A Sci-Fi Metaphor For Your Art Style – A Ramble

Well, since I couldn’t think of a better idea for an article, I thought that I’d offer a fun sci-fi metaphor for your art style. And, yes, this is another “Star Wars”-themed article. Anyway, if – like me – you have a vague passing knowledge of the mythology of this classic sci-fi series, then you’ll probably know that each of the series’ “Jedi” characters has their own unique lightsaber.

For those who have been living under a rock for the past forty-seven years or so, a “Jedi” is a benevolent interplanetary knight errant who can wield magical powers (called “The Force”) and who – famously – carries a glowing retractable laser sword called a “lightsaber”. And each of their lightsabers looks at least slightly different. The shape of the hilt might be different or the “blade” colour might be different, or they might even use a different configuration (eg: two shorter lightsabers, a double-bladed lightsaber etc...).

Part of the series mythology is that each “Jedi” has to build their own lightsaber. They have to meditate upon an energy crystal until it reflects some aspect of them or something like that. In the “Star Wars” universe, you can’t just go into a shop and buy a lightsaber. You have to make it yourself. And you have to train with it.

On a side-note: It’s very telling that one of the themes in the “Star Wars” series is that the villains are a lot more “standardised”. Whether it is the identical armour and identical laser guns used by the Imperial Stormtroopers or whether it is how the “Sith” (an evil version of the Jedi) literally ALL have red lightsabers. These days and in this context, it’s difficult not to see this as a metaphor for “A.I. art” or for chasing “popular” art styles, rather than finding your own.

And this idea is hardly unique to “Star Wars”. In fact, before “Star Wars” was even a thing – the long-running sci-fi TV series “Doctor Who” has a famous thing where, whenever the actor who plays The Doctor (a time-travelling alien) changed, then the character would “regenerate” into a different person. One interesting side-effect of this was that other stuff often changes too. Not only does the interior design of their time machine (“TARDIS”) change, but the design of their multi-functional “Sonic screwdriver” gadget also changes too.

Anyway, the point is one about uniqueness, time and practice. For an art style to really mean something to you, you have to build it yourself. Even if you start with one or more pre-existing styles or inspirations, then enough practice will mean that more of yourself will start to seep into it. Even if you stick to the pre-made style on the surface, things like what you choose to paint/draw will be shaped by your own sensibilities and imagination (unless you’re just “chasing clout” on social media...).

If you make enough art often enough, then it will shape itself to you. Even if you start out with a “standardised” style. Even if you try out lots of different stuff – in fact, trying out different things is how your style develops (because you’ll find something you like and, consciously or not, incorporate it into other art you make).

And, if you make art, you probably know all of this already. But, still, finding a silly way to liken yourself to a Jedi can certainly be a fun motivational thing to do 🙂

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May the force be with you 🙂

A Clever Game Design Decision In “Jedi Academy” (2003)

Well, since I couldn’t think of a better idea for an article, I thought that I’d talk about a clever design decision in the old computer game that I was playing at the time of writing. I am, of course, talking about the 2003 sci-fi action game “Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy”.

One of the interesting things about this game is how – through game design alone – it encourages you to use the Star Wars series’ iconic lightsaber (a glowing laser sword) instead of other weapons.

Whilst it is the very first weapon you are given – during the introductory level – the designers clearly wanted to avoid turning it into a typical videogame starting weapon which usually gets completely ignored after a couple of levels.

Not only is it the most famous sci-fi weapon ever created, but there was also clearly a lot of effort put into animating attacks for it and other cool features – such as the ability to learn/change fighting styles, to throw it like a boomerang, to customise its appearance at the very beginning of the game etc… – to the point it just feels seriously cool to use. Not to mention that it is also part of the “special sauce” which makes the Star Wars franchise so unique.

After all, “Star Wars” was one of the first major media franchises to blend both the sci-fi and fantasy genres in an innovative way. The series famously takes place “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away“, allowing for both the historical-style theme of a fantasy story but with enough leeway for lots of spaceships, planets, lasers, robots etc… too. A major part of this mixture of genres is that one of the main groups of characters – the Jedi Knights – uses magic and swords… sorry, “The Force” and lightsabers.

With the exception of the introductory level and the tutorial level, where you can only use the lightsaber, the other levels in “Jedi Academy” (2003) let you choose two futuristic guns before you start each level. In the real world, guns are more powerful weapons than swords. So, as soon as the player gets one, then they will intuitively use it instead. And, given how laser guns are also an important part of the series, the designers couldn’t just not include any guns in the game.

Not only that, when you switch to one of the guns, the game’s perspective changes and it becomes a first-person shooter game. Given how – even back in 2003 – a typical player would already be very familiar with this style of gameplay, there was a real risk that players could quickly end up neglecting the game’s coolest weapon – especially given its limited range. So, how did the designers prevent this?

Simply put, they used weapon balancing and level design. Until at least a third to half of the way through the game, the ranged weapons are noticeably weaker than the lightsaber. However, many early-game enemies will fall with just a single swing of your lightsaber – encouraging you to run towards them and use that instead.

