Snoke and Mirrors

   This is a quick follow-up to my review of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.  If you have not seen the movie, do not read this post, as, yes, SPOILERS ensue.

   So that said....


    In the Force Awakens, we learn that since the downfall of Palpatine and Vader, the Empire has been reformed as The First Order, and is run by a character called Supreme Leader Snoke.  We only see Snoke as a gigantic hologram; he appears to be more or less humanoid, although grey-skinned and badly disfigured.  He's portrayed by Andy Serkis, in motion-capture form.  We know that he commands both the military arm of the First Order, and the mystical, as he is responsible for Kylo Ren's training.  He's sinister, clearly dangerous, and has a mad-on for Luke Skywalker.

Andy Serkis mo-capping Snoke.  I haven't found any good official images of the actual character yet.

   We also know that Kylo Ren is really Ben Solo, Han and Leia's son.  And we are told that following the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke attempted to train a new generation of Jedi - just as he did in the books.  Ben Solo was one of these students, but somehow something went wrong, and Ben turned to the dark side, and he, along with other "Knights of Ren" under the influence of Snoke, murdered Luke's other apprentices.  We don't know, but may surmise, that the other Knights may actually be fallen padawans, as well.  And we further know that Kylo Ren is obsessed with his grandfather - he has conversations with Darth Vader's burned mask, somehow taken from the funeral pyre on Endor, and wants to be worthy of Vader's legacy.  He also thrives on darkness and pain.  He's a bit of a nutter, actually.

   Lastly, we know that Rey comes into possession of a familiar blue-bladed lightsaber - that saber which was formerly Anakin Skywalker's, which was used to slaughter younglings and Jedi before being taken by Obi-Wan, and later given to Luke, and which was subsequently lost when Vader amputated Luke's hand at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.  The lightsaber was in the custody of Maz Kanata, but all she says about how she came to have it is that 'it's another story for another time".

   So....here's my current operating theory as to what happened:

   In short, I think Snoke may be a dark clone of Luke Skywalker.  The lightsaber was in Luke's hand when the hand was removed, so it's not impossible to think that they fell together, and if the saber was retrieved, so might the hand have been.  We know cloning's a pretty big thing in the SW universe, and in the books, at least, the concept of cloning Jedi has been well established (Joruus C'Baoth, and the Emperor himself).  Perhaps Maz Kanata stole the lightsaber, or someone else stole it, and Maz got it herself later on.

   So what if Palpatine, or even Vader, somehow got Luke's hand, and attempted to recreate their own Sith warrior, if Luke himself could or would not be turned?  We know both Palpatine and Vader desired Luke as a prize - the son of Skywalker would be a powerful weapon indeed.  Perhaps the cloning process was successful, or partially so, and whatever programming was used - similar to Order 66 brainwashing, perhaps - the clone was devoted to Vader and/or Palpatine, but was unable to wreak revenge for their deaths.

   Fast forward a few years, and Luke is now a Master, training new Jedi, including his nephew.  The EU has already provided ample ground for a Solo child going bad - Darth Caedus, anyone?  So what if this false Luke approached Ben and was able to lure him to the dark side, and perhaps pick up a few other followers as well?  They would then turn on the other padawans and destroy them, leaving Luke failed and broken.  Perhaps the death of Luke would have been the last piece, but he vanished.  Hence why in TFA, Snoke and Ren are so eager to find and punish Luke.

   It would be fitting, from a pseudo-Sith perspective, to get at Luke in this way, especially if Snoke sees himself as Vader's true heir - and as such, ideally placed to use Luke's nephew as his catspaw and apprentice.

   I could be completely and utterly off base about this, of course.  But this is the theory I'm currently working off of.  Time will tell what the truth reveals...

REVIEW: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

    And here we are - my review of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and I'm having a hard time accepting the reality that I have actually seen the continuation to the Star Wars series on screen.  So, very important: this blog contains SPOILERS.  Do NOT read this blog if you haven't seen the movie.  I mean it.

It's like a rainbow...

   Still here?  OK, you've been warned...

     Directed by J.J. Abrams, and set thirty years after Return of the Jedi, Episode VII (TFA) takes us back to a galaxy far, far away, and somewhat different from the one we left.  The heroes of the Alliance formed a Republic, but the Empire remade itself as The First Order, and has built itself a superweapon far larger than the Death Star, which prompts the Republic to form a new army called the Resistance.  Luke Skywalker has gone missing, and General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) has sent her best pilot, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) to retrieve part of a map to Luke's location.  Before being captured by the sinister First Order agent Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Poe entrusts his mission to his droid, BB-8, who in turn falls into the hands of scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley).  Rey, along with a recently liberated stormtrooper named Finn (John Boyega), attempt to return BB-8 to the Resistance, with some help from some old friends - Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).  Before long, however, the First Order closes in on them, and things begin to look very dire for our heroes.  Andy Serkis plays the First Order's mysterious leader, Snoke, and the First Order's operations are overseen by the fanatical General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) and Captain Phasma (Gwendolyn Christie).  Lupita Nyong'o plays a diminutive pirate-turned-saloonkeeper named Maz Kanata, and Max Von Sydow has a small role as an old ally of Leia's.  Anthony Daniels returns as C-3PO, and Kenny Baker 'consults' as R2-D2 - and yes, Mark Hamill does appear very briefly as Luke Skywalker.  Simon Pegg also has a small, unrecognizable part as junk dealer Unkar Plutt, and J.J. Abrams staple Greg Grunberg appears as an X-Wing pilot.

Bum, Bum Bum, Bum BA-Bum, Bum BA- Bum.....

   There is a LOT to take in here - there are several major new players introduced into the SW universe, and there's a lot of catching up to do with the characters we know and love.  Much of the intervening thirty years is left unexplored, but we get some tantalizing hints, and I'm assuming more explanation of what happened will be forthcoming in this new trilogy.  TFA concentrates primarily on the new characters, as it should, with Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren being central, and most of the older stalwarts functioning in supporting roles.  That said, Han, Chewie - and the Millennium Falcon - get some fantastic scenes.

BB-8, the true star of the movie...

   Overall, I enjoyed the movie immensely.  The cast is excellent and enthusiastic, and the script is punchy and smart.  It's enormously fun, and the visuals, score, costumes, plethora of new aliens, et cetera are all captivating....Rey poking about in the ruins of an Alliance/Empire battle amidst wreckage of iconic vehicles is incredible.   I am very happy and grateful that Abrams elected to go back to using a significant portion of practical machine effects - while there are CG characters, there are far more actors in costumes and tangible set pieces than anywhere in the prequels.  That's actually the first thing that struck me about this movie - it feels like a Star Wars film, much more so than Eps. I, II, and III.  It has the sensibilities of the classic trilogy, even with the new elements added in.  It certainly doesn't hurt that the bad guys are the Empire again, even if said Empire has a new name, and a far more ruthless, brutal approach than it did under Palpatine's reign. 

  

John Boyega as Finn and Daisy Ridley as Rey.  Welcome to the clubhouse, kids.

