with his mind and stuck to his belief in the long forgotten Force. To me, Vader is at his coldest in this installment, strictly business, trying to locate that damn Rebel Base. The only tiny crack we see in his armor is when he sees Obi-Wan for the first time in very a long time. What I love is just how much I felt their history, in the way these two characters felt each other’s presence in this moment. I love how the shot lingers on Old Ben as he walks down the quiet Death Star corridor then comes to a slow stop. We see Vader standing there with his lightsaber drawn, just waiting for him and of course, that breathing.
Their duel that follows is barely a duel really and I don’t think it was meant to be either. Their dialogue during this scene is almost unnecessary; the sound of the lightsabers, Obi- Wan’s facial expressions, Darth Vader’s body movements and the lack of music does it all, you know shit just got real.
Obi Wan sees Luke and the gang escaping, that stirring force theme whispers its way into the foreground again, he holds his lightsaber up to his face, closes his eyes in moment of Zen and Vader takes him down. I remember being full-on panicked when Old Ben died “what the fuck are they gonna do now?”
A New Hope’s final act is Luke in his X-Wing with his fellow Rebel pilots, against Darth Vader and his TIE Fighters in a dog fight along the crevice of the Death Star. Han, who bailed earlier, shows up just in time to knock Vader out of the fight and give Luke a clear path to destroy the Death Star, stopping the Empire…for now.
When I saw the Death Star explode in theatres during the 1997 Special Edition re-release, I think the entire audience reacted as if something had actually blown up inside the theatre, everyone screamed and immediately began laughing and clapping when the scene ended.
The movie of course ends with a medal ceremony for Luke and Han (not for Chewbacca though? I call bullshit) bestowed upon them by Leia and the Rebel alliance leaders. The recipients turn and face the audience as they are applauded to one final reprise of the Star Wars theme and cut to stars in space…and cut to me buying hundreds of toys, making friends who also love these movies, seeing every episode after with these friends and feeling it every time.
May The Force Be With You…
Ryan
P.S. A note from Paul, our Editor In Chief…
What I Want to Happen: Pixar
I’m a big fan of Pixar’s films. When Toy Story came out, I was 11 years-old, and I’ve kind of grown up with them. What’s been nice, about growing up with Pixar, is that they had such an amazing record (still have a good record). After Toy Story came A Bug’s Life, and Toy Story 2, neither of which was as deep as Toy Story, but certainly weren’t vapid either. After Monster’s Inc., and Finding Nemo was The Incredibles, and it lived up to the name. I was twenty years old, and watching Pixar do the unofficial version of Fantastic Four that we have still yet to get, but totally deserve.
After The Incredibles, we got Cars. Now, Cars is an article all in itself, but to try to quickly summarize what I have to say about Cars is: I personally think it’s the weakest Pixar original (it’s a total knock off of Doc Hollywood) which pains me, because George Carlin is one of my favorite comedians/celebrities of all time and he voiced Fillmore; it is the pivot point film between a Disney/Pixar partnership, and Disney owning Pixar, and was used as part of the negotiations; and so while I think it’s the weakest, in a lot of ways I still think it’s better than a lot of other films, and it’s important.
After the pivot of Cars, a reinvigorated Pixar went into what I think was their renaissance creating Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 (the latter 2 were nominated for Best Picture Oscars, the former each getting Best Screenplay nominations). These 4 films, should definitely be mentioned when discussing the best animated films of all time.
Then after the renaissance came the other shoe. Part of Pixar’s agreement with Disney, was that they would create sequels to their most successful box-office films. After Toy Story 3, we got Cars 2. Now personally, I think Cars 2 is better than most will give it credit for, but it is certainly a departure from the depth of the four preceding films. We’ve since got Brave (an attempt at a deep dive which falls a little flat), Monster’s University (a serviceable prequel), Inside Out (the only foray into greatness since TS3), The Good Dinosaur (akin to the A Bug’s Life, in it’s fine but doesn’t match the glory of the prior film), then Finding Dory (again, it’s a serviceable sequel, but nothing special) and Cars 3 (I haven’t seen it yet).
