Category: Star Wars Musings

All posts relating to the Star Wars franchsise.

A Disturbance In The Force, You Say?

I see this teaser for a documentary film that supposedly tells us how the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special happened… and other than clips from the cast at various conventions and interviews eluding to its status as a forbidden subject, the only talking heads featured on the show seem to be celebrities and hack frauds who seemingly have nothing to do with the Holiday Special.

Having seen the Holiday Special – yes, the whole damned special – I am somewhat curious about how such a thing came to be and I’ll admit to finding the idea of a documentary covering the origins of this strange piece of Sith blasphemy in Star Wars lore appealing. This teaser trailer – featuring some dude speaking with a Darth Vader voice filter that gives me greater appreciation for the people who voiced Vader in those old PC games from the 90s – does little to sell me on the idea that this is a story worth talking about.

Having a bunch of people talk about how bad the Holiday Special is – no matter who you get for talking heads – that’s old news. It’s been done to death. You can get that sort of thing online for free. But a documentary talking about how this came to be is an idea worth pursuing. Maybe this film actually does do that. I wouldn’t know by watching this, however. At this point, I’d much rather watch the actual Holiday Special again than watch this film.

Regardless, I wish the filmmakers the best of luck. And I hope they do a better job selling this thing than what they have here.

No, I Still Have Not Watched Andor…

So a week or so ago, I re-activated my old Ask.fm account – Ask.fm being a place where people ask questions and you’d supply answers. I’d figure that would be a nice way of inviting more questions for the Q&A segments of the DTM-Cast that I need to start up again. Anyway, almost immediately, I’ve been bombarded with two types of questions. One type involves anything involving sex and relationships – those get tossed almost immediately. Another type involve random questions involving random things; these I will pick and choose to answer while others I will toss.

And then there’s one other person who drops in every day and asks the same question over and over and over again. The question in question: “Have you watched Andor yet? It’s a good show”

I have no idea why I’m being asked this question. The only assumption I could surmise is that someone really wants me to watch that Andor show that’s a prequel to Rogue One – you know, the movie where everyone dies at the end; sorry if I spoiled the movie for everyone. I have not seen the show nor do I have any interest in the show. Asking me to get invested in a character that’s going to die in the end for a whole miniseries seems like a big ask and Rogue One wasn’t a movie where I was big into the characters.

And so for anyone wondering, no, I have not watched Andor. I have no intention of watching Andor any time soon. I’m not going to say that I’m never going to watch it because, you know, some days will leave you with plenty of time to spare, but at the moment, not interested. Maybe next time.

Return Of The Jedi – The Final Star Wars Film… Until It Wasn’t

2022 marked the 20th anniversary of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and… well, I wrote a thing on that a while back, so I will spare you that piece of business here.

However, 2022 also marks the 30th anniversary of the third and final film in the original Star Wars Trilogy: Return Of The Jedi. And for seventeen years, it was exactly that; the last Star Wars film. Once the prequels came out, it merely became the final chapter in the Star Wars saga… until the arrival of The Force Awakens in 2015. Now I’m going to set aside all those other films for a moment – or at least, the majority of this write-up – so I can offer the following thoughts on Return Of The Jedi and why it was a satisfactory conclusion to the saga.

Continue reading “Return Of The Jedi – The Final Star Wars Film… Until It Wasn’t”

Attack Of The Clones… Every Bit As Bad As I Remember It

Twenty years ago, on this very day, the fifth Star Wars film and the second episode of the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones, was released in theatres worldwide. As the second chapter of the prequels, it continued the story of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young padawan Anakin Skywalker, who are charged with the mission of protecting the young Senator and former Queen Amidala from assassins, all the while trying to uncover the mystery of a clone army created in Kamino. The movie raked in about $650 million in the box office, but the reaction has been decided mixed.

Over the years, I have made no secret about considering Attack Of The Clones to be the absolute worst Star Wars movie ever made. I have held this belief since the day it premiered when I first saw it in theatres with my older brother and a bunch of his buddies, and even with the release of the recent films – which I tend to forget exist, coincidentally enough – it neatly lines that proverbial bottom of the Star Wars bottle. Now, it’s entirely possible that I may have been a bit harsh and maybe a fresh viewing through new eyes and on the eve of its twentieth year of existence, I may have gotten a new appreciation for this often misunderstood film.

