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| George Lucas' Modern Space Opera - a story taking three decades to deliver |
Anyway, the whole Star Wars phenomena took the world by storm and made the young up and coming director George Lucas wealthy beyond avarice, allowing him to pursue his passion with little compromise. As luck would have it, George's space opera stretched from 1977 with the original Star Wars (which has since been retitled as Star Wars: A New Hope) all the way to 2005's Revenge of the Sith - a stretch of 28 years that also saw me grow from a boy of 7 (when I first saw it) to a man in his mid 30s. Oh, there was a long pause of 16 years between 1983's Return of the Jedi to 1999's The Phantom Menace - but my thirst for new adventures were somewhat sated by the various Star Wars Novels (in the 90s - particularly the Thrawn Thrilogy by the great sci-fi author Timothy Zahn) but I strongly believe these novels also stoked the fire for a generation (or three) of fans for more of George Lucas' Star Wars films.
Although I am a great fan and truly appreciate the great efforts of the filmmakers for this Hexalogy, I think the 6 films are not true equals in terms of drama, delivery and thrills and thus I try to present my thoughts on how the 6 films would rank head to head. Tell me what you think.
6. The Phantom Menace
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| The Phantom Menace - or Episode I |
I thought there was on overreliance on the 'relatively recent' CGI technology on George Lucas' part, but considering what he is trying to convey on celluloid, I suppose he had to use what technology was available for him. Many scenes in the film pales in comparison to certain computer games scenes - perhaps a sign that the CGI boom in the 90s which was started with the two dinosaur ladden films Jurassic Park (1993) and its sequel the Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) can take the burden of some of the blame for this. I thought those two films were more judicious in the use of the CGI and it help made the film more convicing, the drama more gripping. That said, these are some of the weakest aspects of the film:
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| Shadows of the Future - no more acting.... |
a. Jake Lloyd
The Poor kid is not ready to take on a film of this magnitude. Too much was riding on his tiny shoulders. I don't know what Robin Gurland, George Lucas & Rick McCallum saw in this boy, but he did not do it for me in 'Phantom'. His acting was flat and failed to win my sympathy/empathy plus all action scenes with him in it did not make me root for him. By the way - Jake has retired from acting in 2001. Hmmmmm.
b. The Pod Racing Scene
The pod race is (supposed to be) amazing indeed but for me it's like watching someone else play a computer racing game, which took most of the drama out of it, and with Jack Lloyd as the protagonist? 'Nuff said.
c. Jar Jar Binks
If George intended him to be the comic relief for 'Phantom Menace', it didn't work. Perhaps George wrote Jar Jar for the next generation of fans - toddlers and pre teens? Because Binks did not do it for me - not even as the village idiot. Surely the great Lucasfilm can do better.
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| Trade Federation's finest |
Rows and rows of unconvicing (and ultimately so not not not scary) CGI Battle Droids fighting weird looking Gungans with 'traditional' weapons. Hmmmmm. RTS anyone?
If there was ever a scene needed re-touching by George Lucas in the Star Wars series, I think it's this one.
To be fair, there are also plenty of great things in 'Phantom Menace' - which is why this film is so uneven. Some of the things that I liked in this films are:
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| He of the kick-ass double bladed light saber |
a. Darth Maul
I always like how George Lucas introduced the Sith Dark Lords - there can be no doubt as to how (kick-ass) bad the Dark Lords are. Even in holographic form - which is how Darth Maul is first shown, he is one bad-ass looking villain who leaves not an iota of doubt to his thorough bad-ass-ness (how's that for poor English?). The biggest let down in 'Phantom Menace' is how quickly and rather easily Darth Maul is dispatched. I suppose is due to how awesome I thought the Darth Maul character is, but his rather quick and easy demise in "Phantom Menace" is a disappointment.
b. Obi-Wan Kenobi
Ewan McGregor sold the part for me. He is utterly convicing as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was very easy to imagine him growing older and wiser and turning into Sir Alec Guinness. I thought how he slayed Darth Maul after witnessing Qui-Gon Jinn's death could've been explored more as how Obi-Wan became more powerful as he gave in to anger and vengeance, in turn (even for a brief moment) pushing Obi-Wan to the dark side - enabling him to defeat the Dark Lord but at the same time - making him see the seductive powers of the dark side. I dunno - I'm nitpicking, I suppose.
