In about ten days or so, the final installment of Star Wars will be “in theaters near you”. I was a Star Wars fanatic a long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away. In fact, the galaxy is actually this galaxy. In read all the novels and the so-called technical book filled with pseudo-scientific details of Star Wars. I bought weird Star Wars stuff too and called it collector’s edition. Hence, I know the well-announced TIE-Fighter (TIE is twin ion engine if you are wondering) to the less-known but powerful TIE-Defender; from the exciting X-Wing to its obscure predecessor Z-95 Headhunter and the corporations that played important roles in development of the machines.
I only stopped being a fanatic after the official publisher of Star Wars novels was switched from Del Ray to Random House. Not that I hate Random House but the first Star Wars novels released under Random House was Vector Prime. By coincidence or by design, it has roughly the same storyline as The Truce at Bakura, a Star Wars novels published under the previous publisher. I have both novels in Malaysia; read Truce from leaf to leaf but read only the first few chapters of Vector Prime. I told myself, I’m not going to read this thing all over again. Hence, Vector Prime is practically the last Star Wars novels I have read. I have never touched any Star Wars novels since. Along with that, my fascination with Star Wars Galaxy diminished.
However, I remember someone said, once a Star Wars freak, always and a Star Wars freak. Not true entirely but perhaps, it is, to some extend. One proof is, I’m still excited about Episode III. It is where all the questions will be answered, where all the loose ends will be tied up.
The two other prequels have answered some of the questions. I must express however my disappointment with both Episode I and II. The hype around the two movies was extremely high but when I was inside the theater in 1999 and 2002, I found there is too much fat. Things don’t go smoothly with the dialogue. My taste of a good movie is a movie with witty and flowing dialogue, much like Casablanca.
To come to think of it, movies these days depend too much on motion, appealing to the eyes and rarely to the ears (minus the music but even if soundtrack is considered, many movies lack memorable compositions). In my opinion, all those black and white movies, such as Dr. Strangelove needs attention of the audience to be fully appreciated since the dialogue is complex. Casablanca’s dialogue in particular, is especially complex that I dare say, if one takes the classic from TV to radio, one will still be able to admire it. Not so with Star Wars and most others modern works.
In spite of that and the disappointment of earlier episodes, Episode III looks promising. Critics themselves are impressed by it, claiming there’s meat to it.
Of course, who cares what the critics are saying. If the critics are so good, they should be the ones that direct the movies, not the directors. Regardless what the critics say, hell, I’m still going to watch Star Wars.
Long live and- May the Force be with you, always.
