Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Star Wars Page 36 of 39

The Story Rogue One Will Tell

The Story Rogue One Will Tell (For the Noobs)

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On May 3, 2016

In Geek Canon, Movies, Star Wars

The Story Rogue One Will TellIf you’re a Star Wars troglodyte (aka a Trekkie – j/k Trekkies!), or just a newbie you may have no clue as to the story Rogue One will tell. I’ve also been reading a lot of fan theories trying to connect characters in Rogue One to The Force Awakens. While I admire the hypothesizing, I was never under the impression that there would be a lineage connection between any of the new faces in Rogue One with any character in The Force Awakens. All of these fan theories has given credence to how successful the story is in The Force Awakens. If the movie hadn’t been so cryptic as to the origins of Rey and Snoke, people wouldn’t be trying to find the answers in trailer subtext.

Is Jyn Erso Rey’s mother or Captain Phasma?

Is Snoke in that bacta tank?

The Rogue One creative executive, Pablo Hidalgo, ended all of that speculation with his tweet (as mentioned in this article):

The producers (and Disney) want Rogue One to be a stand alone film with the only common element being that it’s Star Wars (hence “anthology film“). The movie will be the telling of how the rebel spies (as mentioned in the opening crawl of A New Hope) managed to steal the plans to the Death Star. While its true that the movie “is set between Revenge of the Sith and the classic that started it all, 1977’s A New Hope”, its chronologically much closer to A New Hope. In fact my suspicion is that the movie will end with the delivering of said stolen plans to Princess Leia thus triggering the events that unfold in the beginning of A New Hope. Granted I don’t know how much lore already exists surrounding the theft of the Death Star plans but I hope Disney sticks to it if any lore exists (remember they only debunked any lore post-ROTJ). Be that as it may, the unequivocal answer to these questions is “No”. Jyn Erso is not kin to Rey or Phasma. Supreme Leader Snoke is not bobbing around in a bacta tank.

Rogue One will be one of three anthology films Disney plans to release (the other two will be a Han Solo film in 2018 and a Boba Fett film in 2020). I do not expect this film to have the same success as The Force Awakens as I believe all three of these films are simply for the fans (and another profit-generator for Disney, since they love to milk a subculture for every dollar they can). I do plan to see this movie in the theater (because its required to see a Star Wars movie in the theater). The director, Gareth Edwards, doesn’t have a lot of highly successful credentials, with the possible exception of Godzilla (2014) so that could be a red flag but I think it has the potential to be one of those obscure fan favorites (The Ewok Adventures anyone?). Regardless, I’m excited to see it 

/MTFBWY

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

ICYMI: Rogue One Teaser Trailer

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On April 7, 2016

In Movies, Star Wars

As promised, on Good Morning America the teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story premiered. You can watch the trailer below. Personally I think these anthology movies are really just for the fans. I’m not expecting the regular movie goers or critics to rave about this movie as much as they did for The Force Awakens. I think it looks pretty decent and I’ll probably see it in the theater. I am excited for a full length trailer.

My understanding, as to where in the timeline this movie falls, it takes place just before A New Hope. It’s the story of how the Rebel spies managed to steal the plans for the Death Star. The one question I have so far is, Where Is Alan Tudyk???

Rey May Be the Most Powerful Jedi Yet

Rey May Be The Most Powerful Jedi Yet

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On April 5, 2016

In Movies, Star Wars

Rey SkywalkerWhile this movie is the highest grossing movie of all time (domestically), is among the top ranked on Rotten Tomatoes, is considered the third best Star Wars movie, there are still a few folks that like to poke holes in the plot. While I don’t disagree with some of them, there is one I want to talk about specifically. Some folks found it hard to believe that Rey just suddenly knew how to use her powers. I’m going to offer my thoughts on why I think her ability to use her powers is conceivable and how she may be the most powerful Jedi yet.

First off, she doesn’t just suddenly know how to use them, not everything works on the first try. The Jedi Mind Trick, for example, took her a couple tries before she could convince the Stormtrooper to remove her restraints. Her duel with Kylo Ren wasn’t an epic battle, she was barely surviving against his fury; in fact had their fight not been disrupted by an exploding planet, Kylo Ren would probably have defeated her.

Everyone has some innate talent or ability and not everyone recognizes those abilities right away. It might take some accident (perhaps a “happy accident?” – thank you Bob Ross) or being thrown to the proverbial wolves before your natural talent is discovered. Since it’s a natural talent, you might find that certain abilities come more easily to you. Granted those abilities are probably not going to be as refined or sophisticated as someone who has had practice/experience. I’m not talking about some science fiction, superhuman, fantasy based concept; this kind of thing happens in real life, and can happen to everyone. In fact some people have recognized their natural abilities and they have made a living out of it. Perhaps someone has a natural talent for cooking or baking and go on to become a chef. If you want something a little closer to Rey, perhaps some people discover they have a natural talent for martial arts and go on to train others or perform stunt work.

rey+owns+kyloRey discovering her Jedi abilities is not some cheesy method of advancing the plot quickly. Also, I’m convinced she has the blood of a Skywalker. In fact I believe she is Luke’s daughter (I’ve started calling her Rey Skywalker). So she is the daughter of a powerful Jedi who was the son of another very powerful Jedi; which leads me to my conclusion that Rey may be a Jedi prodigy.