It isn’t even until about two-thirds of the way through the game that you get a weapon – the “Stouker Concussion Rifle” – that is considerably more powerful than the lightsaber. And, by that point, you’ll already be used to reflexively drawing your lightsaber whenever there is trouble.

Likewise, whilst the game certainly does include wide-open levels, there is also a heavy emphasis on claustrophobic corridors, smaller rooms and places where it is more intuitive for the player to fight at close range. Again, this is also there to encourage the player to switch to their lightsaber rather than trying to fight from a distance with a – less powerful – laser gun.

Also, especially during the later parts of the game, there are sometimes lightsaber-wielding villains who can only be fought using lightsabers (and “force powers” – magic spells). If you try to use a projectile weapon against them, they will literally just deflect the projectile right back at you. Yes, these lightsaber duels aren’t really the most well-designed part of the game’s combat, but it’s still a clever way to ensure that the player still uses this weapon even very late into the game.

But, yes, something as simple as weapon balancing, enemy design and level design can be used to shape how the player plays the game. Again, whilst the lightsaber looks/sounds cool, you’ll probably still instinctively switch to a laser gun as soon as you get one… only to quickly switch back to the lightsaber when you realise that the gun isn’t as powerful as you thought it would be. It’s subtle, but excellent, game design 🙂

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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂

Disappointing Late 1990s/Early-Mid 2000s Sci-Fi Sequels – A Ramble

Well, since I was still in the mood for writing about films, I thought that I’d talk about a weird mini-trend I remember. Namely, the disappointing sci-fi movie sequels when I was growing up. During the late 1990s and early-mid 2000s, I’d have times where I would be like “Oh my god, a new ‘Star Wars’ film!” or “Oh my god, a new ‘Matrix’ film!“… only to leave the cinema feeling bitterly disappointed and/or mildly cheated.

A lot of this was due to the mindset that accompanied advancements in CGI technology at the time.

CGI itself isn’t inherently bad. “The Matrix” (1999) uses CGI and that film is a masterpiece 🙂 However, due to the slightly more limited technology or budget at the time, it was used very selectively. Mostly just for relatively brief effects that couldn’t be achieved practically, some sci-fi vehicle sequences, a few flying robots, one or two virtual reality sequences and some long shots of a dystopian location (the close-ups were, of course, done with practical effects). The late 1990s CGI in this film was only used when absolutely necessary, and it still looks cool because of this.

On the other hand, the two sequels that followed in 2003 – “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” – aren’t as compelling or astonishing as the original. And part of this is because of the better CGI technology available to the Wachowski sisters and the way that these films “show off” with it. Instead of telling relatively small-scale cyberpunk thriller stories like the original, these two sequels tell a gigantic “dramatic” story. The CGI allows for giant futuristic locations and “epic” fight scenes… Yet, when I re-watched both films the night before writing this article, it felt more like I was watching a TV show than a pair of movies.

Sci-fi TV shows at the time had got better at using CGI and it makes perfect sense in this context. It allows for complex, large-scale stories in fantastical locations on a lower television-level budget. And the second and third “Matrix” films really do feel like episodes of a sci-fi TV show at times… because they tell this kind of story.

The additional effects are also often shown off extensively during action sequences, which results in sequences that feel a bit “over the top” – with characters flying around, crowds of cloned villains, characters who can turn into ghosts, giant robot battles etc… It’s all really cool in principle, but the sheer overload of it removes at least some of the dramatic weight from these moments. They become empty spectacle more than anything else.

In comparison, “The Matrix” (1999) kept its effects relatively subtle during its fight scenes – saving the most dramatic fights (and effects) until the later scenes of the film in order to give them build-up and dramatic weight. Likewise, whilst these moments do certainly include “unrealistic” elements, most of the fight sequences still feel… relatively… grounded in reality. They feel like action movie gunfights or “ordinary” martial arts fights, albeit with some cool sci-fi enhancements. They don’t feel like a scene from a superhero movie or a videogame. And they are so much more gripping, thrilling and dramatic as a result.

Both the plot and fight scenes in this film are also kept relatively small-scale too, with a close focus on a small group of characters and fight scenes that… mostly… just involve smaller numbers of characters. The film also backs this up with a tightly-focused intelligent sci-fi story and only two main locations (eg: a 1990s city and a futuristic hovercraft) too. It feels like a focused, cohesive piece of Cinema – rather than a TV show with a Hollywood budget.

Likewise, the less advanced CGI technology available to the Wachowski sisters when they were making “The Matrix” (1999) meant that the film focused a bit more on ideas and characters too. It’s a high-brow film, with lots of brilliant “slow” moments and interesting ideas, themes etc… On the other hand, the two sequels mostly just feel like a collection of spectacular CGI set-pieces strung together with TV show-style “drama” instead. This is still compelling, but it isn’t really anything special. These two sequels trade ideas for “drama” and lose something as a result.

And something similar can be seen with the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy (1999-2005) too. Two of the things that made the original three “Star Wars” films (1977-1983) so iconic and compelling were both the limited special effects and the scale of the stories they told.

