Blog Wars
Well no, but when I saw his post this morning, I had to respond.
The nerd in me would launch an all-out blog war,
an attack on the character of an individual
who merely disagrees with me.
He makes some good points
though, and has a right to
his opinion. Here now
is my opinion on
the subject of
Star Wars®:
”There's never been a believable, compelling female character in a Star Wars movie....Princess Leia, is, in fact, the second least compelling female character in modern movies. The all-time least compelling female character is Padmé Amidala.”
I want to refute this with something short and clear, like ”steel bikini”, but that really doesn't refute what he said. If anything, it supports it. I will say that there are an undisclosed number of years between each sequel—hardcore SW® geeks probably have exact figures—that account for her development from “damsel in distress to bad-ass riot grrrl”. It is my understanding that most of the backstory is filled in by the novels, none of which I've read. A movie should, however, work on it's own. Whether we “fill in the gaps ourselves” or read the licensed material, we can still arrive at an understanding of what's going on between the movies. As for Padmé, I did like her a lot better in the second movie and expect to like her even more in the third, when the tragedy hits and things come full circle. Remember, in the original trilogy, the only thing Leia remembered about her mother was her crying...
I almost wish Yoda HADN'T worked. If it hadn't, maybe Lucas wouldn't have turned the third movie into The Muppets Take The Empire. The Ewoks were just silly. Am I supposed to really believe that Luke could whip Jabba the Hutt's forces and still ended up taken prisoner by the Care Bears?”
This isn't blasphemy Darrell; I think MOST fans would agree on this account. Empire is regarded as the best because of how dark it was compared to the first movie, but also how cheesy the Ewoks made Jedi. Lucas WANTED to go to the Wookie planet originally, so that's one thing that has me excited about Episode III, to finally see that. Yoda still sort of works upon rewatching, but he's awesome in Episode II and blew me away in Clone Wars—particularly Chapter 23.
Mark Hamill is just a bad actor. Period. Want proof? OK, name two other movies he's been in besides the Star Wars films.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Comic Book: The Movie.
Hayden Christensen is a TERRIBLE actor.
Agreed.
Why does Lucas cast these mannequins?
To make great actors like Ford and McGregor look better by comparison? I also get the sense that mannequins are what he WANTS for these roles. The story is compelling enough that it could be almost anyone. The story of the betrayal and loss felt by those around them, that care for them, takes center stage and Lucas would rather have the archetype take center stage before the actor.
BAD DIALOGUE
Childhood nostalgia plays a HUGE role in forgiving the examples Darrell cited in his post. The dialogue doesn't quite hold up now as an adult, at least rewatching the original trilogy. I had a similar feeling when I finally saw my beloved Transformers again on DVD. Twenty years later, I realized the problems I had with R.I.D. as an adult would have applied to the original series had I been older when I first watched. For all the bad dialogue though, there were some great lines in there and some, like Ford's “I know” to Leia's “I love you”, were ad libbed. Luke's whiny “I wanna go to Tashi station and pick up some POWER converters.” was something my ex-girlfriend and I used to make fun of though. Man, Mark Hamill sucked. Why does Lucas cast these mannequins?
JAR JAR BINKS
Well...the thing about Jar Jar is...I mean that's an isolated....okay, his role was cut back in the sequel and...and yeah, I have to agree with this one.
So far, I think the story was better left untold. Boba Fett's backstory has been hokey and contrived. And Anakin Skywalker's has been one of the biggest disappointments ever.
I liked Boba's backstory and his connection to the Stormtroopers. I like everything about Boba Fett except for his lame death. As for Anakin, all I can say is watch Clone Wars if you haven't already, and stay tuned for the third movie. I can't wait to see it and if it's not as good as the trailer, cartoon, and my own inner hype promises, I may end up as disappointed as you. My hope is that when it's all over, this trilogy will hold up better as a whole than it does as individual episodes. Time will tell.
Episode IV: A New Hope ... 3 stars.
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back ... 3 and a half stars.
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi ... 2 stars.
Episode I: The Phantom Menace ... 1 and a half stars.
Episode II: Attack of the Clones ... 3 stars.
Episode IV: A New Hope ... 4 stars.
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back ... 4 and a half stars.
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi ... 3 stars.
Episode I: The Phantom Menace ... 2 and a half stars.
Episode II: Attack of the Clones ... 4 and a half stars.
posted by MCF at 11:29 PM
4 Comments:
I'm pretty much in agreement with your analysis. I have hopes that the whole saga will finish on a high note, but I am cautiously optimistic.
Lots of comments.
First, how did you get the "Star Wars Scroll Effect" in blogger? Is that just some very keen centering on your part or an HTML trick?
As for Leia, I think your defense short sells the strength of the character. She is a compelling character because she is a strong and capable woman who does not cower in the face of evil but instead puts herself on the line for the greater good. She's fiesty, but has a softer side that she only shows to those whom she can truly trust. Leia was never a damsel in distress. She developed from a formidable foil for Vader (remember, she did not break under torture) into a woman capable of showing her sensitivity without it taking away from her inner strength and obvious resolve. She goes from being capable and confident to more capable, more confident, and able to balance her womanly instincts with the situations at hand.
As for Amidala, we see the same thing. She is a Queen who puts her life on the line for her people, who is humble enough to seek the Gungans help, and strong enough to mix it up with the droid army. Then she too begins to show a more one-to-one personally sensitive side as she opens herself up to love with Anakin.
Ewoks? Well, okay, that did suck hard...
Mark Hamill - well, I wouldn't say bad, but yes, on screen he's not the most skilled of thespians. But as a voice actor? MCF's examples get a "yeah boy!"
Hayden Christensen - Terrible in Star Wars, but actually better in Shattered Glass, but still not the first choice to cast in any movie.
Mannequins? Maybe Lucas has a fetish from being dragged around dress shops by his mother...
Dialogue - So totally not even going to say it's bad. I loved it then, love it now.
Jar Jar -- see Ewoks comment.
Sorry, but I'm a Star Wars Apologist...
As a HUGE C.S. Lewis fan, I LOVE the phrase "Star Wars Apologist." That's great.
MCF, I have to agree with a lot of what you've said, although I don't think we really disagree that much. I think you're just better at remembering your childhood excitement about Star Wars than I am. In fact, I have a terrible confession to make... my parents wouldn't let me see Star Wars! I didn't see ANY of the films til I was an adult. This might simply be a case of sour grapes for me.
They wouldn't buy me SW toys, either. My only SW toy was a hand-me-down stormtrooper action figure that my older cousin grew tired of when one of the legs came off. That's right, I had a crippled stormtrooper. You can not imagine the playground teasing I endured.
I guess I should work all this out with my therapist.
Anyway, yeah, Han Solo's response to Leia's "I love you" was really great. And I agree, Boba's death just stunk. How could I have forgotten that when I was throwing stones at Lucas??
I've linked to this post as a PS at my original post. Thanks for continuing the dialogue.
J-No: Nothing with Blogger. just basic HTML with a bit of trial and error with the width of the blogger column.
Darell: similar childhood experience, mostly because I was five when the first movie came out. The wouldn't take me to Empire, and so suffered with Burger King cards and stickers with scenes from Dagobah that made no sense to me. I managed to see A New Hope a few times on television and the kids in my elementary school spoiled me on the whole father thing, and finally my folks took me to see Jedi. Didn't have many toys but a few years after Jedi they got me one of those lightsabers that makes noise when air passes through it while swinging. Has some nicks and scratches, but it's still a cherished posession today.
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