-
-
By now you might have already heard about this, but just in case you missed it, here's a link to a CNN story about Lucasoids (i.e, fanatical fans of George Lucas' Star Wars franchise) linining up outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The faithful fans are undaunted by the fact that the May 19 release date for STAR WARS, EPISODE 3: REVENGE OF THE SITH is over a month away. They are equally undaunted by the fact that the film is not even scheduled to open at the Chinese Theatre; the film's distributor 20th Century Fox, is negotiating to open it at the ArcLight Cinemas a mile away.
A fan named Sarah Sprague insists that the group of eleven, who shelter beneath a makeshift awning, will not move. "We've heard it all before," she said, noting that there were rumors -- which ultimately proved to be false -- that the previous two STAR WARS film would not open at the Chinese.
The original STAR WARS opened at the Chinese Theatre way back in May of 1977, at a time when opening a film nationwide in thousands of theatres was unheard of. Back then, the film made headlines as fans lined up around the block at exclusive downtown theatres around the country, where the film was showing. Since then, the subsequent STAR WARS films have maintained the tradition, so it is indeed hard to imagine REVENGE OF THE SITH not playing there, despite Fox's claim to the contrary.
Of course, the larger issue that goes unaddressed in the CNN article is: Why would anyone still care enough to line up weeks ahead of time after seeing PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES? A brief interview on the Mark and Brian radio program (a morning show on KLOS in Los Angeles) had one fan in line admitting that he was disappointed by the first two prequel films, but he was lining up anyway because he was still a fan of the franchise.
This raises a good point. Nothing in either PHANTOM or CLONES gives much evidence that REVENGE OF THE SITH will be anything but another disappointment -- a premonition reinforced by the trailers, which have a long-haired, bare-chested Haden Christensen looking less like a Jedi-gone-bad than like an effiminate late-1970s rock star (e.g., Peter Framptom or Leif Garret).
What do we have to look forward to in Episode Three? I’m willing to go out on a limb here and predict that REVENGE OF THE SITH will probably be the worst of the STAR WARS films. Why? Because so far, the prequel trilogy has revealed that it’s lessa bout making good movies than about filling in the back story for the original trilogy. The problem with this approach is that, despite the press release hype, it has become increasingly clear that Lucas began the series without a clear plan. Each new film introduces contradictions that must later be explained away (as Obi-Wan’s “I was telling the truth, sort of” speech in Return of the Jedi was meant to explain away his “Darth Vader killed your father” speech in Star Wars). With only one film left, there are too many loose threads that need to be tied up; or putting it more bluntly, there are too many knots that need untangling (like, for instance, why isn’t Darth/Anakin suspicious when the escape pod in Star Wars goes to Darth's very own home planet?).It’s a safe bet that, for entertainment value, REVENGE OF THE SITH will rely on building up to the point where the first STAR WARS picked up. We'll finally get to see Obi Wan knock Anakin into that Volcano, and we'll get a look at Darth in a a shiny brand new black metallic suit. Whether that story is really worth telling seems almost beside the point. In 1977 we enjoyed Star Wars without the back story, so we know it isn’t really necessary, and there’s no reason to suppose that a third prequel will enhance our understanding and/or enjoyment of the original film in any way. But now the films have taken on the aura of a sacred text for the faithful. Good or bad, they’re the gospel accord to Lucas, and if they’re more bad than good, well, that’s just a greater challenge to prove the strength of fans’ unquestioning faith. UPDATE: Reading over this post, I see it might almost read as if I am wishing for my dire prediction to come true. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would love to have my concerns blown to smithereerns by an excellent film, so that I could feel reborn in the Forrce. I just haven't seen anything to give any indication of that actually happening come May 19.
Bravenet Blog 
Blog Community
Get a Free Blog
Manage your Blog
bravenet.com