Because the film-makers only had things like practical effects, matte paintings, traditional animation, chroma key effects, possibly some ultra-primitive CGI (on a computer monitor in one scene, I think) etc… to work with, the original versions of these three films have a really distinctive feel to them. They feel grungy, industrial, lived-in etc… And, to the credit of the franchise, the more modern sequels from the 2010s do actually manage to recapture this atmosphere to some extent 🙂

However, because the 1999-2005 prequels were eager to show off the CGI technology of the time – and George Lucas loved it so much that he even retroactively added it to the original trilogy to “improve” it – they feel very different. They feel just a bit too smooth, slick and otherworldly. There isn’t really the level of grunge and grime that made the original films so fascinating, that placed them in the same tradition as other amazing sci-fi movies from the time like “Alien” (1979) and “Blade Runner” (1982) that tried to show a more imperfect and/or grimy vision of the future. To use a culinary metaphor, the prequel trilogy seemed more like pieces of identical fast food from a chain restaurant than an “imperfect” meal cooked by a talented amateur chef.

Not only that, like with the first two “Matrix” sequels, the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy tells too much of a large-scale story. Yes, the original trilogy gradually expanded its scale as it progressed – but it still kept a tight focus on a small number of characters and, more importantly, preserved a lot of mystery too. It left things to the imagination. You got a tiny glimpse of a much larger and more interesting fictional universe. The limitations of the special effects technology of the time forced George Lucas to be selective about what he could show.

And, perhaps this is the greatest failing of the CGI sci-fi sequels of the late 1990s/early-mid 2000s. They lost the mystery that made the earlier instalments so brilliant. When the characters in “The Matrix” (1999) talk about the secret human city of Zion, we never get to see it. We have to imagine it for ourselves. On the other hand, the two sequels include numerous scenes set there… and, whilst it looks cool, it can’t really compare to whatever the audience’s imaginations have concocted.

Ditto with the “Star Wars” prequels. They show and explain too much. Part of the fun of the original trilogy was, for example, imagining what the politics of the series’ futuristic galaxy were like – instead of seeing large CGI-built council chambers filled with floating platforms. Part of the magic of the original trilogy was the fact that “The Force” was basically magic – mysterious and arcane, following rules that had to be intuited from how it was presented on screen. The prequel trilogy, on the other hand, insists on giving a detailed “scientific” explanation for it that ruins a lot of the fun etc….

So, yes, advancements in CGI ruined sci-fi sequels during the late 1990s and early-mid 2000s because they both destroyed the mystery that older films had to rely on (due to more limited effects), but it also pushed Hollywood film-makers towards “showing off” via large-scale spectacle that didn’t really feel grounded in reality in the way that earlier films did. Because, when special effects were a little bit more limited, film-makers had to rely more on things like ideas, characters, atmosphere, implication etc… in order to astonish and thrill the audience. And this usually resulted in better films.

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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂

Review: “Star Wars VI: Return Of The Jedi” (Original 1983 Version) (Film)

Well, although I hadn’t planned to re-watch it so soon, I thought that I’d take another look at the third film in the original “Star Wars” trilogy today. I am, of course talking about the 1983 film “Star Wars VI: Return Of The Jedi”.

Like with my reviews of “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back“, I’ll be looking at the original theatrical version of this film rather than any of the later re-edited and CGI-filled “remastered” versions. Like with the other two films, the original version of this film can be found as a bonus feature on the 2006 “Limited Edition” UK DVD release (which, thankfully, can still be found fairly cheaply second-hand at the time of writing).

Plus, since this is the third film in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, you should watch it after “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back” – since it isn’t really a stand-alone film.

Anyway, let’s take a look at “Return Of The Jedi”. Needless to say, this review may contain some SPOILERS. The film itself contains some FLASHING LIGHTS– although I don’t know whether they are fast or intense enough to be an issue or not.

This DVD edition from 2006 also contains the original version of the film 🙂

The film begins with a text crawl which explains that the Empire is building a second Death Star and that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has returned to Tatooine in order to rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from a crime boss called Jabba The Hutt.

After a brief scene showing Darth Vader (David Prowse) visiting the new Death Star, we then get to see this suspenseful rescue – which also involves many other familiar characters too. I don’t want to spoil too much about it, but it is probably the best half-hour of the film and it is also closer in tone and style to the previous two films in the series too 🙂

Seriously, why isn’t more of this film like the first half-hour? This part is so cool!

But, after the thrilling suspense and swashbuckling action of these scenes, we then suddenly cut to Luke returning to Yoda in order to complete his Jedi training. However, when Luke arrives, he finds that Yoda is dying of old age. In his dying breaths, Yoda tells Luke that he will not become a Jedi until he has confronted his father – the nefarious Darth Vader – once again. He also hints that Luke has a sister, and Luke suddenly intuits that this is none other than Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). After Yoda dies, Luke talks to the ghost of Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness) before returning to the rebel mothership.

I’d forgotten about this part of the film. Poor Yoda!