c. Qui-Gon Jinn
Liam Neeson is one of my favorite actors of all time. His convincing delivery through his distinctive voice and physical presence is always good no matter how crappy the film he is sometimes in (Next of Kin comes to mind). He comes off as a conflicted figure in 'Phantom Menace' - ready to take on the establishment just to take on Jake, I mean Anakin, as a pupil. Although never mentioned in 'Phantom Menace' I can just imagine how traumatic Qui-Gon's own entry to the Jedi order at a young age causing him to stand up for Anakin so vehemently.
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| River Monsters? - Jeremy Wade, eat your heart out! |
For me the Naboo underwater scene is infinitely more convincing than the ones over it (ground, sky or space). I love the scene where Jar Jar, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan is traveling through the depths of Naboo's underwater world on the borrowed submarine - narrowly escaping the colorful aquatic beasts of Naboo.
Despite the sum of all the cool things in 'Phantom Menace', I couldn't bring its ranking up from the bottom cellar in my Star Wars Hexalogy's hierarchy.
5. Attack of the Clones
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| Flat and Stiff - kind of like warm beer that's lost its fizz |
Natalie Portman's unfortunately did not fare much better in this film, which is surprising as she is usually a solid actress. When the film depends on the two main protagonist for its soul, it fell flat on its face. The budding romance between the two is mushy, clumsy and awkward at best.
All that said, when the action starts, I was captivated. 'Clones' excelled where 'Phantom' did not - in the grand battle scenes. The action was fast and furious and my disbelief was sufficiently suspended for these scenes. Maybe George Lucas should just direct the action sequences and leave the directing for other scenes to another director? Check out these great scenes from 'Clones':
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| The Jedi's last stand at the Battle of Geonosis |
The long, drawn out thrilling battle started with Obi-Wan, Anakin and Amidala fighting for their lives against the beasts of Geonosis. A giant rhino thing, a giant praying mantis thing and a giant porcupine tiger-beast thing, well, you get the idea. Then the great Jedi Master Mace Windu and about 100 or so Jedi knights descended on the great coloseum of Geonosis - then it became a big melee between the Jedis and the separatist army with the Jedis losing a great many of their knights but not without inflicting great losses to their opponent, including Mace Windu's beheading of Jango Fett. As the Jedis about to make their last stand, the Grand Army of the Republic joined the battle, expanding the fight and the grand fight then spilled over to the deserts of Geonosis. This fast and furious and ever expanding battle made the film for me.
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| Obi-Wan's lightsaber batting practice with Jango Fett |
Obi-Wan had a classic fight against Jango Fett under the rain on the landing platform on planet Kamino. The fight is a classic showdown between the highly skilled Mandalorian bounty hunter-mercenary versus the highly trained Jedi Knight. Although the fight is unresolved, it clearly shows the toughness of both combatants and an excellent contrast between the two.
c. Darth Tyranus vs Obi-Wan & Anakin
This threesome duel is, in some ways, better than the first threesome in Episode I (the battle between Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Maul). The fight cinematography is better, as angles and shots of the real actors combined with special effects, trick photography and CGI was a bit more seamless than in 'Phantom'. Christopher Lee's sparse headshots are a testament to this great actor's advanced age, but it doesn't detract from the overall fight. He was already 80 years old at the release of 'Clones'.
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| Yoda vs Dooku...oops, this is the Lego version! |
The diminutive grandmaster finally came down his mountain and graced us with his awesomeness in combat. Yoda is bad bad bad bad bad bad bad. Yo Da Man, Yoda! This fight scene of Yoda going against Darth Tyranus is my best memory of Episode II 'Clones' after the battle of Geonosis. Oh, by the way, did I mention that Yoda is bad?
Most of these action laden scenes occur on the latter part of the film and after all is said and done, although the final parts of the film are unforgettable - the earlier parts are mostly unmemorable - save perhaps the air car chase scene over the skylines of Coruscant. But even with that there were no classic lines, no nothing. Thank God for the teriffic fight & battle scenes.
