Trying to Feel the Force One Last Time
This is not the Star Wars I Remember
Seasons change. Childhood friends grow old. Boys become men. "Star Wars" comes to an end.
Last night, as I sat in grown-up disbelief watching "Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith," trying ever so hard to once again summons one last revisiting to my youthful wonderment of long ago, a calming realization struck me: There was never something worth re-telling here. That's right. "Re-telling." This stuff is common knowledge in the Star Wars legend. Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side. His wife births Luke and Leia in her final moments of life. The last of the Jedi Masters, defeated amidst the dawn of a Galactic Empire take refuge on far off planets. Darth Vader rises.
See, here's the thing -- I learned all this by the time I turned 7.
If "Star Wars" captured the gee-whiz space fantasy exuberance of youth, if "The Empire Strikes Back" harnessed drama, fear and discovery and if "The Return of the Jedi" completed the epic journey of father and son, downfall and redemption; then George Lucas' new trilogy equates to nothing more than spectacle. A 7-½ hour amusement park rides worth of special effects, blue screen sets and a screenplay with nothing to say. Celluloid devoid of soul at 24 frames per second. Filmmaking this is not.
In the original trilogy's telling, Lucas harkened back to these earlier days. A simpler time. His mythological origins were hinted at, secrets kept and truths half-revealed as we voyaged to fantastical new worlds and met fairytale heroes and villains. There was humor and charm. Religion and deep meditative insight. There was wit and a welcomed sense of campiness. Most important, Lucas' story exuded playfulness, and even though the dialogue was juvenile at times, we rejoiced in it. Ask any kid who grew up in the 70s -- and that kid's parents -- to deliver Han Solo's reply to Princess Leia’s "I love you," and you’ll see what I mean.
So here I was, expectations at ground zero after 1999's "The Phantom Menace" and 2002's "Attack of the Clones," ready to close out the final chapter set in my lifetime's worth of long time ago's, galaxies far, far away.
Take a moment to consider that C-3PO and R2-D2 were "Star Wars" main story movers. The adventure is told through their eyes -- storylines propelled from one frame to the next because of R2-D2's hidden information. "The Empire Strikes Back's" nuts and bolts are Darth Vader's obsession with tracking down Luke Skywalker. Each scene moves the next because everyone is on the run. Simple enough, right? Even "The Return of the Jedi" keeps its narrative momentum by inter-slicing the finale's good-hearted vibe from one quest -- Luke's call for the truth in his final meeting with Yoda -- with another -- Han & Co.'s mission to disarm the new Death Star.
"Revenge of the Sith," on the other hand -- like its two technological-terror predecessors -- lacks the fundamental criteria needed to make engaging cinema successful. In a word, "drama."
There is none. There is nothing moving the viewer from one scene to the next in "The Phantom Menace." Nothing to discover in "Attack of the Clones." And now, with Lucas' "Revenge of the Sith," he once again takes the almighty brand that is Star Wars and washes it through the same Industrial Light & Magic trash compactor to arrive at nothingness once more. Theoretically, Lucas could re-edit entire portions of his last three films and the viewer wouldn't notice the difference. That's how convoluted and lifeless each scene, or rather set piece plays from one another.
No plot. No drama. No soul. Specifically, there isn't a scene of narrative where more than two actors stare plainly at each other, recalling an 8th grade play, and talk deadpan to one another. Ah, and actors -- there are hardly any -- for that would require a director who understood that post-production special effects are best used to help enhance the story -- not unseat it. In Lucas' world, the special effects of planets, spaceship laser fights and light saber duels are the main attraction -- actors can participate, but really guys, try not to get in the way.
Even more gut wrenching is Lucas' all but too late attempt to reconnect the nostalgic memories of my Star Wars childhood in the final minutes as "Revenge of the Sith" comes to its close. Finally, the retro interiors of a space ship that are an actual set -- real shadows cast by real human actors! (Who knew I could respect Jimmy Smits this much?) Finally, two suns setting in the distance. Finally, that John Williams score that I remember all too well.
And then it hits me: Simpler times, but not simpler movies. Less was indeed more.
What I've been missing all along has always been there for me. To once again zap me back to my romanticized boyhood science fiction musings. "Star Wars." "The Empire Strikes Back." "The Return of the Jedi." They’ve been there all along. Safe and sound in my movie collection. I can revisit them whenever I’d like.
Now seems as good a time as any.
Seasons change. Childhood friends grow old. Boys become men. "Star Wars" comes to an end.