The rebels are planning a two-stage assault on the partially-constructed Death Star. A small team – including Luke, Leia and Han Solo – will take a stolen Imperial shuttle to the forest planet of Endor to shut down the shield generator protecting the construction site in order to allow a fleet of rebel fighters, led by Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), to destroy it. It’s a clever plan. What could possibly go wrong?…

One of the first things that I will say about this film is that, whilst I preferred the previous two films, this one is still well worth watching. It’s the most spectacular film in the trilogy, although it is also the last film in the trilogy – and this is something of a mixed blessing. Whilst the previous two films can use mystery and suspense to great effect, this film’s suspenseful moments feel a little more hollow because a happy ending is pretty much inevitable.

Yes, the film’s ending is handled in a slightly clever way, but you can probably still guess which side wins.

Likewise, this film is slightly more of a large-scale drama than the previous two films too. Although it certainly tries to copy the smaller-scale suspense that made “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back” such compelling films – and sort of succeeds in the first half-hour – this is very much a film about a large scale confrontation between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Throughout most of the film, the main characters often have other troops or characters fighting alongside them and this lessens the suspense somewhat.

Yes, this large-scale conflict is more dramatic – but less suspenseful.

Despite the film’s efforts, the main conflict feels slightly more like a battle between two evenly-matched adversaries than the kind of grippingly suspenseful “David and Goliath” dynamic of the earlier films. Don’t get me wrong, it is certainly thrilling and spectacular, but it lacks a certain something. “A New Hope” was a film about a young man thrown into the middle of a galactic conflict and “The Empire Strikes Back” was the story of a plucky band of rebels trying to survive in a world that is out to get them. This film is more of a standard “good vs evil” sci-fi war movie, with a fairly predictable conclusion. It’s still a good film, but not quite as gripping as the previous two films.

Although there are certainly moments of drama in this film, the special effects are a lot more prominent here. And, for a film made in 1983, they are absolutely stunning 🙂 Seriously, it is amazing how much has been achieved with the old-school special effects here – which still hold up surprisingly well to this day.

No, this film doesn’t need modern CGI. The original effects still look good.

I’ve said this about the original versions of the other two films, but there’s something wonderfully human about the non-CGI effects in these films. Not only does their slight roughness just add to the realism of the film (compared to slick, otherworldly CGI), but it’s really impressive to see what people could achieve without using computers. The original version of this film feels so spectacular because the effects required more creativity and ingenuity to pull off than modern ones do. This film feels like a timeless achievement, rather than a tech demo.

Still, as I mentioned earlier, this film relies a lot more on special effects than the previous two films. There are a lot more action sequences and, whilst these still look impressive, they lack some of the suspense that made the previous two films so gripping. Yes, this film tries to add suspense to some moments, but – apart from the excellent first half hour – it feels a bit more like a large-scale action movie than a suspense thriller.

It’s a very cool action movie, but less suspenseful than I’d expected.

Even so, this film has slightly more character-based drama than I’d expected. Most of this focuses on Luke’s complicated feelings about his family and – whilst these moments are certainly dramatic – they feel more like formal, mythical “Drama” than the kind of smaller-scale realistic drama that made the earlier films so compelling.

Yes, it is good to see more character-based drama in this film – but it just feels a bit more formal than I’d expected. Like something from an old play or something like that. Still, it’s good that this film tries to counterpoint it’s more epic action sequences with this type of drama and, despite my criticisms, it still sort of “works”.

Plus, Darth Vader actually gets some proper characterisation and character development in this film too 🙂 He goes from being a rather cartoonish “villain” character, to being a slightly more complex and three-dimensional character who is also more of a tragic figure than you might initially expect.

Seriously, his death is actually a tragic moment – rather than the cathartic “victory” you might have been expecting. I have to give the film credit for doing something as clever as this.

Likewise, I really have to praise the atmosphere of several parts of the film. Unlike some Hollywood sci-fi, one thing that helps this film is the fact that some characters actually speak different languages – this small detail instantly adds a bit more realism to the “world” of the film. This element of the film is also handled really well too – with the meaning of untranslated dialogue segments being obvious from the context and plot-relevant lines of dialogue either being subtitled or realistically translated by other characters.

Plus, I have to praise the creature design in this film too. The creature-based moments often have a wonderfully grim and twisted sense of humour that really gives the film a feeling of personality. Whether it is some of the background creatures during the scenes involving Jabba The Hutt or the fact that the “adorable” ewoks initially plan to cook and eat Luke, Han and Chewbacca, this film certainly has a wonderfully twisted sense of humour at times – which reminded me a little of the later 1984 movie “Gremlins” (which is never a bad thing 🙂 ).

Seriously, this film’s creature designs and effects are really awesome.

Not to mention that this film occasionally has a darker sense of humour than you might expect.

This dark comedy is also paired with some surprisingly serious and/or poignant moments, like someone briefly mourning the death of the fearsome “rancor” or the way that the “sarlacc pit” scene is vaguely reminiscent of the sandworms from Frank Herbert’s “Dune” (and, thinking about it, Jabba The Hutt also a little bit like a reptilian version of Baron Harkonnen too…). Seriously, this film’s alien creatures are some of the best in the series.

I will not fear, fear is the mind… Ooops! Wrong sci-fi story!

Like with previous films in the series, the music here is absolutely stunning too. Yes, a lot of the more recognisable pieces of classical-style music are re-used from the previous films, but this really doesn’t matter because they are not only incredibly memorable and epic, but kind of an integral part of what makes “Star Wars” Star Wars.

