Mark Phillips's Blog - Posts Tagged "fun"
On the importance of Star Wars
The new Star Wars movie is coming out on December 18th and fans are cautiously optimistic. This isn't like 1999 when everyone was pulling out of their skin in anticipation of the prequel films. See, we've been burned before.
If someone wanted to make a presentation about how to write both a wonderful fantasy series and a terrible fantasy series they would only need to include one franchise: Star Wars.
Now, none of the films are completely flawless I'm not trying to say that (although The Empire Strikes Back comes pretty damn close) but what I am saying is that the original trilogy is clearly better than the prequel films.
The original trilogy had a clear arc and powerful themes. It introduced us into a wonderful fantasy world that we loved.
But wait, the prequel films had a clear arc and powerful themes too. In fact, you could argue that the arc of one man's descent into evil is a much more powerful storyline than anything in the original trilogy. The prequels were able to use better technology to fully explore that fantasy world and bring us wondrous visuals that could excite and entertain.
So why did the prequel's suck? And why were the original movies good?
Basically it all comes down to characters. Or, rather, getting to know our characters.
In the original film we spent basically the first forty minutes with Luke Skywalker. We learned about his life, we learned about what he wanted, he got to know him as a character. We met Obi Wan and got to know him. We met Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2D2. By the time the movie was over, we felt like we knew these people and we cared about them.
In the second film we got to know the bad guys. We learned more about Darth Vader and his history, we met the emperor and hated him.
In the third film good and evil collide for an exciting climax and all story points are resolved.
Throughout all of it there were special effects and space battles and lightsaber duels and adventure and action. But all of those elements were a consequence of the situation the characters were in. Sure, they added to the movie and made it enjoyable, but all the adventure in the world means nothing if I don't care about people. That emotional bond is what draws people into a story. It's the basis of all great fiction.
The prequel films fail at this. There is the same action, the same adventure, the same space battles and improved special effects. What those films lack though is the heart of the original trilogy. Save for one exception, there is no character in the entire trilogy that we get to know in the same way as we get to know the characters in the original trilogy. There are no bonds formed between characters like in the original trilogy. Luke and Han don't start off as friends, their friendship grows organically from their situation. Same with Han and Leia. They don't start out loving each other, it grows from what they've been through.
In the prequels we are told that Obi Wan and Anakin are friends, we are told that Anakin and Padme love each other. There is no real attempt made to actually show Obi Wan and Anakin become friends. No scenes where we see that bond grow. We are simply told they had adventures and became friends. Well, I'm sorry, but that's not a good way to tell a story. It's hard to live vicariously through your characters when I don't get to see any of the moments that formed their bond.
There is a lame attempt at showing how Anakin and Padme fall in love, but it's as if it were written by an alien who only had a partial understanding about how people actually fall in love.
The entire prequel films treats the characters as just another set piece. Something to put where you need it, have it say what you need it to say and then move on to the next plot point. Everything is in service to the plot and nothing is in service to the characters.
And that is the failing of the prequel films. They don't give us characters to root for and thus why the hell should we care? Turns out, we don't.
I did say there was one exception, didn't I? That would be the emperor. He is is the only character in the prequel films that actually had depth. He had a clear goal and everything he did was in service to his character working for that goal. He was power-hungry, evil and duplicitous. And that's how he was portrayed. His character was fully fleshed out and so his actions were able to have clear character motivation.
When you're sitting down to write your own story (space epic or not) make sure that you keep this in mind. The dazzling visuals and the exciting battles are nice but that's not what keeps people coming back. The characters are what keep people coming back. Learn from George Lucas's triumphs and mistakes. We can only hope that J.J. Abrams has.
If someone wanted to make a presentation about how to write both a wonderful fantasy series and a terrible fantasy series they would only need to include one franchise: Star Wars.
Now, none of the films are completely flawless I'm not trying to say that (although The Empire Strikes Back comes pretty damn close) but what I am saying is that the original trilogy is clearly better than the prequel films.
The original trilogy had a clear arc and powerful themes. It introduced us into a wonderful fantasy world that we loved.
But wait, the prequel films had a clear arc and powerful themes too. In fact, you could argue that the arc of one man's descent into evil is a much more powerful storyline than anything in the original trilogy. The prequels were able to use better technology to fully explore that fantasy world and bring us wondrous visuals that could excite and entertain.
So why did the prequel's suck? And why were the original movies good?
Basically it all comes down to characters. Or, rather, getting to know our characters.
In the original film we spent basically the first forty minutes with Luke Skywalker. We learned about his life, we learned about what he wanted, he got to know him as a character. We met Obi Wan and got to know him. We met Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2D2. By the time the movie was over, we felt like we knew these people and we cared about them.
In the second film we got to know the bad guys. We learned more about Darth Vader and his history, we met the emperor and hated him.
In the third film good and evil collide for an exciting climax and all story points are resolved.
Throughout all of it there were special effects and space battles and lightsaber duels and adventure and action. But all of those elements were a consequence of the situation the characters were in. Sure, they added to the movie and made it enjoyable, but all the adventure in the world means nothing if I don't care about people. That emotional bond is what draws people into a story. It's the basis of all great fiction.
The prequel films fail at this. There is the same action, the same adventure, the same space battles and improved special effects. What those films lack though is the heart of the original trilogy. Save for one exception, there is no character in the entire trilogy that we get to know in the same way as we get to know the characters in the original trilogy. There are no bonds formed between characters like in the original trilogy. Luke and Han don't start off as friends, their friendship grows organically from their situation. Same with Han and Leia. They don't start out loving each other, it grows from what they've been through.
In the prequels we are told that Obi Wan and Anakin are friends, we are told that Anakin and Padme love each other. There is no real attempt made to actually show Obi Wan and Anakin become friends. No scenes where we see that bond grow. We are simply told they had adventures and became friends. Well, I'm sorry, but that's not a good way to tell a story. It's hard to live vicariously through your characters when I don't get to see any of the moments that formed their bond.
There is a lame attempt at showing how Anakin and Padme fall in love, but it's as if it were written by an alien who only had a partial understanding about how people actually fall in love.
The entire prequel films treats the characters as just another set piece. Something to put where you need it, have it say what you need it to say and then move on to the next plot point. Everything is in service to the plot and nothing is in service to the characters.
And that is the failing of the prequel films. They don't give us characters to root for and thus why the hell should we care? Turns out, we don't.
I did say there was one exception, didn't I? That would be the emperor. He is is the only character in the prequel films that actually had depth. He had a clear goal and everything he did was in service to his character working for that goal. He was power-hungry, evil and duplicitous. And that's how he was portrayed. His character was fully fleshed out and so his actions were able to have clear character motivation.
When you're sitting down to write your own story (space epic or not) make sure that you keep this in mind. The dazzling visuals and the exciting battles are nice but that's not what keeps people coming back. The characters are what keep people coming back. Learn from George Lucas's triumphs and mistakes. We can only hope that J.J. Abrams has.
