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“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." Watching the Star Wars films
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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 324226" data-attributes="member: 23"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">The Empire Strikes Back</span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>continued</em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>While I’m not a fan of spoilt plots and knowing what’s going to happen in a film I’m watching for the first time, the silver lining is that I found my pulse speeding up with anticipation in the minutes leading up to the big reveal. The imagery of Luke and Darth’s lightsaber battle on the walkway is so iconic<strong><span style="font-size: 18px">*</span></strong> that I felt quite excited at finally seeing it. By the time Luke was hanging on by his fingers with the infinity lights beneath him, I was actually thinking “this is it. This is it. Here it comes”. </p><p></p><p>And then it happened. </p><p></p><p>It was, I must admit, a bit of an anti-climax. Once it had happened, I realised it was nothing I didn’t know already, and seeing it didn’t actually rock my world, or even particularly change anything for me. Luke squealing “Nooooooo. It’s impaaaaaagggghhhsible”actually made me laugh inside a little bit because it reminded me of a cartoon I’d seen covering that scene (I’m thinking it was Family Guy) which, as it turned out, hadn’t exaggerated the performance at all. </p><p></p><p>The general consensus seems to be that <em>Empire</em> is a darker film than its predecessor, and I’d say this is the case overall. Hans’s carbon dunking and Vader taking off Luke’s hand are two key examples of this. As with the first, it’s not as dark as fantasy material that’s come since, and, since I’m concurrently watching the Netflix Marvel series which have some grim and extreme scenarios, <em>Empire</em> can’t help feeling lighter in comparison. But that’s fine. This film takes itself seriously, but not <em>too</em> seriously. Yes, I could do without R2-D2 wheeling about the place with his cartoony sound effects (R2’s beeping and Chewbacca with his constant whining are the two biggest irritants in the series for me), but in general the balance between light and dark is good. It also occurs to me that Luke Cage being dunked in a bath of acid (as watched a night or two ago) is arguably an evolution of Hans Solo’s carbonite treatment. </p><p></p><p>Incidentally, the carbonised Hans is another very familiar image to me. In the late Nineties, I remember an indie comic shop in my city had a life-size replica of Hans in his enormous carbon surround in their window for some years. </p><p></p><p>Anyway, <em>Empire</em> is done. Its soapy twists and triangles earning its space opera badges of honour. While the ending gives a little closure there are enough loose ends and little cliffhangers to entice me back, wanting to know what happens next. That’s the bonus of knowing the first is a hit and the second is going to be a hit, I suppose. The powers that be can confidently pave the way for the third knowing it <em>will</em> happen.</p><p></p><p>And I’m looking forward to experiencing the final part of the original trilogy very soon. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">* </span></strong><span style="font-size: 12px">I’m probably using the word “iconic” quite heavily during these reviews. It is an overused word in general, but when it comes to Star Wars it’s also the most appropriate. There’s a reason for its existence, and there’s simply no way around using it when it comes to the final act.</span></em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 324226, member: 23"] [CENTER][B][SIZE=6]The Empire Strikes Back[/SIZE][/B] [I]continued[/I][/CENTER] While I’m not a fan of spoilt plots and knowing what’s going to happen in a film I’m watching for the first time, the silver lining is that I found my pulse speeding up with anticipation in the minutes leading up to the big reveal. The imagery of Luke and Darth’s lightsaber battle on the walkway is so iconic[B][SIZE=5]*[/SIZE][/B] that I felt quite excited at finally seeing it. By the time Luke was hanging on by his fingers with the infinity lights beneath him, I was actually thinking “this is it. This is it. Here it comes”. And then it happened. It was, I must admit, a bit of an anti-climax. Once it had happened, I realised it was nothing I didn’t know already, and seeing it didn’t actually rock my world, or even particularly change anything for me. Luke squealing “Nooooooo. It’s impaaaaaagggghhhsible”actually made me laugh inside a little bit because it reminded me of a cartoon I’d seen covering that scene (I’m thinking it was Family Guy) which, as it turned out, hadn’t exaggerated the performance at all. The general consensus seems to be that [I]Empire[/I] is a darker film than its predecessor, and I’d say this is the case overall. Hans’s carbon dunking and Vader taking off Luke’s hand are two key examples of this. As with the first, it’s not as dark as fantasy material that’s come since, and, since I’m concurrently watching the Netflix Marvel series which have some grim and extreme scenarios, [I]Empire[/I] can’t help feeling lighter in comparison. But that’s fine. This film takes itself seriously, but not [I]too[/I] seriously. Yes, I could do without R2-D2 wheeling about the place with his cartoony sound effects (R2’s beeping and Chewbacca with his constant whining are the two biggest irritants in the series for me), but in general the balance between light and dark is good. It also occurs to me that Luke Cage being dunked in a bath of acid (as watched a night or two ago) is arguably an evolution of Hans Solo’s carbonite treatment. Incidentally, the carbonised Hans is another very familiar image to me. In the late Nineties, I remember an indie comic shop in my city had a life-size replica of Hans in his enormous carbon surround in their window for some years. Anyway, [I]Empire[/I] is done. Its soapy twists and triangles earning its space opera badges of honour. While the ending gives a little closure there are enough loose ends and little cliffhangers to entice me back, wanting to know what happens next. That’s the bonus of knowing the first is a hit and the second is going to be a hit, I suppose. The powers that be can confidently pave the way for the third knowing it [I]will[/I] happen. And I’m looking forward to experiencing the final part of the original trilogy very soon. [I][B][SIZE=5]* [/SIZE][/B][SIZE=3]I’m probably using the word “iconic” quite heavily during these reviews. It is an overused word in general, but when it comes to Star Wars it’s also the most appropriate. There’s a reason for its existence, and there’s simply no way around using it when it comes to the final act.[/SIZE][/I] [/QUOTE]
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