The reason that I wanted to do this article, is that in couple of weeks Pixar is going to release their next film, which will be an original, entitled Coco. I really hope Coco is good, but I’m worried, because it looks like Pixar’s amalgamation of two recent animated films Kubo and the Two Strings mixed with The Book of Life. Now, I’m sure it is not a knock-off of those two films, but I hope it’s dissimilar enough. I want to see them really be creative and deep again, and this may have the potential, but I’m nervous. The film’s done though, so I want to talk about the future past Coco.
Pixar has five films they’re currently working on, but only 2 have been officially announced; The Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4. Personally, I don’t want too many sequels from Pixar, since their strength has really been in originals, the exception of course being the Toy Story films, so while I thought TS3 wrapped things up nicely, I’m keeping a very open mind on this. As for the Incredibles 2, the original warranted a sequel more than any other Pixar original, and the first came at the beginning of the superhero era in film, so to check in with the family now with how the genre has changed is exciting.
But ultimately, I want more originals. One of the things that really has been great about the Pixar films that have been amazing were 2 things, originality, and character connection. I think people have misread the formula, I think they see Toy Story and think “kids like toys, lets make a movie about toys” or “kids like animals and adventure, let’s make a movie about animals and adventure (Up),” but the reason why we really fell in love with those movies is that Woody learns that he has to share Andy’s love, or that Ellie got to live the adventure she always wanted, and Carl finally did too. (BTW, I’m tearing up just thinking about Carl and Ellie, can you say that about any other 5 minute relationship in film history?)
If Coco for all of it’s “Dia de Muerta” makeup, which totally does look cool, doesn’t have some strong clinching emotional connection, it’s going to fall flat. That’s what I want to see, I want them to be the master manipulators that we all know they can be, and tug on our heartstrings. This is less likely to happen in sequels, because it seems to be something forged in the examination of new characters, although each Toy Story movie so far has managed it, that’s because each time the relationship with Andy, the Buzz and Woody relationship, and the relationship with their purpose in life altered to examine it. I hope the 4th manages to continue this, I hope that The Incredibles turns from Bob’s insecurity about domestic life, and how he loves his wife and kids, to him now knowing who he is again, being able to guide them more. I guess don’t have a clue what direction I want the Incredibles to head in, but I don’t want rehashing of the same basic emotional connections the way that I think some of their lesser sequels have.
Ultimately, I suppose the sequels aren’t going to stop, but let’s take ratio which seems to be a little more than half of the recent movies have been sequels, and flip it. Do sequels that are organic, but not necessarily just because they sell well. Pixar currently has an amazing legacy in the making, and I think there is a lot of promise assuming they make some adjustments. Look at their parent company Disney’s legacy. Disney, love them or hate them, has had an incredible run for 80+ years, and although there have been some lulls, ultimately they’re doing great. But one thing they do, they have places to put their lesser sequels. Sure, they’ll make the Cinderella 10: Back In The Saddle, but it’s straight to video. This is the way to make cash-grab movies, and not tarnish your legacy.
Lastly, I want to say, I’m going to continue to see every Pixar film until they have thoroughly defeated my spirit, and I don’t think they’re even close yet. Their worst film is still better than most, I just want to see them return to being better than EVERYONE.
Written by Michael Cole
Rian Johnson is writing & directing a brand new original Star War Trilogy
Rian Johnson, director of the highly anticipated Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi is writing and directing a new Star Wars Trilogy for Disney/Lucasfilm. The movies will feature completely new, original characters and be completely separate from the Skywalker “Saga” films. The movies will take place in a different part of the Galaxy, previously unseen in Star Wars.
I knew this was coming in some form or another. Star Wars is too popular for Disney to let it lie. I think telling a completely new story with new characters is definitely the way to go. I would have hated (or at least been very skeptical) if Disney tried to do another Saga trilogy. Continuing The Skywalker family story beyond the 9 Episodes would have been a mistake. That was always the story that George Lucas began all those years ago. Adding more Episodes to the Skywalker Saga would just be a shameless cash grab that could seriously damage the Star Wars we all know and love.
