Journey to the Force Awakens Pt. 3

Smooth Sailing, or, the Time I Watched the OT

Episode IV: The End of the Honeymoon?

Before: I was a little leery going into the Original Trilogy, but only this time. See, usually when I watch these films, I was the Despecialized Editions (Thank you Harmy!) 

Which I enjoy tremendously!

However, for empirical purposes, I decided to watch the official DVD versions instead since most fans would be watching these versions. As you’ll recall, I saw Empire in theaters when the Special Editions came out and I don’t remember there being too many changes or additions to that one so I was spared there. I do remember not minding the others when I did finally watch them, but that was a while ago and I was naive. However, I was attempting to stay open minded and I remember the OT being enjoyable in the past so I didn’t have many concerns going into this viewing.

After: That was a truly enlightening watch! There was a lot of stigma surrounding this film in my mind and a lot of that was dispelled. I recalled the added material being ghastly, but actually, most of it fit pretty well. Only the creatures in Mos Eisley rubbed me the wrong way (I’m including Jabba in that statement). I had forgotten that this film is kind of dark, but yeah, it’s kind of dark (the charred remains of Luke’s family told me so and they would never lie to me). I also noticed that there’s an air of mystery throughout this film and that the tension builds all the way up to the destruction of the Death Star. The humor hit well with me, which is tough to do these days. I was really surprised at how much lore is presented in the first half hour of the film. The entire prequel trilogy was laid out during that initial meeting between Luke and Obi-Wan. Oh, they included a little piece of Star Trek in this film! When Alderaan and the Death Star are destroyed there was a pressure wave added to make the explosions feel more robust. Those were borrowed from Star Trek IV. It’s called the Praxis effect. You can look it up, if you want. Go ahead… I can wait…

I never really doubted that I would enjoy this movie. I was just surprised by how much I did after I put aside my disdain. I still feel that having Greedo shoot first robbed Han Solo of some rich character development, but it was a fun experience and it left me looking forward to the next film.

Episode V: The Dark One

Before: I recall this film having the least amount of alterations for the Special Edition. I also recall it being really dark and I remember always being amused by the final shot with the medical frigate. In all, I firmly say that I’ve always enjoyed this one so let’s see how it holds up.

After: I think this one might just have usurped Ep. VI as my favorite in the series. Having somewhat of an affinity for film, there are a lot of technical aspects that I appreciate. I love the set design. There’s an interesting juxtaposition between ‘good guy’ sets and ‘bad guy’ sets where good guy sets are brighter and bad guy sets are darker with more reflective surfaces. There’s a lot of well executed character development and some great character moments.

The tone was different in this film. It took me a while to pinpoint it, but I felt genuinely worried as I watched this film. The lack of definitive resolution at the end left me on edge, which really speaks to the crew’s ability to build and maintain the tension throughout the film. The Special stuff was really well woven into the original material. I didn’t even notice until I went to IMDb that the actor portraying Palpatine had changed. I did notice that all of the main characters operated more like a family in this film as opposed to the last and I liked that. The prequels lacked this dynamic between characters and it left me wondering if Anakin may have developed differently had those types of relationships existed in his universe..

All of the elements that I enjoyed in my youth are there and they hit beautifully. Vader is a bad ass, Yoda is a fountain of wisdom, and the galaxy reveals her secrets is a wisely executed fashion. I could tell that every aspect of this movie was carried out carefully and deliberately and the film exceeds expectations because of that. It set the foundations for the conclusion well and left me yearning to see how it all ends! Well played, Lucas. Well played…

Episode VI: The ‘Stunning’ Conclusion?

Before: I saw Jedi first out of all the films and before the SE had been released. I don’t believe that I ever watched the SE version until I got them on DVD and I only ever watched that version a couple of times. As I recall, most of the changes made to this film occurred towards the end of the movie. Most of my gripes are probably not dissimilar to those of most people. I didn’t like that they swapped Hayden Christensen in for the old guy at the end. I thought that was inconsiderate towards that actor who worked very hard in the role. I also didn’t like the new Ewok celebration music. I felt like a final victory over the Empire deserved more pomp and circumstance and the new music just lacked the enthusiasm, plus, I really liked the original song. I do usually marvel at how many elements were being juggled throughout the film and how well that was being done. Being as I’ve had a fairly enjoyable time thus far, it should stand to reason that the good times will continue to roll.

After: I’m going to leave a disclaimer right here: I had to stop watching this movie part way through and come back a day later, after I had had a chance to calm down. What did I just watch?! It’s obvious that this was a totally different animal than the rest of the films, including the prequels. It bends over backwards to be kid friendly most of the time, but then we’re hypersexualizing Leia (A fine decision, by the way). But the tone just kept flip flopping back and forth between two completely opposite tones and it left me somewhat confused. I’m not sure if there was some kind of blow back following Empire that caused this, or perhaps, as I’ve heard before, Lucas was just looking for easy ways to make more money off of licensing, but the first act of the film is very confused as to the nature of its own existence. I had forgotten about the Jedi Rocks number that was added, but it’s probably the most egregious musical composition ever to be committed to paper. That’s why I had to stop part way. My mind couldn’t believe the atrocities that it was witnessing. The piece does nothing for the plot, it does nothing for the tone and if anything, all it does ruin my suspension of disbelief because it breaks up all of the action that had been taking place in an obtuse and unnatural way. Oh, and the tune is indelible once you get it in your head!

The structure of the plot seems different to me than with the rest of the movies, excepting, perhaps, Ep. II. The bulk of the films start from a point and unfold slowly towards a climax, building tension as they do. This film puts all of the cards on the table at the very beginning and then takes a nap. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, just that it’s very different from the storytelling decisions that were made previously, or since in the case of the prequels. To the contrary, the story on the whole unfolds in an enjoyable and satisfying way. I like the internal struggle that Vader and Luke endure during the plot to seduce Luke to the Dark Side. It was truly rewarding to see Anakin’s redemption in this movie as well. I did actually feel like that was the payoff of the entire series, which I can only hope Lucas had planned. Going back to my ‘before’ thoughts on the ending, I didn’t mind the new celebration music quite as much this time around. Also, I didn’t mind that Hayden Christensen swapped in for the old dude. It actually occurred to me that if he had been truly redeemed, then it would only make sense that after he went to ‘heaven’, he should appear as he did when he was really happy.

There was a lot to like about this movie, even if it does seem a bit weak when held up next to Empire. I can’t say that I love the series yet, but I can honestly say that I don’t hate them anymore. That’s saying a lot considering all the time and effort that I’ve spent hating them over the years. I can only hope that Ep. VII continues the trend...