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Ok, before
anybody sends the Death Star over to my house to take care
of my "lack of faith" let me say that I'm a fan.
I've been a fan since Day 2. That's right. I saw the original
release of "Star Wars" on the second full day that
it was in the movie theaters. Some friends and I were looking
for something fun to see and one of the guys had heard about
this movie -- "Star Somethin," it was supposed to
be cool. Well, we didn't have anything better to do so we
went.
It was
the first time in my very young life that I was left speechless.
The first five minutes of the movie were so awe-inspiring
I actually thought: "This is new. This is incredible.
This is going to change the way we see movies forever!"
How little did I know. "Star Wars" not only changed
movies, it became a national and cultural phenomenon. The
movies introduced the world to words, images, and concepts
that pepper our everyday lives without us even realizing it.
Does anybody not know what the "Death Star" is?
If you turn to a co-worker and said: "Use the Force,
Luke," would they not get it? My guess is that 9 out
of 10 would.
So what's
my problem? My problem is "Phantom Menace" and "Attack
of the Clones." Though everyone remembers the awesome
visuals from the original trilogy, it's the story and the
characters that made a generation fall in love with them.
It's the story that sets those movies apart from a lot of
other very entertaining (but easily forgettable) Sci Fi flicks.
And it's the stories that really suck in "Phantom Menace"
and "Attack of the Clones."
Yes, the
pod race is really cool. Yes, seeing the Jedi Council makes
you wonder about what it would be like to be a Jedi. Yes,
seeing Yoda fire up his light saber and fight a duel had me
cheering in my seat. But those are just visuals. Visuals don't
make a story.
I once
saw an interview with George Lucas -- a long time ago and
in a place far, far, away. (See, you got the reference didn't
you?) In that interview George commented on the importance
of a good story. I can't quote him exactly but essentially
he said: "Most movie makers spend so much time creating
a believable world that they spend too much film time showing
it to you. But that's a mistake. The visuals only exist to
serve the story."
So at
what point did he forget his own advice?
What was
the point of the pod race? Yes, I know they needed money to
buy spare parts and free Ani -- but why devote so much time
to it? Cause it looks cool. But what did we learn about our
heroes or the adventure they are on? We learned that a grown
man has no problem putting a small boy into a dangerous "chariot"
race in order to win the money he needs to fix his ship. Does
that sound noble? We learned that Ani is a pretty good pilot.
Did that require 20 minutes of screen time? Anything else?
Anybody?
Ok, I'm
oversimplifying. But I can go on forever. Maybe I'll write
a list of the top "100 Reasons Why I Hate Phantom and
Clones." The point is: so much of those movies look good
but they give us nothing to hold onto. They have no heart.
Yes, the
original movies had a lot of visuals but almost always you
got with those visuals a memorable line, some character insight,
a plot development, or maybe a laugh. I can't say as much
for these last two.
Not that
they had nothing redeeming in them. They just didn't have
enough. In the duel between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon
we get great visuals with insight. When the duel is interrupted,
you see Darth Maul pacing like a caged animal. You know he's
filled with rage, anger, hatred, the Dark Side. Qui-Gon spends
his time meditating and calming himself. You now know something
of him. Obi-wan is separated from both of them -- anxious
and desperate to help. He's impatient. You now see the difference
between the apprentice and the master. It's just a fight sequence.
But I can't tell you how many people remember it because of
that moment when all three characters were forced to stop
fighting -- and wait. What we learned about them at that moment
made the entire scene memorable.
After
Phantom, I started to doubt if George Lucas was really the
God we all made him out to be. Was he really (as Joseph Campbell
believed) reinventing mythology? Was he tapping into the roots
of story telling and showing us the potential within each
of us? Was he a master film maker creating popular icons that
will be part of our culture for the next 100 years? Or did
he just get lucky?
I wanted
to like "Attack of the Clones." Really, I did. Great
visuals. The sound system in the theater I was in made me
feel every explosion. But could the characters be any less
interesting? Is there a single memorable line or moment in
the whole movie?
I rented
the movie when it came out just to make sure I wasn't being
too hard on it. But right now, at this moment, the only scene
I can remember with clarity is the one where Yoda fights his
duel. Why? Cause it was cool to see the old Jedi Master strut
his stuff. Not because it told me anything.
Some people
have said to me that I'm biased because I'm a fan of the original
films. Others said that I'm expecting art from a science fiction
movie -- that they're no worse than any other science fiction
movie you can name. And those points are probably true. But
these are Star Wars movies. They're supposed to be better
than the average because the original movies were better than
the average.
But so
far, in this trilogy, there has been no "Death Star."
No one has said anything close to: "I've got a bad feeling
about this" or "use the force, Luke." There
has been no moment of simple beauty like when Luke stares
at twin suns setting over the horizon of his desert home world.
There's been no magic. And I really miss that.
Maybe
Lucas is just a victim of his own good fortune. He created
something that people came to love and that set the bar. Then
he waited twenty-five years to follow up on it. Maybe we've
all become too jaded to be impressed any more. Maybe he lost
the magic of telling a good story in favor of mind blowing
images. Maybe, he just lost his way.
Whatever
the reason, he got lucky. He created something so significant
that I, and millions of other, actually stopped and took notice.
And that's more than most of us will ever achieve. I just
wish his luck hadn't run out. I could always use another "Star
Wars."
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