Review: Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi

Star Wars - Episode VI
Return Of The Jedi
Cert: PG / 135 mins / Dir. Richard Marquand / Trailer

The third film of the Original Trilogy has been a part of my life for four decades now, so in the absence of a local screening*¹ I happily made the pilgrimage to London's Empire Leicester Square to be in likeminded celebratory company. This was the first time I'd seen Return Of The Jedi in a cinema since its 1997 Special Edition release (although this 40th anniversary screening was of the 2011 Blu-ray edit), and the first time I'd ever seen it projected digitally.

Star Wars is - as ever - the gift that keeps on giving, and so it's taken me forty years to actually notice C-3PO's behavior here. Our hero - indeed our very gateway to the Galaxy Far, Far Away - is fluent in over six million forms of communication and as a professional diplomat is programmed for etiquette and protocol. Not only will Threepio be able to effortlessly converse in your particular language wherever you're from, but he knows your habits and customs too. No gaffes, no embarrassments, nothing lost in translation. This droid is literally built to be polite and accommodating in difficult situations.

So what does Goldenrod do when he arrives at the palace of Jabba The Hutt, a den of iniquity populated by the edgy, the paranoid, the insalubrious and the morally bankrupt, on a backwater hideout on a lawless world? What does See-Threepio bring to the table to diffuse tension, smooth feathers and put the Rebellion's grand plan into effect without the upsetting of these potential spanners in the Alliance's works, all of whom converse in Huttese as befits the infamously selfish and mercurial crime lord who holds their lives and livelihoods on a grubby thread?

He speaks English*². To all of them. Relentlessly. What an absolute fucking Brit.

That's it. No other notes.

*¹ Seriously though, it's the fortieth anniversary of a Star Wars film, and to celebrate Cineworld showed it for one day at 10 (ten) of their 103 UK cinemas. Odeon screened it at 9 venues nationally and Vue ran the film in 8. If this was a new flick you'd swear the studio wanted it to be eligible for the Oscars to had to play it in a cinema, but also didn't want to drive viewers away from the proprietary streaming platform they've invested all their money in. And that's before we ask why an anniversary screening is running on April the 28th then the film was originally released on the 25th of May. Unless there's going to be a wider re-release next month. In which case I shall go and see it again. I mean, obviously. ^{[ BACK ]}

*² Okay technically it's 'Galactic Basic', but the point still stands. He's even speaking in Basic when he's supposed to be translating between Ubese and Huttese. A very imperial attitude... ^{[ BACK ]}

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars - Episode V
The Empire Strikes Back
Cert: PG*¹ / 122 mins / Dir. Irvin Kershner / Trailer

And so it goes. Weeks turn into months, the lockdown steadily lifts (for now, at any rate) and cinemas begin to staggeringly open their doors once more. As anyone dropping in will be aware, it's been pretty quiet around these parts of late. And not just in writing about movies, but also even watching them to begin with. There are plenty of people who can review what they watch in their living rooms better than I can, so I've used this enforced downtime as just that - downtime*².

In a bid to lure the punters back and actually have some content, Cineworld has scheduled screenings of the Back To The Future movies, the original Harry Potter saga and Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. And under any other circumstances, I'd be there for all of those in a heartbeat. Then again, under any other circumstances they wouldn't be on. So. I'm as twitchy as anyone about societal 're-entry' at this point*³, and it was going to take something pretty damned special to get me back down there while the UK's virus-related casualty list continues alarmingly on a daily basis.

Fortunately, Star Wars is pretty damned special.

CREST

This year marks the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back's debut, and since its actual birthday in May was an understandably muted affair, the film is riding the current crest of opportunistic cinematic re-releases. And so it goes. Star Wars was my last theatrical visit before lockdown kicked in, so it seems only fitting that it's what gets me back in the building after five months. But how the hell am I supposed to review a film which has corded its way into my DNA over the last four decades?

It's a masterpiece. Of course it is, that's hardly a new observation. While I don't find The Empire Strikes Back as self-containedly satisfying as A New Hope*⁴, it's long been established as the most emotionally nuanced movie of the Original Trilogy, with moments of genuine smirk-inducing humour sitting flawlessly beside the tonal (and at some points visual) darkness. Not only is there firm character development throughout for the film's protagonists, but the cast's performances also intuitively indicate the changes which have taken place between, since the Battle of Yavin.