     I had two issues with the movie.  The first is that the framework of the movie is...well, familiar.  The MacGuffin in the hands of a hero shortly to be captured is given to a droid.  Droid escapes across a desert planet to be discovered by a plucky, seemingly dead-ended hero, who soon finds themselves aboard the Millennium Falcon with Han and Chewie trying to get the droid to the heroic army.  Meanwhile, the bad guys, led by a severe British commander and a red-bladed, black-masked Force warrior,  build a planet-destroying superweapon which they use with reckless abandon.  The heroes infiltrate the weapon, one heroic character is sacrificed to the lightsaber-wielding villain, and the heroic army flies some X-Wings in, exploits the superweapon's weakness, and blows the thing sky high.  All while the plucky hero comes to learn they are powerful in the Force and defies the villain, who escapes.

   Sound at all reminiscent of anything?

   Now, this isn't necessarily a problem - TFA absolutely works as a movie, but the derivative nature of the plot, while it may have been intended as something of an homage, just seems a little lazy.  It makes me wonder if they were hedging their bets by sticking with a time-honored set-up, but that doesn't make a ton of sense...this movie was going to be a monster hit regardless.  Simply by adhering more faithfully to the tone and spirit of the Original Trilogy than Lucas did in the prequels would have achieved that, so I have to scratch my head a bit about the retread.  Fortunately, there's a lot of new to balance the old, so the movie doesn't feel like a complete rehash.

You so much as mention the "metal bikini" and she'll knock you on your ass.

   The other issue I had was that some of the dialogue and characters was a bit too modern.  There were exchanges where it felt like it was clear I was watching actors in the year 2015, rather than in a more timeless frame.  This was particularly a problem with Finn, whose dialogue seemed to smack of a need to try and make the character funny and hip, but really overplayed it.  It's strange - even at one point in the film Han tells Finn to 'dial it down', so the direction with Finn must have been deliberate, but it's an odd choice and one which I hope gets fixed going forwards.

   And just as an aside, I knew going in it wouldn't be there, but I did kind of miss the 20th Century Fox opening fanfare a little.

  Now, there's one other issue I had with the film, but it's not a criticism of the movie, it's more a lament on the rather poignant feeling of depression I ended up with.  If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about (and if you haven't seen it, why are you reading this???)  Let's address the bantha in the room...

Still crazy after all these years...

   I just had to watch the death of Han Solo.  It's very well written and staged, and it's foreshadowed...it became fairly clear about halfway through the movie where it was going, to the point where even Han himself was aware of the fact that he was taking on Obi-Wan's role from the first movie.   The character got wonderful development throughout the movie, connecting with old and new characters, and a certain Corellian YT-1300 freighter, and was very much Han as we know him - just older.  His death was not cheap, and was full of emotional impact that is absolutely going to resonate in the future films.  From a narrative standpoint, it made complete sense, and will have consequences to the story and characters.  From a practical standpoint, it seems more clear how Abrams and co. were able to get Harrison Ford so on board with this movie, as he wouldn't have to commit to the whole trilogy.   And of course, the concept of families, fathers and sons and their intertwined fate runs right through the heart of the whole series.  Still, all that said...damn, that was hard to watch.  And poor Chewie...

BB-8 and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, also known as He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-Wedge

   On the brighter side of things, I love the new additions.  Kylo Ren is a nuanced, deeply disturbed character who is going to make for a fascinating villain in the next films.  BB-8 is pure gold; he's adorable, friendly, and fun, and oddly, reminded me of my cat.  Finn, despite his vernacular, is a solid character and I look forward to learning more about him; same goes for Poe Dameron.  Maz Kanata is an enigmatic character, and there's more story to be told for her, and I'm deeply curious about the First Order characters - who they are and how they came to be.

  Above all, though - I love Rey.  She's an engaging, fierce, intelligent young woman, and the movie turns the tropes on its head when we realize that there's been a fakeout going on in the marketing.  Abrams had indicated that much of the promotional material was focused on the first third of the movie, though we are led to believe that Finn will be the traditional hero of the piece.  He's not - Rey is no damsel in distress, and as we come to understand by the end of the movie, she's the hero, and main protagonist.  It's Rey who the heroes come to save, only to find she's saved herself, and it's Rey who throws down against Kylo Ren - and wins.  I love her, as a character, and I can't wait to see where her arc takes her next; the movie seems to imply that she is in fact Luke Skywalker's daughter, so there is absolutely a story - and a heritage - there.

This fight does NOT go the way you'd expect.

   The Original Trilogy had a peculiar talent for introducing elements and only giving you traces of information, preferring to tease the audience over the movies, but eventually revealing the whole story.  Just like Ep. IV and V, TFA raises a lot of questions, but doesn't provide a ton of answers.  My assumption is that they will form much of the plot of Episode VIII, but in the meantime, it will give the rest of us a good deal to talk about over the next year or two.    There's a lot I want to know, and seeing a steely Leia as a general, or a grizzled Luke looking quite like Obi-Wan Kenobi is enough to whet my appetite to learn what stories they can tell.  And for that matter, what became of Lando?  Is Boba Fett in fact, alive, as has been intimated in the new books?  Who was Rey's mother, if she is Luke's daughter?  Who is Constable Zuvio?  How did Kylo Ren fall?  And who is Snoke?  (I'll come back to that...)

   So all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed TFA.  It's a welcome return to the SW universe, devoid of Gungans, midichlorians, and petulance.  I'm not giving hope we might get a bad-ass Ewok Resistance fighter at some point, though.   This movie was well worth the weight, and it was a rewarding experience that makes me want to see it again - and makes me extremely eager to see the story move forward.  Hopefully the creative team will not make Episode VIII a retread of The Empire Strikes Back, but then again, if you're going to crib, do it off of the best.

   The Force will be with us.  Always.

FINAL RATING: 8 PAWS (OUT OF 10):

If you care to talk rankings, by the way, I'd put TFA as the third-best SW film, behind ESB and ANH, respectively.

And as P.S. regarding TFA, there will shortly be an addendum post about my theory about what's behind the First Order...

REVIEW: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

   Whew!   Here we are, all caught up on the Star Wars films...well, for another day or so, at least.  Behold, the last stop on the countdown to The Force Awakens.  Presenting: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (ROTJ)!

In which everyone is green.

   Set about a year after the Empire Strikes Back, ROTJ wraps up the Original Trilogy.  Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his friends Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) infiltrate the palace of gangster Jabba the Hutt in order to rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from his carbonite prison.  Meanwhile, the Empire is building a new Death Star, and its construction is being overseen not only by Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones), but also by the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) himself, and both the Empire and Rebellion find themselves hurtling towards a conflict which will determine the fate of the galaxy.  Alec Guinness and Frank Oz return as Obi-Wan and Yoda, respectively, and there are supporting appearances by Denis Lawson, Kenneth Colley, Tim Rose, Jeremy Bulloch, Sebastian Shaw, and a very young Warwick Davis.

