Star Wars- A Delayed Dissection

So, I decide one day, that I need to watch Star Wars. I thought it was the pinnacle, the ultimate source of inspiration for all fantasies…

How wrong was I?

I downloaded all the six installments of this ‘epic’ and started right from the start. That is ‘The Phantom Menace’ and proceeded to watch all that this series had to offer over a period of three days.

I gave the movie one chance, then two chances and three chances and then ten and then I lost count…as I delved deeper and deeper into the crap that the entire series was.

Darth Vader, a character who could have been immortalized had it been penned by someone of Tolkien’s or Rowling’s or Ayn didi’s caliber for that matter was turned to an obstinate fool. The slight amount of respect that I gained for him in ‘The Revenge Of The Sith’ came crashing down once I saw the sequels. A character so complex, he would have been the next Severus Snape or Sauron or Ellsworth Toohey. But all he remained at the end of the series was a character you would see in any of the countless Mithun movies. His aura was butchered and hacked. His charisma had been reduced to zilch. He became one of those ‘also rans’.

Obi- Wan Kenobi, who was rated 37^th amongst the list of AFI’s top 100 heroes of all time was an aberration to be extremely polite. He had nothing to offer. As the ex- mentor of Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader, he was shown to possess no special skills except his belief in the Jedi value system. He did not even deserve to mentor Luke for that matter if his characterization is anything to go by. You were expecting a Dumbledore and all Lucas handed out was a ‘Muggle Studies’ professor.

Of Luke and Leia, the little said the better.  In one of the sequels, Leia is shown kissing Luke and right in the next movie, Leia feels his brotherly bond calling out asking for help. 

A character who could have been more used was Yoda but he too fell to the absolute lack of imagination of the authors.

Coming to imagination, the light saber battles were only short of Dandiya/ Raas Nights which we get to see during Durga Puja.  The enemies displayed no emotion as they engaged, the held their sabers as if they were holding a fishing rod…and they killed as if killing people was a duty they were paid monthly salaries for like the Govt Babus. Its as if one had to offer a bribe to get emotions on their faces.

The few positive things I had to take…I saw Natalie Portman for the first time and I loved her. She looked so beautiful; it was almost a sin to touch her. The Jedi farewell ‘May the force be with you’ was decent enough. Jabba the Hutt was lovable. Darth Sidius was OK.

George Lucas invested so much money in creating this universe and did nothing when it came to the characters or the story. He killed my dream. He made me think my life as a low level manager was more exciting than to be a Jedi warrior.  

I cannot help but delete the movie now and find consolation in LoTR.

PS- George, next time you make a movie, please please invest more time and money on the characters. It is them who breathe life in a fantasy, not space ships and robots.