DROPS

But along with George Lucas' story and Leigh Brackett's and Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay, the lion's share of credit for Empire's successes has to go to director Irvin Kershner. We already know the cast are fantastic by this point, but it's Kersh who really gets the performances out of them. The story moves along at a cracking pace, and rather than have the players increase their own volume to match, we concentrate on their emotional rather than physical reactions. Luke's commitment to becoming an actual Jedi after what could easily have been a near-death hallucination on the plains of Hoth; Han's dedication to keeping his newfound friends/family safe, only planning to leave to confront Jabba when he knows it's best for both him and the Rebellion; Leia's dawning realisation that the things which drive her crazy about Han are an integral part of why she's fallen in love with him; Vader's growing inner-conflict with the knowledge that the son of Anakin Skywalker has become a power in the galaxy, and whether he can (or even should) remain loyal to his dark side pledge now he has something to protect once again.

And all of this manages to clear the hurdle of sequel-itis; The Empire Strikes Back doesn't rehash or reheat ideas from its predecessor, it successfully expands out a story which already had a triumphant ending. It's not a standalone movie of course, and having the big ground battle in the first act combined with the cliffhanger finale creates an unrest which didn't sit well with me when I was younger. But looking back now (at myself as much as at the film), I can see those structural choices are intentional and precisely implemented, and they make this movie the utter joy it is.
The Empire Strikes Back is an unconventional triumph which dares filmmakers to step up to the plate with their own follow-up projects; a challenge that sees them more-than-often coming nowhere near close to matching. And so it goes.

HARBOUR

As a nostalgic aside, this has been the first time I've seen Empire in an actual cinema since its 1997 Special Edition run, and Cineworld Didcot joins the Episode V sub-list alongside the Odeon Newcastle, Robins Durham, Dreamland Margate, Carlton Westgate and Horsebridge Whitstable.

What, you mean you don't keep a spreadsheet of these things? Okay, weirdo...



Er... Star Wars?



If you can, do.



Yes, yes and yes.



Yes and yes.



That seems unlikely since it's one of the two Star Wars movies that everybody likes.



Of course there ruddy well is.



Level 0: This is Star Wars.

...but ...if (IF) you wanted to go around the houses with it... The Empire Strikes Back stars Mr Harrison Ford, who was in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade with Michael Sheard, who also rocked up in The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission alongside Bruce Boa, who was in Bond-film Octopussy as was Jeremy Bulloch, who also played the same character earlier in For Your Eyes Only next to Julian Glover, who was in Hitler: The Last Ten Days with Alan Harris, who can be seen in Hanover Street which starred... Harrison Ford.

No really, you're welcome.





*¹ Yes, apparently Empire is a "PG" these days. Er, fair enough..? ^{[ BACK ]}

*² Okay, I've got a podcast now. But it's not 'a lockdown podcast'. Just a podcast which happened to come out during the lockdown. And although listeners could be forgiven for thinking otherwise, my co-host and I were planning, tweaking, tuning this and recording pilots months beforehand. It's not a lockdown podcast. Even though it's getting lost alongside all the ones which are. C'est la vie. Or whatever passes for la vie in the trashfire that is 2020. ^{[ BACK ]}

*³ Probably moreso than many, to be fair. Seriously, I was doing hand-gel and avoiding people way before it was mainstream. And yes, I'm going to pull hipster-points on that one. No people = less disease, that's just maths. ^{[ BACK ]}

*⁴ On that subject, Empire's birthday means it's also 40 years since "Star Wars" became subtitled A New Hope, and I do wish the class bores would stop banging on about that as if it's some brand new Disney marketing ploy dreamt up to sell cereal (which, incidentally, Star Wars has been doing for 36 years). See also: the Han/Greedo debacle (23 years) and Jar Jar Binks (21 years). You don't have to like it lads, but you will have to accept that for many people, it's always been like that. The only domestic release of 'Star Wars' without the A New Hope subtitle is on the non-anamorphic bonus discs of the 2006 DVD release. Even your old VHS tapes are proving your ideological purity to be unfounded. There. I said it. ^{[ BACK ]}



DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Star Wars - The Rise Of Skywalker (eighth-pass)

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
(eighthth-pass)
Cert: 12A / 142 mins / Dir. J.J. Abrams / Trailer

Previous reviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Okay, rather than harp on about the rights and wrongs of The Emperor again (there's still fuel in that tank, I assure you), it's probably time to write the review I should have several weeks ago and lay some appreciation on the Sequel Trilogy's central character, Rey Skywalker*¹. Yes, there's a lot going on throughout all three movies (arguably too much in this last entry), but the one line which cuts directly through everything is the path of Rey. From an intrinsically lonely kid on a dustball planet in the back-end of nowhere to the galaxy's brightest light in a time of darkness, Rey has always been a Skywalker in the truest sense.

