Well here's one long overdue. I discussed my favorite Star Trek, Disney, sitcom, and Muppet characters but never discussed this franchise. With one exception but we'll get to that when we get to that. I think one reason is because before the sequels came out there didn't seem to be a large group to choose from. Star Trek had five series and there are dozens of Muppets if you include Sesame Street. And before people yell at me yes I know there are a crap ton of Star Wars characters when you include the minor one's but I am not a huge Star Wars fan remember. So let's see if I can figure out my ten favorites, they can be minor or main it doesn't matter, and for this list no EU material or animated shows are being considered just the nine movies (I never saw Rogue One or Solo).
And most importantly this just for fun and just my opinion, feel free to disagree
#10.Finn
I went back and forth about this one. The character had a great start, beinbg an ex stormtrooper and all. But he never really went anywhere. In Last Jedi he spent most of his time on a stupid side quest and did even less in Rise. But he was good in Force Awakens and made a good pair with Rey.
Ah Star Wars Day. What to watch? The nine movies? The well done animated series? The Disney+ TV series? Hey about this...
The Muppet Show?? Well yes, as a matter of fact. Ok I dont think this is a big secret but yes on Feb 23, 1980 rather than just having Mark Hamill as a guest the creatoes went all out and did a full fledged Star Wars show. I guess if I was George Lucas I'd want to repay Frank Oz (and Jim Henson) for Yoda any way I could too. I've mentioned this once or twice but in honor of Star Wars Day let's run down this silly episode and see if it holds up.
May the 4th be with you! Yep, it’s Star Wars Day. I could talk about why this day is a thing, because I don’t get why a silly pun became a “holiday”, but nah I just thought of something even better! I’ve talked about the Star Wars movies here and there but never did an offical run down. Much like my last article it’s an idea long overdue, and now that the Skywalker arc is concluded the time has come.
Ever since 1977 the Star Wars movies have captured generations with there amazing blend of sci fi action and unforgettable characters. While it never had a place in my heart like Star Trek did, I did enjoy these movies. I had the toys and saw each on at least once in a theatre. One in a drive thru I think, remember those? So I decided it was about time to go over the nine main movies and discuss which one’s I liked the best to the worst. Yes I know there are a couple more films but I never watched Rogue One or Solo, not do I really want to.
The important thing to remember with this list is that I am not discussing which are the better films per se. This ranking is based on how mich I enjoyed these movies when I first saw them first in theatres and then over and over again later. Also, I did not re-watch any of these for this article so forgive me if my memory is fuzzy. And finally, as always, just opinion.
#9.Episode II-Attack of the Clones
It’s not easy to choose this or The Phantom Menace. So what makes this the one I hate the most? It’s just so damn boring. And forgettable. I hated this movie when I sae it and could count the numvber of times I rewatcjed it on one hand. What the heck even happens in it? The romance stuff I sorta remember, and the endless CGI of course. This is the one that left me completely empty.
I’ve
done a few articles going over carious merchandise that has spawned
from popular franchises. One franchise I haven’t talked about is one of
the merchandise monsters, Star Wars!
You cold argue Star Wars is what really started the memorabilia
craze, or at the very least is one of the first to make adult’s just as
excited as kids for toys, games, etc. Unlike others I talked about here,
I didn’t have a tremendous amount of Star Wars stuff, so this is just
an overview of what’s been out there. Star Wars merchandise is so huge
it gets down right insane at times
I
tried something like this last year with Back to the Future, so I
thought I’d give this franchise a try. Of course, this is a much larger
franchise. And as you can imagine, there are more plot holes in these
movies. Especially since the pre-quels contradict so much of what was
established in the classic movies. Which I never understood, it’s not as
if they had all new writers who never heard of Star Wars. Couldn’t
Lucas have had things tied together better? To make matters worst Lucas loves to tinker with the existing movies, usually just to add effects but once in awhile he will make a change which creates a new plot hole that was never there before!!
