Rather than make some half arsed attempt at a resolution which I wont keep, due to having the willpower of a stereotypical weak person standing near some proverbial good stuff, I have decided to try and educate myself slightly, ever so slightly, by watching and reviewing some films. I might not make it past February since my attention span is down there somewhere with yon willpower, but hey, it will keep me amused for the time being.
So for the first week in January I was convinced to watch The Star Wars Trilogy (something which I have managed to avoid my whole life by basing my circle of friends around who would least likely make me watch it). I'm not a fan of Sci-Fi, I have never been able to get into it and it just doesn't ever appeal to me to give it a chance. So, why on Earth (chortle) would I choose to watch not one, but THREE Star Wars films? In one day??
In short, it wasn't my idea but I was feeling nonchalant (can I tick off 'Use Big Words' yet?) and decided to trust a friend's recommendation. And besides, sci-fi or not, if these films are so popular, then chances are I might actually enjoy them. So we started off with Episode IV: A New Hope, followed quickly by V: Empire Strikes Back and VI: Return of the Jedi. The first thing that struck me about these films was how little robotic and 'scifi-y' they were. The landscaping and scenery is quite remarkable given that I was expecting space ships and aliens. The characters were warm and likeble, while the plethora of odd creatures and beings were endearing and engrossing. Some just gross.
I took an immediate liking to Princess Leia, I found her fearlessness and integrity very attractive, not to mention the fact that I now fully understand the obsession with the gold bikini. I liked the fact that she never seemed fazed by anything. I don't think for a second that it was a reasonable or believable characteristic but then again this is a film which employs large blobs to rule small communities of weirder blobs. For me, Han Solo seemed the obvious choice for the Hero role, almost outshining Luke Skywalker into insignificance. He got the best lines, the best action scenes and the best wardrobe, not to mention the love interest sub-plot.
I don't really have much more to say about the films; the obvious theme of religion played on my mind as we were watching but I decided not to think too much about this. I enjoyed watching the films and considered them to be light entertainment, I did not want to taint them with talk of holy spirits and so on. I rate The Star Wars Trilogy as three sturdily good, entertaining films, granted I will probably never watch them again, but can honestly say that they were much better than I anticipated. Sci-Fi is not so bad. I wont be so quick to judge a book by its lightsaber again soon.
You said light-sabre. you are a sci-fi geek whether you like it or not now, after watching those 3, being the "pinnacle" of the sci-fi world! I would suggest you move onto some other sci-fi movies. The cool thing about Science Fiction is that its just a situation drama, most of the action takes place in one area or locale and that means little moving around, which lets face it, is a trend alot of geeks tend to administor to their real life lives :) me included.
ReplyDeleteIts that story thats important, the creation of a brand new and Far away society better than this one, where one can be Han Solo and Bubba Fet, or perhaps Lando Calrissian fighting the evil dark side of the force.
Point...Sci-Fi can be a means to an end. but it can also be about ace characters tied together in an awesome, thought provoking storyline and nowadays the latter is becoming more and more prominant. Check out Battlestar Galactica series, its amazing, its like eastenders, set in space with Grant and Phil played by evil aliens :D (because all aliens are evil...right?)
My Sci-fi recomendations are:
Battlestar Galactica (2004) *hums Eastenders theme tune*
Predator (1987) (aliens in the jungle)
Signs (2002) (aliens in ohio)
Irobot (2004) (Robots our saviours?)
I am Legend (2007) (Will Smith all alone)