4. Return of the Jedi
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| Revenge..rrrr...Return of the Jedi |
Episode VI, Return of the Jedi, the final piece of the Hexalogy, in my humble opinion is the weakest offering out of the original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983).
The original trilogy with the three prequels (1999-2005) completes the Anakin Skywalker's story from rise to prominence - descent into evil - further fall from grace - redemption - and finally ascension.
I have to admit in my younger days I thoroughly enjoyed Episode VI 'Jedi' much better than Episode V 'Empire' or even perhaps the original Episode IV 'New Hope', but as I grew older I came to understand better the other films and further appreciation of them follows.
Much of the content in 'Jedi' caters to the youth inside the audience, literal or otherwise. There are even talks to this day that George Lucas' choice to have the furry, cuddly Ewoks in the film is as much a pragmatic choice given to the available technology then as well as (Gasp!) merchandising potential.
The film is much lighter and brighter than the brooding, dark Episode V 'Empire'. There is much more apparent amity between the main and supporting protagonists (Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Lando, C3PO, R2D2) and a lot more wisecracks. Here Han is a lovesick puppy compared to the cynical, wisecracking, shoot-first hotshot smuggler in 'New Hope' and 'Empire'. Chewie is like an 8 foot brown Maltese. Lando becomes a heroic general-pilot without any recompense and so on and so on.
Other low moments for examples are:
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| Nub Nub, we'll take on Stormtroopers and win, Nub Nub! |
Highly trained crack Stormtroopers in full armor and ultra modern equipments falling to small rocks and little teddy bears. The Ewoks in the final battle are supposed to be the fearsome 7-8 feet giant Wookies, but perhaps for reasons stated above, George Lucas changed his plans. As a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed this battle, but looking at it as an adult, I am a bit aghast at the utter unlikelihood of this. There should be a planet's worth of Ewok slippers and fur coats after this battle - not the other way around.
b. The Demise of Bobba Fett
Perhaps this is the fate of the Fett family. First you build a fearsome reputation throughout the whole galaxy as the most formidable bounty hunter even Darth Vader will compensate fairly, then you fall victim to a blinded, barely-out-of-hybernation-sickness human's accidental swinging of a staff to be eaten and digested by a big ugly monster stuck in a ground. Weak, George, even for you.
The film is obviously not without its merits and the bright moments in this film for me include the following:
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| How did Ms. Danish Rolls became Ms. Hot Thang? |
a. Leia in a Bikini
So sue me, I was a 14 year old boy when I first saw 'Jedi'! Interesting how Carrie Fisher complains that George Lucas made her tape down her breasts to play down any sexuality in the original Star Wars back in 1977, and now in 1983's Jedi Carrie is wearing a golden metal bikini complete with a neck chain. Hmmmmm.
I thought a just have to put up a picture by picture comparison of Carrie Fisher (about 6 years apart). Again, Hmmmmmmm.
b. Space Battle over Endor
A quickly formed band of mix and match rebel alliance spaceships go head to head against the might of the Imperial Navy and an operational Death Star II space station. The pacing and cinematography of this space battle, supported by the incredible audio (as this is the first of the 6 films to be presented in THX audio), thrilled me to no end. The suicidal flight into the interior of the still-under-construction space station is awesome, ending with the climactic race to exit it - with the Millenium Falcon shooting out of it like a bat out of hell! Gadyamn, dat was good! Technological advancements in CGI has went beyond what was available back in 1983, perhaps, but I thought the blue screen & models that ILM used for these dogfights and space battles IS IT as far as I'm concerned. Only the intensity of the air/space battles in the opening scenes of 'Sith' has come close to 'Jedi'.
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| Luke Skywalker is eyeing the new Hayabusa with envy |
c. Speederbike race
While the visual effects pale compare to the technology in Episode I's Pod Racing, the work of the actors: Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher (and the unnamed actors/stuntmen in the Scout Troopers outfit) sold me the scene. I was captivated and thrilled as if the race is indeed taking place at breakneck speed and the characters are endangering their lives with the race.
d. Throneroom Conflict
Compared to the throneroom fight at the beginning of Episode III 'Sith', 'Jedi' throneroom fight wins, hands down. The intensity, drama, ferocity of the fight, along with the psychological war within Luke Skywalker, the son, then later Darth Vader, the father, is so riveting - I vaguely remembered biting into a blanket or a sweater the first time watching it.
