star wars, the clone wars
Aug. 24th, 2008 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chronovoreSaturday, I saw Star Wars, which was prettier than it was good. It was better than Episode 1, maybe better than Ep.2, but most suprisingly it had more laughs in it than anything since Empire. Lots of fun moments and guffaws. But most suprising is the visual language; it was just gorgeous. Dark, but very painterly and lush.
Story-wise, I tried really hard but was unable to get past the damage that Lucas did to the franchise with the prequels. There is just no getting past the bad-ass Jedi being constantly unable to see the Sith Lord RIGHT in front of them. That may be the Siths' ultimate ability, but it's never explained in the movies, which otherwise go out of their way to over-explain anything else.
It's impossible for me to like the Old Republic troopers. They're stormtroopers. They're mass-created clone warriors who are fundamentally wired to betray those Jedi who have been fighting alongside them for the entire war against the secessionists. They're never cast as tragic in this regard; it's just a switch in their head, and as such it's impossible for me to feel like they're deserving of empathy or support.
And lastly, Anakin himself, who was supposed to have been "seduced" by the Dark Side, who was supposed to have had a gradual, one-bad-choice-after-another slide into darkness, but instead basically does a big flip-flop at the most critical juncture in the story, and suddenly becomes the world-destroying analog for Hitler and Satan or whatever, he's the most difficult of all to feel any sympathy for.
He gets a charming, plucky Padawan, Asohka, with major attitude and skills to back it up, and he has to learn how to deal with being a teacher. Handled a little more skillfully, the story might have shown how this was another chance for Anakin to avoid sliding into the Dark Side, and then give a nudge or hint as to why it wasn't ultimately effective in changing his ways, such as the padawan being injured or killed, and that experience would further distance Anakin from emotional attachment or taking others into his care.
Nope.
Anyway, it was fun. I will probably buy the DVD, which I should have waited for to begin with.
Story-wise, I tried really hard but was unable to get past the damage that Lucas did to the franchise with the prequels. There is just no getting past the bad-ass Jedi being constantly unable to see the Sith Lord RIGHT in front of them. That may be the Siths' ultimate ability, but it's never explained in the movies, which otherwise go out of their way to over-explain anything else.
It's impossible for me to like the Old Republic troopers. They're stormtroopers. They're mass-created clone warriors who are fundamentally wired to betray those Jedi who have been fighting alongside them for the entire war against the secessionists. They're never cast as tragic in this regard; it's just a switch in their head, and as such it's impossible for me to feel like they're deserving of empathy or support.
And lastly, Anakin himself, who was supposed to have been "seduced" by the Dark Side, who was supposed to have had a gradual, one-bad-choice-after-another slide into darkness, but instead basically does a big flip-flop at the most critical juncture in the story, and suddenly becomes the world-destroying analog for Hitler and Satan or whatever, he's the most difficult of all to feel any sympathy for.
He gets a charming, plucky Padawan, Asohka, with major attitude and skills to back it up, and he has to learn how to deal with being a teacher. Handled a little more skillfully, the story might have shown how this was another chance for Anakin to avoid sliding into the Dark Side, and then give a nudge or hint as to why it wasn't ultimately effective in changing his ways, such as the padawan being injured or killed, and that experience would further distance Anakin from emotional attachment or taking others into his care.
Nope.
Anyway, it was fun. I will probably buy the DVD, which I should have waited for to begin with.
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