     ROTJ is a perfectly serviceable conclusion to the Original Trilogy, as it wraps up all of the questions raised by ESB, and ties the various plot threads together nicely.  We get answers to the mysteries of the Skywalker family, Han Solo is rescued, and the Rebellion gains a major victory over the Empire.  The movie's a little pat, in terms of its plot, but satisfying, although the film does suffer a bit compared to ANH and ESB in terms of tone.  The second and third acts of the movie tend to feature more levity than the series had shown to date, which makes for some uneven sequences as the film heads towards its conclusion.  It's the weakest entry in the Original Trilogy, but still a very well solid movie overall.

Quite possibly the most iconic undergarment in movie history, and the source of uncountable fanboy daydreams.

     The first third of the film revolves mainly around the heroes' attempt to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt, and it's a fun sequence, but it also feels a little bit like a standalone movie.  It's a great set piece, filled with a variety of unusual aliens to rival the Cantina, some iconic new costumes for the leads, and a well-filmed action sequence out in the desert.  From a plot perspective, this portion of the movie is really there to establish two things: Han is saved, and Luke is now a full-on Jedi, in control of his powers, and sporting a brand-new lightsaber.  There's a deleted scene establishing how Luke came to his more advanced Jedi abilities, which would have been nice to see, but its omission makes complete sense from a pacing standpoint.   The whole sequence is fun, but it doesn't really connect to the rest of the film, making it feel more like an entry in an old-time movie serial.  That's not necessarily a criticism, just an observation that ROTJ is really divided into two sections - the Jabba part, and the rest of the movie proper.

    

I'm starting to think a light-up table is the key to science fiction.

   The bridge between the two sections is occupied by a fairly brief but crucially important sequence, as Luke returns to Dagobah to fulfill his promise to Yoda, only to have the aged Jedi Master pass away in his presence.  Their last dialogue, and the subsequent conversation between Luke and Obi-Wan's spirit, is a well-written exchange in which Luke learns the truth about his history - though he strangely never asks about his mother, and Obi-Wan doesn't volunteer the information - and realizes that Leia is in fact his twin sister.  The fact that she kissed him full on in ESB is, perhaps fortunately, not mentioned here.   The scene is only a few minutes long, but it does a very nice job pulling in the open-ended questions that ESB raised, and is vitally important for understanding Luke's actions for the rest of the film.  We see the result of Luke's journey to date, on his way from boy to man in terms of greater wisdom, comprehension, and compassion, and the sequence offers a nice bit of gravitas to the film.

Ford, Fisher and Hamill - the Trinity of the Star Wars universe.

   From there,  the rest of the film revolves around the final battle, which is divided into three sections: Lando and the Rebel fleet attacking the Death Star, Darth Vader and the Emperor aboard said space station of doom, and the forest moon of Endor, where the main heroes have some...well, let's call them 'adventures' with a furry race of teddy bear-like creatures known as Ewoks.   The film cuts back and forth between the three locations as the battle ignites, with Luke traveling from Endor to the Death Star to engage in final confrontation with Vader & the Emperor.

    So let's talk about the Ewoks for a minute.  They are, at least in certain circles, the most reviled component of the Original Trilogy.  Outside of ROTJ and the '80s Ewok-focused, child-friendly spin-offs, the Ewoks have barely been included in any Star Wars stories since.  They are definitely geared towards a younger audience, which is partially why some of the older fans dislike them.   The Ewoks are cute, and played almost entirely for comic effect, but serve an important role in the plot as the deciding factor between victory and defeat for the Rebels.  They illustrate the Empire's arrogance, and I've always gotten the impression that the intended takeaway here is that pluck and heroism can come in many sizes, and should not be underestimated.  Which is all well and good, and to be fair, I really don't have a problem with the Ewoks...in fact, I rather like them on their own merits.

   What I don't like is how they're used.   Specifically, in order to make the Ewoks even remotely effective, other characters have to behave like morons.  The main Rebel characters are captured because Chewbacca is suddenly so stupid as to trigger a bait trap; Han is reduced to a David Seville-like caretaker of the little fuzzballs, and the Empire, in particular a legion of the Emperor's 'best troops', proves to be completely incapable of dealing with their Stone Age-level attacks.  Not only are otherwise intelligent characters reduced to bumbling, but the fight on Endor is largely played for comic effect - downright slapstick at points, making a good chunk of the action in the last reel goofy.  It's jarring when contrasted to the psychological and physical duel going on aboard the Death Star or the vicious space battle happening above.   For little kids, I imagine all of this is fine, but I find myself wishing that the Ewoks - cute as the might be - had been played a little bit more seriously.  They could have looked the same, had the same culture, etc., but been portrayed as fierce and feral when need be.  It would likely have involved a higher death toll (total number of Ewok casualties in the film: one) but would have had a far greater impact and led to a more even third act.

At no point does Luke warn Vader "I have the high ground!"  Not that Vader would have listened.

    Outside of that, though, the film is a lot of fun.  The best moments occur in the Emperor's observation room, as Palpatine goads Luke into giving into aggression in an attempt to turn him, before Luke realizes that the only way to win is to appeal to Darth Vader - or rather, Anakin Skywalker.  We end up getting a maddeningly effective 'big bad' of a villain, an intense duel, and an enormously satisfying conclusion, as Anakin turns on the Emperor to save Luke.  From a prequel perspective, this also ties up the prophecy plotline, with Anakin restoring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith, which as I've understood it represent a perversion of the Force in the first place.  I like to imagine what's going through Anakin's mind in the fight - all of his rage, frustration, loss and bitterness clashing head-on with a chance at redemption in the form of the son he never knew he had.  The musical cue as Vader makes his momentous decision, which features the Jedi theme returning to overpower the Imperial tones, is my single favorite part of the entire Star Wars score.

I really have to wonder what this conversation was like.  "Hmmm...Skywalker, yes.  Dipstick, you are."

    The movie wraps up nicely, with the good ending happily and the bad unhappily, which is what fiction means, to borrow from Oscar Wilde, although one could argue that Vader - or Anakin - does get something of a happy ending.   It's an acceptable conclusion, but as an adult, at least, I can't help but feel it lacks the oomph of ESB.  Maybe it's because Lucas is back on the script (with Lawrence Kasdan co-writing), but the characters don't seem as sharp this time around.  Hamill and Fisher get some good acting moments, but Ford, Williams and the rest are fairly broad, much closer in tone to ANH than ESB.  Ian McDiarmid is a lot of fun, though - infuriatingly smug and gleefully evil, though I do kind of wish we'd gotten to see what Palpatine's reaction to the Ewoks would have been.  I'm not sure how much of the tonal shift in ROTJ towards levity is due to its new director, Richard Marquand, or how much is Lucas' writing, or if there are other factors in play, but whatever the case, this third film ends up lighter and softer than ESB, though it still does the bulk of the job just fine.


