The Force Is (Finally) With Me

So in true geek form I went and rented all five Star Wars movies the day the original three were released on DVD. And I couldn't watch a double trilogy that has quite possibly the largest cult following of any movie in the world without throwing my two cents in the ring along with all the others.

I should mention here that this is first time I've watched any of the movies. And to be honest, I didn't think I'd like the original three. In this day and age of near-perfect special effects, watching a twenty-five-year-old sci-fi movie is like being forced to write a letter when email is readily available - the shortcomings are all too apparent and the painful additional effort makes for an impatient watcher/writer.

Surprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed them. Like hand-writing a letter is far more personal than typing an email, the original Star Wars movies have a personality that is sadly lacking in the more recent duo-soon-to-be-trio. And it is the personality that is largely responsible for the continuing popularity of the SW franchise.

Episode IV set the tone and laid a sound foundation for each character. Carrie Fisher as spunky Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as maverick Han Solo were instantly appealing and so was James Earl Jones' distinctive baritone for Darth Vader. The constant undercurrent of humour provided largely by C-3PO and R2-D2 was also a key attraction, something that seems to be a George Lucas speciality based on this and the Indiana Jones movies. And although Return Of The Jedi was far less appealing, there was a consistency and continuity in the personalities that tied the trilogy together, despite weak performances by some peripheral characters and a not-too-original storyline.

Unfortunately, in Episode I George Lucas goes so completely overboard with the special effects that the development of the characters suffers tremendously. Add to that some fairly obvious racial stereotyping, a disastrous comic relief character in Jar Jar Binks, depressingly wooden performances by Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn), Ewan McGregor (terrible as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi, given the serene yet intense gravity of Alec Guinness' earlier performances) and especially Keira Knightley as Sabé, and the disconnect becomes even greater. The only saving grace is Ray Park's menacing Sith apprentice Darth Maul, who gives the movie some much-needed flavour and punch. Which makes it kind of unfortunate that he dies in the end, but which also holds out hope for next year's final chapter, Revenge Of The Sith.

Episode II is far more watchable, as long as you don't expect a "Star Wars" movie. Attack Of The Clones is a run-of-the-mill potboiler, with the usual mix of action, romance and comedy that the genre demands. Some better-than-average emoting by Natalie Portman and Hayden Christiansen and impressive CG kept me entertained but the movie doesn't recapture the original mood.

For more views, check out the IMDB opinions. (The trivia is pretty cool too.) May the force be with you!