So I pulled out the Blu-Ray disc that I had laying around, popped into my Blu-Ray player, resisted the urge to dive into the extras, and I watched Attack Of The Clones for the first time in years. And you know, I had the DVD release, I popped that into my DVD player, I kicked back and watch this film for the first time in years… and you know how some people would revisit something that they hadn’t touched in years because they had a low opinion of it and then they would go “Well, this isn’t as bad I remember it.”

Well, if the title isn’t much of a clue, then I give you my utmost assurance that no such thoughts came to mind after my viewing of Attack Of The Clones. It is, for all intents and purposes, every bit as bad as I remember it.

Continue reading “Attack Of The Clones… Every Bit As Bad As I Remember It”

The Bore Of Boba Fett

You know, one of these days, I’m going to enjoy the new Star Wars… and not in an ironic way. For example, my favorite part of The Mandalorian is when the Scout Trooper punches Baby Yoda in the face. That was the best piece of Star Wars television I’ve seen. Also, my favorite scene in the newer Star Wars movies is the last third of Rogue One, where all the main heroes die and then Darth Vader kills a bunch of Rebels as they escape for a new hope.

Actually, you know what? I tell a bit of a lie; The Mandalorian was, for better or worse, one of the better pieces of Star Wars visual media that has been produced since the changeover in ownership to Disney. And despite my favorite part being Baby Yoda being punched in the face, I actually don’t mind the little guy. He and Mando (or Din) have a good relationship and I’m happy to see that they were reunited at the end of the Boba Fett show.

Oh yeah, we’re supposed to talk about The Book Of Boba Fett.

Except… the show is so goddamned boring. Basically, it’s like the last bunch of Star Wars movies; a whole lot of nothing happens throughout several episodes. In fact, the only time where things seemed to be picking up is when they bring back the Mandalorian to help boost up interest in this sagging show. The idea of an older Boba Fett trying to be a nicer ganglord and fighting all these other ganglords or whatever… good lord, I never thought I’d find something that put me to sleep faster than the average 20-minute HHH promo, but this might take the fucking cake.

The only time I had a vested interest in what the show offered was when ol’ Mando showed up and we were following along his adventures. And then we see a bit of the Jedi planet where Baby Yoda is being trained by a CG Luke Skywalker… before he decides to fuck off and join up with Mando again. Hell, my favorite moment in the whole show is when Mando is building his new ship; essentially a recycled Naboo starfighter, but made to look cooler and less lame. I liked that show and giving Mando a starfighter as opposed to another gunship is an inspired choice.

Maybe it’s just me not sold on the concept or maybe it’s just me hoping for more of Mando, but with Boba. Or maybe this Star Wars stuff ain’t for me. And that’s fine. If they do another season of Mando, I’ll check that out then, but until then… no buys for the book of Boba.

Why The Current Star Wars: Battlefront Games Don't Appeal To Me

Every once in a while, I’ll go on Steam and I’ll check the games that are on sale. Every now and then, one game in particular catches my eye.

Star Wars Battlefront II.

The new one.

The one that was once riddled with lootboxes and paid content that everyone threw a fit and EA lost money, forcing them to restructure the game considerably so that you’re less reliant on paid DLC and you can just stick with the basic package. Nowadays, I hear it’s pretty good and that the current version has atoned and made up for the mistakes it’s made.

Every time this pops up on sale, I give it a brief thought and I pass.

Sometime ago, this happened and I ask myself “why?” Why am I not jumping at the chance to grab this once former dumpster fire while it’s nice and cheap.

I supposed part of the reason is that I have the old Battlefront games and I enjoy those enough that they’re all the Star Wars Battlefront that I would ever need… even the gimped PSP games have their moment to shine. Another part could because despite sharing the same name, it’s not quite the same game that I’ve played. It looks similar, but it also looks similar to all those other multiplayer focused first-person shooters that I don’t particularly care for today.

So I skipped this one… again. And I’d imagine I’ll skip it again.

Why am I bringing this up? To be honest with you, I’m not quite sure. I suppose I wanted something to post up here and this is the only thing that really pops to mind. All the best to those who enjoy the game and such. But I have a feeling this isn’t for me.

I really should give that Squadrons game another shot, though.

Either that, or go back to TIE Fighter.

Later.