I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, I LOVE Star Wars and there will always be a part of me that wants to see stories in that Universe. BUT! One of the reasons I love Star Wars movies, one of the reasons they’re special, is that they are an EVENT. After the original trilogy there was no guarantee we’d ever get to see any more films. The Prequels, love them or hate them, where a wonderful surprise when they were announced. After Return of the Jedi, talk of continuing the movies were wishpered rumors. THEN we found out we were finally getting the fabled “last” trilogy, the story after Jedi, which was an even bigger surprise and delight. I think this was the trilogy fans always wanted to see. We’d take the prequels, but we really wanted to find out what happened to all our favorite characters after The Empire fell. So between 1977 and 2017 we’ll have seen 9 Star Wars movies (including Rogue One).
While there’s been no release date, my biggest fear is that we’ll get burned out on Star Wars. It would be awful if this incredible world was run into the ground. Going for an original, new story is great, but I’d like to see them wait at least 5-7 years, ideally a decade after Episode IX. Again, there’s no release date, but I doubt they’ll have the restraint to wait that long.
At the very least, The Last Jedi must be pretty fucking good for Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy to hand Rian Johnson his own fucking trilogy. So I take small comfort in that at least.
Stay tuned to World’s Best Media as this story developes…
May The Force Be With Us…
-Paul
Star Wars Retrospective (Part 3): Episode III Revenge Of The Sith
Hi, Everybody
Today I have the privilege of writing the next article in our series looking back at the entire Star Wars saga, with Episode III Revenge of the Sith. I hope you enjoy it.
– Paul
Star Wars Episode III Revenge Of The Sith written by Paul Wright:
Light your torches. Get your pitch forks. Wake the neighbors. Because I’m going to have an angry mob after me for what I’m about to say: Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith is a great Star Wars movie. Not only great, but one of my favorites, probably in the top 3. But hear me out, because Revenge of the Sith is a better movie than it gets credit for.
To be fair this isn’t exactly an objective statement. Like so many of you, my love of Star Wars and this film in particular, comes in large part from the experience of seeing it in the theatre. On the big screen. When the new trilogy ends, I’ll be proud to say that I got to see the entire Star Wars Saga on the big screen (Yes, I’m counting the re-releases, I’m not that fucking old yet). When the new trilogy, Episodes VII to IX, was announced I felt a profound sense of gratitude that I’d once again be able to go to the movie theatre with my friends and family and see a NEW STAR WARS MOVIE! The most important part of that last sentence was “friends and family” and probably the single biggest reason I love Star War so much.
I remember my Dad taking my brother and I to see the re-released “Special Editions” at the local theatre in Cambridge, Mass. At that point no one in the theater cared about Lucas mucking about with the movies, at the time I certainly didn’t care. There was a palpable excitement in the theatre seeing these incredible movies. Even if the guy next to me had seen the original back in 77, we were all about to see something new. Some of the additions actually really add to the trilogy, seeing Jaba confront Han in A New Hope, puts their conflict with him in Return of the Jedi in a slightly different light and bookends Han’s journey in that trilogy in a cool way. Say what you want, but I think re-releasing the original trilogy, changes and all, was one of the smartest moves Lucas ever made. Because even though some of the changes are for the worse, Lucas created a whole new generation of Star Wars fans and I was one of them. So, when the prequels came out I was chomping at the bit.
I’ll never forget seeing that first trailer for The Phantom Menace. This was before the internet was in constant use, I had no idea this was coming. My brother and I lost our minds, the movie we were about to see was forgotten because we just saw a trailer for a NEW STAR WARS MOVIE! It was pure joy and man… it was one HELL of a trailer. Try to forget any negative feelings you may have for The Phantom Menace and just try to appreciate this trailer on its own terms:
After The Phantom Menace mostly disappointed (but I walked away more or less enjoying it at the time), Attack of the Clones was a huge improvement. It’s a very flawed movie, but I love it. Finally, we got to the real meat of it… Revenge of the Sith. Seeing this movie opening night was without a doubt the best movie going experience of my life.
