30 Days of Star Wars: Day 6

Favorite Moment From A New Hope

Growing up, A New Hope was never one of my favorites from the original Star Wars franchise.  It was a necessary film, as it introduced us to all the characters and their backgrounds.  However, there are a few parts that take my breath away every time I watch it.



The first time I saw this opening, I couldn't believe what I was watching. The Star Destroyer coming into the frame is incredible!  And then towards the end of the clip when Darth Vader makes his first appearance...fabulous!

My absolute favorite moment from this movie is the throne room scene. The music alone makes it worth watching over and over again.  I have this music as a ringtone option on my phone. Besides the music being so incredible, our heroes are all dressed up, looking mighty handsome.  What's not to love about that?

30 Days of Star Wars: Day 5

Favorite Ship

There are many ships in the Star Wars universe.  Star Destroyers, the ship Darth Vader preferred to travel in, are very large, and intimidating.  They have a lot of fire power, but they can't move quickly. If this ship was in a fight where they needed to get away, it would be difficult.  At the end of Return of the Jedi two Star Destroyers collide with each other because they can't move fast enough.  Nope, not my ship of choice.

My favorite ship from the Star Wars universe is the ship that is constantly breaking down, but pulls through every time.  Often called a "hunk of junk", "bucket of bolts", "not much on the outside, but has it where it counts".....

the Millennium Falcon.

Below is a video montage of most of the situations this ship finds itself in.  This ship has speed, the ability to maneuver, and let's face it...the Millennium Falcon simply looks cool!




And one more video, set to the song "Greased Lightning", from Grease.

30 Days of Star Wars: Day 4

Favorite Part of The Phantom Menace

Ok, I wasn't looking forward to this day of the challenge AT ALL.  I have truly thought A LOT about this topic.  I've watched reviews and tribute videos on YouTube to try and jog my memory about this movie.  Short of actually watching it, I've done all I can think to do.   After much deliberation, my answer is this:  my favorite part of The Phantom Menace is...

the end credits!

This movie is simply awful.  We waited YEARS for this movie, and this is what we were given...a complete disgrace!  The only parts of the movie that are worth watching are when Ewan McGregor is on camera as Obi-Wan Kenobi!

So I've decided to change today's topic.  Instead of talking about my favorite part of The Phantom Menace, we're going to talk about...

Why I Can't Stand The Phantom Menace

(wow, I feel better already!)

I could go on about this for HOURS, I really could.  However, to spare you that huge rant, I'll just talk about the highlights as to why I can't stand this movie.  With help from the website 78 Reasons to Hate Episode 1, here are the main reasons I can't stand this movie.

I will not accept the fact that Anakin built C-3PO.  I won't do it.  Anakin says he's good at building things.  I'll believe that.  Brandon is 7 and can assemble huge lego sets very easily.  Maybe Anakin used an "Assemble Your Own Robot" home kit to make C-3PO; however, I doubt they would give those to slave boys.  There is one very easy defense to prove that he didn't build C-3PO:  Anakin Skywalker, a 10 YEAR OLD BOY, does not know SIX MILLION FORMS OF COMMUNICATION.  Throughout the trilogy we hear C-3PO mention this fact many times.  And he often speaks in different languages as well.  Case closed.  This was one of the STUPIDEST ideas in this movie.

An army entirely made of droids I will accept.  The fact that they have ranks I will not!  How can an army of mechanical objects have ranks?  Why are they giving commands through audible microphones?  They should simply draw weapons and fire.  Not only would this make them a scarier foe, but they would also probably spend a lot less time drawing comic attention to themselves and falling apart in a way that is meant to be humorous, but really just makes me want to throw up!

Jar Jar Binks is horrible.  A lot of people blame Jar Jar for ruining the ENTIRE movie.  While I don't agree with this AT ALL, I do agree that he brought an already shaky movie to an even lower level. He was just a ridiculous cartoon like character that didn't belong in a live action movie.  No matter how good the special effects were on him, he kept reminding you that he wasn't real by doing stupid things like extending his tongue and walking like a fool.  And don't even get me started on the absolutely obnoxious way that he talks!  With this character, George Lucas showed the world that he was more interested in selling toys than pleasing his VERY FAITHFUL audience.

