Category Archives: Geek

I’ve been reviewing each of the Star Wars movies, starting with the prequels, in anticipation of The Force Awakens on Dec. 17. (I got the first showing nearest my town, naturally.) Everything I’ve seen of the new movie has been positive, and so my cautious optimism is firmly in place.

The original Star Wars, also known as Episode IV: A New Hope if you’re a stickler for such things, is a huge part of why I’m a science fiction and fantasy writer today. I think there are definitely parallels between this film and my first book, The Daedalus Incident, and that’s no accident. Like Lucas, I leaned heavily on Campbell in constructing Daedalus; I often called the book a cross between Master and Commander and Star Wars.

I think the success of the first movie had much to do with Campbell’s hero’s journey. There’s a resonance to those myth-cycles that Campbell correctly identified, and we see ourselves in the characters as they embark on the journey — or in other archetypes of the myth-cycle, depending on where we are in life.

So maybe we’re Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia, central to this story. Maybe we’re Han Solo, the loner sidekick who nonetheless heeds the call. Maybe we’re Obi-Wan, providing wisdom before stepping aside to allow others to build further. Or maybe we’re even Vader himself, drowning in our fear and anger and sorrow until we can find a path to redemption.

These were the thoughts in my head as I watched Star Wars for what seemed like the millionth time. I know this movie by heart. In fact, while in my 20s and firmly in my barfly life-stage, several friends and I recreated the entire movie over pints at the pub. We didn’t miss a line. There are few cultural touchstones so firmly rooted in our global community as this one.

But I’m now looking at it with fresh eyes, and asking myself…is it really any good? Does it stand up to the test of time and the grey clouds of cynicism accumulated with age?  Continue reading →

It’s the final piece of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and — perhaps unsurprisingly — Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the best of the prequels and, if I may be a touch heretical, on a par with Return of the Jedi. It very much echoes what made the original trilogy special, despite having many of the problems that plagued the other prequels.

A large part of that has to do with payoff — we suffered through The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones just to get to that iconic moment when Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker turns to the Dark Side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. And for the most part, this movie delivers on that.

So let’s start with what Revenge of the Sith got right before we figure out the bits that went wrong.  Continue reading →

Back once again with the Star Wars rewatch in preparation for Episode VII: The Force Awakens. We already tackled The Phantom Menace, so now it’s time for Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

My ding against Phantom Menace was that it was largely superfluous; you could’ve handled Anakin’s introductions to Obi-Wan and Padme in about 15 minutes and built a better movie around that. My problem with Attack of the Clones isn’t that it’s meaningless — it advances both the A-plot (Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side) and B-plot (the rise of the Empire).

My problem is that it has plot holes large enough to drive a Star Destroyer through. Seriously, some of this stuff makes zero sense.

Let’s start with the much-maligned love story between Anakin and Padme. Now, I don’t blame either actor here for what we saw, because Lucas loves his stilted exposition and lengthy declarations of emotion. And having been a lovestruck late-teens, early 20-something, I can actually relate to Anakin’s headspace here, to my great surprise. No, my issue is Padme, as in…what the hell are you thinking?  Continue reading →

I am very much a Star Wars fan. I saw the very first one in the theater at the tender age of five, and I still remember freaking out as Vader was about to off Kenobi, hands over my face but watching between my fingers. I’ve seen all six films in the theaters, and Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy was awesome. Admittedly, I’ve not kept up with the rest of the EU-now-Legends novels, nor with Clone Wars or Rebels. But I do love my Star Wars.

In fact, I’d venture to say that I wouldn’t be a SF/F writer today if Star Wars hadn’t lit my imagination on fire back in 1977. And yes, I have tickets pre-ordered to see The Force Awakens on Thursday, Dec. 17, at a local theater. It’s on, people. It’s ON.

So to prepare for the return of Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie, I’ve started rewatching all six movies, in episodic order, while I’m huffing and puffing on the elliptical each morning. And I’m going to blog some thoughts about each of them when I’m done. First up, Episode I: The Phantom Menace.   Continue reading →