 

Darth Highlander

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On January 5, 2016

In Star Wars

darth-highlanderAfter 10 years of loyal service, I sold my Saturn Vue and upgraded to something a little more current. A 2015 Toyota Highlander. I don’t usually like to buy foreign cars, I like to drive a vehicle that is American made (although that’s probably a relative term since there are foreign cars manufactured in the United States). Be that as it may, the Highlander had the best safety ratings and Consumer Report ratings and I liked the way it drove. Actually I was on the fence about it until I went on a test drive and it just felt great driving one. Once the test drive was over, I knew that I had found my next car.

So why Darth Highlander?

It was actually my wife that started calling it “Darth”. As you can see from the picture, it’s black and even the profile of the car is a little “Vader-esque”. I think Darth quickly became quite fitting; however a Sith Lord is never simply just “Darth” and since it’s a Toyota Highlander, Darth Highlander just seemed to roll off the tongue.

If you take a look at the gallery, after the break, you can see all the accoutrements I added to give my new car that “Darth” feel.

/MTFBWY

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Star Wars: My Inner Child Awakens

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On January 4, 2016

In Geek Canon, Movies, Reviews, Star Wars

I have been working on this post (whether its written or in my head) since I saw The Force Awakens December 24th. The thing I struggled with the most was giving this post a proper title that not only reflected how I felt about the film but also what this post is going to be about (other than simply my nerdy review). I settled on “My Inner Child Awakens” because not only is it a play on the film’s title but it’s how I felt watching the movie.

If you have talked to me in person or followed any of my Twitter or Facebook posts then you already know what I thought of the movie. I was, literally, trembling before the movie started and I was trembling for hours after. I really liked it. It may be my second favorite movie of the seven (because Empire will always be my first). star-wars-like-kid-againI think I also had to tone down the pride a notch or two since I was correct on one of my story arc predictions (which I can talk about in a bit – I want to save the spoilers until later in the post). I found the picture to the right on Facebook and I had to include it in this post. It accurately reflects how I felt walking out of The Force Awakens.

I realize The Force Awakens didn’t appeal to everyone’s inner child, and I certainly appreciate their opinion. I am in the minority that enjoyed all three prequel movies so it’s nice to be among the majority for episode seven. The box office numbers have certainly proved that The Force Awakens was a huge success not only among the avid fanatics (like myself) but also among the middle-of-the-road fans and the regular moviegoers. I’ve had several friends waiting for me to see the film because they wanted to know what I thought about it as a big fan of the franchise. This is when I will get into spoilers so if, for some unearthly reason, you haven’t seen the movie yet I wouldn’t keep reading. I also want to warn you that this is one of my more lengthy posts so I hope you don’t file this under TL;DR.

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Star Wars: Jar Jar Binks Is An Essential Character

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On December 15, 2015

In Geek Canon, Star Wars

Jar Jar Binks

Yes, let’s talk about the most controversial character in Star Wars (since the Ewoks – yes, back in the day the Ewoks were also hated). In fact, not only am I going to talk about him, I’m going to defend the fact that Jar Jar Binks is an essential character to the prequels. I liked Jar Jar and I think all the adults that hate him have lost something within themselves.

I was also inspired by this polygon article, which is an excellent read and I agree with the author 100%. He does an excellent job defending Jar Jar so there isn’t much else I can say he hasn’t already mentioned. I do understand why many people dislike Jar Jar, which the author also mentions. I get it, but Jar Jar deserves some additional support, so I will justify Jar Jar’s existence from a different perspective.

Jump In My Time Machine

Let me take you back to the first time you saw Star Wars, whether that was in 1977, 1980, and 1983 or perhaps in the 90s (which is when I saw them for the first time). Try and channel your 7-year-old self and remember what it was like seeing Star Wars for the first time. Go beyond the space battles and the lightsabers and think about the characters that you found endearing. The awkward antics of C-3PO and the cunning of the Ewoks as they use archaic conventions to thwart the Empire. Admit it! These characters are some of the reasons you are now a fan.

Find that inner child and watch the prequels again. I remember watching The Phantom Menace in the theater (which I did seven times) and hearing the laughter of children after one of Jar Jar’s goofy antics. In fact, did you know that Disney’s Goofy was George Lucas’ inspiration for Jar Jar? I can kind of see that now. Also, Lucas’ adopted son, Jett Lucas, named Jar Jar and inspired the Gungan species. What a neat way to include your children in your legacy and life’s work!

So if Jar Jar is based on Goofy, and you hate Jar Jar, then by the inference rule, you hate Goofy! Seriously, how can you hate Goofy?? “Gawrsh!”

Jar Jar Is For the Kids

All joking aside, I honestly do understand why some folks hate Jar Jar. Perhaps, if it weren’t for his voice and some of his dialog, he may have been more endearing to adults. I ask you this: don’t we want our children to like Star Wars as much as we did when we were young and give them the same cinematic experience?? Jar Jar is to our children as Wicket was to us. The prequels needed that delightful character that would become one of the reasons our children are now fans.

So I think instead of laughing at depictions of cutting off Jar Jar’s head, maybe it’s time we cut Jar Jar some slack.

/MTFBWY

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