All in all, whilst I preferred the previous two films, this one is still a very good film. Although it certainly tries to be suspenseful at times, it doesn’t quite have the same gripping “David and Goliath” suspense of the previous two films. Still, if you want to watch a sci-fi action movie, then you can do a lot worse than this one. It’s a timeless piece of spectacular large-scale drama which, whilst really good on it’s own merits, isn’t quite as compelling as the earlier parts of the trilogy.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get four and a half.

Review: “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back” (Original Version) (Film)

Well, I was in the mood for a “Star Wars” film, so I thought that I’d take another look at “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) today.

Like with my review of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope“, I’ll be reviewing the original theatrical version of the film (which can be found as a bonus feature on the 2006 “Limited Edition” UK DVD edition of the film) rather than any of the later CGI-filled “remastered” versions of the film.

Since this film is the middle part of the original trilogy of “Star Wars” films, I would strongly recommend watching “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” before watching this film – the plot and characters will make a lot more sense if you’ve seen that film first!

[Edit: On a random film censorship-related side-note, apparently the modern UK cinema re-release of this film actually has a slightly higher rating. Yes, I can understand why they changed it to “PG” – but it was still kind of cool that an epic thriller film like this could have got away with a “U” certificate for so long.]

Anyway, let’s take a look at “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back”. Needless to say, this review may contain some SPOILERS. Plus, the film itself contains some FLASHING/FLICKERING LIGHTS (although I don’t know whether they are frequent or intense enough to be an issue or not.)

This DVD edition from 2006 also contains the original version of the film 🙂

The film begins with a brief text crawl explaining that the rebellion is in trouble and is being pursued through the galaxy by Imperial forces. We then see an Imperial ship launching several probes towards a desolate ice planet. On the surface, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is about to return from a patrol when he spots what looks like an asteroid falling from the sky. He radioes the secret rebel base before going to investigate. However, before he can get there, he encounters a Yeti-like creature.

A Yeti? Out here? Surely it’s just a myth…

Back at the base, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is getting ready to leave because he needs to sort out some problems with Jabba the Hut. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is angry that he’s leaving during this crucial time for the rebellion, but Han mistakes this for romantic interest – which just annoys Leia even more. However, before Han can leave, he realises that Luke hasn’t returned to the base and – despite warnings about the harsh weather conditions – goes outside to look for him.

Meanwhile, Luke wakes up and finds himself dangling upside-down in an ice-cave. After using the force to retrieve his lightsaber, he cuts himself free and slices an arm off of the creature before making his escape. However, he quickly gets lost in the frozen wasteland and collapses from the cold. Fading in and out of consciousness, Luke has a vision of Ben Kenobi (Alec Guiness) who tells him to travel to another planet and seek the tutelage of the Jedi master Yoda. Shortly afterwards, Han finds Luke and sets up a temporary survival shelter.

When they eventually return to the base, their celebrations are short-lived because the Imperial probe has been detected by the base’s scanners. Han goes out to investigate and ends up destroying it. Initially, the Imperial troops are ready to write the lost signal off as a malfunction but their nefarious commander Darth Vader (David Prowse) has an instinct that the rebels are on the planet and orders an attack.

Well, they certainly don’t mess around!

Despite some initial success in defending the base, the rebels quickly realise that they are outnumbered and order a retreat. In the chaos that follows, Luke decides to heed Ben’s advice and seek out Yoda with the help of R2-D2. Meanwhile, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) decide to make a last-minute escape in the Millennium Falcon…

One of the first things that I will say about this film is that it is a compelling sci-fi thriller film that was even more gripping and atmospheric than I remembered 🙂 Despite the two-hour running time, this film feels a lot shorter – in a good way. There is never a dull moment here, yet – thanks to the build-up in the previous film and some storytelling techniques that wouldn’t be out of place in a thriller novel – the drama and spectacle never really feels hollow either 🙂

Not only does this look cool, but it also actually has dramatic weight too 🙂

The drama in this film is a lot more large-scale than in the previous film, but it is handled in a really interesting way. Like in a good thriller novel, this film splits up the main characters relatively early in the story – allowing the story to alternate between two plot threads (one focusing on Luke and R2-D2 and the other focusing on Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO). Not only does this technique help to lend a sense of scale to the film, but it also allows the film to do all sorts of clever things involving suspense and pacing too.

For example, the scenes showing Luke training with Yoda contrast brilliantly with the faster-paced and more suspenseful scenes of Han and Leia trying to hide from Vader’s fleet. Not to mention that, when they are eventually captured by Vader, Luke is placed in the difficult predicament of having to decide between continuing his Jedi training or leaving Yoda in order to save them. Although this film certainly has it’s fair share of spectacular set-pieces, a lot of what makes this film so gripping to watch comes from these kinds of small-scale thriller novel-style techniques.

Another thing that keeps this film gripping is the palpable feeling of danger. Throughout the film, Luke is shown to be fallible and vulnerable. He isn’t an invincible superhero, but a fragile human being who almost freezes to death and even has his hand chopped off during the events of the film. Likewise, he is also shown to be inexperienced, emotional and prone to making the occasional mistake. All of this stuff really helps to add a lot of extra suspense and tension to the film in a way that you don’t always see in more modern blockbuster films.

