Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Star Wars Page 31 of 39

Biggs On: Cancellation of the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Movies

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On November 11, 2018

In Biggs On, Movies, Star Wars

I’m sure many are waiting for my manbaby to emerge and tantrum after the cancellation of the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan movies. The truth is that I’m not bothered by it at all. In fact the decision makes sense. It has absolutely nothing to do with the poor box office performance of the Solo movie. As much as the butt-hurt manbabies try to rationalize, the poor performance is not the result of fan protest. Fans actually went to see the Han Solo movie! That being said, why am I not butt-hurt about the cancellations?

We Know Boba Fett’s Origin

Fan art of Boba Fett’s escape – by Deviant Art

I don’t think Disney mentioned the plot of the Boba Fett movie. The other non-Skywalker movies take place between Episode 3 and Episode 4. I really doubt that a Boba Fett origin film was planned. Attack of the Clones is essentially the origin story. He’s a clone of Jango Fett that remained unaltered. I think it would be a surprise if this was the intended plot of the movie.

So if it’s not an origin story, there is only one other logical story line. The story line that has been an enigma since Return of the Jedi. Boba Fett’s rumored escape from the Sarlacc in the Pit of Carkoon. This is the story I believe Disney would have pursued. Everyone wants to know how Boba Fett survives the Sarlacc but I’m glad we won’t. I would prefer this remain a mystery, why ruin it? Now we are left to the manifestations of our own minds, which are better than any producer, writer or director could ever imagine. Besides, we wouldn’t have as much excellent fan art and depictions.

What Would We Learn About Obi-Wan?

The bigger mystery of these two movies is what would the plot be of the Obi-Wan movie? We learn more about the Death Star plans in Rogue One. We learn about how Han and Chewie met, the Kessel Run and the Millennium Falcon in the Solo movie. What would we have learned about Obi-Wan? The prequels told us how he became a General and the Clone Wars animated series told us how he and Anakin became friends.

A couple of reports emerged that suggested the story was going to take place while Obi-Wan was in exile in the Jundland Wastes on Tatooine. He would become involved with some kind of conflict between local farmers and the Sand People. It’s not a story I was terribly excited about, therefore cancelling this movie made sense to me. Besides, I think what we all really wanted to see is Ewan McGreggor as Obi-Wan Kenobi again.

The cancellation of the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan movies was the smart move by Disney. While we all really want to see more of the two biggest bad asses in the franchise, I think it’s better they remain enigmatic. I don’t think this is the end of more “Star Wars Story” films. I would love to see Donald Glover reprise Lando in his own film, which Lucasfilm has hinted at before.

/MTFBWY

The Force. It calls to you. Just let it in.

Book Review: Phasma

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On September 19, 2018

In Book Review, Science Fiction, Star Wars

Phasma (Star Wars)Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson
My rating: [rating=4]

Captain Phasma is the Boba Fett of the sequel trilogy. Mysterious. Ruthless. The stomp of her chrome boots and her clipped Imperial accent makes her both menacing and intriguing. There is clearly a story to tell and Delilah Dawson is here to tell it.

Vi Moradi is a Resistance spy, often given tasks by General Organa herself. On her recent mission she is captured by Captain Cardinal, a stormtrooper of the First Order. Instead of turning her over to his superiors, he secretly interrogates her for evidence against his rival, Captain Phasma. Since the day Brendol Hux brought Phasma on board the Absolution all his hard work has been marginalized and his pupils reprogrammed to be heartless killers. He believes that she is responsible for murdering his mentor. He wants Phasma gone and he’ll do what needs to be done to see to it that she is removed from command.

Biggs Review

I really enjoyed this book. I love the austere and ruthlessness of Phasma in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. The thing that I enjoyed most was that the author didn’t just give us a full origin story. We learn about the kind of person Phasma is by second-hand stories. I didn’t want all the secrets revealed to maintain the elusiveness of the character. The use of interrogation of a spy, and friend of someone from Phasma’s past, is a great mechanism for maintaining the enigma.

I like the fact that throughout the whole book you’re never really “rooting” for Phasma but you do develop some revere for the character. You begin to understand the character more from what she has endured before joining the First Order. You even learn why she doesn’t wear the typical plastoid composite stormtrooper armor and where the chrome armor comes from.

Finally, much like Boba Fett in the sarlacc, I do not think she is dead after she is bested by Finn in The Last Jedi. Phasma knows exactly what she needs to do to survive and I think we will see her again in Episode IX.