The temptation is to think that Rey boring, with her wardrobe as linear as her outlook and character-progression. A Mary Sue. She absolutely isn't. Okay, some of the spin-off material centering around her is dull as a watercolour weekend on Hoth, but the performance of Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker is nothing short of outstanding, and the character undergoes the same trials and pitfalls as Anakin and Luke before her.

SHANTY

Rey's emotional growth is a delicate process throughout, discernible at each key stage but still nuanced to the point where we can see the frightened-yet-defiant kid from the desert shanty town. Because of Rey's isolated upbringing (even within the 'community' of junk traders on Jakku), much of the struggle throughout her arc is internalised, Ridley's facial expressions and body language conveying far more than the script. With Rey's background as an abandoned child and also having Palpatine's innate Force-ability, she should be all rights be an absolute psychopath whenever she's pushed out of her comfort-zone, lashing out with reactive bursts of Dark Side energy (hi Akanin).

But like Luke before her, this trilogy is about the hero(ine)'s inner strength, adapting to new surroundings and a tendency to see the best in a situation rather than follow a predetermined path based on primal instinct and DNA. There really is no such thing as 'bad blood' in the Galaxy Far, Far Away, you have to choose to be evil.

FUNKY

Three times in three movies, Rey is presented with the worst news for her at that time (leave your home and your chance of being reunited with your parents; your hero Jedi Master doesn't particularly like you and also your parents are total wasters; okay you do have parents but they're dead because wait until your Grandad gets home...), and each time she manages to rise above it, largely through her own force of will.

Rey engages with Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base*² untrained and unready, knowing that Finn is in danger and this is a battle which can't be put off until another day (at least before the planet starts falling apart). It's the same 'standing up to a bully' ethos she used when rescuing BB-8 on Jakku. And when she arrives on Crait to be reunited with the Resistance, Rey doesn't know what awaits or that Luke Skywalker has had a change of heart, she just knows she has to be with her friends whatever happens. And in the finale where Rey goes to confront the Emperor alone? Well, that was by no means a certain victory. Our girl is just going all-in, knowing that the situation needs to be dealt with one way or another. While she's certainly gung-ho, Rey's intuitive growth in The Force comes from the learning-cycle perpetuated between her and Ben. She'll run fearlessly into each fight knowing she's stronger than before.

MR. DEEDS GOES TO

The sequel trilogy may occasionally feel like a Lego model which has been added to by different children, but these are bumps in the road adding to the unpredictability of Rey's journey (from the character's point of view, at least). In terms of our protagonist, the three movies are indeed a cumulative, flowing narrative. Rey moves forward, never back, growing in experience, power and wisdom as she does. But it's still good to feel the sand under your feet once in a while.

Darkness rises and light to meet it.
The greatest teacher, failure is.
Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi.

The path of Rey Skywalker is The Hero's Journey for a new generation. And we haven't even got back to broom-boy, yet...

The Star Wars.



Obvs.



Obvs.



That one's up for debate, but probably not.



As the weeks go on that's looking possible, yes.



Not that I can tell.



Level 0: It is Star Wars.

...but if you wanted to go around the houses with it, The Rise Of Skywalker stars Ian McDiarmid, who appeared in 1999's Sleepy Hollow alongside Christopher Lee, who was in 2010's Burke And Hare with Andy Serkis, the actor who played Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age Of Ultron which also starred Paul Bettany, who rocked up in The Young Victoria in the company of Julian Glover, who was in 'The Lovers' episode (part 2 at least) of Trial & Retribution with Guy Henry, who made an appearance in the 2009 TV drama Margaret with... Ian McDiarmid.