Seriously, by not making Luke an invincible superhero, the audience actually cares about what happens to him. Modern films take note of this!

This frailty and fallibility is a central part of what makes the film so gripping, and it also extends to some of the other main characters too. Not only do Han and Leia have to deal with all sorts of malfunctions on the Millennium Falcon whilst also trying to evade Vader’s fleet, but they also can’t always be certain about who they can trust either. Throughout the film, there is a real sense of uncertainty and danger – which really helps to add a lot of dramatic weight to the film’s gripping story 🙂

The malfunctions on board the Falcon also mean that the characters can’t just use light-speed as a “get out of jail free” card whenever they get into trouble. This allows for lots of suspenseful moments.

Another cool thing about this film is that it is much more of a sci-fi film than the previous film in the series. Yes, there are a few fantasy-style scenes involving “the force”, but the majority of this film is very much about spaceships, planets, tactics and/or technology.

Not only does this add to the feeling of suspense, but it also allows for all sorts of intriguing worldbuilding too. Unlike the previous film, we see a lot more locations here – but this actually works in the film’s favour because we are shown enough to get an impression of a large and complicated galaxy, but enough is still left to the imagination to evoke a sense of curiosity and wonder about everything.

For example, whilst we learn a bit about this mysterious floating city, we don’t get to see or learn everything about it. This makes it an even more fascinating place.

And, like with the previous film in the series, I cannot praise the atmosphere of this film enough. Almost everywhere in the film feels like a realistic and practical place that people actually live in. Like in a lot of great 1980s sci-fi films, there’s a grimy, bulky and/or industrial “used future” atmosphere to a lot of the locations and it is an absolute joy to experience 🙂

This film also makes excellent use of an orange/blue lighting scheme too. Yes, this colour scheme is over-used these days, but it still looks cool here.

Plus, the film contrasts a really impressive variety of cool-looking interior locations with a few well-chosen outdoor locations too. These locations are also an extension of the film’s thriller elements too, since nature is not shown to be beautiful or peaceful. It is a threat to the characters. Whether it is the dark and treacherous swamps on Yoda’s planet or the deadly cold and Yeti-like creature on the harsh ice planet that the resistance are hiding on, the film’s natural locations feel menacingly hostile in a way that wouldn’t be entirely out of place in an old sci-fi novel like Harry Harrison’s “Deathworld”.

Seriously, nature is as almost much of a foe in the film as the Empire are. This is how to build suspense 🙂

The film’s lighting and special effects are also absolutely excellent too 🙂 In addition to some brilliantly dramatic-looking lighting during a few scenes, the original theatrical version’s old-school effects still hold up surprisingly well when seen today.

Yes, there is a slight roughness to some of them and the film occasionally uses clever camera angles to disguise the limitations of the effects technology available at the time, but this doesn’t matter because the story is so gripping. This film’s forty-year old special effects still hold up well because literally all of them are in service to the story rather than just being “spectacle for the sake of spectacle”.

Yes, it looks like a stop-motion model. Yes, this scene is still brilliantly dramatic nonetheless!

This scene was probably made using physical models and old-school mattes, but it still holds up today.

Plus, this non-CGI hologram of the Emperor wouldn’t look out of place on an old heavy metal album cover 🙂

Likewise, as with the previous film, the slight roughness of the practical and/or non-CGI effects also works really well here because it just feels more realistic than slick and “perfect” CGI does. It is also a much better visual fit with the “run down” atmosphere of a lot of locations and scenes too – and it really helps to sell the idea that the film is taking place in a world where real people actually live.

In terms of the film’s characters, they’re better than I remembered. Yes, you shouldn’t expect ultra-detailed characterisation here, but almost everyone actually feels like a real person with uncertainties, quirks and flaws. Whether it is the scenes where Luke acts over-confidently to cover up his fears, the complicated (and occasionally slightly creepy) love-hate relationship between Han and Leia, Yoda’s quirky sense of humour, the pragmatic moral ambiguity of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) etc.. the characters feel more “realistic” than you might expect.

Not to mention that there are lots of intriguing hints about Han and Lando’s past dealings with each other too.

Literally the only character who doesn’t feel “realistic” is Darth Vader – who is even more cartoonishly villainous in this film (eg: one running joke is that his admirals never last very long, because they only get to make one mistake). Yes, Vader gets a little bit more backstory and characterisation in this film – but he still comes across as more “pure evil” than anything else. Still, given that his main role in this film is to strike fear into the other main characters, then I can understand this creative decision.

Musically, this film is as spectacular as ever. This film relies heavily on the dramatic classical-style theme tunes that are associated with the series and the music still feels dramatic and fresh when listened to today. Likewise, the film also uses music to introduce characters and set the mood too – with, for example, the “Imperial March” playing during several scenes that Darth Vader appears in.