View all my reviews

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

 

Star Wars Manbabies are Ruining the Franchise (not Disney)

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On July 28, 2018

In Star Wars

It is a tumultuous year for the Star Wars franchise. The polarizing effect of The Last Jedi likely contributed to the lackluster box office of the Solo movie. This is unfortunate because the movie is actually quite good. The trolls and sniveling “fans” have been posting diatribe after diatribe that Disney is ruining Star Wars. The real fact of the matter is, these manbabies are ruining the franchise, not Disney.

Let’s Compare Actions

Disney has not only brought Star Wars into the lives of our sons and nephews but also our daughters and nieces. While I absolutely appreciate the nostalgia of the original trilogy, modern times calls for modern movies. Making new trilogies and new movies (i.e. A Star Wars Story series) is how we keep our children as excited about Star Wars as we are. Kathleen Kennedy (et al.) brought Star Wars into the context of the modern world. They do this with a more diverse cast, a female protagonist, and modern dialect (ex: Poe’s “mom” joke).

So while Disney is trying to be more progressive with Star Wars, how are the jaundiced fans responding? They bully and bigot until the stars of the movies are forced to abandon social media. They create fake accounts to drive down audience ratings, create phony online petitions, and other nefarious acts that are an embarrassment to all Star Wars fans. Their chronic bellyaching and narrow-mindedness has no place among real fans. The moniker of “manbaby” is well-earned. They are better off denouncing Star Wars (all of it, original trilogy et al), and go live under a rock or DIAF. I’m tired of reading about it.

DIY If You Think You Know Better

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. If you think you can write a better movie then write the script, hire the crew and make the movie. I look forward to seeing it in the theater. If you are unable to do any of that and you can’t be a little more open-minded, then Shut The Fuck Up!

The Force. It calls to you. Just let it in.

 

Book Review – Star Wars: Ahsoka

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On June 20, 2018

In Book Review, Science Fiction, Star Wars

Ahsoka (Star Wars)Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
My rating: [rating=4]

The description of this book states “Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka…” and I am one of those fans. Ahsoka Tano is one of my favorite Jedi from the Clone Wars series. Ashley Eckstein brings such wonderful life to the character and her contributions to the Star Wars universe are extraordinary.

Order 66 has been issued and Ahsoka survived. As with most Jedi that escaped the slaughter, she is in exile, hiding who she is to stay alive. She finds herself on the distant moon of Raada, trying to live a quiet life, away from the Empire. However, hiding from the Empire is easier said than done when a detachment shows up and begins enslaving the farmers of the planet. Ahsoka may have to remember who she is and why she became a Jedi to help free the people.

This is a fairly short book and, therefore, a quick read. We all know that Ahsoka is a bad ass Jedi, Anakin Skywalker was her Master after all. After what she has seen during the Clone Wars and the eradication of the Jedi, her mental state seems accurately depicted in this book. I love how the author gives us glimpses of more Force sensitive users, despite the fact that the Jedi are “all but extinct”. I also love how the author shows us more about Jedi teachings, including how a Jedi chooses their lightsaber crystals; this book, in particular, provides an interesting twist.

If you love Ahsoka as much as I do, I definitely recommend this book. It’s a great filler story between the end of Clone Wars and Rebels.

View all my reviews

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

 

“Manbabies” is an Accurate Description

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On June 11, 2018

In Fulmination, Star Wars

I am still fuming from the news that Kelly Marie Tran was driven off social media because of bullying. Whoever these “manbabies” are have no place among Star Wars fans (or human beings). It’s all right to like or dislike the prequels or the new movies, but it’s utterly despicable to use racist and sexist language to force someone from social media. Especially someone as charming and wonderful as Kelly Marie Tran.

“Manbabies” is an accurate description for these alleged “fans”, a label applied by Rian Johnson in a tweet. Actually there are a few tweets in which Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill shutdown all these awful haters. You can express your disagreement of the new movies without resorting to bigotry and racism.

“Give Us Legends” the Scapegoat

The group of cowards responsible for this atrocious behavior attempted to throw “Give Us Legends” under the bus. I appreciate what GUL wants to do and I am more inclined to believe they were not involved with this act of bullying. A few days after the story broke, the website “Making Star Wars” published an article that implicates “Give Us Legends” as the culprits behind the racist attacks. While I could not find any source to back up the article, I found several sources that exonerated GUL.

If you are unfamiliar with “Give Us Legends”, they are a group of avid Star Wars fans that are respectfully urging Disney to continue the Legends canon. When Disney “debunked” the Expanded Universe, they coined the debunked canon as “Legends”. The article from “Making Star Wars” is successful in skewing your perception of GUL, however, their Facebook page absolves them. I initially thought they were among the group of whiny “manbabies” wishing to stop Disney from rewriting EU canon. However, they are simply asking for Disney to continue expanding the “Legends” canon as well as their new post-Jedi canon. I support that notion!

