Me, Myself and Star Wars...

The early Star Wars...

I still remember the first time I saw Star Wars. I remember the exact scene, even. Born in 1982 I'm much to young to be able to say that I was there when Star Wars came ('cause I physically wasn't). Growing up in the eighties' and nineties however, the era of VHS, the three original Star Wars-movies was being played on repeat in our house. I actually remember my nine year older brother showing me them for the first time. I came into the living-room as he was watching the scene when Han Solo and Luke are posing as Stormtroopers and Chewbacca as their prisoner in order to rescue Princess Leia. And from there on it was a love-story. There's no other way to describe it. I must have watched those movies constantly for ten years straight. Somehow I've also come to define my maturity in terms of Star Wars.
Starting out with A New Hope as a favorite; pretty straightforward and an easy to grasp story, a theme well recognized (the young boy becomes a hero), it was very enjoyable for an eight year old kid.
Next in line was the Return of the Jedi. This is the most action-packed movie of the three, and perhaps the reason it became my new favorite at the age of twelve. Dealing with pretty complex moral issues, and questions of family, destiny and in some ways growing up- and mixing this with these amazing dogfights in space and the majestic final duel between Luke and Darth Vader- this movie is in every sense of the word mighty.
The last favorite: The Empire Strikes Back. I think it was around the age of fifteen or sixteen that I really started to appreciate this one. Before I had only mostly considered it a pause from the action of the other two movies (and thus boring). The beauty of this film dawned on me. I still like all the old movies very much, but when I say "I love Star Wars" it's the Empire Strikes Back that I mean. It's by far the most mature of the three films. To call it an action-film would be a overstatement. Action-drama perhaps. First of all it's visually genius. We are really talking movie-magic when it comes to the set-design of the swamps on Dagobah or the carbonfreeze-chamber in Cloud City. As for the brilliance of the story, it's now that Luke and his friends first for real comes in contact with the Evil. Yoda mentors Luke and teaches him the ways of the force, of good and evil. We learn how evil Darth Vader truly is when he tortures Han Solo, and then freezes him. And Luke confronts Vader for the first time and learns the awful truth, that Vader is his father- that he comes from this symbol of pure evil.
The story of Star Wars is one of the most famous contemporary father/son-stories. The journey of Luke, from hate to acceptance and forgiveness for his father, is brilliantly told using myth, legend and classic storytelling.

The second coming of Star Wars
As a fan of the movies it's impossible not to address the release of the Special Edition-versions of the films in 1997. Advertised as "Star Wars as it was meant to be", and my first chance to see them on the big screen I was of course very excited. It soon became apparent however, that myself and George Lucas had very different ideas of what "Star Wars as it was meant to be", (something that would later become crystal clear with the release of The Phantom Menace in 1999. )
I fell in love with the Star Wars-movies I saw, not with George Lucas' "vision I wanted to tell but couldn't at the time". How the adding of those crappy and visually out-of-place 3d animations in the old movies, made his vision become more true to what he had intended from the beginning is still a mystery to me. If these are the movies he wanted to tell all along, then should the movies I saw and fell in love with be viewed as a lucky mistake?

The third wave of Star Wars

Beginning in 1999 with the launch of the prequel-trilogy, the three films that would tell of Anakin Skywalkers fall from grace and his transformation into Darth Vader. I dare say, few films has had such high anticipations as the Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. A totally new Star Wars-movie. Fans across the 'verse were enthusiastic again, to put it mildly.
The disappointment was massive. Sentences as "George Lucas just raped my childhood" could be heard and read everywhere, from reviews to fans. The message was clear: This is not our Star Wars. Where are the themes, we asked, the great questions and the moral complexity? Where's that feeling of genuine that was always so present in the old trilogy? It was gone, and we got bad dialogue, Jar Jar Binks, a pod-race and a farting camel instead. The magic was gone.
The second episode, Attack of the Clones, released in 2002, was marginally better than the Phantom Menace. Introducing Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, we began to see some of his decent into darkness with the death of his mother. But again we asked us: the theme, Mr. Lucas, and the big questions, where are they? What has the podrace, Jar Jar Binks, Count Dooku, the cloners on Camino, Jango Fett, the trade federation and so on and so on to do with Anakins story?
It was always Luke that we felt with, we experienced with. As he began to understand and learn about the universe, so did we. His story was the centre, and everything else was told around it. But Anakins story... There is no intimacy there, and I couldn't care less about how the clones came into being. I'm interested in Anakins fall from grace. Just as Lukes ascent is central in the old trilogy, Anakins descent should be here. But it's not.
Yet, that is. For the third film has come, and I've not yet seen it. But I'm going to today and I must admit. I'm nervous. I've heard so many things. It's as good as the old ones, it's what we've been waiting for. And I've heard it's just the same as the other two prequels. I'll continue this post after I've seen it.

