Star Wars: Then vs. Now
My admittedly brief review of Episode III yesterday got me to thinking. Why did the old Star Wars movies touch so many people and become this huge phenomenon where the last three movies just left people feeling flat. The former trilogy definitely tapped into the zeitgeist of the time. Space travel was becoming more and more prevalent in people's lives and there hadn't been any true "blockbuster" movies using the vast array of special effects and characters, but those can't be the only reasons. After 20 years of anticipation, the magic was definitely still there. The void to be filled. Why didn't these work as well as the others?
The easy answer is: they sucked. Not entirely accurate. I liked the third one on my initial viewing and thought once they got over the love story in Episode 2 it picked up considerably. Not that I can't watch "mushy" love stuff, but the dialogue was just so bad it made me cringe.
I used to date this woman who was gorgeous. Stunning. But the relationship only lasted a few weeks. Her personality was awful. Selfish, narcissistic, insecure. All of my friends were shocked. "Dude, how can you break up with her? She's so hot." Sure aethstetically (I think I may have butchered that word so bad that even spellcheck can't help me) she was beautiful to look at. But once you got past it, there wasn't much there.
That's how I feel about the Star Wars movies now. They look fantastic and some of the action sequences and effects (pod race, huge jedi battles, the different planetscapes...et al) are dazzling. But when it's over, I don't feel anything from it. All sizzle and no steak.
I've always been a geek of some sort growing up. When I was little I had all of the Star Wars figures and ships my meager allowance could afford. I always dreamt of buying thousands of stormtrooper figures to wage large scale battles with my ragtag group of heroes. In reality, I could only afford one or two, so they would have to die and come back to play another role, like an extra in a Bruce Lee movie.
I would spend hours playing with them, re-enacting scenes and creating new adventures (one time, my mother came into my room and was watching me for a few minutes before I realized she was there. I was horrified. It was as if she walked in on me masturbating. Even worse for some unknown reason. ). I can't imagine kids today getting that into action figures from the new movie. There's no connection.
I never read the Lord of the Rings books growing up. Sure, I'd seen the Hobbit cartoon and maybe bits of the Ralph Bakshi animated debacle when it aired on cable. But the story and it's characters always seemed dry and unapproachable to me. Until I saw Peter Jackson's interpretation.
There's a moment in the first LOTR film (and it's not in the book so I assume that it was put there for the exact purpose of what it accomplished with me) where Gandalf rides into the Shire on his horse and buggy to be met by Frodo. It's the first time we see these two characters. Frodo chides him for "being late" and Gandalf, in the dry and stodgy manner which I had already assumed the character to possess, replies with "Frodo Baggins, a wizard is never late or early...he arrives precisely when he means to." There is a brief tense staredown and then...
...Gandalf smiles. He laughs at how pompous his statement was and the two embrace, revealing an old friendship that didn't need to be spelled out. I was hooked. These were real people...friends busting each other's balls. I can relate to that. From that moment, ten minutes into the film, Peter Jackson had me.
When Gandalf "dies" or when Aragorn risks it all to buy Frodo just a little more time to complete his task...there is real emotion there. I felt for these people because I really and truly believed in their world and the relationships and bond they shared. Yes, the special effects in LOTR were amazing and blew me away. But never once did I feel they took away from the characters and the smaller story of friends coming together to help each other during the darkest times. I felt the same with the original Star Wars trilogy. I really felt these characters cared for each other. They were intertwined. Han coming back to save Luke's keister at the end of Star Wars was one of the most euphoric times I remember from a movie. When they reunite in Jedi, you felt that the band was back together.
I never felt that in Episode's 1-3. I never felt any bond between the characters. When Obi Wan is there for Padme's birth of the twins, it felt odd. I felt like these two characters never really knew each other. It wouldn't be the same if Lando or Chewie were watching over Princess Leia while Han was off battling another front. And it all just felt rushed.
The characters never had any voices of their own. Han Solo had his own voice and characteristics. As did Lando, Chewie, Leia, Vader and even Luke to an extent (he with the most significant and obvious change throughout). In the new movies, everyone speaks in the same monotone, self important voice. Where is the hustler? The swindler? The sarcastic and fiery heroine? It's all the same expository dialogue in every scene. Yes I understand the story, but I have no feel for the people in it.
I don't think you're going to get many "quotables" from the new movies. In Star Wars, one of my favorite scenes is when they are trying to free the Princess and Han has to pretend to be an Imperial trooper over the comlink (which should have been a dead giveaway since it appears that everyone that works for the Empire, with the exception of Vader, is English or has an accent. You rebel scum). "um, everything's good here, we're fine....how are you?" Then he blasts the entire setup "boring conversation anyway". In that moment, I get Han. That's him. (I also got him when he shot Greedo first, but Heaven Forbid a lead character have any gray area)That's what he would do and none of the other characters would react to that situation in that manner. It's what makes him who he is and what makes you latch onto the character. It makes him just a little bit more real.
And I think that's why the old movies worked so well.
"You're all clear kid, now lets blow this thing and go home"
<< Home