Kelly Marie Tran is Amazing

In a more recent post I discuss how Star Wars is more gender neutral because of strong female characters. Now I’m not going to preach about gender equality. An actor or character’s gender, race, creed, color or sexual orientation are irrelevant to the story. I don’t know why any of those characteristics need to be singled out in any capacity.

Be that as it may, Kelly Marie Tran’s character is Rose Tico (if you didn’t know). Rose is a mechanic on the Raddus, the cruiser that becomes the flagship for General Leia during the evacuation of D’Qar. While a good mechanic, she stays below the radar until her sister is killed during the bombing of the dreadnaught. Rose rises up to become another strong female character in the Star Wars universe. She is a welcome addition to the likes of Daisy Ridley, Ashley Eckstein and Carrie Fisher.

Since the disgusting display of human indecency, there has been a huge outpouring of support by the actual Star Wars fans. It’s unfortunate that Kelly Marie Tran has left social media because I think she would appreciate it. I hope she sees it eventually, because I look forward to seeing more Rose in the next movie.

/MTFBWY

The Force. It calls to you. Just let it in.

 

Movie Review – Solo: A Star Wars Story

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On June 4, 2018

In Movies, Reviews, Star Wars

Solo A Star Wars StorySolo: A Star Wars Story

Directed By: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke

My Rating: [rating=4]

Let’s face it, this movie was doomed from the moment it was announced. It’s poor opening weekend is as lackluster as the fan reaction of the original announcement. Critics are all pathetic so I could care less what they think; and I generally ignore the fare-weather fans. Admittedly, I have been skeptical of this movie since its announcement, but I prefer to keep an open mind.

For what it’s worth, calling it a “flop” seems a little harsh and unfair. How can you expect a movie to succeed when it was mired in doubt and disappointment since its announcement? Obviously people made up their minds before the movie was even released. It’s destiny was determined before it even had a chance. Ranting about fake fans aside, time to discuss what I think of the movie.

Biggs Review

This line from ESB has a much deeper and humorous meaning, now

**Spoiler Alert** Han, Chewie and Lando survive! Haha. I couldn’t resist. The negative expectations for this movie are completely unwarranted. If you have not seen this movie because of a preconceived notion that it’s a flop, then stop listening to the Internet and go anyway. I really enjoyed this movie! Much more than I was expecting. Alden Ehrenreich isn’t as terrible as he was in Beautiful Creatures, he actually does surprisingly well (maybe even better than Hayden Christensen). Donald Glover is a brilliant Lando Calrissian, I am really looking forward to see him in the Lando movie! Honestly, Donald Glover’s performance isn’t surprising, Woody Harrelson, however, is the biggest surprise. I cannot recall too many action rolls for Woody Harrelson but the battle sequence on the tram is really impressive. He makes a better Beckett than he does Haymitch (sorry Hunger Games fans).

There are two things I have to criticize about the movie, which is why I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5. First, I did not find Lady Proxima terribly impressive or intimidating. A large, purple alien worm is not a scary crime lord nor does she fit the Corellia fauna. I’m sure they wanted to use something other than a Hutt as a crime boss, but even a large slug appears more menacing. The second thing, Han actually attempting to speak Wookie the first time he meets Chewbacca. I understand his predicament warrants an alien language, but it didn’t feel like a “Han” thing to do.

And then there is the music.

The Soundtrack Is Amazing

The music is just as important to a movie as the acting, plot and story. If the soundtrack is excellent, 9 times out of 10, so is the movie. The one exception, in my experience, is Ang Lee’s Hulk movie (amazing soundtrack, mediocre movie). Now when you think Star Wars soundtrack, everyone always thinks John Williams. The man IS Star Wars music. You may be surprised to learn that John Williams did not compose this soundtrack. In fact he only composes for the main saga (FYI, Michael Giacchino is the composer for Rogue One).

John Powell is the composer for Solo A Star Wars Story. Powell is mostly known for his work on the How To Train Your Dragon movies and the Jason Bourne movies. I bought, and listened to, the soundtrack a week before I even saw the movie. The music draws you in so quickly it amazes me John Williams isn’t the composer. However, he clearly collaborated with Powell as there is a track that is a montage of some of the original music. In fact, I may be so bold as to say this soundtrack is better than the Rogue One soundtrack and the John Williams montage gives credence to that assertion.

This movie is definitely worth seeing at least once in the theater. Ignore the trolls, the fake fans and the critics and go with an open mind and I think you will find it very entertaining.

/MTFBWY

Breathe. Just breathe. Now reach out.

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