FINAL RATING: 8 PAWS (OUT OF 10):

       All told, the Original Trilogy ranks as one the best and most revered film series of all time.  So as we wrap up our look at it, all eyes are now focused on this Friday's release of Episode VII.  Unlike the three prequels, which all revolved around a premise of inevitability, this time we're going back to classic, beloved characters and learning their fates, so we're heading off the map.   We'll see - in a little over twenty-four hours - what the world of Star Wars looks like thirty years later, now that the EU has been relegated to 'alternate timeline' status.  My hope is that we get something worthy of the Original Trilogy, that offers a satisfying continuation for the original cast, engaging new characters to stand alongside the classic ones, and some fun that manages to be exciting without being pandering or silly.

When last we left our heroes...

     If you've read the blogs thus far, I thank you and hope you've enjoyed them.  The countdown will end this weekend with my review of The Force Awakens, which I will do my best to keep spoiler-free; details can be delved into at a later date.

So that's it until we're on the other side of Episode VII.  Until then, may the Force....well, you know.

REVIEW: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

   We're chugging along here at something of an accelerated pace due to the pleasant problem of having the release date for Episode VII practically upon us.  So without further ado, I present to you the second of the Original Trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back (ESB):

AKA The Bad Guy Poster.  Though the Emperor's only in about three minutes of the film.

   Set two to three years after A New Hope, ESB finds the heroes of the Rebellion hunkered down on the arctic world of Hoth, as Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) hunts them, particularly eager to locate Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).  When the Rebel base is at last overrun, Luke finds himself drawn to the swamp world of Dagobah, to study with Yoda (Frank Oz), the last surviving Jedi master.  Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) are forced to flee from Vader's relentless pursuit, which eventually leads them to cross paths with an old comrade of Han's, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams).  Everything converges in a fight at Cloud City, when the heroes' worlds are turned upside down forever.  Alec Guinness appears as Obi-Wan Kenobi - or his spirit, anyway, and Kenny Baker once again appears as R2-D2.  Jeremy Bulloch plays the bounty hunter Boba Fett, and thanks to some digital manipulation, Ian McDiarmid appears briefly as the Emperor, replacing an earlier dubbed actress with superimposed chimpanzee eyes.  Kenneth Colley and Julian Glover also appear in small parts, and John Ratzenberger has a cameo as a Rebel officer.

    ESB is, to put it simply, a superlative movie.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that ESB is one of, the greatest sequels of all time...I think The Godfather Part II might be the only other major contender for the title of  'Best Ever'.   True, ESB is very much the 'middle' of the story - it assumes you know the characters, and doesn't even try to wrap up all of the plot lines at the end...far from it...but beyond that, it functions magnificently as a film, surpassing the original in quality and serving as not only the best Star Wars film to date, and one of the best science fiction movies, but also one of the best movies ever made.

    

Sometimes it feels like the Empire is just cheating.

   Why does it work so well?  For one thing, it has absolute economy - every bit of dialogue either furthers the plot, develops character, or both.  The story moves forward in straight lines, with no tangents or diversions, or unnecessary subplots.  It doesn't rehash the events of A New Hope, but enjoys the benefit of having already introduced the main characters, and as such, can simply move ahead with the story.   Every frame serves the picture, compelling the narrative on, and is beautifully shot.  The set, costumes, and design are more advanced than ANH, and just pop that much more boldly, and John Williams' score builds on the first films, adding more motifs that are instantly recognizable - the Imperial March, in particular.  Nothing in this movie distracts from the whole, and nothing is present that doesn't enhance the film.  There are very few films in ANY genre that can make that claim.

Not counting Boba Fett (who has about five minutes) these guys have a combined screen time of less than thirty seconds, and yet have become some of the most popular Star Wars characters in the franchise history.  Go figure.

   The story is well conceived - we learn more about the Jedi and the Force, the nature of the mystical powers, and more about the galaxy.  We're introduced to several striking new characters, which are immediately distinct, while the cast of the original film is fleshed out in both broad and subtle ways, and every character gets a solid amount of screen time.  I think the reason for this is due to the fact that while George Lucas does get the Story credit, he neither wrote the screenplay nor directed the film...those credits go to Leigh Brackett & Lawrence Kasdan, and Irvin Kershner, respectively.  So we got Lucas' brainchild, but this time its tempered, cleaned and polished by others, and all to the good.  There's probably a lesson in teamwork to be learned here.

I'd watch these two bicker over listening to Anakin and Padme's wooing any day of the week.

   While having a sharp, smart script is important, having a cast hit its marks perfectly also helps.  Hamill, Ford and Fisher all get meaty parts that allow them to grow their characters, and lets them build on the somewhat stock roles from the first movie, making them vibrant and relatable.  From the moment Billy Dee Williams appears on camera, he radiates charm and charisma, creating an instantly likable rogue, smooth where Han is rough.   The real star of the film, however, is not truly human - Yoda, as much as he is a Muppet (and as a child, the fact that he sounded so much like Grover kind of disturbed me), is the most compelling character in the film, an immediately resonant figure given an enormous impact.  Yoda may be Frank Oz's best role, and the effort that went into the design and articulation makes it very easy to accept him just as much as any human performer.

   

Just off camera: Kermit the Frog and a banjo.

     The visuals are incredible, as always - the ice world of Hoth is breathtaking in its starkness, while Yoda's swamp home is teeming with life and mystery.  Cloud City, where the third act of the film takes place, is a floating palace made up of several different sets, all of which are distinct and yet blend together convincingly, and is illuminated in fiery sunsets to great effect.  We get to see more of the ships this time - something of a 'behind the scenes' look at the Millennium Falcon, and the austere, imposing black, white and grey of the Imperial Fleet.

    ESB answers some of the questions that A New Hope raised, primarily regarding the workings of the Force, but it's perhaps better known for raising even more.  The climactic fight between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in the underbelly of Cloud City culminates in one of the most famous moments in movie history - the oft-references "I am your father" scene.  This particular line of dialogue is one of the most well-known spoilers in cinema, and even when audiences know it's coming, it still maintains a powerful impact decades later.

"Not to give anything away, but I think you have my lightsaber..."

    What makes the whole project truly impressive, though, is that the movie ends without resolving the questions raised.  Audiences were left to wonder if Vader's parentage claim was legitimate, and if so - how the hell did that happen?  And what was Yoda referring to when he mentioned another hope?  Not only that, but the film closes with Luke maimed, and Han Solo frozen in carbonite, a kind of living death that would have allowed for Ford to leave the franchise, which is also why Lando was introduced.  In fact, you could say Luke was unHanded in more ways than one - (insert rimshot here).  It's rare for a film about good and evil to conclude with a victory for the villains - Luke defeated, Han imprisoned, Cloud City fallen to the Empire and the remaining heroes on the run.  Suddenly, the story wasn't so predictable anymore.   Doubts and uncertainties surround the protagonists as they retreat to lick their wounds, because what had been a fairly stereotypical sci-fi set up suddenly became complex and ambiguous, and the challenges not so easily overcome.

Men in Capes

   All of that conspires to create a rich film that's exciting, compelling, and interesting.  It's well-paced, well-written, acted, directed, shot, and complex.  At times it's humorous, other times, it's frightening.  It leaves you wanting more, but yet manages to be satisfying in and of itself.  Just as ANH redefined what science fiction conventions could be, ESB raised the bar to a level that may still be the standard today.  Moreover, it's smarter and better executed than many other dramatic films, proving that fantasy absolutely had a place at the 'big kids table'.  There are countless other films, box office hits and Oscar winners alike, that didn't do their jobs half as well as ESB.