Me, my brother, and a group of our best friends waited in line for at least 2 hours to see the midnight show. At this point, I was in college and the highlight of the pre-show festivities had to be watching one of my best friends who was dressed as a Sith Lord, nearly get pummeled into submission by an 11 year old boy, toppling into a gigantic movie theatre display in what started as a “playful” lightsaber duel. Everyone in line loved it and it set the tone for a great night. Finally, we took our seats and the movie began and those immortal words appeared across the screen…
A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far away…
There I was surrounded by people I loved and hundreds of strangers, all there because we all loved these movies. This is what people are talking about when they call movies “magic”. There was magic in the theatre that night. I don’t think Ive ever seen a theatre crowd so wrapt to the movie they were watching.
I feel I should say I don’t think Hayden Christenson who plays Anakin Skywalker, is a particularly good actor. There were better choices for actors to play the man who would one day be the most feared and reviled individual in the galaxy. But Hayden Christenson stepped up his game between Episodes II and III. You could see that there was something very wrong about this guy. The transition from the swashbuckling man we see at the beginning of the film to the man consumed by rage and fear, ready to fight Obi-Wan to the death really works and is the backbone of the movie.
And since I brought him up, lets talk about the real hero of this movie (and the entire trilogy really): Ewan MacGregor. He is fantastic as Obi-Wan Kenobi. More than anyone in the prequels he always managed to make Lucas’ stilted dialogue work. I hate the idea of this stupid, fucking Han Solo prequel movie, but I’d love to see MacGregor return to the character in an Obi-Wan stand alone movie. I’m sure there are plenty of interesting stories that could be told during his 20 year vigil on Tantooine.
My esteemed colleague, Mr. Tim Cuff, believes steadfastly that the 3 way lightsaber duel in The Phantom Menace is the best lightsaber fight in the Star Wars Saga, but Anakin and Obi-Wan’s fateful duel on Mustafar is mythic. It’s the stuff of legend! The creation of Darth Vader! This is a fight fans have been hearing about for decades and it doesn’t disappoint. While the fight choreography in The Phantom Menace fight may be more dazzling, it’s hurt by the fact that film keeps cutting away to Padme’s misson, the Gungan’s battling the droids and Young Anakin in his spaceship. This fight only cuts to the almost equally epic Yoda vs Palpatine fight. Which is a thrilling fight no Star Wars fan ever thought they’d get to see. Yoda and Palpatine, the Jedi and the Sith in their purest forms.
Let’s not forget that these two men were like brothers and the power of there bond being destroyed is felt in every lightsaber swing. In my favorite scene in the movie, there’s a pause in Anakin and Obi-Wan’s fight across Mustafar’s volcanic landscape. Obi-Wan looks at Anakin with pain in his eyes and says “I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you.” The tragedy is that Obi-Wan couldn’t save his friend, and though it wasn’t his fault, he’s haunted by it for the rest of his life. Of course, Obi-Wan ultimately wins the fight. Anakin is horribly maimed and burned. Obi-Wan says to him “You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.” With nothing left of the man he once was, Anakin’s last words to Obi-Wan “I hate you!” are a guttural scream. With that Obi-Wan picks up Anakin’s lightsaber, the same weapon wielded by Rey decades later, and turns his back on his dying friend. The Emperor defeats Yoda and shows up on Mustafar to saves his apprentice. Almost like Frankenstein’s Monster his transformation into Darth Vader is complete.
What I love about this film is that its just as much about the failure of The Jedi as it is about the fall of Anakin Skywalker. Their monastic, black and white view of the world (as well as their arrogance) is what led to their downfall. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Luke is trained very differently when he becomes a Jedi. Luke was almost always kind of a grey Jedi, as if Obi-Wan and Yoda learned from their mistakes with Anakin.
So, the story of the creation of one of the greatest villains in cinema history was complete. The movie closes out with the setting of the twin sun’s of Tantooine and John Williams’ iconic music swells. The credits hit the screen: Directed by George Lucas. I shot up into air and screamed “FUCK YEAH!”. The theatre erupted. I’m sure opinions varied later on, but in that moment we were all caught up in the magic of Star Wars. Which brings me to my original point and why Star Wars is sacred to me. Star Wars is family. It turns strangers into brothers. It brings us together instead of tearing us apart. So, whenever a new chapter in the Star Wars Saga hits theaters, I look back at that night back in 2005 and realize I’m going to make new memories and have new experiences with the people I love. What is that, if not magic?
