Here’s another something I take exception to regarding Star Wars:
http://movies.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=191342
Aside from the political teases, “Sith” is pretty much what you’d expect from this increasingly tired series. Perhaps it was inevitable that once Han Solo disappeared, so would the fun of “Star Wars.”
First, I object to calling Star Wars “increasingly tired.” The Bradys go to Hawaii, the Keatons visit London, or there’s the introduction of a precocious child–these are the hallmarks of a series well past its shelf life. Grasping at straws for plot, one might say. This is not the problem with the recent Star Wars movies.
Their problem is poor storytelling, which is further highlighted by the fact that the storytelling was the major appeal to the original three movies. Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers never had the same appeal or commanded the same sense of wonder as Star Wars, primarily because Luke Skywalker’s story–the archetypal “hero’s journey” if you’ve a Joseph Campbell fan–was far more gripping. The scenery and effects were fantastic window dressing to a classic story. The glimpses of other worlds, other wars, and other histories work in the original three Star Wars the same way snatches of antiquity add depth to “Lord of the Rings.”
The major difference? Tolkien had a rock-solid back story; Lucas did not. I prefer Tolkien’s “Silmarillion” to “Lord of the Rings” because it’s a wider and deeper story, and even there we get hints of “lost” stories (this something I mentioned in yesterday’s blog.) Tolkien did not franchise Middle-Earth by allowing spin-offs; he had one world, one history, and one interpretation of events in his mind: namely, his own. As row after row of Star Wars books in the bookstores tell us, Lucas franchised the shit out of his created world.
I believe Lucas had a rough idea of Annakin Skywalker’s history and the formative events in his life and a general idea of how the Empire formed, but that’s it. I don’t want to go into all the reasons episodes one and two are disappointing, but I still contend it could have been done well–it just wasn’t. The movies are short on charm, long on CGI, and bereft of fun. But it’s not because the story went stale or there isn’t enough interesting material in the Star Wars universe to mine, but rather Lucas completely lost the grip on what made the originals so appealing.
I think we’re all tired of watching a flailing Lucas sully his image. I watched about 1/3 of Star Wars the other night and it’s good, good stuff–minus the needless CGI crap they “added” to the DVDs. How I wish I could get that “bonus” material removed and just have the original recipe instead of the XTRA CRISPY!!! version.
It’s tiring being annoyed all the time.
One Comment
Hi Trent,
Just to say I came to the site as Randy forwarded information regarding Connie and Troy’s twins. Of course, being a curious man, I couldn’t help but see what the rest of your site was about. And, considering I had just seen Episode III before landing myself here, I figured I would add a comment.
First, let me say that I agree with you in large part regarding the Star Wars episodes. For instance, as far as I am concerned, I hope Episodes I and II disappear into the dust of time as soon as possible. They were truly dreadful. Even the thought of the ‘Howard Cossell’ bit in Episode I makes me cringe, and the acting was soooo bad, it is tearful. I would suggest that from a marketing perspective, they could probably sell Episodes III to VI together, and probably have decent uptake, as they are the only decent episodes. That being said, I agree that the ‘added material’ to the THX enhanced versions (both on VHS and DVD) was unnecessary. I assume they did it in order to ‘woo’ us into buying the Triology. That being said, the THX enhanced DVD is well worth the money just in visual and audio quality for any fan of the series. Perhaps there is an ‘Easter Egg’ on the DVD to remove the added scenes… I haven’t investigated.
Second, having watched Episodes III to VI in quick succession recently, I agree that Han Solo was sorely missed, as was the ‘story-telling’ as you say. I would add that Episodes I-III were all worse than IV-VI in terms of acting. I don’t know why Lucas decided he didn’t need good actors… I mean compare the permformaces of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer… (themselves not great actors by any stretch of the imagination) …and even Mark Hamill… who I’ve never been keen on… to those of ANYONE in Episodes I-III and you will see what I mean. They are like wooden dolls. It is painful. That being said, the redeeming feature of Episode III… and why I feel it deserves to join the ranks of IV-VI is the story… and the stunning visual effects… kitsch as they may be. That is, Episode III has the darkest vision. I mean… you can feel the ‘dark side’ as Anakin goes to save the ‘Emporer’ from being killed… and when he kills the black Jedi (that is the best I can do..as his acting was so bad it was painful)… I swear a vortex formed and swallowed the audience with it. After that, it becomes even more dark… with power.. and cruelty consuming Anakin. I mean… killing the little Jedi ‘sproglets’… that was dark… and the ‘over-confidence’ to attack his master who had the high-ground in the lava scenes was dramatic as well. Then…with the death of Anakin’s partner from ‘losing the will to live’… etc… we see he truly has become ‘twisted and evil’ in the words of Obi-won.
Third, I agree that Episodes I and II could have been made better… it was the fault of Lucas… who, by this time, deserved the reaction presented in South Park, say, to his ‘madness’. I would go further and suggest that even Return of the Jedi could be made incredily betters… simply by removal of those awful Ewoks. Indeed… nearly every episode would be made better by the removal of anything ‘cute’. In my eyes, the best movie of the lot is The Empire Strikes Back. It had good story-telling, romance, good acting, good ‘star wars’, and very few ‘cute’ scenes… without being overly dark, and it benefited (over the original Star Wars) in that the main actors returned and were obviously very comfortable within their roles. If the entire series had a slightly darker vision, better acting, and a good romance (as that between Han and the Princess), as well as compelling story-line (as in Episodes III-VI), this series would undeniably be the best series ever. Hell… maybe even now it does… but it’s painful to think how good it could have been… if only Lucas and Tarentino had teamed up… now that could be wicked!!