Despite Yoda's freakishness Empire clearly struck a chord that A New Hope did not, for on the following night the teenager insisted on watching Jedi. So it was my turn to huff and tut through the nonsense as Charlotte became captivated by soap opera dynamics and Ewoks.
As an added bonus Lucas' motivation for messing with Anakin's ghost became crystal clear, when she asked if that was meant to be vader, why did he look like that? I answered "That's what the prequels are about" and she is now insistent that we watch the prequels.
Damn it.
Oh dear, should have watched the theatrical version...
ReplyDeleteNext up: Charlotte meets Jar Jar.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Re-watched all the prequels just recently and you know what..
ReplyDeleteThey're ace!
I think enough time has passed that I'm finally able to stop judging them on what they're not, and just enjoy them for what they are. I take plenty of joy from watching far-from-perfect horror movies all the time, so why judge Star Wars so harshly?
Also, in the last decade or so I've seen a hell of a lot of other movies with vast CG worlds, aliens, a mythos etc etc and the EP1-3 are now starting to look like much better than most.
And finally, as a Star Wars fan in the sense of the wider universe, I realised that if I'd never seen 1-3 then the world of Star Wars that my imagination contains would be a much poorer place.
I have fully come to realise that 1-3 has added great depth to what I see going on in 4-6, which gives them value far beyond their merits as individual films (and yes, lots of the script is still shit.) Oh and reading that massive article about 'Star Wars Ring Theory' certainly added some intrigue.
In my view the special editions of 4-6 and Lucas' messing with them ever since will never be justified and is a travesty. But for 1-3 I've got to say he deserves some cutting of the proverbial slack.
Watching 1-3 also gave me mild fears about Ep7. Despite how it looks and feels (thus far) to be a return to 'the old Star Wars' I realised that if JJ has abandoned all elements of backstory or mythos added in 1-3 then EP7 could easily just look like random new people firing guns in space while spaceships we recognise fly around to lull us into a reminiscent compliance.
Surely EP7 also has a duty to expand on and continue the SW universe and mythology?
I fully expect EP7 to be universally acclaimed and cause for joy from SW fans, simply because the whole history of the OT being ace, then the Prequels being largely dissed as shite almost makes it inevitable that we will now swing back to the 'light side' and proclaim 7 and JJ as Star Wars saviours.
Shit, I'm hijacking a comment thread with self indulgent SW musings. Sorry Ape! :-)
Congratulations, now we'll never get James to shut up.
DeleteChuckle.
DeleteFor the record;
ReplyDeleteStar Wars episodes that enrich the Star Wars universe; 1,2,3,4,5,6
Star Wars episodes I enjoy watching;
3,4,5
Star Wars episodes that are actually good movies;
5