Star Wars is amazingly bad at not keeping its own continuity. You
just know that what Kylo Ren said to Rey in “Last Jedi” about her
parents will be retconned in the next movie, and we’ll find out her
parents do have a backstory. They’ll just say that Ren lied to get her
on his side. That’s an easy one to excise. If they do that it wont be
the first time they went back on something in these movies. Obi Wan
clears up some confusion in Jedi about what he told Luke ("What I told
you was true, from a certain point of view"). Or how about the line of
dialogue at the end of “Sith” about memory wiping C3PO. Ohhh that’s why
he didn’t remember Anakin created him or the Skywalker name later! For a
minute there I thought that stuff in Phantom Menace was a contrivance
to get him into that first movie.
So here are things that don’t add up between films and my explanation
for why they happened, which of course I have no way to prove these are
just theories. And in this article I am going by what has been
established in the main movies. If something I mentioned was “explained”
in a non-canon material that’s all well and good but I am not aware of
it. And I am not a “Star Wars” aficionado by an means, so if I missed
something that does explain these inconsistencies in universe feel free
to let me know. As always, all opinion and just in good fun.
Han Shot First?
Let’s start with one which doesn’t exactly count really but I had to mention
it. This is a famous one, and I mean famous! In most of these
inconsistencies it is from one movie to another. But here. Lucas went
back and adjusted something in the same movie. We all know this scene,
Han is confronted by Greedo about the debt he owes Jabba. This scene
exists just to show us Solo is bad ass. Originally, Solo just shoots.
But later additions add a shot from Greedo to make it seem like Han was
shooting in self defense. Which is stupid, and makes no sense. Yes Han
shot first.
It’s
been almost twenty years since “The Phantom Menace” came out. I still
can’t believe how long it took us all to accept how awful that movie
was. So I thought today it would be fun to pretend it was twenty years
ago, and we still live in a world with only three Star Wars movies. If
you recall this simpler time, you may recall that of those three “Return
of the Jedi” was considered the “bad one”. Where it ranks today is
another discussion for another day. Instead I wanted to talk about this
movie, which was my favorite of the three.
Released in 1983, this movie did not wow critics or fans. And I get
that, I mean another death star battle? I give then credit for using
Lando at least but it was still dull. Also I will admit as I have aged
that the Ewok’s beating the empire’s best troops like that is
kinda…stupid. True Vader’s redemption could be considered too easy. And
don’t get me started on that revised ending I will always prefer the
original. So ok it wasn’t the strongest movie, but I still love it. Here
are five reasons why, aside from the fact that it was the first Star
Wars movie I was old enough to really appreciate in theaters.
Star Wars is awesome!! It’s truly amazing how much a part of pop
culture this franchise is. Especially considering it’s not really that
old. Well, compared to others anyway. It’s such a part of pop culture it
only makes sense that references and homages find there way into movies
and TV that have NOTHING to do with Star Wars at all. For instance, Toy
Story 2 is about as removed from Star Wars as you can get but that
doesn’t stop them from referencing it especially since Emperor Zurg is
sort of a Darth Vader knock off:
That’s what I wanted to go thru today. These aren’t little Easter
eggs you can barely see, but scenes referencing lines and characters
from the movie all the way to flat out homages and parodies! It was
supposed to be just ten but..yeah, right. To be honest this list almost
ballooned out of control! Let’s begin, in no particular order :
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
This may be the most out there one. During the movie we cut to a
scene showing what the garage guys were doing to Cameron’s car. They
needed a big fanfare in this scene. What did they choose? What else!!!
When you’re a kid you don’t care who is making the cool toys, you
just play with them and love them. As I am older now I can’t believe how
much I loved Kenner. They sold the best stuff! They were a small
Cincinnati company that made Play Doh and Easy Bake Ovens. They came
into popularity when they claimed the license to make toys based on a
little sci fi movie in 1977 that no one else wanted. But we’ll get back
to that. I had tons of there stuff. For instance one of my favorite toys
ever (that I wish I still had) was a talking Knight Rider car. Guess
who made that?