All in all, this is an absolutely excellent film. It’s a textbook example of a gripping, large-scale thriller film that relies on clever plotting and pacing just as much as it’s special effects in order to keep the audience glued to the screen. Modern films could learn a lot from this one. Not only is there an almost constant feeling of danger and suspense throughout the film, but the characters are more well-written than you might expect and the film also has a lot of atmosphere too 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a five.

Review: “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” (Original Version) (Film)

Well, although I’m more of a “Star Trek” fan these days, I suddenly became interested in re-watching the 1977 sci-fi classic “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” after I happened to see this fan documentary about the history of how the film was edited. To my surprise, the brief clips of the film in the documentary suddenly filled me with a powerful feeling of wonder and lots of 1990s childhood nostalgia. I’d forgotten just how much of a presence these films (and the associated toys, videogames etc…) were during my childhood.

But, even though my most vivid childhood memory of “A New Hope” was the second time I saw it – when the altered and CGI-filled “remastered” version appeared in the cinema in 1997, I was determined to watch the original 1977 version this time around.

Although George Lucas is notoriously reluctant to re-release the original theatrical versions of the classic “Star Wars” films, it’s fairly easy to legally get your hands on a copy of them. Second-hand copies of the 2006 “limited edition” DVD versions of the first three films include the original 1970s-80s theatrical versions as a bonus feature and, at the time of writing, can be picked up fairly cheaply online in the UK.

Note: If you’re somehow new to “Star Wars”, it is important to remember that films four, five and six in the series are actually the first three films in the series for some bizarre reason. So, start by watching these three films in order (eg: “A New Hope” then “The Empire Strikes Back” and then “Return Of The Jedi”). Do not let your very first experience of “Star Wars” be the later “Episode 1-3” prequel films from the late 1990s/early-mid 2000s. Seriously, you’ll thank me for this advice!

So, let’s take a look at “Star Wars IV: A New Hope”. Needless to say, this review may contain some SPOILERS. Although I’d be surprised if anyone hasn’t already seen this film.

This DVD edition from 2006 also contains the original version of the film 🙂

Set a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, the film begins in the middle of a war between an oppressive intergalactic empire and a band of plucky rebels. When a spaceship carrying one of the rebel leaders, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), is boarded by the evil Darth Vader (David Prowse) and his stormtroopers, Leia quickly records a message and transfers some crucial data onto a nearby robot called R2-D2. Both R2-D2 and another robot called C-3PO manage to leave the ship in an escape pod before Vader takes it over and captures Leia.

Yes, these robots are actually the main characters for the first few minutes of the film.

The robots land on the nearby desert planet of Tatooine and are quickly captured by local scavengers. The scavengers then sell the robots to a local farmer, who puts his orphaned nephew Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in charge of cleaning and repairing them. During repairs to R2-D2, a fragment of Leia’s message plays and, later that night, R2-D2 flees into the desert.

A free hologram too? Wow, this robot is awesome 🙂

Luke and C-3PO go looking for R2-D2. But, soon after they find him, they are set upon by brigands. An old man called Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness) shows up and scares them away. It quickly becomes apparent that Leia’s message is meant for Ben, who is a retired member of an ancient order called the Jedi Knights. Ben tells Luke that his father was also part of this order too and, after viewing the full message, he begs Luke to help him save Leia.

Luke refuses, but offers to give Ben a lift part of the way. On the journey, they find the wreckage of the scavengers’ lorry and quickly deduce that the empire’s troops are looking for R2-D2. Luke rushes home to warn his family, but finds only a smouldering ruin and two charred skeletons.

Even if you know this that scene will appear, it’s still a little shocking.

So, with nothing left to lose and a score to settle with the empire, he agrees to accompany Ben to the lawless starport of Mos Eisley in order to enlist the services of a rough space pilot, and occasional smuggler, called Han Solo (Harrison Ford) for the mission ahead…

One of the first things that I will say about this film is that it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch 🙂 This is a film that sweeps you up into it and fills you with a sense of imagination, excitement and wonder. It’s a timeless classic of a film which, although it isn’t the most sophisticated work of science fiction in some ways, has an almost mythical quality to it that is truly unique. It’s a grand, epic story that you can just lose yourself in and enjoy for a couple of hours. In other words, it is entertainment done right 🙂

Seriously, this is an example of a good “blockbuster” film 🙂

Earlier, I mentioned that this film isn’t really that much of a sophisticated work of science fiction in some ways – and it really isn’t. But, this doesn’t matter. Yes, the film’s technology mostly just consists of the usual spaceships, holograms, lasers, robots etc.. and it even includes some fantasy elements too – namely a type of magic called “the force” (and, although it was given a “scientific” explanation in the later prequel films, it is treated more like magic in this film). Yes, the film doesn’t really explore any intellectual ideas or philosophical themes in the way that you might expect from something like “Blade Runner”, “Dune”, “Star Trek” etc… But, again, this doesn’t really matter.

