Last time, I went through each movie of the Star Wars
prequel trilogy and gave my thoughts on the films. Now, it’s time we look at
the original trilogy, and see if the film’s legacy measures up.
We begin with Episode IV: A New Hope (or just plain old Star
Wars, as it was called in the original theatrical release). The film begins in
media res, which already makes it stand out. Many times when something begins
in media res, there’s backtracking involved to show how the characters got to
this point. But, in this case, the setup for what’s going on is worked into the
brief intro that is oh so famous, and the dialogue in the first few moments.
This brings us to something else that set Star Wars apart; the language. The
language in Star Wars was very different from the language other films were
using. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and watch almost any other films from the
70’s and try to find some examples of ones where the characters talk at all
like those in Star Wars.
It’s interesting how different certain things in the movie
seem now, after the expanded universe and the various edits of the film have
occurred. One of the most obvious retroactive changes is Han Solo. One of Han’s
first lines is about how the Millennium Falcon did the Kessel run in less than
twelve parsecs. Now, a lot of people initially blamed Lucas for writing
something stupid, as a parsec is a unit of distance, not time. Others however,
felt that Lucas hadn’t made a mistake, and in the expanded universe endeavored
to create an explanation of what the Kessel run is, and how it would make sense
for a ship making it in under 12 parsecs not only made sense, but is
impressive. However, the real explanation of the line is much simpler; Han was
talking out of his ass. He was making shit up in order to try and impress Luke
and Ben and get the contract. This makes Han seem well… kinda dumb and cocky.
He’s a good pilot, but he clearly doesn’t have anything like credentials to
prove it, and while he’s certainly charming, he’s not the brightest guy. You
can see more of this by the state of the Falcon. It’s pretty much always in a
state of disrepair, with things constantly going wrong, and him and Chewie are
always trying to fix it. Another thing about Han that most people watching the
movies for the first time wouldn’t quite get; Han’s an asshole. I am of course
referring to the infamous “Han shot first” argument. For those of you not
familiar, allow me to explain. After he meets with Luke and Ben, Han is stopped
by a thug named Greedo. Greedo tells Han that Jabba’s got a price on his head,
and Greedo is planning on collecting. Before Greedo can even properly make the
threat though, Han shoots him. And I don’t mean a grazing shot as a warning, or
a wild shot to distract him, I mean Han shoots him almost point blank from
underneath the table and kills him. Han’s also a bit of a coward. He brags
about outrunning Imperial star cruisers while talking to Ben and Luke, but
Greedo points out that the reason Han has a price on his head is because he
dropped a shipment at the first sight of an Imperial cruiser. If he really
could outrun them, why drop the cargo? Later on, after the Falcon is brought
onto the Death Star, Han hides everyone in some secret compartments, but later
says he doesn’t like sneaking around and would just rather go in guns blazing.
But after any pretext of stealth is abandoned, we have many shots of Han
running away.
So, Han’s cowardly, arrogant, not all that bright, and an
asshole. What does this have to do with anything? Well, it’s quite important
actually. This is how Han is in the first film, and why his riding to the
rescue at the end of it is all the more impressive. Likewise, the person who he
is in Return of the Jedi is all the more impressive, because of who he was. In
Jedi, he’s brave, selfless, and compassionate. He experiences one of the most
dramatic character shifts throughout the films, and growth is always important
for characters. Luke on the other hand (points if you catch the joke in that)
who is the main hero of the story, doesn’t evolve too much. Sure, in the first
few scenes with him, he’s timid, but that goes away as soon as his aunt and
uncle die. He also becomes less impulsive throughout the course of the movies,
but never quite hits the Jedi ideal of calm.
Now that I’m done with that particular tangent, back to the
movies. Specifically, let’s talk about The Empire Strikes Back. Empire is
considered by many to be the best film in the series, and while it certainly
does have a lot going for it, I have to disagree. It starts off well enough,
but after the Rebels evacuate from Hoth, it feels like the film hits a really
slow point. The middle just kind of becomes a haze of scenes switching between
Yoda and Luke on Dagobah, and the rest of the main cast evading the Empire on
the Falcon. The climax of the film though is excellent. It’s also an excellent
example of the much higher budget and better technology between the two films.
The lightsaber duel between Vader and Luke lacks a lot of the tentativeness of
the one between Vader and Obi-wan, and it feels more like a real sword fight
but with more telekinesis. And of course there is the dramatic reveal of Vader
being Luke’s father, which (from what I’ve heard) was an incredibly well kept
secret, and shocked audiences. Overall, I think the film is good, but I felt the
middle part was a bit slow (which is a problem for most trilogies in general).
Finally, we have Return of the Jedi, my personal favorite
film in the series. The film starts off fairly slow, and only seems to pick up
once Luke arrives on Tatooine. However, it slows down again and stays that way
for a good long while. There are a couple action scenes such as the speeder
bike chase/battle, but overall it feels a lot slower than the others. Even the
Battle of Endor is broken up by scenes of the Emperor trying to tempt Luke (in
a much less subtle manner than he tempted Anakin, it seems he’s lost his touch)
which disrupt the pacing. However, the climax of the film is the what makes the
film for me, and why it’s still my favorite. It feels like everything in the
film finally comes together, and the ending works very well. Vader’s redemption
is the thing that really makes the movie for me, even though it does have some
technical weaknesses.
So, does the original Star Wars trilogy live up to it’s
legend? Well… honestly, no. It’s great, it’s absolutely great and I love
watching the films. But looking at it with a critical eye, the trilogy does
have more faults than you’d think it does. I didn’t even really notice a lot of
them until I really thought about it. However, the films were the start of an
absolutely wonderful franchise that has spanned all forms of media. The other
creators who were inspired by the Star Wars Universe and added their own ideas
to it made the Universe deeper and (in many cases) better for their creations.
The films may not quite live up to the hype, but the Star Wars Universe is certainly
worthy.
But will it remain worthy? The sequel trilogy is in the
works, and that is the subject of my next entry. Until then, may the Force be
with you.