Three hours later, and I've seen Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. Some of you will not agree with what I'm about to say, and that's alright. And if you are planning to see the film you might not want to read any further. Could be spoilers ahead.

The Revenge of the Sith is an allright movie, perhaps even good. This is the story I wanted to be told in 1999, and then again in 2002. No, it's not at all like the old movies, and it's not even close of being as good. You can't even begin to compare them. Whole different ballpark, whole different game. In Revenge of the Sith Anakins story is finally being told. Finally I say, 'cause in the other two prequels (even though, yes Anakin's very much in the middle) his story is not being told. This is one of the few things thats good.

The Darkness. Everyone has been buzzing about the darkness, saying that they're really going to Hell this time. And it's true. Anakin becomes one evil guy, let me tell you. I like that George Lucas hasn't compromised on this, that's how it feels anyway. Everyone dies. Anakin slaughters children, for example. I like it. (To be honest, a bit 'cause the kids creeped me out. What's so hard about finding decent acting children?) One of the weird thing is the Jedi Masters dying by a shot in the back. Why the hell don't the put up a fight? They are Jedi Masters!
In comparison to Episode 1 and 2 much has been improved. The dialog is better (even though there are many stinkers), acting is better (for some), the effects are better... Everything. The editing, the story. The arc of the story is much more coherent than before. I could actually keep up, unlike Ep1 and 2 where there's so much obscure politics going on and places to visit that in the end you're just like "whatever.. just kill the bad guy." In Episode 3 the story really got to me.

But, and this is a BIG but, it's still a failure. Even if I think it has improved from Ep1 and 2, it's still not the Star Wars I fell in love with. So many things have changed, and for the worse. Where is the genuine feeling? The magic has been lost. Even if it's very cool when Anakin and Obi-Wan finally get to fight, it still doesn't come close to the same weight as when Luke confronts Vader. Not even close. The new Yoda is cool, true. Him bouncing off the walls, and everything. Cool action, indeed. But it's not the wize old Yoda we got to know on Dagobah. Period. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan. In some scenes McGregor really gives an outstanding performance. He really becomes Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan, almost all the way down to the weird old geezer. Almost I tell you, for it is not the same. Not even if he has the beard, and the accent. It's not the man who later in life utters the famous words "Who's the fool? The fool or the fool that follows him?" Not in my wildest imagination. R2D2. Why, oh why does he fly? Shouldn't it be the other way around, that R2D2 becomes more advanced over time? It would be a alot more accurate to treat these movies completely separate from the old ones.
I'm sorry to say that Natalie Portman was actually bad. Very bad sometimes. And who can blame her? It's a poorly written role. The only thing she does is gasping and crying, plus she gets the worst lines. A role that could have been another Leia, is sadly just a whimp. A pushover. Whatever you want to call it. In some scenes she looks like a schampooadvertisment from the nineties. Good God, Lucas, what were you thinking?
One final bad thing, before I end this rant. Sometimes Mr. Lucas is just too obvious, and that really annoys me. Watch for a scene near the end of the film, as Darth Vader "free" himself from table. Yes, Mr. Lucas, we know that Darth Vader in a lot of ways is a paraphrase for Frankenstein. You really don't have to SPELL IT OUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS FOR US.

Phew, I guess that's that then. There's lots more to say but it's a pretty long post as it is. Revenge of the Sith, an allright movie. Go and see it. It really belongs on the big screen. By far the best of the "new" movies. Stop thinking about the old ones, that chapter's long gone apparently. Try and forget them, otherwise this movie is gonna bug the hell out of ya'. It's still entertaining most of the time.