May The Force Be with you…
-Paul
Star Wars Retrospective (Part 2): Episode II Attack Of The Clones
Hi, everyone
Our 7 part series looking back on the Star Wars Saga continues with Star Wars Episode II Attack Of The Clones. Today’s article is written by long time Star Wars fan and World’s Best Media contributor Michael Cole. I asked Mike to write up the Episode II article specifically because I remember years ago Mike saying how he thought this scene was cool.
That may just be some bullshit memory of a conversation we never had, but Mike’s article is a good read anyway!
-Paul
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones written by Michael Cole
I am of a unique generation of Star Wars fans. The original fans, even those who were very young in 1977, were already full-grown adults when the prequels started coming out. There is also a generation of kids for whom the prequels are their first taste of Star Wars. Between these two generations is mine, I was 14 when the Phantom Menace came out in 1999, and not quite 21 when Revenge of the Sith came out in 2005. One’s stance on the prequels seems to be largely dictated based on the viewer’s age upon their release, the older crowd seems to hate them, the younger crowd enjoyed them. So I think that I have a relatively unique viewpoint of the prequels.
Attack of the Clones is often considered the worst of all 7 saga films. I don’t agree, my own personal least favorite is Revenge of the Sith. What I want to do in this look back on Attack of the Clones, is focus on the positive. There are plenty of negatives, but there are a lot of positives that almost never get mentioned.
First, and this has nothing to do with the film itself, but a personal memory that I enjoy, is actually going to see the movie. When I went and saw Phantom Menace, I went alone, because I had no friends, when I went and saw Revenge of the Sith, I went with my two best friends, but for Attack of the Clones, I went with the largest crowd I think I’ve ever gone to a movie with. It was opening night and I went with a ton of people from school (I was a junior in high school at the time). As the lights went down, and the screen said “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” someone yelled “aww, I’ve seen this one already,” got up and walked out (I’m relatively sure he immediately walked back in, but I was too fixated on the screen to really pay attention). Regardless of the film itself, it was one of the best movie going experiences of my life.
Now, to the quality of the film. Like I said before, there is plenty of stuff that you’ve probably heard about that doesn’t work in this film, but rarely do you hear about the positives. We’ve only had one saga film since the prequels, and so perhaps this isn’t a fair statement, but the prequels when compared to The Force Awakens, are much more creative. The Force Awakens was a good film, but it doesn’t reinvent the wheel. In the prequels we saw a lot of expansion of the universe, we saw exciting set pieces and action sequences (and not a single Death Star!)
There are two things that I think stand out about the Attack of the Clones, first of all, we got to see an epic multi-Jedi battle in a gladiator style arena. The original trilogy had been somewhat limited as to what they were able to show with lightsaber battles due to their really not being anymore Jedi, but this wasn’t a problem for the prequels. We got to see the Jedi Council fly in, and kick some ass in a colosseum.
The next great thing about this film, is that for the first time in 4 movies, we got to see Yoda fight in a lightsaber battle. Looking back, little ball of a Jedi Master bouncing around Count Dooku in a cave may not be as impressive , but on opening night? That was the greatest thing I had ever seen!
Another highlight was the speeder chase through the ‘streets’ of Coruscant. Not completely original, but new and exciting in a Star Wars film. With Anakin jumping out of the car and landing levels below onto another car. This was a very Star Wars version of similar scenes from movies like The Fifth Element and Blade Runner. Even with his wooden line delivery, Hayden Christenson seemed pretty badass (for those first few minutes). You also began to see what Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship was like. Which brings me to my next point…
Finally, since the original Star Wars had come out, we knew to some extent that Obi-Wan had been Darth Vader’s (or Anakin Skywalker’s) teacher, and really this is the only film we get to see that dynamic. Hayden Christenson doesn’t really carry his share of the ‘chemistry,’ but Ewan MacGregor does. MacGregor’s performance shows us how close the two characters had been, which really adds layers to their reunion in A New Hope.