*¹ Yeah I'm calling her that. Not only did I think it was literally the case from the beginning, but it's also the identity she choses with the closing words of the trilogy. Define people by who they show themselves to be, man... ^{[ BACK ]}

*² Can we just call it Ilum? It's Ilum. I mean after the Empire's ransacking of the Temple on Jedha for Kyber Crystals to power the Death Star's superlaser in Rogue One, we'd suspected that a weapon with as much power as Starkiller Base would probably need to be built around a planet made from them. And so it proves, the TROS Visual Dictionary confirms that the rubble formerly known as Starkiller Base is also the planet formerly known as Ilum. ^{[ BACK ]}


DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Star Wars - The Rise Of Skywalker (first-pass)

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (first-pass / Spoiler-free)
Cert: 12A / 142 mins / Dir. J.J. Abrams / Trailer



The sandy-haired 4yr old sitting in awe of a Star Destroyer in Robins Cinema, Durham in 1978 couldn't have imagined this moment, or the impact that Star Wars would have on his life in the decades between. Then again, that's the same 4yr old who went to school the next day and wrote about a film he'd seen where Luke Skywalker got kidnapped by Jawas, so objective processing and credible projection was never really his strong suit. With that in mind, here are my initial thoughts on Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. I'm still processing...

CRAM

The longest Star Wars film to-date (not that it feels it) has a lot to cram in, and we hit the ground running. Visually and tonally we're 'home' right away, with JJ Abrams well enough versed in the Galaxy Far, Far Away that new locations and characters are introduced on the hoof, with fairly economical exposition.

Abrams strikes a fair balance between his 'safe' TFA and Rian Johnson's more playful follow-up. For the most part, he lands on his own side of the court, but TLJ is never gainsaid or disrespected. And while a few wry digs at previous plot revelations may placate the dissatisfied, I fear TROS has more moments of its own which will cause disquiet. Although I adore the high blood-pressure of others like a facetious vampire, so that's all the better.

ROGERS

For obvious reasons, the concerns of the Sequel Trilogy are served first and foremost here, followed by the Original Trilogy then the Prequels. Again none are brushed aside (and there are some lovely small nods to the TV properties), but there's just less to tie up the further back the timeline goes. The screenplay digs its own holes with gusto but manages to claw its way out of most of them with varying levels of gainliness. There are aspects of TROS which the audience are asked to accept at face value. Some of these receive a perfunctory explanation, others I suspect will be the source of novel and comic retcons for years to come. And that's not a bad thing at Blackout Towers, but 'civilian' audiences*¹ are less likely to be as understanding.

John Williams is on solid form with the score this time around (it's no secret I've initially struggled with his recent Star Wars outings), being able to pull more freely from the back catalogue as the story requires. Visually it's as flawless as you'd expect*² with plenty of background details to draw the eye if the viewer is that way inclined. There's also a smattering of nicely-unsettling moments; nothing a 12A audience shouldn't be able to handle, but younger-youngsters may need a reassuring squeeze.

NAGE

Abrams' overall characterisation works within the context of Star Wars, which is what you'd expect but there are leaps of faith here. Some returning characters aren't quite as prominent as you'd perhaps imagine, and I must confess that one of these passed me by completely until I noticed performer's name in the credits. But as above, there's a lot of ground to cover here; there are going to be casualties. Speaking of which, yes: there are casualties. See this soon to minimise the chance of spoilers (should go without saying really, but it never hurts to warn). There's nothing during or after the credits (other than Williams' score of course), but you should have guessed that already. Again, it doesn't hurt to have this confirmed.

And as for the ending itself? Mostly satisfying. I think. A bit of Dust In My Eye at one point, but I'd predicted more. As noted above, it's three in the morning and I've been in the cinema for eight and a half hours and I'm still processing a lot of what I've just seen. Don't expect all of your questions to be answered here. And be prepared for some of the answers to be things that you weren't expecting. But despite the marketing-push inferences, we all know this will not be the last Star Wars film. And while it's the final chapter of "The Skywalker Saga", that's not to say the future is a closed book.

Because as a famous doctor once said, "nothing ends. Nothing ever ends..."

The Star Warses.



Obvs.



Obvs.



Difficult to say at this early stage.



I can already spot the moments which the naysayers will latch onto yet I love this unconditionally, so that's possible yes.



Not that I heard.
Help me out, folks.



Level 0: It is Star Wars.

...but if you wanted to go around the houses with it, The Rise Of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, who was in 2017's Murder On The Orient Express along with Josh Gad who rocked up in the live-action Beauty And The Beast that featured a candlestick voiced by Ewan McGregor, the same actor who donned a stetson for 2015's Jane Got A Gun alongside Natalie Portman, who appeared in Annihilation with Oscar Isaac, aka the evil purple dude in X-Men: Apocalypse, a movie which had a supporting performance from Rose Byrne who was in 2018's Peter Rabbit, featuring the voice-work of one Daisy Ridley.

