Tag Archives: Star Wars
My Daughter Thinks Jabba the Hutt Would Be Scarier With a Cape and a Lightsaber
Please, nobody tell George.
Filed under Microblogging
Star Whys
The Star Wars movies were some of my favorites when I was little. I watched them so many times my parents can probably recite Episodes IV, V, and VI by heart. I remember when the Special Editions came out–I was excited to see them because of all the new, fancy tricks. The VHS tapes I owned were all of the old, boring edition.
I still have the tapes, but it’s been a long time since I owned a VHS player, so now that my children are into Star Wars I’ve had to suffer through George’s “improvements” over and over again. There are precisely three changes that actually improve on the originals:
- The CGI critters the stormtroopers are riding when they’re searching the escape pod crash (it’s a small improvement, but a nice world-buildy detail nonetheless).
- The CGI added to the Sarlaac pit–a more active monster in the center of the action really does make that scene more fun to watch.
- The montage at the end showing different planets celebrating the Emperor’s defeat (again, a relatively small change, but it’s a nice bit of world-building and does a good job of communicating the scale of the heroes’ accomplishment).
That’s it. Those are the only things that got better. Every other change was superfluous at best and cringe-inducing at worst–a world-class case study in “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
Which parts of the films suffered? Oh, let us count the ways! Worse pacing? Check. Worse music? Check. Worse characterization? Check. Brand-new, never-before-seen plot holes? Check. Replacing Sebastian Shaw’s sympathetic face with Hayden Christensen’s obnoxious, arrogant smirk? Check, and check.
Thank goodness they managed to keep George away from the keyboard for the sequels.
Bookend
The kids have been really into Star Wars lately. Maybe even as much as I was when I was their age! Luckily, they have three times as many movies to choose from as I did, so I haven’t gotten completely sick of any of them (yet). It’s also been a nice reminder of why I liked those movies in the first place. For example:
This is probably one of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise. It takes a throwaway line from the first twenty minutes of A New Hope, and turns it into a moment of unexpected character growth just before the original trilogy’s final act–and for one of its most overlooked characters. It’s just such a lovely story beat!
As a kid, I didn’t care much for C-3PO (R2-D2 was way cooler), but now that I have more writing experience I’m really impressed at how endearing a character he is in spite of all his obnoxious, whiny dialogue. The “complainer with a heart of gold” trope is just so hard to pull off!
What’s your favorite moment from the series?
Filed under Essays
Wedge Antilles
I’m no expert, but I suspect Wedge Antilles may be one of the most underrated characters in the entire Star Wars canon.
The original three films were my favorite movies growing up. I must have watched the whole trilogy dozens of times over, but I didn’t even realize Wedge was a recurring character until I re-watched them with my own children. I’d thought “Wedge” was a call sign or something.
But no, the Wedge in A New Hope that makes the run on the Death Star with Luke (and saves his butt from a TIE fighter) is the same character who flies into the second Death Star with Lando Calrissian in Return of the Jedi (after saving a bunch of other pilots’ butts from TIE fighters)–not to mention his feats on Hoth. What a freaking badass!
Maybe the reason I didn’t notice sooner is because I didn’t pay as much attention to the characters in my stories back then. (It may have also had something to do with the fact that the spaceships were one of my favorite parts of those films–often irrespective of what they were actually doing, let alone who was flying them!) His characterization is understated enough that it would have been easy for me to miss. But he really is an actual character! He doesn’t have a ton of dialogue, but we have enough to tell he’s brave, modest, calm under pressure, supportive of his squadmates, and has excellent tactical sense, in addition to being an ace pilot.
…That’s it, that’s the whole post. Sorry, I just wanted to gush about my new geek crush for a bit. See you tomorrow!
Filed under Microblogging, Reviews
In Search of Secrets 