Rant...

So I started a topic last time, and I will attempt to finish it tonight. Star Wars. *sigh*

Now, please don't get me wrong. I really liked Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi. I thought that it was cast very well. He had a strong performance, and it would have been better with some good dialogue. I enjoyed Ian McDiarmid as Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpetine, and (mainly because he is just cool... I mean REALLY cool) Samuel L Jackson as Mace Windu. But in all reality, these performances didn't save me from disappointment.

Let's just start with the characters. The Phantom Menace begins on a ship with two Jedi on a diplomatic mission. Evidently, the planet of Naboo is in trouble. It is here that we are introduced to a young Obi Wan Kenobi and his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. After their hosts (the Trade Federation) suspect who they are, they try to kill them by throwing poisonous gas at them, followed by a number of droid soldiers. After fighting their way through all that and escaping to the planet, they befriend a local named Jar-Jar Binks (a problem in and of himself, but I really won't get into that...).

Sounds exciting, right? It was visually appealing, but unlike most stories, the violence doesn't actually show us anything about the characters. It was pretty cgi. But no character development at all.

Anyway, in order for the Jedi to get to the capital of Naboo and let the Queen of the Naboo know that their negotiations went terribly wrong, they have to first talk to the leader of the Gungans (Jar-Jar's race). In this scene, Qui-Gon and Obi Wan save Jar-Jar's hide from punishment (he's been banished, you see). Okay... point one for the Jedi. A generous, compassionate thing to do. They also find out that the way to the Naboo is through the planets core. (Why? That is a problem for when I discuss plot.) Anyway, they get to the capital and talk the Queen into running the blockade to get help from the Galatic Senate. They run the blockade and sustain some damage, so they have to land on Tatooine to get parts to fix the ship.

It is here that we are introduced to Anakin Skywalker. A young boy with amazing reflexes and a talent with technology. He's also sort of a brat. This is my main problem with Anakin. We are supposed to be pulling for him. He is, after all, a slave and has a rough life. (I am not sure how his life is rough, they don't really show that... but I am sure it is.) But it is hard when he is so abrasive. Also, backtracking a bit, the party that ventures forth into town to seek the parts needed are Qui-Gon, Padime (one of the queens handmaidens), and Jar-Jar. WHY Jar-Jar? He's proven to be an idiot... WHY???

On Tatooine, we see Qui-Gon try to pay for his parts with worthless currency, AND cheat on a bet. Is this how the honorable Jedi behave? I guess... We also learn that the Force is not a mystical energy flowing through us, as Yoda explained to Luke, but microscopic organisms living symbiotically with us. WHAT??? But that is plot... not characters.

Anyway... I digress. I challenge each of you to describe the main characters of this movie and their motivations. Not in terms of their jobs or what they wore. But REALLY describe them. Also... Who is the main character? Who do we (as the audience) live through? How are we SHOWN not TOLD of the characters friendships and enmities? Seriously... One of the first things that we learn in creative writing classes is SHOW not TELL. It's much more genuine that way. And what goes for writing goes double for visual arts.

I will continue this in a later blog. I hope this is not too rambly... But I guess that is just how I do. :)

GGC