May 14

May 14 Random Thoughts on Star Wars

Last weekend was the annual Torrey Star Wars Marathon. This was the fourth year we have watched the movies straight through in one day. I grew up with Star Wars. We ran through the Special Edition VHS collection. Up until a couple years ago I had read everything in the Expanded Universe. I HAVE A STAR WARS NAME TATTOOED ON MY BODY. You could say Star Wars is very dear to my heart. What follows is a collection of random thoughts on Star Wars.

Episode 1 and 2 suffer from three crucial things. First, the writing is awful. It banked on a chemistry that never came to fruition. Ultimately, awful lines were left exposed. This leads to the second point. The acting was awful. Many of the guilty have proven elsewhere that they can in fact act. The scripts didn't help. But I also think the face-focused frames revealed awful facial acting. Third, the editing was poor. There are significant sequences that don't contribute to the story. Even during dialogue there were gaps that could have been improved by editing.
Everything that is wrong with Episode 1 and 2 can be found in Episode 6. One of the biggest surprises for me the last two years was how far Return of the Jedi has fallen. Sloppy action sequences exist throughout. There are weird rather pointless scenes that feel like a rush to tie things up.
Episode 3 is severely flawed gold. Don't ask me if I like it more than Episode 6. You might not like the answer. Revenge of the Sith has moments that make me want to pull my hair out. There are multiple plot points that just do not make sense. But the basis for much of the movie is perfect. There is chemistry in this movie. Hayden Christensen as angry-boy-found-power finally looks like he fits. The last 30 mins of Episode 3 are on par with 30 mins in any other Star Wars movie.
A New Hope is a breath of fresh air. There is so much youthful angst in this movie that bubbles to the surface. The actors have spunk and its lovely. The first Death Star sequence is littered with great stuff but also some awful plot points. It is not a perfect movie, but it's better than most.
The Empire Strikes Back is the best movie in Star Wars. If you disagree feel free to throw yourself into an asteroid field and promptly die. Maybe there is a problem with this movie? The pacing is a little slow, but goodness with the acting in this I couldn't really care.
The Return of the Jedi makes me want to vomit these days. I really cannot handle it. This is Star Wars losing control. The last 15 minutes were okay before all the special edition non-sense. Don't get me started on the closing music and introduction of Hayden Christensen.
I frankly don't think Star Wars has aged well. I think that the Expanded Universe had held together many things for me. The future of Star Wars is the direct trajectory of super heor comic movies and not the original trilogy. Even if the movies are good they won't be New Hope or Empire Strikes Back level of good.
Each year I grow to love the discrepancies and faults. I find myself smiling in horror throughout Episode 2 these days. It might have horrendous faults, but I smile throughout it. The concluding fight sequences almost make me forget the giant tick animals.
Obi-wan Kenobi remains one of the most mangled characters in all of movie history. There is almost no continuity when watching Episode 1 to Episode 6. I look forward to watching in a different order to see if I can garner some more immediate value to old Ben Kenobi's character.

What do you think? Do you have something to say about Star Wars? Comment or use #TGStarWars to let me in on the discussion.