I really would've ranked 'Jedi' higher than 'Sith' if it weren't for the silly Ewoks and the other nonsense, but perhaps at this point in my life I enjoy darker science fiction films rather than brighter, the happy-happy 'Jedi' gets 4th place in my book.
3. Revenge of the Sith
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| Art Poster for Episode III |
To be perfectly honest, I rated 'Sith' at number 3 on the strength of its action sequences and darker overtones. The story of the descent of Anakin into evil is supposed to be revealing but at the same disturbing - being the core of the hexalogy - albeit I thought it could have been delivered more convincingly in the film.
a. Rescue over Coruscant (Opening Battle)
The opening battle over Coruscant is top notch, started with the space battle in Coruscant orbit between separatists and the republican forces (notice how they stayed away from calling the separatists 'rebels'? Hmmmm) to the fight between the two Jedi knights Anakin & Obi-Wan against the terror-inspiring General Griveous and his bodyguards all the way to the fight with Darty Tyranus that ended with Anakin beheading Dark Tyranus at the behest of the Chancelor/Emperor. The audience thinks the action is done, but the thrills and spills still continues with the daring crashlanding on the failing ship.
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| Obi-Wan versus the 6-armed Giant Cake Mixer |
b. The Utapau Duel (Obi-Wan vs General Grievous)
The chase and ensuing fight between Obi-Wan and General Grievous on the planet Utapau is one of the top 1-on-1 fight for the whole Hexalogy. There was hardly a moment of lull and the action is original and inventive. The chase between Obi-Wan's biological "Boga" ride (a giant lizard) versus Grievous' giant "Pireli" vehicle (well, it was a giant tire vehicle thingamajig) is an incredible thrill ride. Griveous, while may not be as menacing as Darth Vader or Darth Maul, is an imposing creature basically made of technology run amuck - with 6 arms each wielding a lightsaber from conquered Jedi knights fighting against Obi-Wan Force-enhanced Jedi lightsaber skills in an exquisite battle.
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| Male (dis)Bonding at its finest - Obi-Wan vs Anakin |
The climactic battle at Mustafar between Obi-Wan and Anakin, the master and the pupil, is the prime catalyst for the creation of Darth Vader and the long standing feud between the two. The duel began with Obi-Wan pleading and begging Anakin to mend his ways with the latter rejecting the entreaties of the former and further accusing him of duplicity and disloyalty, and although we knew the fight is coming, the scene is still a very good build-up to the fight. The fight is highly personal and emotional for both combatants and though the acting is still a bit uneven with Ewan McGregor slightly outclassing Hayden Christensen's acting job, I enjoyed the raw and sensitive nature of the fight.
For the most part, I consider Revenge of the Sith as technically brilliant and I personally feels that technology finally has caught up (somewhat) with George Lucas' imagination in this film. Most of the CGI renderings and stand-ins worked to enhance the story as opposed to dominating the film and for that I will rank 'Sith' as high as Third in the Hexalogy.
2. Empire Strikes Back
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| Empire Strikes Back Poster |
The late Irvin Kershner directed Empire and his last claim to fame prior to Empire was the 1978 sensuous thriller Eyes of Laura Mars (starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones). I, for one, am so so glad that George Lucas decided to hand over the reigns of Empire to Mr Kershner because Kershner pushed the Star Wars franchise into a more adult perspective than the wide-eyed naiveté of the first movie.
Besides the exotic locations (icy Hoth - interesting name for an ice planet, swampy Dagobah, planet Bespin and its Cloud City and the giant Asteroids), the film's attraction for more include such things as the more gritty and visceral acting by the cast - primarily Luke Hamill and Harrison Ford and the world's first glimpse of Grandmaster Yoda. The revelation of Luke's ancestry also became one of the main plot twist in the Star Wars saga for me - making for a more disfunctional family type story.