The fact that all of the main characters happen to board a ship with R2-D2 is very lame.  But, after saving the day they have a stupid award ceremony for him!  If this had been any other droid, no credit would've been given to it.  The Queen's decoy, who is actually Amidala, scrubs down R2-D2 after she's told that the droid "deserves our gratitude".  SAY WHAT?!?  The movie would have benefited so much by just leaving this scene out!

The Yoda we know and love

Excuse me, but who are you?

With Yoda they used the same puppet that was used 20 years before.  They also got the same puppeteer and voice actor to perform this character.  On top of this, Yoda's lines were written by the same man. So why does he suck so much?  The whole time Yoda is on screen it's like listening to someone do a bad Yoda impression.  The grammar is messed up in all the wrong places and the puppet looks awful. The first picture is from The Empire Strikes Back, the second, from The Phantom Menace.  They look NOTHING alike, even though all the same people are involved, and the same puppet was used!

When Darth Maul finally meets up with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan it is pretty cool how they prepare for battle.  The Jedi stare the Sith down.  After Qui-Gon's death we are faced with the biggest disappointment.  Obi-Wan is hanging on for dear life.  It seems like Darth Maul has got him trapped when all of a sudden Obi-Wan just flips up, uses the force to grab Qui-Gon's lightsaber and then simply slices Darth Maul in half.  Done.  An otherwise pretty awesome battle ends in the stupidest, suspense-free way ever.  You would think that since the two Jedi were having trouble keeping up with Darth Maul while fighting together, that Obi-Wan would've had more of a challenge when it came to defeating him.  This was also the biggest waste of a bad guy.  Maul is introduced by mugging for the camera.  We then see him riding around Tatooine on what looks like a motorcycle.  He looks like a really bad guy, and instead of using him to attempt to turn Obi-Wan to the dark side in future films, they slice him in half.  Such a shame.

So, these are my main issues with this movie.  Honorable mentions include:

Midi-chlorians, Anakin's virgin birth, the INCREDIBLY long pod race, the fact that Anakin's mom had to remain in slavery after Anakin helped the Jedi, and the incessant, slap you in the face reminders of things that are going to happen because we KNOW they happen in episodes 4-6!

30 Days of Star Wars: Day 3

Most Overrated Star Wars Character

This day was very easy to choose.  The most overrated Star Wars character is BY FAR this guy:

Why is Boba Fett overrated?  Well, he only manages to capture Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back with help from Darth Vader, oh, and the entire Empire.  He's only in Return of the Jedi for about 8 seconds and is killed in such a ridiculous way.  No other character in cinematic history has produced a fan following so disproportionate to his actual on-screen accomplishments.  People wearing Boba Fett costumes have probably killed more people than Boba Fett does in the trilogy.

Die hard Fett fans like to argue that Fett is worthy of the hype because he survives the Sarlacc pit in the Expanded Universe and goes on to have many adventures and kill a lot of people.  Sorry, I'm sticking to the original trilogy here.  Fett does NOTHING worthy of his legion of fans in these 3 movies to warrant the attention.  Others will argue still that the prequels make him an even more interesting character because of his father.  I would counter that Jango Fett is a stupid character, and that he was only created because of the overrated popularity of Boba Fett.  Plus, bringing up Jango Fett is a lousy argument because, where Jango does A LOT more than Boba ever did, he also dies a ridiculous death!

Below is a clip of Boba Fett's death:




And here is a clip of Jango Fett's death.  Can someone explain to me:
1.  Why did Jango twirl his blaster like he's in the Old West?
2.  Why didn't he fly in the air when he saw Mace Windu coming towards him?
3.  Why did Mace Windu seem so distraught when he cut off Jango Fett's head?

STUPID PREQUELS!




The following video is HILARIOUS, and proves my point EXACTLY.  There are a few curse words that aren't bleeped out (the alternate word for butt is heard multiple times, and the other word for poop is used once), so be aware.  I would usually be on the side of the guy with the facial hair, horrified as this other guy degrades the movies I love so much.  But here, he nails it!

30 Days of Star Wars: Day 2

Favorite Lightsaber Duel

There are many, many lightsaber duels throughout the entire Star Wars saga.  I'll get to my favorite a little later.  First, I want to talk about a few of the main duels from the movies.

The duels in the prequels have much more choreography in them. They were filmed at a time when technology was more advanced, so they look good, but tend to be over-the-top, long, and sometimes, comical.  For example:

Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul:

This lightsaber duel came at the end of The Phantom Menace.  Fans had been waiting years to see this action again, and this duel didn't let us down.  We all knew that Qui-Gon was going to die; the Jedi mentor always dies.  The only problem I have with this duel is that an incredible villain, one who was completely underused, and had great potential, died in the dumbest way.  Sliced in half...really? Moving on.