       It is, in short, a perfect movie.

FINAL RATING: 10 PAWS (OUT OF 10):

   ROAR!!!!


     And this is why I couldn't give A New Hope more than a rating of nine, by the way...because as good as ANH is, The Empire Strikes Back is better.  On a personal note, I can't help but observe that it's easier to write a more succinct review when the movie gives you nothing to complain about!

    Next up, the home stretch - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

REVIEW: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

    A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

    This is where it all started, back in 1977.  This was the movie that introduced audiences around the world to the Death Star, lightsabers, the Millennium Falcon, and the Force.  While we now know it as "Episode IV: A New Hope" (ANH), which is its official title in the opening crawl, at the time of its release and for the better part of a generation it was generally known as just "Star Wars".  It all came from here.

I can't help but feel like Chevy Chase is playing Han Solo in this poster.

    While it was the first film released, for timeline purposes, ANH is set about eighteen years after the end of Revenge of the Sith, though all Star Wars continuity uses ANH as 'year zero' to date everything.  Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) is fleeing Imperial troops led by the sinister Darth Vader (David Prowse, and voiced by James Earl Jones).  Before her capture, she entrusts secret plans to two droids - C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), who in turn fall into the hands of a farmboy, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).  Luke soon finds himself on a mission to return the plans to the princess, accompanied by aged Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his partner Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).  Along the way, Luke finds his destiny unfolding before him, in the face of a terrifying threat.  Peter Cushing also stars as Grand Moff Tarkin, and there are appearances by Phil Brown, Shelagh Fraser, and Denis Lawson.

   So here's the issue - how does one do a review of a film that's close to forty years old, has spawned multiple sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, and become an international cultural milestone?  It seems almost futile to try and look at ANH without reference to the impact its made on the world (my inner English major pipes up yelling 'New Criticism'), but all the same, let's try and take a look at the film itself.

"Go ahead, call me 'Ani' one more time....."

   It's funny, actually - the movie at its root is really something of a B-movie, or at least an homage to the classic sci-fi serials, shows and films that preceded it, and not designed to be a blockbuster in the sense that we now understand the term.   It's chock full of sci-fi cliche, all of the characters are 'types', the film is utterly predictable - simplistic, even, and yet somehow, all of that just makes the movie better.  ANH manages to redefine the tropes of the genre, and in the process, comes to exemplify them, perhaps more than any other story ever has.  The bildungsroman youth, the lovely princess, the aged wizard, the roguish hero, the comic sidekicks, the relentless uniformed henchmen, and the terrifying black-clad villain - I think it'd be fair to say that for many people, the cast of ANH are what would come to mind for most if not all of those.

     The story is very straightforward, and much of the dialogue is wordy or even clunky.  There's not a whole ton of character development going on; we don't learn very much about most of the characters in terms of who they are, where they come from, or much else beyond what the plot of the immediate crisis demands.  There's a very good chance that had things gone slightly differently with this movie, the script in the hands of other actors would have led to a trite, forgettable film.  Yet somehow, they caught lightning in a bottle and what could have been drawbacks only serve to enhance the movie.

Never before have two guys in metal plating in the middle of the desert meant so much to so many...

    A lot of the credit must go to the actors, of course.  Every single member of the cast commits completely to the roles - there's nothing self-conscious about any of the performances, and each character resonates as genuine.  Hamill is completely earnest, enough so that audiences could forgive the character's tendency to whine.  Ford is full of ineffable charm that renders Solo instantly likable, and Fisher is fiery, turning a damsel-in-distress role into a young woman to be reckoned with, and generating instant chemistry with both Hamill and Ford.  Admittedly, she does seem to be unclear during parts of the movie as to whether or not she's supposed to have an accent, but that's a relatively minor quibble.  Daniels could have been obnoxious as the fussy Threepio, but manages to remain funny and endearing throughout.  Cushing, a staple of classic horror dramas, is wonderfully understated here as the iron-willed Tarkin, delivering lines of menace with a lilting purr, and even Alec Guinness, who famously felt himself to be slumming by doing the film at all, gives Kenobi a sparkle and gravitas.

     So while the script doesn't provide a lot of detail about the characters, the cast still manages to make them distinct and vibrant, and immediately memorable, so that an audience doesn't really need to know more to appreciate what's before them.  Of course, the sequels would delve more into the backstory and universe, but one of the things ANH does so well is to present these concepts to an audience and let them wonder about them.  How did the Empire come to be?  Why did the Jedi lose?  Why did Darth Vader fall to the dark side?   Why did Obi-Wan vanish, and how is he still talking?  How much time am I allowed to pretend to use the Force to do things before I should start feeling silly?  Is it morally wrong to make lightsaber noises every time I pick up a stick?  And so forth.

You can't NOT hear the music playing for this shot, can you?

   To be fair, most of the acclaim has to go to George Lucas.  This is his playground, his imagination, and his effort that made this movie come to pass.  Say what you will about his work in the succeeding decades, but you cannot deny the painstaking labor that went into ANH.  Lucas was willing to be a nerd in an era where nerds simply didn't count.  His love of the genre led him to write a script which he then re-wrote and re-wrote, changing and tailoring it over and over, because he had something to prove.  He knew what he wanted to see, and even if he did have to compromise on certain elements, which he claims to be the case, he still displayed a remarkable creativity and ingenuity in bringing this movie together.

   Of course, he had an immensely talented team helping him.  ANH was made in an era where CGI did not exist, and while later editions of the film have benefited from (or been tainted by, depending on your point of view) digital enhancement, the original film features some of the most effective use of special effects ever captured.  Lightsabers, laser blasters, spaceships, exploding planets - they're all truly well done - sights which capture the imagination.  I've seen some of the original costumes and props from the film up close, and it's really rather amazing.  In person, they look cheap and somewhat silly, but somehow, Lucas' crew made movie magic, often with little bits of wood, wire and cardboard.

"I don't know...does anyone have anything resembling a bad feeling about this...?"

   I think the best thing ANH as going for it is that it is a movie with heart.  The absolute commitment of the cast and crew, a swelling score by John Williams with melodies that stayed with audiences from the moment of the first fanfare, and a simple, clear morality of good and evil all combined to create a truly believable, sincere picture.  If you look at a lot of the films of the era, there's a certain grit and weariness to many of them, a hard and often brutal reflection of the world at the time...just post-Watergate and Vietnam, in an economic downturn.  I suspect ANH tapped into something people very much wanted, or even needed to see, with larger than life heroes and villains, fantastic aliens and strange planets, and an unambiguous morality that audiences could have faith in when they weren't feeling to sanguine about the real world.  The first Superman movie followed a year after ANH, and I have to wonder if maybe the first Star Wars didn't open the door to make it acceptable to believe in fantasy again.  I think it's very similar to what we saw happen in late 2001.