But that’s not all, here are the five best toy lines from Kenner that I loved as a kid.
#5.M.A.S.K.
Last year I mentioned the TV show and how it was pretty cool, even if
it’s been forgotten these days. Usually its the show that get us into
the toys but here it was the opposite. The vehicles were the best, being
combination vehicles, two in one. For instance my favorite was Condor, a
motorcycle which could also be a helicopter. Or Thunderhawk which was a
red Chevrolet Camaro, which can transform into a gull-winged fighter
jet. And while I never really understood what the Mask’s were supposed
to do, they made the otherwise boring action figures look pretty darn
cool.
I
wanted to do something Star Wars related and was trying t come up with a
different idea. Then I remembered one of my favorite parts of every
Star Wars movie. The ending. No not the final action scene, I mean the
literal final minute or two of the movie. These moments are always so
strong, as they wrap everything up with minimal dialogue just that
beautiful music either assuring that things are well or informing us
that the worst is yet to come. And they always end with that cut to the
credits and the Star Wars fanfare. I love that!!!!
So here are now are my top 9 favorite Star Wars outro’s. From the
sillier one’s that were kinda lame to the one’s that left me with
chills, and wanting more. And obviously, spoilers for these movies.
#9.The Last Jedi
Maybe it’s unfair to put this one so high. Despite its problems I
really enjoyed this movie. But the ending didn’t do anything for me. It
was like the director saying “FYI this is who is going to save the day
next time!”. Yay excitement. I was hoping the last shot was that one on
the rebel ship, that was good.
This
one is long overdue my friends. I don’t think I really need to explain
who John Williams is. He has written some of the most famous and beloved
movie music compositions of all time. I’ll be honest when I looked at
the full list I was surprised just how massive it was.
Now some may cry foul only having ten, but remember I am not the biggest movie fan out there. So here my ten favorites.
#10.Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Main Theme)
Not gonna lie, I did not care for this movie. Maybe if I had seen
back when it first came out it would have been different but man was it
boring. The music is great, with that very memorable melody.
Last year after I had done a slew of DC Comics related articles, I
felt it was only fair to give some love to the other major comic company
out there. So I listed off things from Marvel I really really liked.
This year since it’s the 50th anniversary of Star Trek I have done lots
of Star Trek articles. Heck, I’ve done almost 100 articles on Trek since
I started these silly blogs. What about Star Wars? Three, maybe four.
Yeah it’s no shock I am just not as huge a fan of Star Wars. But why is
that?
A lot of people like to compete over what is better, Star Trek or Star
Wars. And while to someone who doesn’t really know these franchises they
can seem similar (space battles, etc) the truth is comparing the two is
like comparing apple’s or oranges. Star Trek and Star Wars are very
different when you really look at them. I have said that the Abrams Trek
movies were his turning Star Trek into Star Wars. That’s because of the
emphasis on action and the downplaying on morals and ideas which is
what Star Trek is really about. The two have their similarities, beyond
space battles. Both franchises have good strong characters that have
become part of pop culture. Who is more popular, Spock or Darth Vader?
Heck even in Back to the Future when Marty disguises as an alien he
incorporates elements from both franchises into his disguise (in one of
the film’s best jokes).
I was trying to figure out why I love Trek so much more than Wars,
and in reading another article I came across the answer. At least one I
am going with. Star Trek has morals, and they tell good stories we love
to come back to again and again. Star Wars is pure fantasy, action and
adventure as we watch our heroes rise up and defeat the bad guys. Trek
is about exploring the human condition, and Wars is a space opera about
heroes vs villains- good vs evil. As awesome as that is, Wars just
doesn’t bring me back time and again (feel free to comment and disagree
if you’d like). Of course it doesn’t help there are hours of Trek and
only seven Wars movies. It’s no wonder Star Wars expanded media has
taken off (which I had mostly ignored for the record). And yes, for the
record, I enjoyed Star Trek Beyond more than Star Wars The Force
Awakens.