You're welcome.





*¹ And that is in no way a slight. If you're reading this and you consider (or suspect) yourself a 'civilian' Star Wars fan then be aware that yours is the lion's share of the money this film will take. Disney/Lucasfilm need the casual audience more than the hardcore 'see it ten times' fans, because there are more than ten-times-more of those. But also be aware that parts of TROS will have you scratching your head and asking 'is that how that works now, then?'. And that's fine, because in those moments that's what the hardcore are asking as well. It's just that we'll re-watch the movie nine times to make sure. ^{[ BACK ]}

*² Okay, apart from one moment and we can talk about that another time. Seriously, it's fine. It's not playing on my mind or anything. Look, stop asking me about it, okay? It's fine. ^{[ BACK ]}


DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Star Wars - The Force Awakens (thirteenth-pass)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (thirteenth-pass / 2D)
Cert: 12A / 135 mins / Dir. J.J. Abrams / Trailer


Previous reviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

This is a busy time to be a Star Wars fan. There's so much new content being released at the moment that it's east to forget the impact that Episode VII had in 2015. Back in the day (engage OLD MAN MODE) there was a three-year gap between movies, but here we are on the eve of the fifth cinematic entry in four years, halfway through the second season of Resistance and the first of The Mandalorian on the small screen. So the chance to revisit a Star Wars in its natural environment - the cinema - is one to be grasped with both hands.

FRESH

The Force Awakens holds up well as a very fresh-faced reintroduction for civilian audiences who hadn't been in the Galaxy Far, Far Away for a decade (or potentially longer). The film is more 'gee-whiz', closer to the Original Trilogy outlook that Lucasfilm were trying to channel for those viewers left unimpressed by The Adventures Of Young Anakin. But even for the seasoned Star Wars fan, TFA was an early sign that they're in familiar territory and that there'll be few unpleasant surprises in store now the franchise is in new hands.

The visual effects, cinematography and lighting are closer to the filmmaking of the Prequel Trilogy*¹, with the sound design and score evoking its 1970s/80s predecessors. By JJ's own admission, the film is about recycling the Original Trilogy, either structurally, thematically or just repurposing hardware from the galactic civil war. whether that's redesigning the white armour of the Stormtroopers or converting a felled AT-AT into a scavenger's home, TFA is about skewing nostalgia. Just... not too much. Not yet.

ALBERT

But for fans old and new, there's no doubt that the events they're watching are taking place in the Star Wars universe they know, because the creators, cast and crew have such reverence for the source material that they can't help throw their all into making it work.

And yet there are also things we see for the first time, here; TIE Fighters and X-Wings plunging into combat in a planetary atmosphere, a hologram which doesn't seem to emit its own light, blocks out light behind it and even creates shadows as a result. There are also a few neat little twists to stop things becoming too predictable (because when we saw the first trailer's glimpse of the Falcon-chase through the desert, who among us imagined that it wouldn't be Han and Chewie at the controls?).

RODNEY

Not only does TFA expand on the cinematic universe beyond Return Of The Jed, it also primes the fandom for new tales on new planets (no matter how familiar they may appear, all of the locations in this movie were new in 2015), essential for managing assumptions with Lucasfilm's projects to follow.

As much as it's difficult not to love The Force Awakens, it's a very safe movie. Designed to reassure the casual cinemagoer that all is right (that's the first line of dialogue, for crying out loud), to shepherd them back into the fold with nostalgia for the classic movies they love, while bringing the aesthetics up-to-date. Disney's plan here was not to take risks. Because as we're about to learn, the last thing people want from their Star Wars is risk*²...

The Star Warses.



If you can, yes.



Going to assume you've already got this by now but yes.



Probably not, to be fair.



Only if you're wrong, obvs.



There is.



Level 0: This is Star Wars.





*¹ No matter how much the publicity material delighted in banging on about 'the old ways'. JJ Abrams has gone on record to say that for one shot in the Falcon, they lengthened Harrison Ford's hair with CGI due to scheduling discrepancies. Yes, you read that right. ^{[ BACK ]}

*² Which is bad news for Hasbro in that regard. ^{[ BACK ]}


DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.