Last night, as I sat in grown-up disbelief watching "Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith," trying ever so hard to once again summons one last revisiting to my youthful wonderment of long ago, a calming realization struck me: There was never something worth re-telling here. That's right. "Re-telling." This stuff is common knowledge in the Star Wars legend. Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side. His wife births Luke and Leia in her final moments of life. The last of the Jedi Masters, defeated amidst the dawn of a Galactic Empire take refuge on far off planets. Darth Vader rises.
See, here's the thing -- I learned all this by the time I turned 7.
If "Star Wars" captured the gee-whiz space fantasy exuberance of youth, if "The Empire Strikes Back" harnessed drama, fear and discovery and if "The Return of the Jedi" completed the epic journey of father and son, downfall and redemption; then George Lucas' new trilogy equates to nothing more than spectacle. A 7-½ hour amusement park rides worth of special effects, blue screen sets and a screenplay with nothing to say. Celluloid devoid of soul at 24 frames per second. Filmmaking this is not.
In the original trilogy's telling, Lucas harkened back to these earlier days. A simpler time. His mythological origins were hinted at, secrets kept and truths half-revealed as we voyaged to fantastical new worlds and met fairytale heroes and villains. There was humor and charm. Religion and deep meditative insight. There was wit and a welcomed sense of campiness. Most important, Lucas' story exuded playfulness, and even though the dialogue was juvenile at times, we rejoiced in it. Ask any kid who grew up in the 70s -- and that kid's parents -- to deliver Han Solo's reply to Princess Leia’s "I love you," and you’ll see what I mean.
So here I was, expectations at ground zero after 1999's "The Phantom Menace" and 2002's "Attack of the Clones," ready to close out the final chapter set in my lifetime's worth of long time ago's, galaxies far, far away.
Take a moment to consider that C-3PO and R2-D2 were "Star Wars" main story movers. The adventure is told through their eyes -- storylines propelled from one frame to the next because of R2-D2's hidden information. "The Empire Strikes Back's" nuts and bolts are Darth Vader's obsession with tracking down Luke Skywalker. Each scene moves the next because everyone is on the run. Simple enough, right? Even "The Return of the Jedi" keeps its narrative momentum by inter-slicing the finale's good-hearted vibe from one quest -- Luke's call for the truth in his final meeting with Yoda -- with another -- Han & Co.'s mission to disarm the new Death Star.
"Revenge of the Sith," on the other hand -- like its two technological-terror predecessors -- lacks the fundamental criteria needed to make engaging cinema successful. In a word, "drama."
There is none. There is nothing moving the viewer from one scene to the next in "The Phantom Menace." Nothing to discover in "Attack of the Clones." And now, with Lucas' "Revenge of the Sith," he once again takes the almighty brand that is Star Wars and washes it through the same Industrial Light & Magic trash compactor to arrive at nothingness once more. Theoretically, Lucas could re-edit entire portions of his last three films and the viewer wouldn't notice the difference. That's how convoluted and lifeless each scene, or rather set piece plays from one another.
No plot. No drama. No soul. Specifically, there isn't a scene of narrative where more than two actors stare plainly at each other, recalling an 8th grade play, and talk deadpan to one another. Ah, and actors -- there are hardly any -- for that would require a director who understood that post-production special effects are best used to help enhance the story -- not unseat it. In Lucas' world, the special effects of planets, spaceship laser fights and light saber duels are the main attraction -- actors can participate, but really guys, try not to get in the way.
Even more gut wrenching is Lucas' all but too late attempt to reconnect the nostalgic memories of my Star Wars childhood in the final minutes as "Revenge of the Sith" comes to its close. Finally, the retro interiors of a space ship that are an actual set -- real shadows cast by real human actors! (Who knew I could respect Jimmy Smits this much?) Finally, two suns setting in the distance. Finally, that John Williams score that I remember all too well.
And then it hits me: Simpler times, but not simpler movies. Less was indeed more.
What I've been missing all along has always been there for me. To once again zap me back to my romanticized boyhood science fiction musings. "Star Wars." "The Empire Strikes Back." "The Return of the Jedi." They’ve been there all along. Safe and sound in my movie collection. I can revisit them whenever I’d like.
Now seems as good a time as any.
3 Comments:
Excellent insight. This movie was truly a let down. On another note, I like your style and your picture. We should get together some time.
-AlottaVagina
thanks adam.
well said.
just rejoice in the fact after watching Episode I - III you can watch Episode IV - VI and really feel the Force ...
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