Ok this is turning into a rant, I have a list to get to. At one point
I though of doing a a more extensive look at the two franchises back to
back, but decided that has been done elsewhere by others much smarter
than I. Besides this is about giving Star Wars some love. It was
supposed to be ten things, but I added a few, and hey since I’ve talked
so much about Trek I can add a bit if I want.
So twelve things from Star Wars I truly love (in no particular order):
12.The Theme
Yeah it’s pretty hard not to smile when I hear that theme music.
Especially if it’s in the theater. John Williams did a lot of fantastic
music but this melody will always be my favorite. As soon as you hear
that fanfare you know epicness is on its way. And yes the rest of the
music is good including the classic Imperial March, but if I cover all
the music then this list will just be that!
So I saw this movie back on New Year’s Eve and there were great
things in it. The space battles were awesome, Rey kicked ass, the B-2
droid was cute, and I loved the Millennium Falcon. Someone please
explain how they recreated those sets so well? But I have decided to
share five things that I did not like in the movie. Now I am being
honest, I have not seen it again and am going by memory and comments
others have made. If I get something wrong feel free to correct me,
maybe i missed something.
But here are five things in the movie that I did not like very much! Oh,
and big time spoilers here so if you still haven’t seen it be warned!!!
Death Planet??
In Star Wars A New Hope, the Death Star was almost a character in the
movie. You really felt the weight and dread of this massive space
station. Now it probably sounded good on paper, but a planet? I’m sorry
but the lush green planet just doesn’t have the same presence. Oh and
for something really dumb, it has almost the exact same design flaw as
the Death Star. C’mon! Yeah that final battle against the planet was so
boring, I’m sorry but I couldn’t have cared less. The lightsaber fight
on the planet was good, almost made up for the space battle. And I know
it was called Starkiller Base and maybe I missed something, it was still
boring.
Who doesn’t love C3PO and R2D2? They were the comic relief in the
Star Wars movies but were so much fun to watch. Especially R2. I still
remember the C3PO action figure I had that came apart (ala Empire
Strikes Back). To this day I can hear the clanking noise the parts made
when they fell off onto the table. R2D2 was always my favorite to, I
loved the way he charged in and saved the day! I know had an R2 toy or
clock or something growing up.
I bet you’re thinking this is going to talk about all the great moments of these two from the Star Wars movies.
NOPE!
C3PO and R2D2 were so popular that they were all over the place in TV of the 70′s and 80′s. Don’t believe me? Check this out!
#5.Commercials
I guess it makes sense, if you’re going advertise the movie do it
with most likable stars. C3PO and R2D2 have hawked a kinds of stuff.
They were in a commercial for the Star Wars toy line. They appeared in
an add for a Burger King knock-off in the 70′s. Yes, really. They have
done some car commercials overseas. They were in ads for an appliance
store named Curry’s. R2D2 introduced the TRS-81 personal computer. They
both appeared in an Underoos ad (with Boba Fett!). But the craziest and
my favorite? How about C3PO hawking his own cereal? I am almost sure I
tried C3PO’s and liked them. The commercial is a classic of the 80′s.
Hey that’s not so bad, Darth Vader has done ads for Energizer,
Priceline, and Target. Yes I’m serious.
In case you hadn't figured it out, I am more of a Star Trek
fan then a Star Wars fan. This goes all the way back to when I was a little kid
and when I played with my Star Wars figures I set the stories on the Enterprise
and did more Star Trek related stories (I didn't say I was a smart kid). While
Star Wars is classic story of good vs. evil; Star Trek is all about exploring
the human condition, which makes the stories more relatable and timeless. When
you think about it, how many rip off's of Star Wars have there been over the
years? Because it's easy to rip off. Star Trek is easy to parody, but actually
duplicating it is a bit harder. However comparing Star Trek to Star Wars is
like comparing apples to oranges, two very different franchises and both have
their strong points, and their flaws.
