Okay, I will take a bit of a break from the grim news of the recent school shooting in Texas. It is a holiday weekend, a three day weekend for many. This is one of the most pleasant weekends of the year for many, marking the unofficial but de facto start of the summer season.
Also, I already dedicated six straight blog entries about school shootings and gun violence. But talking about it too often feels like an exercise in futility. Admittedly, I have little to no faith that anything will change with that problem, or with many others, given the political climate and realities in the United States presently.
It is time to try and move on.
So today, I wanted to get a blog entry about Star Wars, since the new television series, Obi Wan Kenobi, is making all sorts of news. I will not see it for a while yet, but intend to.
Nevertheless, for any Star Wars fans out there possibly reading this, I thought that the following might be of particular interest. This was written earlier this week, and I meant to publish it earlier. But the events dominating the news distracted me. Now seems like a good time to let it finally see the light of day:
Ewan McGregor is starring in a new television show that many believe will be a smash hit, which is all around the title character that he portrayed in the prequels. And he is very aware of the criticisms that the prequels generally received by Star Wars fans. Yet, just as his television show is about to be released, McGregor is defending the prequels from the often harsh criticisms that they generate.
He is happy that the movies are beginning to be appreciated now, even though it took a decade and a half for that to happen. He is some of what he had to say about the matter recently:
“What we didn’t hear at the time was people your age, your generation. Those people now really love our films, but it’s taken us 15 years to hear that. It’s really nice, it’s changed my relationship with Star Wars. It’s different because of that I think. We really put our heart and soul into them, and they were difficult to make.”
Elaborating on why the Republic era was difficult to make, the actor continued by explaining the reason Lucas leaned heavily on CG imagery.
“There was so much green screen and blue screen because George was pushing into this new realm that he had designed, that he was responsible for. He wanted to max out that technology, but that meant for us that we were very much on blue screens and green screens, and it was hard work. To do that and be passionate about it and then for the films to be not very well received was really tough. So it’s really lovely to have that new relationship with them now.”
With his show set to be released in just a couple of days, McGregor reflected on the prequels, and was particularly adamant on defending the final movie of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith. He said:
“I hadn’t seen them since they came out. In preparation for this show, to watch them again was pretty cool. I like them, Episode III was a really good movie.”
Generally, I agree. Not only was Revenge of the Sith the best of the lot - by far - but it can still be quite captivating. First of all, it is when we finally see Anakin become Darth Vader. And we see the conclusion of what I recall was once described as the "lightsaber battle of the century" between Obi Wan and Anakin/Darth Vader. It is from the injuries that he sustained after losing that battle that Anakin/Darth Vader is forced into the armor which also serves as a life support system. The first time that he, lying on an operating table that moves to the upward position, so that he is now standing within that body armor/life support system, is addicting to watch, over and over again. At least if you are a Star Wars fan. Indeed, from the point when we first watch the Vader mask descending, offering a glimpse of seeing the world for the first time the way that Anakin/Darth Vader will see the world from here on out, to the point when the mask locks into place and he takes his first breath as the now familiar Darth Vader (and we can see some slight disturbance from his breath) to the moment when he speaks in that familiar voice (James Earl Jones), these rank as some of the most iconic moments of all Star Wars movies.
That said, if you are a fan of the Star Wars movies and have not done so yet, I would highly recommend reading "Revenge of the Sith," the book form of what came to be the popular movie. It was written by Matthew Stover, and he really did a fantastic job on it. There are some differences between it and the movie. Admittedly, I tend to prefer the book version, and wish that the movie had not deviated so much from the book. There was more humor (including some really dark humor), and more drama in terms of that final battle. Also, the final moments, when Anakin now has fully and irrevocably become the now familiar Darth Vader, is really well done, and is just fantastic. More generally, you really get a better, more in depth look at all of the characters involved. I actually read this before seeing the movie, and am glad that I did. Not only is Anakin's conversion in becoming Darth Vader handled more capably than it is in the movies, but the way that he loses the battle makes a lot more sense, as well as the need for the iconic breathing mechanism. Read the book if you want to find out what I mean by that.
After reading the book, I got the mistaken impression that maybe most, if not all, Star Wars books were like that, were that good. They are not. I tried reading some others, and even succeeded in some. But none ever came close to approaching how good this one proved to be. So again, I really cannot recommend it more.
In any case, with the latest huge Star Wars show about to be released, this seemed like a good time to publish this particular entry. Take a look at the link below for more information on this story.
All quotes used above were taken from this article by Jonathan Wright. Please take a look by clicking on the link below:
Ewan McGregor defends the divisive ‘Star Wars’ prequels by Jonathan Wright, May 11, 2022:
https://wegotthiscovered.com/news/ewan-mcgregor-defends-the-divisive-star-wars-prequels/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=starwarsrpw&fbclid=IwAR3STAhD7OusZjo9iEYt9LU6ufwBKCxCuPCUogiAuQM5VuBFKOLP7IOlIgU
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