Return of the Jedi is the first movie I ever saw in a theater. I was three years old. Although I fell asleep part way through the movie, I saw enough to determine several things:
*I loved Princess Leia. I wanted my hair to be done like hers. I was going to be Leia. I think I developed her attitude pretty well.
*Han Solo was irritating, and it would be OK if he was written out of the script.
*I was going to marry Luke Skywalker.
*Darth Vader was purely evil and terrifying.
It was actually a serious blow to my three year old mind that Leia and Luke were brother and sister. To this day, that makes “the kiss” turn my stomach… just a little… I finally did come to grips with the new reality, and as a toddler sized, only child decided that it would still be pretty neat to have a Jedi Knight for a brother. OK… let’s face it. Even at 31, if my long lost Jedi Knight brother showed up at the front door, that would be cool (“illusions of grandeur”)…
I am certain, that like most kids who grew up in the 80s, I saw the entire trilogy at least once, but probably on multiple occasions. I can’t really claim to have “grown up on Star Wars” like many others (including my husband) did. I did, however, always have an affinity for the franchise. (And on the off chance that anyone from my high school graduating class is reading this; it was OK with me when the Imperial March was going to be our class song… why we had to re-vote will always be a mystery)…
So why bring up a 30+ year old franchise at this point?
Well… I asked for the Star Wars trilogies (both of them) for Christmas, and to my delight (and a little bit of surprise), they actually emerged from a nicely wrapped package under the tree. Five months later, I still hadn’t watched them. It was time to watch them.
Now, I should mention that I did see Episode I shortly after it made its way to video… and I think I re-watched it when I also borrowed Episodes II and III from Phil’s mom, probably 5-6 years ago. The originals I had not seen in at least 20 years… When I first watched Episodes I-III, I was highly impressed at the depth of background information they offered. When you put all VI together in a short period of time, however, there is much more to it than just background…
I can’t say that I really had over 12 hours to commit to re-watching the entire Star Wars saga, but I did it. And might I add that this is a lot to process in a couple of weeks… At the expense of sounding somewhat freakish, Star Wars is not exactly just a collection of entertaining movies. There is something there that is far deeper than pure entertainment. I actually had to think about what I was watching.
I originally thought that Star Wars was the story of Luke Skywalker. Come on now, we all originally thought this, right? In actuality, though, Star Wars is the story of Anakin Skywalker… start to finish. For this reason, I do not think a third trilogy would serve the franchise well. It’s not that we wouldn’t like to learn more, but the story really is complete.
And now, my adult perspective…
The prequel trilogy changes some things.
*Yoda and Obi-Wan actually take on much greater significance after having watched the first III Episodes. Although they are central characters, to an extent, in Episodes IV-VI (well, actually that is only partly true… Yoda doesn’t even appear in Episode IV), it is really in the first three films where their characters are developed. After watching Episodes I-III, you will undoubtedly be more endeared to them. The light saber battle between Obi-Wan and Vader takes on much greater significance, as well.
*Darth Vader no longer strikes me as purely evil or terrifying. When I watched him enter in the opening scenes of Episode IV, I thought to myself, “Oh… there’s Anakin”. Close observation reveals that in every instance his desire is for Luke to join him and that he has no inclination, whatsoever, to kill Luke. This is a far cry from how I viewed Vader as a child. Somehow, I think the Emperor knows all of this. Perhaps the most revealing quote is when Vader says, “Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.” It must be remembered that most of the destruction Anakin (and later, Vader) caused happened in a series of misdirected decisions as a result of his desire to save or avenge the people he loved. The dark side is deceptive. And as Obi-Wan might say, “Only a Sith deals in absolutes” (Probably the most controversial line of the entire franchise… More commentary to come on this in future posts).
*I still love Leia. However, I’ve given up on becoming a Jedi, myself, at this point, and I will refrain from styling my hair like hers… and going out in public… at least most of the time. The attitude stays. I forgot that she kills Jabba the Hut. If anyone ever forced me to wear a metal bikini, I think I’d get kinda violent, too. I would like to draw some parallels between Padme and Leia. Inasmuch as Luke is clearly Anakin’s son, Leia is also clearly Padme’s daughter. I liked Padme, but there were also things about her character that got under my skin. She seduced Anakin. She knew that a Jedi was forbidden to make attachments. Her decisions aided greatly in his eventual undoing. Of course, I guess their love brought balance to the force, as well, because without it there would be no Luke or Leia. The other thing that bothers me is that Padme gives birth to two babies sand then gives up her will to live. What kind of mother does that? But then again, I guess we would have no story without this… Except… In Episode VI Leia tells Luke that she remembers her mother, who died when she was very young. The best explanation I have been able to come up with is a combination of The Force already being strong within Leia at birth and therefore allowing her to memorize every detail and also providing visions of Padme that could have been construed as memories. Personally, I think they just didn’t transition this part of the storyline very well. Leia seems to possess all of the grit Padme had, plus some…
Other things, the prequel trilogy does not change.
*I still don’t like Han Solo. He grew on me a little bit, and I admit is was cool when he sliced open the Tauntaun and spilled its guts all over the place in order to shove Luke inside to keep him warm… Wait… Did I just write that? Nevermind. That was gross. I tried. I guess, though, that we can keep Han in the script, after all, because he does have some pretty entertaining banter with Leia. “I love you.” “I know.”
It’s funny, but as I sat down to write this review I actually had to google about 700 different things, just to make sure I got them right. I will actually be watching all of the movies again, in short order, and in extended edition form, because I want to create a series of Star Wars “teachable moments”, and I really just watched them for entertainment and to get some technical details out of the way, this time around.
Whenever I review a movie, I try to clearly identify violence, sexual innuendo, profanity, and unsettling themes for any of my readers. This isn’t actually going to be a very thorough review in that respect. If you’re going to watch Star Wars, just be aware that there is going to be violence (the word “wars” in the title ought to clue you in on that one). In my opinion, Episode III is, by far, the most graphically violent, but even much off what is included there is off screen. Would I sit my 4 year old in front of it? Nope. But I know most of his little friends have seen much worse. The whole premise of the Star Wars movies deals with religion… The Force… good vs. evil… When I go back over the films for usable content, I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say on this, but it really depends on how you interpret it. If you’re looking to sit your elementary school aged kids in front of the TV for hours on end of mindless activity, perhaps you should invest in some Disney Channel originals. But if you want a good story that has the potential to develop into some deep life conversations, Star Wars might be right up your alley. I can definitely see my daughter getting stressed out about the many references to Sith “Lords”, Jedi “Masters”, and even Han’s recurring name for Leia, “Your Worship”. These are things that simply have to be talked about and worked through if you have children who care deeply about the appropriate use of words. Sexual references exist but are mild. Costuming is mostly modest, although there are a few questionable scenes. Profanity of any kind is non-existent in Episodes I, II, III, and VI. Episode V contains one H*** that I have construed to be contextual. Episode IV contains two D***s and two H***s. I found that frustrating, because they really are completely unnecessary.
If you’ve made it this far, you must be as big a dork (ahem… I mean… Star Wars fan) as I. May the Force be with you!
Lisa
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