we're fools to make war on our brothers in arms

Jan 14, 2016 17:20

I was so sad to hear about Alan Rickman this morning. RIP. Fuck cancer.

*

I stayed home from work with a resurgence of this cold - I've been sick with it every day of 2016 so far and I'm not real thrilled about it, but it did allow me to wrap up my current rewatch of the Star Wars Original Trilogy. Things that I have been reminded of (watching with full knowledge of the prequels, rather than only what we [and the writers] knew when these movies were released):

1. how much I want to shake Obi-Wan for not being more forthcoming with Luke, and also for his interesting interpretation of the facts. Ugh. I enjoy him a lot but I also just want to tell him to say something straight out for once. I guess he can't really say, "So I maimed your father beyond all recognition and left him there to die, but here's his lightsaber - that he murdered thirty children with - that I stopped to pick up while he was burning almost to death." (JUST FINISH THE FUCKING JOB, OBI-WAN. PUT THE MAN OUT OF HIS MISERY.) There's a reason my tag for him on tumblr is #best worst mentor? (Well, and also #hate the game not the player, but that's for young hot Obi-Wan who was flirting his way across the galaxy.)

And also Yoda, who when asked if Vader is really Luke's father, would rather succumb to death. I just. Arrgh. Just tell the kid the freaking truth. It'd work better than talking in riddles.

2. Vader's unending fixation on/disdain for Obi-Wan. It's pretty hilarious, but understandable. I don't ship them (I don't not ship them? I feel like roping Obi-Wan in as part of their relationship would have saved Anakin and Padme - and the galaxy - a lot of grief, but I am not particularly interested in reading about it in fic; like, I will read it but skim the sex if it's there in a story about other things, but I don't go looking for shippy fic about them) but they are super weird about each other, even here. That only gets worse in the prequel-era. [I kind of loved, on Rebels, how when he discovers Ahsoka's alive, he's also like, "SHE CAN LEAD ME TO OBI-WAN." And his catty remarks in the comics about Obi-Wan's failure to teach Luke are pretty funny. Oh, Vader, your fixation is showing.)

3. There is no amount of "LOOK AT YOUR LIFE. LOOK AT YOUR CHOICES." that is sufficient to yell at Vader while he's making terrible choices. That didn't stop me from yelling at him a lot, though. And when he's like, "It's too late for me, son." I'm just like, "NO. NO IT'S NOT. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE DUMBASS." I think my recent unfortunate fondness for Anakin/Vader has made me even more emotional about these movies, and now I understand why people write fix-its (there are SO MANY points where if someone had just said or done something differently, SO MUCH SUFFERING could have been avoided. Just, set it before he kills the younglings. That's the point of no return.). #i hate that i have ~feelings about darth vader now

4. When Vader is like, "maybe your sister will turn!" I'm just like, "Oh honey no." All Luke had to say at that point was "It's Leia," and Vader would have been like, "Yeah, that's not going to work." I'm not saying that Leia's not a tiny ball of seething rage, because she is (like father, like daughter), but Leia would kill him and Palpatine and not fall out of sheer spite and then she'd lord it over them forever. Don't think she couldn't do it. I remain forever disappointed that he never found out who she was before he died. (Mostly so he could be like, "Tell your sister I'm sorry" instead of "tell your sister you were right." You don't get to have that buddy. If I were Leia and Luke said that to me, I'd be like, "are you fucking kidding me? how is it that when you're in danger he's suddenly good again, but he could torture me without a qualm?" I am just saying.)

5. Also on Leia - I have seen people complain about her characterization in RotJ, and in rewatching, I do not understand why. She gets to rescue Han, strangle the fuck out of Jabba the Hutt, take out a bunch of stormtroopers on a speeder bike, befriend the Ewoks, who turn the tide of battle, and then kill some more stormtroopers after she's been shot. I mean, I guess you could say that being shaken up and needing a hug after finding out that your BFF is actually your secret twin brother and your bio dad is the dude who tortured you (twice), blew up your planet (thus killing your real dad), tortured your boyfriend and handed him over to a bounty hunter, and has been trying to kill you for years is weak, but if so, then fuck you.

Could she have had more to do? Yes. Could they have done more with the fact that she remembers Padme? YES. (Could Luke have, AT ANY POINT, asked Obi-Wan or Vader or, I dunno, ANYONE about his mother? HELL YES.) But I don't feel like she was weakened at all. #perfect space princess

6. Han Solo has no chill. He's awesome and hilarious but also the biggest drama queen outside the Skywalker family, which I guess is why he had to marry in. Nobody else could handle his drama.

7. Luke is always much more interesting interacting with the other characters than off doing boring Jedi shit. Or maybe I just have no more patience for Yoda and his judgy face. Otoh, everyone's like, "Luke's so good and pure," but have you watched that sequence when he force-chokes two guards and mind-tricks another to get into Jabba's palace? I'm still not sure how we're supposed to believe that the Jedi mind trick is an okay thing for people who are identified with the light side of the Force to do. (Ah, don't get me started on the Jedi.)

8. As annoying as Threepio can be, he does have his heroic moments. (Also, I await the day that the droids rise up in rebellion on their own behalf; surely someone has written that, and I don't mean BSG.)

9. I love the Ewoks. Hardcore guerrilla teddy bear warriors. They made a drumset out of stormrooper helmets (and probably the skulls of their enemies). They are awesome. Fight me.

10. Of all the additions from Lucas's post-release tampering, I have to admit the one I care about least is adding Hayden Christensen as Anakin's Force ghost. (It's just one final reminder that, oh yeah, I wanna punch Anakin in the face for being a dumbass.) At least that addition looks pretty seamless. Some of the others are quite jarring. (Otoh, I pretended Ahsoka was in that briefing room when Mon Mothma and Ackbar were laying out the plan, so if they'd added her in post, I'd just roll with it.)

So that was an enjoyable rewatch.

*

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/810021.html.
people have commented there.

a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, movies: star wars, the skywalker family tragedy

Previous post Next post
Up