Hello :-)
So I’ve decided to take part in The
Incredible Suit’s BlogAlongAStarWars because I
can’t think of a better way to distract myself from the impending
responsibilities of my own adulthood.
Also because I don’t think I’m a Star
Wars fan.
Hang on! Put those flaming torches and
pitchforks away! When I say I’m not a Star Wars fan, that
doesn’t mean I don’t like Star Wars. It’s fine, it’s a perfectly
pleasant way to pass the time, I just don’t emotionally connect to it. I
haven’t seen the original trilogy for years, I can’t quote it, I can’t remember
what happens in each film (I’ve seen them all but they blur together in my
mind); basically I’m a bit vague on the whole thing.
So I’m going to see if this little
project can turn me into a proper fan. Or at the very least help me remember
the difference between a Jawa and a Sandperson…
It would be extremely easy to be
cynical about Star Wars, they’ve got to be the most parodied movies
in modern cinema so sitting there, eye-rolling my way through every iconic shot
or line sounds about right, especially for someone as bitter and jaded as me.
However, I press play and I can’t do it. I’m totally engaged because of that
score. That score is fucking majestic. There’s no way you can be arch and glib
when you’re listening to that, it’s too awesome.
So straight away my defences are down
and we get into the story. I could’ve sworn it was more complicated than this
but here we go; Princess Leia, sporting a parallel cinnamon bun hairstyle, is
captured by The Empire because she’s stolen their secret plans, she sends a SOS
message to Obi Wan Kenobi via robots R2D2 and C3PO who make a quick getaway via
an escape pod. We land on a desert planet where some Jawa traders (Ahhhh! So
THEY’RE the Jawas…) kidnap our droids and sell them on to Owen Lars and his
nephew Luke Skywalker. Luke comes across Leia’s message and sets out to find
Obi Wan.
What’s weird about taking A New
Hope out of it’s fandom context is that on viewing, it’s refreshingly
unpretentious. I’d never criticise anyone for reading into the philosophy
behind these films, art is made for the viewer, not the artist and if you get a
deeper message out of them then more power to you, but A New Hope makes
no bones about the fact that it’s here to be a super fun space romp and to that
end it’s a total success. It feels a little like we’re moving from one set
piece to another sometimes but it’s all so good natured and perky you get
dragged along for the ride with a huge smile on your face.
Luke is a perfect central character
because he is basically every teenager who ever existed; a bit stroppy, naïve
and desperate to experience what life has to offer, his character arc basically writes itself. He comes off as a little
beige in the beginning of A New Hope, especially when he’s
surrounded by such brilliant characters as Han and Leia, but by the time the
credits roll you’re totally rooting for him.
Speaking of Han and Leia they have so
much personality I want to bottle it and spread it around all the modern
blockbusters that don’t imbue their characters with half as much as this did.
Impractical hairstyle aside, Leia is wonderful. Carrie Fisher practically glows
with wit and moxie. As for Harrison Ford… well he’s pretty much perfect.
There’s no other way I can put it, it’s a perfect performance; charming, daring
and cheeky before Nandos was even a thing.
The downside to this awakening of the potential Star
Wars fan within me is that the only versions of the original trilogy I
can find are the remastered ones. Now, when I watch Sci-fi from the pre-CGI
age, as long as the story is good enough, I don’t have an issue with the
effects. Particularly in the case of Star Wars because a lot of the effects are
practical and as we all know the believability half-life of real effects is
inordinately greater than that of CGI. However, in this remastered version,
George Lucas or whichever clown is responsible, deemed in necessary to add in
extra CGI creatures and a whole new scene featuring a CGI Jabba the Hutt. These
scenes are massively jarring because the CGI clashes hideously with the original
footage. What I really want to do is immerse myself in a world, what this is doing is pulling me straight back out of it.
Despite the CGI retconning, A
New Hope is an inordinate amount of fun. It’s full of characters you
want to spend time with, action you care about and a style of storytelling that
puts as much faith in the audience as the audience does in the film.
I’m starting to wonder why I didn’t
watch Star Wars more as a child because I would have absolutely loved it, in fact I
love it now. Maybe the Force is turning me into a fan after all…
Final Thoughts: George Lucas gives zero shits about scientific accuracy. He’s gonna stick “PEW PEW!” noises all over the space battles and
there’s not a god damn thing you can do about it.
Surprise Discovery: I had no idea Debbie Reynolds was Carrie Fisher’s
Mum, cheers Google!
Goodbye till next time :-)
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