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| AT-ATs overruning the Rebels at the Battle of Hoth |
Having more money to spend on his vision, on the back of the explosive success of the first Star Wars film, George Lucas treated us with more of the visions of his Star Wars universe. The intro to the deadly, icy world of Hoth sets up how desperate the rebels are to hide from the vengeance of the Imperial forces - which is a far cry from the high note of rebel success in the first film.
The thundering feet of the 'herd' of AT-ATs coming to swallow up all the rebel defenses is quite an experience for me. These mechanical beasts, complete with laser spewing heads (turrets), chews up men, machines and barricades alike. The arrival of the cavalry in the shape of a few shovelhead-like snowspeeders seemed ridiculous, but I love the cable tripwire trick to trip these hulking AT-ATs (but why does it explode so easily as soon as it is down? Isn't the armor intact? - oh well...nitpicking as always).
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| Missed Dinner - Ralph McQuarrie (master artist rendering of the escape from the Space Slug by the Millenium Falcon) |
The escape from Hoth continues with the Millenium Falcon being chased by the bulk of the Imperial Navy. The desperate run by Han Solo forcing him to go into a huge asteroid field and hiding in a giant asteroid's cave - only to find out shortly afterwards that it wasn't a cave but a the insides of a giant space slug (with the lack of food there - how the heck did it get that big?).
What I love in this film is the Dark Lord's total callousness of doing away with the Navy's Admirals as if discarding used facial tissue papers. It doesn't pay to be an Admiral in the Imperial Navy when Darth Vader's around.
c. Carbonizing Solo - 'I Know'
One of the more dramatic scene in the whole Hexalogy was the carbonizing of Han Solo on Cloud City. The facility is almost like a descent into Hades, with the menacing bounty hunters and the Dark Lord watching over the proceedings. This is where my awe of Bobba Fett began to build up as only he would dare make a demand to Darth Vader that Han Solo be kept alive as he is worth a lot to him as a bounty - with Vader actually agreeing to compensate him if Solo expires. Chewbacca howling with grief like a loyal giant Maltese actually adds weight to the scene, but my favorite moment in this scene is of course, the infamous response to Leia's 'I Love You' from Han Solo - 'I Know'. Yeee-haaaa. You Go Boeeeeeyyyyy.
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| Luke's reaction to the news: "Yoda's your grandpappy!" |
The first fight between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader is very dark and very gritty. Luke, the hapless neophyte in the ways of the Force, versus the Dark Lord of the Sith. Kind of like PSSI team versus a Premier League team? Naaah, Luke had a better chance.
We can see in this fight how Vader just toyed with Luke - measuring him blow by blow and continually beating him up with the Sith's telekinetic abilities. The big climax in this film is the revelation by Vader to Luke of their hereditary relationship - 'I am your father'. Mark Hamill's acting chops is truly revealed here - as he wails in anguish and defiance of the bitter truth, his apparent suicidal plunge rather than joining the Dark Lord, and later on showing submission to the agonizing reality (after his rescue) - that the man-monster whom he hates as the killer of his father (as Obi-Wan told him) and the butcher of his mentor Ben Kenobi, the scourge of the galaxy, murderer of women & children, destroyer of worlds, is his father. Gadyamn. How'd you take something like that on your shoulders?
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| Frank Oz' Yoda, CGI Yoda or Dobby Yoda? Err.....that's a different series |
Even to the final seconds of Episode III, I never thought that any computerized rendering of Yoda carried as much emotional weight as the masterful puppetry of Frank Oz (of the Muppets and Sesame Street fame) in Empire. As a little boy, I remember feeling a deep sadness for the passing of this diminutive sage in Return of the Jedi. Yoda gave treasured moments of levity, drama and even philosophy in Empire. I will always remember his gem: "Do. Or Do Not. There is No Try". Kinda works in real life too, that saying.
1. Star Wars
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| Original Poster by the late, great illustrator Tim Hildebrandt (Jan '39 - Jun '06) |
For my money, with all of its flaws and shortcomings, the original Star Wars was the film that truly made an impact on me as a child, affecting my affection for the sci-fi genre and how I see mythology as a whole.
