Calaidescope World

The End of an Era

Years ago, someone said our generation lacked a sense of closure simply because Marcos put an end to VOLTES V way before we knew what became of the Brothers Armstrong in outer space. Perhaps that's true. About three or four years ago, some of my High School friends and I FINALLY saw the end of VOLTES V when we chanced upon one friend's husband's VCD collection. We had closure. But there was still something else keeping a few of us from moving on the way "normal" people would. STAR WARS wasn't done yet.

No, you don't understand. I'm from a family of STAR WARS fans. My parents threw my sister and I a STAR WARS birthday party in 1978. My dad made kids cry when he donned his Darth Vader helmet and wielded his red lightsaber (the original 1977 replica, not the Everready Flashlight type). My Titos were dressed as Stormtroopers and C3-PO. I realised the world was not black and white but was actually gray when I first saw THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The first time I saw a movie in a real cinema was at the premiere of RETURN OF THE JEDI in the Manila Film Centre. My sisters and I had most of the action figures housed in a little STAR WARS suitcase which we brought along to our family friends' houses every weekend for years(friends who had similar toys plus the Landspeeder and AT-AT, among others). We memorized the Original Trilogy from watching it over and over on BETAMAX! We know Greedo shot first. STAR WARS just wasn't part of our childhood. It WAS our childhood.

My ever-efficient administrative wonder of a sister secured a couple of tickets to the advanced screening of STAR WARS EPISODE 3: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH at the Alabang Town Centre a day before it opened worldwide. We enjoyed it! It's most definitely NOT the best of the 6 films (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK forever!), but Good Lord, it’s so much better than the first two of the prequels, it answered quite a number of questions, and linked the prequels to the Original Trilogy beautifully. I still don't know why R2-D2 doesn’t seem to recognize Obi-Wan Kenobi in A NEW HOPE when only C3-PO’s memory was erased by Senator Organa, and why Obi-Wan doesn't remember the droids. And if Darth Vader was the Emperor’s apprentice, why did he appear to “report” to Grand Moff Tarkin? Why didn't Yoda seem to remember R2-D2 on Dagobah? (Perhaps when 900 years old I become, fail my memory will). I still don't know how Leia was able to describe Padme to Luke as "beautiful...but sad" in RETURN OF THE JEDI when Padme died after giving birth to the twins (unless she was describing her adoptive mother). But I finally appreciate the Prequel Trilogy a little more now than when I was a staunch Original Trilogy purist after the release of Episodes 1 and 2. I also think I appreciated Episode 3 more because I saw Gendy Tartakovsky’s STAR WARS: CLONE WARS on the Cartoon Network (excellent work! The Jedi are so much cooler and they kick ass big time in the cartoons more than in the movie). I'm no Lucas apologist, but I seem to understand his vision more. Suddenly, I don't know if I want my godchildren, nephew and niece to see STAR WARS in order or if they should watch it the way I did (4, 5, 6, 1, 2, CLONE WARS, 3). I can't decide if finding out Darth Vader is Luke's father will be more traumatizing for young ones than seeing Anakin turn to the dark side. Hmmm…maybe I’ll make them suffer the way we did. They must not know that Darth Vader is Luke’s father. Eew. I've never felt more "geeky" than I do right now....

Admittedly, many things could have been done better on SITH, particularly the writing and a bit of the acting. Granted, the Anakin-Padme is the worst love story ever written. What was with the "I'm so in love with you" exchange? No "kilig" factor there - especially after Princess Leia's "I love you" and Han Solo's "I know". The only thing as good or maybe even better than that is Celine's "You're going to miss that plane" and Jesse's "I know" in BEFORE SUNSET. Scott Garceau of The Philippine Star’s “Expat Files” hit the nail on the head when wrote that it would have been more interesting if they had a truly illicit love affair rather than just being secretly married. Even DAWSON’S CREEK was better written. But the twins had to be born, right?

The acting? The only good actors were Ian McDiarmand (evil personified!) and Ewan McGregor. Oh, and Frank Oz’s Yoda. Natalie Portman IS a good actress - in her other films. Who could ever forget her in THE PROFESSIONAL? Hayden Christiansen is an underrated actor who at times needs to be well-directed. He was great in LIFE AS A HOUSE where his character and portrayal were much closer to how I imagined Anakin Skywalker to be. I really felt for Obi-Wan and Yoda in SITH. Really, wasn’t it Obi-Wan’s heart (and pride!) that was broken here, and not Padme’s? Please…! There’s nothing like that kind of disappointment, that feeling of failure. Many of us are all too familiar with it.

But at the end of the day, was I the one who thought of STAR WARS? Did I come up with this space opera in 1977? No. If George Lucas had given me the helm to make the prequels, would I have done a better job? Probably not. So who am I to really complain about Episode 3? And who are all these detractors to say Lucas messed everything up? They didn’t think of STAR WARS and turn it into a movie either. We can always pretend that the prequels don’t exist. Just look at THE MATRIX. This was not the exact ending we were looking for. Move along.

So now what? No more LORD OF THE RINGS to look forward to every Christmas. No more real mystery behind Darth Vader. Just two more Harry Potter books and three movies to go, and he'll be all grown up as well. I’ve already given up on THE BATMAN franchise although Chris Nolan has given me hope. But the ultimate geek saga is complete. My childhood has been completed. When my new nephew/niece arrives, begin a new generation will.

posted by Calai @ 2:04 PM