   Speaking of that date, it had been almost a decade since Kubrick's film - which, as excellent as it is, could hardly be called uplifting, had been released, and Star Trek had been off the air for the same length of time.  ANH reinvigorated science fiction, and live action fantasy, for that matter, but it caught people rather off guard; I strongly doubt at the time of its filming those involved realized what they had - a cultural icon and future Best Picture nominee.

"Go ahead, Darth, kill me - then I can really screw with your head."

    I realize I'm slipping here, away from ANH-as-movie and into its cultural importance, but I find with the movie it's very hard to separate the two.  Certainly, so much has been said about Star Wars in general and ANH in particular that any attempt to ignore the impact of the movie would be at best disingenuous.  It's an important movie because of its impact, but it's also an impactful movie on its own merits.

   Yes, it has some editing flaws.  Yes, it has a few rather obvious mistakes - badly-timed voice dubbing, slightly stilted effects at times, and rather famously, a stormtrooper accidentally running headfirst into a door.  And yes, there are no real surprises to the movie...those would come later.  I think an argument could be made that the movie might have been more polished, a little sharper and neater - but I think ultimately that lack of refinement only makes the movie more genuine.  Indeed, one of my frustrations with the later re-releases of the film - and the constant editing done after the fact - is that to a certain degree they pave over the sheer charm of the movie.  That charm will never vanish, to be sure, but it doesn't need its creator to clean it up or apologize for it.  ANH did its job better than anyone could have expected.

And already, Chewie knows something ain't right...

   I was too young to have seen ANH in theaters for the obvious reason that it preceded me into this world by thirteen months.  But when I saw it for the first time, on television at my grandfather's house,  I found the concept of the Death Star terrifying, and I fell madly in love with the concept of lightsabers from the moment Luke first ignited his father's sword.  And I was not alone - I was part of that lucky generation that came around in the late '70s and early '80s that got to benefit from this explosion of imagination and fantasy, and in many ways, it all began right here, with this movie.

     So no, it's not easy to look at A New Hope in a vacuum.  It's a movie that defined a genre and changed the face of both Hollywood and the culture, and became one of the most well-known, beloved, and quotable movies of all time.  Is it a perfect film?  No, I don't think so.  But it's one of those very rare works that doesn't have to be.

     I know I'm gushing a bit, but what the hell - it's earned it.

FINAL RATING: 9 PAWS (OUT OF 10):

     There's actually a very specific reason ANH doesn't get a 10-paw rating, but more on that next time....Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
   

REVIEW: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

    Since I don't have the luxury of time to cover The Clone Wars series, our next stop along Star Wars memory lane is Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (ROTS), the conclusion of the prequel era.  By this point, audiences were somewhat numb due to the disappointments of the two previous movies, so ROTS opened to what could safely be called tempered expectations.

In looking at it, this poster is largely just a collection of heads.

     ROTS opens several years after Attack of the Clones, years which have been filled with constant conflict and ever-increasing threat.  Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), now military commanders in addition to Jedi warriors, must rescue Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).  With Dooku's death, the Clone Wars seem nearly over, and Anakin's wife Padme (Natalie Portman) informs him that she is pregnant.  However, there is dissension in the ranks, with Palpatine manipulating Anakin against the Jedi, led by Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), to which they respond by encouraging Anakin to spy for them.  When Anakin begins having visions of Padme's impending death in childbirth, he turns to Palpatine, who reveals himself as the Dark Lord of the Sith - but who holds out hope for Padme's salvation.  Anakin's personal anguish becomes the point upon which the entire galaxy turns, as the Clone Wars come to a crashing halt and the Republic - and the Jedi - are brought to a tragic, brutal end.  Jimmy Smits plays Bail Organa, one of the few remaining allies of the Jedi, and Temeura Morrison plays each and every one of the Clonetroopers.  Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker return as C-3PO and R2-D2, and Chewbacca makes an appearance, once again played by Peter Mayhew.  And of course, James Earl Jones provides the voice of Darth Vader.

      Perhaps this is just a case of the lowered expectations I referenced, but I feel this movie is far superior to its two predecessors.   Gone are many of the issues that plagued the other prequels - the plot is clear and straightforward, the character interactions and human emotions are resonant, and the cute factor is missing entirely...in fact, Jar Jar Binks does not even speak.  The script and the action are both much, much better.  There is one reference to midi-chlorians, and there are definitely still some clumsy, almost embarrassing moments, but for the most part ROTS is a dramatic improvement over the earlier films.

The last heroes of the Old Republic

    It was the fate of the prequels to only ever be a method by which audiences learned how the Original Trilogy came to be, so there is of course a certain inevitability - indeed, a predictability - to everything that happens here.  We knew going into this movie who had to live, who had to die, and why, but the movie offers a surprising amount of emotion.  There is a desperate hopelessness to the heroic characters, and a gleeful triumph for Chancellor - and later, Emperor, Palpatine.  It's not hard to feel sympathy for Obi-Wan, Yoda, and even Padme as their worlds come crashing down on them, and when the Clones turn on the Jedi, and cut them down in a Godfather-esque montage of death and destruction, there's a palpable sadness and sense of loss.

Farewell, Jedi - we hardly knew ye....(unless we watched Clone Wars)

   The movie is not without flaws, but most of them can be attributed to lapses in the script.  Overall the writing is much better this time around - purportedly Lucas had a few able writers do some pinch-hitting on it - and the character interactions are far more genuine.  Gone is most of the clunky unnecessary exposition, and the dialogue is largely more natural than it had been in the earlier films.  This in particular benefits Anakin, as the core of the movie, and his on-screen interplay with Obi-Wan, Palpatine, - and yes, even Padme - is sincere and believable.  Indeed, Anakin is a far, far better character this time around, and for the first time becomes a sympathetic character even as he falls into darkness.   That being said, when the script does run foul, it's jarring and all the more obvious.   Some of the tender moments between Anakin and Padme are a little strange ("Hold me like you did by the lake at Naboo"), and the pivotal throwdown between Anakin and Obi-Wan at the film's conclusion is very awkward at points, with Anakin backsliding into whining dialogue that doesn't fit, or even make sense ("From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!").    Those moments pull the audience out of the movie, but I suppose it's better than spending the entire movie cringing because of things like that.

"You know, you're not nearly as creepy as you were when we got married..."

     Both Portman and Christensen acquit themselves far better than they have before.   Padme is terrified as everything she's come to believe in falls apart around her, and Portman is able to give her more believable emotion than anything we've seen to date.  The interplay between Padme and Anakin, which was so painful to watch in Episode II, here takes on a bit of charm, and the actors rather cleverly treat the sappy dialogue they're given as a verbal game, teasing each other with a warm, friendly familiarity that's a huge improvement over what we'd seen last time.  They actually have some chemistry, this time around.   Unfortunately, Padme does end up falling into the trope of standard sci-fi female - powerless to effect the events being caused by the male characters, and yet a victim of them all the same, eventually succumbing to the most stereotypical of movie-female deaths in childbirth having, apparently, 'lost the will to live'.  We knew it had to happen, but I think she could have been given something a bit less routine.  There again, there's an interesting bit of commentary as we see Padme's body being given a state funeral, wearing a blue gown in an open coffin strewn with flowers that is very reminiscent of the standard image of Ophelia, the ultimate victimized love interest.  (And this is one of those touches that really makes me appreciate ROTS.)

