By Scott Bowles, USA Today, May 13, 2005
On Thursday, the final Star Wars showdown begins.
We’re not talking Jedi knights vs. Sith lords, Obi-Wan vs. Anakin or even good vs. evil.
When Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith hits screens next week, fans of George Lucas’ six-part opus will again clash over which films rule: the original hits of the 1970s and ‘80s or the prequels that began six years ago.
Conventional wisdom has the original films – 1977’s A New Hope, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s The Return of the Jedi – winning hands down.
Fans of the early movies tout the breakthrough technology, the story lines and the birth of such unforgettable characters as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Yoda and the suave Han Solo.
“There is no personality in the new movies,” says Michael Walker, 39, a Star Wars devotee from Decatur, Ala. “The new movies, it seems that they are trying to win you over with fantastic special effects.”
But fans younger than 25 – many of whom had their first Star Wars theater experience with 1999’s The Phantom Menace or 2002’s Attack of the Clones – have different perspective. They find the old films slow, the dialogue corny and the special effects crude.
“I watched the originals to learn the whole story, but I couldn’t watch them more than once,” says Jean Burton, 22, a Los Angeles retail sales employee. “I like the worlds in the new Star Wars.”
The dispute can get downright test. Yale Tindell, 28, a Baltimore automotive service manager, says, “These new ones are an abomination. They have weak actors, weak stories, weak effects. They’ve bled the originals for profit.”
Elayne Rapping, a professor of American Studies at the University at Buffalo, says that each trilogy represents a seminal moment for its audience.
“Whether it’s the 1970s or the 1990s, George Lucas has always known what kids want,” Rapping says. And it’s natural, she says, that each generation would favor the movies it grew up with.
Dave Myatt, 32, an editor at the fan site rebelscum.com, has his doubts whether Sith can bring about peace in the Lucas universe. “This one is going to please more people than the last two. But each group feels so strongly about their trilogy that I don’t think they’ll ever really agree.”
Trilogies duel, role for role
The young hero
Strengths: A farm boy with no clue as to who’s his daddy, Luke yearns for a life beyond the planet Tatooine,
where he can take his skills with a land speeder and use them as a fighter pilot for rebel forces. He’s gifted with a
lightsaber and fearless in the face of danger. Born a slave on Tatooine, Anakin displays an unrivaled grasp of the Force,
both the light and dark side. He is passionate, mechanically skilled, a quick learner and has a strong sense of justice.
Weaknesses: Luke is impatient and quick to fight. He doesn’t want to wait for his Uncle Owen’s permission to
join the rebellion, nor for Yoda to finish training him as a Jedi. Anakin has a temper he can’t control. He occasionally
prefers choking someone to diplomacy.
The winner: Luke Skywalker, for his pure heart. “Luke was a boy we were all rooting for, which made the story so
powerful,” Rapping says.
The plucky heroine
Strengths: The daughter of Padme, Leia is beautiful, defiant and skilled with a laser gun. Even under torture by
her father, Darth Vader, she refuses to give up the rebel bases. Padme, queen of Naboo, is beautiful, kind and fierce in
the defense of democracy. She’s unafraid to fall in love – even when it’s a forbidden romance with a Jedi knight.
Weaknesses: Leia is too quick to judge, branding Han Solo incompetent. Plus she wears her hair in goofy buns
and – unaware they’re related – kisses her brother, Luke, on the mouth. Padme overlooks husband Anakin’s flaws, even when
he’s cutting down enemies and longing to rule the galaxy.
The winner: Leia. “Every time someone came to rescue her, she wound up saving the say,” says director and fan
Kevin Smith.
The wise mentor
Strengths: When he makes his debut in The Empire Strikes Back, this pint-sized rubber puppet has much to teach
Luke. He’s patient, powerful and can commune with the dead. By the time he goes digital in Clones, Yoda is a lot more
limber, able to parry with a lightsaber twice his size.
Weaknesses: Puppet Yoda is a little crotchety, accusing Luke of being untrainable. Digital Yoda, for all his
prescience, doesn’t see that the latest inductee into the Jedi council might not be a good addition. And would it kill
either one of these guys to use a simple, declarative sentence?
The winner: CGI Yoda, for his dexterity. His battle with Count Dooku was the action highlight of Clones, and
puppet Yoda was nearly the undoing of the franchise, Lucas says. “He was the hardest thing to shoot. If he had looked
like Kermit the Frog flapping around, Star Wars wouldn’t be what it is.”
The villain
Strengths: As commander of the Death Star, Tarkin is ruthlessly effective in running the galaxy’s deadliest
weapon. When his captive, Leia, refuses to reveal the location of the rebel outpost, he blows up her planet, Alderaan.
Palpatine is much more insidious. He consolidates his power in the Senate by instilling fear of attacks and rebellions.
And he knows way too much about the dark side of the Force.
Weaknesses: Tarkin is too cocky. When facing a final assault by rebel forces in A New Hope, Tarkin doesn’t put
up as much as a screen window over the hatch that allows rebels to blow up his spaceship. Palpatine doesn’t think twice
about having friends killed, which may come back to burn him.
The winner: Palpatine, for his brilliant villainy. While Tarkin seems content to fly around the galaxy,
crushing isolated uprisings. Palaptine fancies upward mobility on the job. Maybe even immortality.
The sidekick
Strengths: When we meet Kenobi in A New Hop, he’s old and frail. But he still knows how to wield a lightsaber
and counsel young Luke on the ways of the Force. The younger Kenobi is an up-and-comer in the Jedi council. He’s a deft
pilot and is unafraid to confront villains such as Darth maul and General Grevious, even when badly outnumbered.
Weaknesses: Old Obi-Wan’s body ain’t what it used to be, and he’s no match for Darth Vader in their second
battle. Young Kenobi is a touch incompetent. By his own count, his padawan Anakin has saved his hide nine times.
And he can’t seem to teach his pupil that murder is not cool.
The winner: Old Obi-Wan, for his earnestness. Guinness, who died in 2000 said he regretted taking the role
because it came to define his career. “Ewan was great, but you look into Alec’s face and you believe he’s lived through
the fall of the galaxy,” says Phillip Wise, editor of theforce.net fan site.
The comic relief
Strengths: Ewoks may be little, but they are pretty inventive when it comes to battle. With little more than
sticks and wires, they help topple the Empire. Jar Jar’s asset is diplomacy. He speaks for Padme in front of the galactic
Senate.
Weaknesses: Ewoks are too cute to be taken seriously as warriors. And their chirping dialect made them sound
like Tribbles on steroids. Besides having an annoying accent Jar Jar is a coward.
The winner: Jar Jar, by a nose. Sure, half the film galaxy loathes him, but he’s the third-most-popular toy,
behind Yoda and R2-D2, according to Lucasfilm. “Jar Jar represents innocence,” says Dave Myatt, an editor at the Star Wars
fan site rebelscum.com. “The movies have always had those hokey characters. That’s why we all loved them when we were
young. It’s the people who have changed over time. Not Star Wars.”
Contenders: Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) vs Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen)
Contenders: Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) vs. Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman)
Contenders: Puppet Yoda (Frank Oz) vs. computer-generated Yoda (Frank Oz)
Contenders: Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) vs. Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid)
Contenders: Old Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) vs. young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor)
Contenders: Ewoks vs. Jar Jar Binks