This is far from a perfect film. But I don’t think it deserves to be remembered as the worst Star Wars movie. I would argue that ultimately it suffers most, from the trilogy’s real problem. Which is that the whole films are never more than the sum of their parts. Some of those parts are really good, unfortunately they’re brought down by the ‘other’ parts.
May the Force be with you!
What I’d Like To See: Wolverine
Over the last 17 years, we’ve had 6 main team X-Men movies, and 3 Wolverine stand-alone films. Among the 9 films, I think there are 4 great, 3 pretty good (I’m apparently in the minority when it comes to people who enjoyed Apocalypse), and 2 crappy movies. We’ve had 2 Magnetos, 2 Professor Xs, 2 Mystiques, but only one Wolverine.
Other than his brief childhood James Howlett/Logan/Wolverine is virtually ageless or at the very least he ages slower than the average person. So unlike the other X-Men characters, recasting him cannot rely on age shifts in order to adjust the actors. Hugh Jackman however, is about 18 years older than he was when he started playing the character, and while he has aged well, he is not ageless, and as you probably know Logan from earlier this year, was his final performance as the character. I don’t think however that it’s the last we will see of the character, so I want to talk about what I think Fox needs to do with Wolverine.
First, I think there is a chance that if Fox were able to partner up with Marvel, that Hugh Jackman would return for the role. He has been a vocal proponent of the two universes colliding. We’ve seen it with Spider-Man and Hulk, and so it’s not completely out of the question, but X-Men seems to be too financially viable to make Fox that desperate, so I don’t think this will happen, unless Marvel makes some offer that makes Fantastic Four (also a Fox property at the moment) a better financial option. So, I don’t think this is going to happen, but that doesn’t mean that imagining Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine fighting Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk doesn’t give me one hell of a nerdgasm.
Alright so the ultimate fantasy aside, here’s what I want to see that I think is realistic. As of right now, we have two X-Men films (not including Deadpool) coming out in 2018. None of which appear to include Wolverine. I’m glad about this, because it will give us some idea to what level these films can perform without Hugh Jackman—sure he only had glorified cameos in First Class and Apocalypse, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t people going hoping for him. I also think that a couple of X-Men movies without Wolverine gives us a bit of a pallet cleanser. These are X-Men films, but to a considerable extent 4 of the 6 main team films were Wolverine (feat. The X-Men) films. Let’s delve into the team more, hopefully some different characters are going to be X-plored, like Scott Summers who has been second fiddle in the movies despite apparently being a very large aspect of the comics. The same goes with Jean Grey’s Phoenix, (the next film being titled Dark Phoenix) who has also been given a weak portrayal compared to the comics.
Throughout out the next couple of X-Men movies (including New Mutants if it’s going to remain in the current continuity), I want to see them start up the hype for Wolverine, the way they have for other characters in the past. References to him in reports, and Easter Eggs (I’m not even sure they need to have the next actor cast yet). After a couple of films, do another Apocalypse style cameo. Where we see an actor in that animalistic berserker mode, without actually showing his face, but start to show how he’s different than Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (again it doesn’t even have to be the actor who will ultimately play the new Wolverine).
Eventually, after Easter Eggs, and cameos, make him a side character. Perhaps it’s a main team story, with Wolverine passing through on the adventure (which from what I remember of the comic and the cartoon is fairly consistent for the character). He’s kind of a transient character, so maybe he happens to come to Professor X for help. He meets Jean, and the rest of the team, but doesn’t immediately jump back into team mode.
This process, allows Fox to slowly change the character, which is the nice part of replacing a member of a team franchise. The character is iconic, and arguably linked to Hugh Jackman as much as any other franchise character (maybe RDJ as Tony Stark is as closely tied) even more-so than characters like James Bond who at one point was definitely Sean Connery. The benefit here, is that unlike Bond, Wolverine doesn’t have to immediately jump to the next actor, who inevitably cannot live up. If Fox is smart they’ll take their time getting Wolverine back in the mix, and by that time, we’ll be so excited for it, that perhaps we won’t notice it’s not Hugh Jackman.
That’s what I want to see!
World’s Best Media 