   Along these lines, another gripe I have with the film revolves around several deleted scenes.  Lucas shot a few minutes of Padme, Bail Organa, and a young Mon Mothma starting what we would eventually come to know as the Rebellion in response to the growing threat of Palpatine.  I really wish these scenes had been left in, as they give Padme a sharp sense of perception and bravery, catching on to what's happening before most other characters do, and pitting her against her husband on ideological grounds.  I'd very much like to see these scenes restored to the film as they not only give Padme a more defined character, but also establish the relationship between Leia's biological and adoptive families, and set up one of the major factions of the Original Trilogy.   Even so, Padme does get to keep one excellent moment, as she watches Palpatine declare the formation of the Empire, and observes "So this is how liberty dies....to thunderous applause", providing commentary on both the events of the movie and reflective of some of the real-world concerns at the time.

"When last we met, I was but the learner..."

    For all that he's still a sulky whiner, Anakin becomes far more palatable this time around.  Christensen seems to have found his footing, and the moments where Anakin comes across petulant or awkward can safely be blamed on the script.   There's genuine emotion present when Anakin tries to open up to Obi-Wan or Yoda, and a tenderness in his exchanges with Padme that finally do away with the creep factor of his younger days.  He's a conflicted individual, and in the pivotal moment in the movie when Anakin is forced to choose between Jedi and Sith, his anguish is clear and understandable.  I can understand how some feel that Anakin's fall to the dark side is somewhat quick, going from hero to heel in about sixty seconds, but I blame that more on the time constraints in the script, and Christensen does a pretty decent job showing the character's guilt and inner torment while he tries to rationalize his actions.  This actually makes the awkward whining in the final duel with Obi-Wan worse by comparison, as it undoes some of what Christensen was trying to portray.  For all of his sins, including the murder of unarmed children, Anakin is much more compelling as a character than we'd come to expect, and even tragic, as he himself brings about that which he most hoped to avoid.

    The rest of the cast is firmly on point.  This is Palpatine's biggest role to date, and Ian McDiarmid plays him with a silky, seductive charm in the first half of the film, until he's able to unleash his true monster in the latter half.  He does go over the top somewhat, leering and cackling, but it's actually kind of fun to watch the 'big bad' of the Star Wars universe get his moment in the sun (eclipse?) and his theatrics are surprisingly satisfying.  Ewan McGregor, who has been the standout in the entire prequel trilogy, is just as good here, with moments of cocky swashbuckling and crushing grief.   Yoda, for all that he's a CGI character, is wonderfully done - his fear of the impending disaster, his agony at the deaths of the Jedi, and his rage at the Emperor's injustices, are every bit as compelling as any human performance could be.

"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen....except the face-melty thing.  That was an accident."

   Of course, the visuals are as perfect as always - the film opens with a gorgeous space battle, and maintains eye-catching brilliance all the way through the closing shot of Tatooine's binary sunset.  General Grievous is entirely CGI, but is an impressive (and toyetic) presence along the lines of Darth Maul...in fact, many initially wondered if the two characters were supposed to be the same individual.  (They're not.)   Star Wars fans finally get to see the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk on screen - Holiday Special notwithstanding - and the landscapes of the sinkhole planet of Utapau and the lava world of Mustafar where Anakin meets his fiery fate are gorgeous.  In the course of the montage which sees the fall of the Jedi, we're shown several other fascinating planets and environments, albeit momentarily, and at the end of the film we also get our only look at the landscape of Alderaan.  There's even a key scene between Anakin and Palpatine that features a 'water ballet' in the background which is actually quite beautiful.    John Williams' score, which is always wonderful, is particularly good here, with standard themes interspersed with a somber, dirge-like feel that helps the emotional moments resonate.

   The last act of this movie is what the prequels have all built to - in fact, it's their whole raison d'etre.   There are two concurrent lightsaber duels - the climactic showdown between Obi-Wan and Anakin - the only lightsaber fight to date with only one color saber involved - with fantastic choreography, and on Coruscant, the fight-we-never-thought-we'd-see between Yoda and the Emperor, which is incredibly fun but not long enough by half.   The movie ends by deliberately setting the stage for the Original Trilogy, as Obi-Wan, Bail Organa, Darth Vader, the Emperor, C-3PO, R2-D2, the infant Luke and Leia, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and even Tarkin in a quick cameo, are placed in recognizable, iconic surroundings.  (There's also a deleted scene featuring Yoda's arrival on Dagobah.)  The last few minutes of the film feature all of the major musical themes of the Original Trilogy, blended together, and the closing shots are very evocative of a New Hope.  It's a clean ending, neatly tied up, and while it may feel somewhat perfunctory, it works very well in bringing us to 'where we came in', with an understanding of how we got there.

"Don't mind me, I'm just silently recording all this for posterity...I mean, Brrrr-BWEEP!"

   I would also like to mention the personal gratification I got when it was made very clear at the end of the movie that R2-D2 is fully aware of all of the events of each of the films, given his presence in key scenes throughout the prequels, including Anakin and Padme's marriage, the slaughter of the Jedi, and the birth of the twins.   This means, of course, that throughout the Original Trilogy, R2 knows far more than any other character about what's going on, up to and including his knowledge of Luke's parentage.  That was something I'd long suspected growing up, so it was very nice to see that confirmed on screen.  End of I-Told-You-So moment.

"I don't know, I'm still not sold on the whole 'unguarded ventilation port' part of the design..."

    All told, Episode III is the best of the prequel era, and while it does have its drawbacks, it's generally a solid film with a lot going for it.  It's more powerful than the other two films, better written, acted, and directed (with some credit there going to Steven Spielberg, albeit unofficially), and far more satisfying a film than audiences were expecting it to be.  Mileage varies, of course - for some fans, it was too little, too late, and other still had different expectations of it, but for my money, I was fairly pleased.  Again, had Episodes I and II been different, perhaps I would have wanted something else from ROTS, but you pays your money and you takes your chances.  Personally, I feel it holds up pretty well ten years out, though I'll concede it's still not on the level of the Original Trilogy.  On it's own merits, though, I like it well enough.

FINAL RATING: 6 PAWS (OUT OF 10):

Next up:  We go back to where it all started: Episode IV: A New Hope....

REVIEW: Jessica Jones Season 1 (Netflix)

     Marvel's series of original programming on Netflix continues, with its second series in the 'Defenders' lineup debuting this month.  Submitted for your approval:  Jessica Jones, the newest entry in Marvel's live-action pantheon.