Yoda vs. Emperor Palpatine:

When I saw Revenge of the Sith in the movie theatre, the audience went crazy when this duel began.  I was excited to see it too.  However, it quickly turned into a comedy routine.  If you didn't already know that Yoda was a CGI character, this duel made that painfully obvious.  Palpatine was making stupid noises, his facial expressions were ridiculous, and Yoda was flipping around like a gymnast high on every drug known to man!  There was little fighting, as it became more of a "anything you can do, I can do better" duel, with senate seats flying through the air, and force lightning coming from every direction.  The duel also didn't last very long, as Yoda gave up quite quickly and decided he couldn't win.  I still don't understand that.  He is MASTER YODA, and he gives up?  Again, moving on.

Lord Vader vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi:

This was the most anticipated duel of the prequel.  Fans knew this was the moment that would fill in the blanks to the story we had heard throughout the entire original trilogy.  What happened that made these two friends enemies, and how did Vader get into the suit?  Physically, this lightsaber duel is BY FAR the best.  This duel showcases each character, and the audience sees what each is capable of doing.  Where this duel begins to fail is in its length, and where the duel is taking place.  They go from one dangerous, ridiculous contraption on the planet Mustafar to another, all the while gliding across hot lava. (And DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT!)  Wouldn't they have burned to a crisp being THAT CLOSE to lava?  Moving on.  Where this duel succeeds is with Obi-Wan Kenobi. He sells the end of this duel with everything he's got.  You feel the emotion from him; he's devestated that Anakin has betrayed Obi-Wan and the Jedi, leaving the galaxy in peril. 

When it comes to lightsaber duels, I'm more a fan of those from the original trilogy.  The three main duels from those movies were full of emotion; anticipation, fear, regret, triumph...and remember, when the original trilogy came out, we had no idea what the backstory was for these characters.

Darth Vader vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi; take 2:

20 + years later, they meet up again on the Death Star.  This was the first duel we ever saw.  Remember, the prequels didn't exist back in 1977 when this movie was first released.  This duel was much slower, which made sense because the characters were older.  Obi-Wan Kenobi can't jump around, and Vader is in the suit, which clearly prevents him from moving like he did prior to wearing it. What I love about this duel is that WE DON'T KNOW THE BACKSTORY WHEN WE FIRST SEE IT. Again, forgetting the prequels exist, we have no idea what is in the suit.  Is Vader human? What happened between them?  These two are in the middle of a cat and mouse game, and when Obi-Wan sacrifices himself...I still scream like Luke does!!

Darth Vader vs. Luke Skywalker:

The Empire Strikes Back is by far the best of all 6 movies.  This duel contributes to that fact.   The duel starts off with Luke as the aggressor, confidant that he can beat Vader.  Vader, showing us how weak Luke is, fights with one hand, and is trying to scare Luke and turn him to the dark side.  After showing Luke just a little bit of what he's up against, Vader really gets aggressive by throwing objects at Luke using the force, and cutting off his hand.  What makes this duel so incredible is that when Luke is cornered and has to decide if he's going to turn to the dark side, he decides to throw himself down a shaft, not knowing whether he will live through the fall.  Emotion, emotion, emotion!

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker; take 2:

And now we finally come to my favorite lightsaber duel of all; Vader and Luke's encore in Return of the Jedi.  Luke has to confront Vader again.  Only this time, he's guided by the force, and not listening to his emotions.  This is my favorite duel for many reasons.  I always compare it to being in a room with Satan himself (Emperor Palpatine), along with his right hand man (Vader).  They are doing everything they can to finally make you decide to be evil.  What would you do if you were in a room with Satan?  It would scare the crap out of me.  Listening to the Emperor taunt Luke, with Vader, his father, backing the Emperor up, makes for a very scary time in the movie.  Will Luke give in?  Add to this the fact that Luke accidentally let it slip that Leia is his sister, and Vader attempts to use that against him.  When Luke comes after Vader, my heart begins to pound.  Between the raw emotion in the duel, along with the amazing music, and the incredible way it ends, I could watch it over and over again and never tire of it.   Below is a video of this duel.  Enjoy!