'SUP, NERDS?!
Every nerd I've encountered is shocked that I haven't watched the Star Wars films. I made a deal with a friend to endure these films not only as friendship exercise, but as a way to expand my horizons. Today marks the first entry chronicling an outsider's first Star Wars experience.
Why I haven't watched Star Wars
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| I would be totally open to a watching Star Wars anime... imagine how cool the art would be! |
Aside from Star Wars not being my cup of tea, I don't appreciate being called a "Japanophile" (this is just one, nicer name I've been called) just because I like anime. These insults came from my peers growing up and by middle-aged men who perpetually jack off to Star Wars, Star Trek and D&D... That certainly disinterested me from ever wanting to delve into the Holy Grail of American nerd-culture. Pissy fans turn me off of lots of media.
The Good
I'm very well aware that George Lucas received a lot of flack for the prequel trilogy, so my expectations were set very low for Episode I. It was surprisingly much better than I imagined.
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| Pickin' up dem queens like a boss-ass bitch. |
Young Anakin is the highlight of the film. I totally felt for him and his mother, hoping they would both be freed from slavery. The pod-race is definitely the most interesting part of the movie-- I like the Wacky Races vibe from it. I'm curious to see where Padme and Anakin's relationship goes as well, because there is quite a bit of uncomfortable sexual tension from these children (er, I guess Padme is a teen).
Padme/Queen Amidala is pretty cool. I really dig the concept of a "warrior princess" and liked that she was a part of the action. Not to mention, I love her costume design. Although she was disguised for a good portion of the film, all of the queen's clothing is intricate and amazing. I've only seen a few brave enough to cosplay Amidala and they do a phenomenal job, especially styling their wigs.
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| Her outfits are so beautiful... This is one part of the prequel trilogy they definitely did right! |
The Bad
Given that this was filmed in the 90s, the computer graphics are pretty basic. I don't want to rag on the film for being too sterile or fake-looking, but I'm disappointed that nearly everything is created from CGI. I absolutely adore practical effects, which is probably what I like about Episode IV the most.
Aside from all of the aliens and settings pulled directly from the uncanny valley, the story is super boring... I don't feel like I was given much reason to care about the trade embargo, the politics and the universe these events affect. Just lots of talking... it felt like a loop of repeating the same information in slightly different ways which built up to a few minutes of Darth Maul being evil... then dying.
I thought Darth Maul was in the other films because he seemed so hyped by fans. The poor sucker barely got any screen time. One last comment, which is a trivial complaint: Why kill off Qui-Gon Jinn???? He was the cool Jedi... so we lost two of the most interesting characters in what is claimed to be the worst Star Wars film.
The Ugly
IN CONCLUSION
Episode I is pretty cringy... it doesn't know what it wants to be. It seems like it is a children's movie for one moment with some fart jokes but them it delves into the senate with politicians discussing something a child won't understand until they're 30 and have an opinion as to how their taxes are spent.
Tune in next week with my thoughts about Episode II.
LATER, DWEEBS!
Loverly Liz
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