      Jessica Jones is something of an usual entry in a superhero catalog, in that the fact that the character has super powers is incidental; there is no secret identity, no costume - none of the usual trappings we've come to associate with the concept.  Casual audiences may be forgiven for not being familiar with the protagonist...she's a comparatively new arrival to the comics..  Essentially, she received super-strength and flight as a teenager, but her super-activities as "Jewel" were curtailed by the rather gross manipulation at the hands of a villain called The Purple Man.   After recovering, she re-invented herself as a private investigator, dealing more with the 'Marvel Knights' street-level types than the traditional super-villain caste, and became partner and spouse to Luke Cage.

    The show features Krysten Ritter as the sardonic, hard-drinking title character, with Mike Colter as Luke Cage and 'Tenth Doctor' David Tennant as the Purple Man, who here goes by his alias Kilgrave.  Rachael Taylor appears as Patsy "Trish" Walker, Jones' best friend, well known to older comics audiences as not only the star of Silver Age teen comic books, but also as the superhero and card-carrying Avengers member Hellcat.  Wil Traval appears as 'Simpson', a police officer who in the comics takes on the identity of unstable antagonist Nuke, and Carrie-Ann Moss of the Matrix fame appears as Jery Hogarth, a lawyer associate of Jones'...the gender of the role was changed for the series.  Eka Darville and Erin Moriarty also appear in sizable roles as additional victims of Kilgrave's.

Don't trust the J in New York...um, Cit-A?

    This is an extremely solid series.  Although it's part of the broader MCU, it's much closer artistically to the preceding Netflix series Daredevil than anything else.  Even so, it has a tone and style all its own, with a modern noir sensibility that blends a classic Chandler-esque flavor with modern New York.  The characters are convincing and sincere, and there's a vitality to the series which conveys both dry humor and intense drama.  The show is dark without being oppressively so; it's not quite as grimly relentless as Daredevil was, which is interesting given the serious and often frightening subject matter.

     This is a series about control, who has it, and who doesn't.  Kilgrave is an insidious threat because he can make anyone do anything at all, simply by speaking, and he uses that power for selfish, often petty ends.  He enjoys manipulating and controlling women in particular, enslaving innocent women as unwilling concubines, raping and otherwise terrifying them.  Jessica Jones herself represents the object of Kilgrave's primary obsession, as she was the one woman able to escape him.

      From the opening of the series forward, we're exposed to the consequences facing Kilgrave's victims.  Reality bends and blurs as Jessica relives moments of her captivity, and her own nightmares come flaring back to life as she encounters the latest in a long line of abused women.  The show does not shy away from depicting the trauma inflicted on those who have crossed Kilgrave's path - the ones who weren't flat out killed in horrific ways were violated and humiliated, and live in constant fear of his return, and/or some future recurrence of this loss of control.

Her whole demeanor just says "Welcome to Alias Investigations", doesn't it?

    It makes for an incredibly compelling story.  It's all the more so when you factor in the implications of a series with two strong female leads, where the men are either attractive sidekicks or dangerously unstable or evil.  There's an interesting reversal here from what we've been seeing lately from Marvel.  Jessica is an engaging protagonist, and the show is all hers. I was worried at a few points that the show was going to contrive a scenario wherein Luke Cage would have to rescue her, but the show does a fantastic job keeping the focus on Jones, making her intelligent, competent and able to solve her own problems, at great personal sacrifice as needed, even when she's feeling overwhelmed.  This has been something of a rarity in the superhero genre, so it's nice to finally see.

    Another aspect of the show I have to applaud is the use of Kilgrave.  I've been on record multiple times about the appalling dearth of well-written villains in the MCU.  Kilgrave follows in the footsteps of Kingpin as a compelling and genuinely scary foe as well as being a fascinating character in his own right - so whatever governance applies to these Netflix series, the rest of Marvel needs to take note.  The writing on Kilgrave is interesting - every so often the show teases out a bit of what could make him likable, only to remind the audience exactly how vicious and small he can be.  He's a clear and present danger to Jones and the other characters, but he is not without a disturbing charisma.  I wouldn't say that he engenders sympathy per se, but he's got clear motives and goals, a solid backstory, and is far more complex and nuanced than most of his contemporary MCU peers.  For a character who's 'gifted' with a mind-controlling pheromone power, he's realistic if deeply unsettling.

   While the writing can be somewhat predictable, it's reliably solid and consistent.  The characters are all fleshed out, distinct, and interesting.  The show is appropriately serious given the subject matter, but still injects levity along with the occasional easter egg.  Best of all, the show is not married to the overall MCU, so it doesn't feel like a giant commercial for upcoming product Disney wants to shill.  All of the attention is focused on these characters, and while there is some connection to Daredevil in the final episode, it's casual and unforced.  The creators of this show put all their attention on this project, and it pays off.

I suspect he and the Joker share a tailor.

    A lot of credit has to go to Ritter and Tennant, in particular.  This is by far the best performance I've ever seen Ritter give...it's a meaty part, to be sure, but she handles it beautifully, with absolute sincerity, and moments of guarded fragility seeping out through a bitter exterior.  She manages to make even Jones' snarkier moments avoid being fatuous or glib, and presents a character worth rooting for.  Tennant, for his part, channels much of that incredible energy he's known for, and gives every line personality.  There are times Kilgrave resembles some of Tennant's more avuncular roles, and then, in an instant (Don't blink!), the monster appears.  What's particularly enjoyable is that Kilgrave is remarkably genuine for all his psychosis; even as a master manipulator, his anger, hope, pain and desire are all laid bare for Jones to see.  The show doesn't really develop Kilgrave much until the second half of the series, but makes up for lost time once he does start getting significant screen time.  The whole cast is very solid, but Ritter and Tennant are far and away the anchors.

   The only real issue I took with the show was the pacing.  There are a few episodes where the story lags, and towards the end of the series it felt like the show was being padded.  There's also some superfluity going on - there's a whole subplot involving Hogarth's pending divorce which takes up a lot of time, and has a very limited and predictable payoff.   There's also too much focus on some of Kilgrave's other incidental victims; after a while, the thread involving them begins to feel repetitive and distracting.  I suspect this may be a drawback to to the format of the show - I felt Daredevil suffered from the same problem.  Both series could have been a little bit shorter - I think Jessica Jones could have been tighter as a ten-episode series, rather than thirteen.

   That's a minor quibble, though, since the show does manage to remain more or less consistently interesting throughout.  The ending is a little bit anticlimactic, but on the other hand, did have a certain inevitability to it.  There are also a few doors left open at the end of the series for what will no doubt be a second season, or possible inclusion in the Luke Cage series currently filming for next year's release.

"Sing once again with me our strange duet...."

    All told, it's a very worthwhile show dealing with a credible female lead, a well-crafted villain, with scripts that focus more on sincere character development instead of witty banter and a plot addressing serious topics with tangible consequences,  all of which have been lacking in the MCU.  It's not only a wonderful step forward in those regards, but is also an enjoyable, stylish production in its own right.  It seems clear to me that the Netflix arm of the MCU knows what it's doing - so far we've been getting far more quality out of that end of the business than anywhere else.  Jessica Jones represents a step forward, and definitely a show to watch.

FINAL RATING: 8 PAWS (OUT OF 10):