Before Star Wars, I had never seen sci-fi pulled off with so much style, so much panache and conviction (well, I was too young then to really notice some of the tounge-in-cheek stuff). I mean, what sci-fi movies were out there pre-1977? I remember "War of the Worlds (1953), "the Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), "20,000,000 miles from Earth" (195x), "Planet of the Apes" (1968) - none of them came even close to the vision of a much grander universe as George Lucas presented in Star Wars.
Perhaps the only one that came close was "2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by the great Stanley Kubrick, but I have to wonder whether the story is indeed the story of sentience growing from artificial intelligence technology or a space-psychosis induced hallucination of the astronauts? Anyway, even Odyssey did not even come close to presenting a much grander universe ala Star Wars. If Odyssey give hints of unseen extra terrestrial intelligent life, Star Wars is all about life outside of what we know. As Star Wars started with...."A Long Time Ago in A Galaxy Far Far Away", it made me think as a little boy, that all these shenanigans already happened a long time ago somewhere else.
In Star Wars, George Lucas is consciously trying to invoke our unconsciousness with the monomyth of Luke Skywalker, the hero's journey three main stages of Departure, Initiation and Return - with Star Wars being the first of the three stages. Thank God Star Wars is such a huge success that we can enjoy the rest of hero's journey.
George Lucas also managed to captivate his audience with his vision in Star Wars. If you ever watch Star Wars again, please try to do this: watch it in a dark room on a high def set: big plasma or LCD - at least a 52" and make sure you are watching a trueHD copy with 1080p definition and DTS audio system on full blast. Trust me, it's a totally different movie experience with this and please pay particular attention to these awe inspiring scenes:
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| The bottom hull of Star Destroyer "Devastator" (what's this? no space barnacles?) |
a. Endless Love...I mean, Hull
The film started harmlessly enough with the scrolling text, Ho-Hum. Then all of a sudden a spacecraft flew by followed by a bigger spaceship's hull...and...hull... and...hull...and...hull.... Later on I found out that these are just handmade models, but as a child of 7 back then I thought this ship certainly must be miles long? We're only about a minute into this film and I already knew that this film is going to be awesome. Little that I know that awesome is also ahead.
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| Allright then, where's the damn Starbucks on this space junk?! |
b. Enter the Dark Lord
The entrance of all entrances for a movie "Baddie". Repeated viewings may have dulled the impact, but remember the first time you saw him? The rebels are nervously defending the corridor, the door blows up and then these white skull-faced robot-looking troops pour through the still burning breach and massacred the rebels. Ok, damn, these guys don't mess about. But then through the smoke comes striding - this nearly seven foot tall black-robed masked and booted samurai gargoyle thing: he starts booming out orders and breaking necks, and you think, OK, now HE's bad. 'Nuff Said.
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| Is this the Mos Eisley Cantina or B.A.T.S.? |
c. The Cantina
There are so so many iconic scenes and influental shots in the original Star Wars which not only affected me as a child audience member but the sci-fi genre in particular and the film industry in general. I can recall the Mos Eisley Cantina scene where shady seedy intergalactic creatures congregate and discuss whatever it is shady characters discussed with hushed tones with the background space jazz band blaring. Weird rubber costumes and make-ups were all George Lucas could afford back then, but it was damn effective. This is also where Ben Kenobi shows his mettle and grit - cutting off the arm of a real ugly patron trying to pick a fight with Luke Skywalker. The Cantina is also the place where the two scoundrels Han Solo and Chewbacca were introduced. The final scene in the Cantina is Han Solo shooting Greedo dead and yes, Han Shot First! Damn the Special Edition!
Besides these three things mentioned above, many things in Star Wars captivated me - such as the chess game on the Millenium Falcon between the droids and Chewbacca, Luke's lightsaber training with the floating globe, the rescue of Princess Leia from the Death Star, the Death Star trench run by the rebels and I'm sure I've missed many other. I suppose the fact that I was a small child when I watched Star Wars on the big screen created this mania in me for anything Star Wars, but for me the first one is the best of them all.
So you've seen my personal ranking for the Star Wars hexalogy. What do you think? Let me know. Ciao.