This is mostly because the film covers up all of these shortcomings with a gripping story and some absolutely excellent worldbuilding. We get numerous tantalising glimpses of interesting places and planets, almost all of which have that wonderfully bulky, grimy, gloomy and gritty “used future” look that was so popular in 1970s/80s sci-fi 🙂

Seriously, I love the “look” of this film 🙂

This style of “used future” set design (also found in films like “Alien” and “Blade Runner”) is timelessly awesome 🙂

Thanks to all of this excellent set design, this is the kind of film that fires your imagination and lingers long after you’ve finished watching it. The world of this film feels like a real, living place – filled with people going about their everyday lives, grand military machinations and cut-throat criminality – and we get just enough of a look at it to know what is going on, but not enough of it to let it get boring 🙂 Seriously, I love the sense of mystery in this film 🙂

In other words, whilst this film has a really epic, thrilling and highly stylised main story, it feels more “realistic” than you might expect because of the truly excellent set design and numerous small moments that add a feeling that we’re only seeing a small segment of a much larger and more interesting world. Yes, the more modern prequel films in the franchise ruined this intriguing feeling of mystery slightly, but you can still feel it when you watch this film. There are intriguing hints of an epic past, fascinating places glimpsed briefly and just so much stuff that is designed to evoke a sense of wonder by not telling you literally everything.

“An elegant weapon for a more civilised age”. This mysterious description of the lightsaber is so much better than all of the blather about crystals, midi-chlorians etc.. in the 1990s/2000s prequel trilogy.

The film’s pacing is also really interesting too. If it’s been a while since you last watched “A New Hope”, then it might surprise you. Unlike more modern films, this is one that moves at a slightly more natural pace and gradually builds in intensity as it goes along. The early parts of this film are surprisingly “slow paced” by modern standards, relying on mystery and intriguing locations to keep you interested and to give you a chance to get immersed in the film’s wonderfully distinctive “world” before things really start to get thrilling later in the film.

And what a world it is!

Yes, the focus on C-3PO and R2-D2 in the early parts of the film may initially seem a little bit strange or annoying but – in retrospect – it’s a surprisingly good creative choice.

By focusing on lowly service robots who would ordinarily just be background characters in this type of grand saga, the film not only catches the viewer by surprise but also deepens the sense of being thrown into a strange and mysterious world. Likewise, by beginning with some fairly small-scale drama (eg: two robots in trouble), the gradual shift toward large-scale spectacle and thrilling drama later in the film has a much greater feeling of scale and dramatic weight too 🙂 Seriously, modern “blockbuster” films could learn a lot from this one.

In terms of the characters, they are better than I’d expected. Yes, you shouldn’t expect detailed characterisation here – but the film’s minimalist characters still feel relatively “realistic”. They feel like ordinary people caught up in an epic intergalactic saga. Yes, Luke Skywalker is a rather stoic and inexpressive character – but even this is done in a distinctive and subtly quirky way. He really seems like a rural teenager who is slightly out of his depth. He’s clever and resourceful enough to be a compelling character, but also inexperienced and naive enough to be oddly endearingly. Likewise, both Han Solo and Princess Leia are much more interesting and cynical characters than I remember and the slightly fractious dialogue exchanges between them are one of the highlights of the film 🙂

Seriously, Han and Leia are probably the best characters in the film.

Yes, the film’s villains are cartoonishly evil – but this actually sort of works in a highly stylised and fantastical story like this. Not to mention that, like with the film’s “world”, the film makes excellent use of mystery to make the scenes involving Darth Vader feel extra dramatic. Likewise, Vader’s rival Ben Kenobi also feels intriguingly mysterious too – with enough hints of his past to intrigue the viewer, but enough left to the imagination to keep him interesting. So, whilst the characters aren’t exactly deep, they hint at much more than they actually show.

As for the special effects, the original 1977 film holds up surprisingly well when viewed today. Yes, the effects look a little bit creaky in some parts – but you’ll be so engrossed in the drama, spectacle and story that it won’t really matter. For something made this long ago, the film’s effects still do their job reasonably well.

Not to mention that the slight creakiness of some moments ironically adds a slight sense of realism to the film. The special effects aren’t slick, polished and otherworldly CGI. They are slightly rough and imperfect, just like real life. You really get the sense that this film was made by people rather than computers. People pushing the technical limits of what could be done in the mid-late 1970s and using actual creativity. This lends the film a really endearing quality that actually enhances the sheer spectacle and drama of everything 🙂

Seriously, the old-school effects just add to the charm of this film 🙂

These special effects are from 1977 and they still look pretty good. Why did Lucas go back and add CGI to this film in the 1990s?

Then there’s the film’s music 🙂 Chances are, you’ve probably heard it before – but the film’s soundtrack is a classic in it’s own right for a reason. The epic classical-style music here really helps to lend a feeling of gravitas and atmosphere to many of the film’s dramatic moments. It is probably another reason why this film is such a timeless classic. The music is not only instantly memorable, but it also really adds a lot to the film too.

All in all, this film is a timeless classic for a reason. If you want a good example of a mega-budget “blockbuster” film, then you can do a lot worse than this one. Even in it’s original form, it can still fire the imagination, sweep you up in it’s story and fill you with a sense of excitement and wonder. This is a film that was an absolute joy to watch when I was a child and, to my surprise, was still just as awe-inspiring to watch as an adult. Yes, it isn’t exactly a deep and thought-provoking work of science fiction but if you want something unique that will linger in your imagination, transport you to another world for two hours and make you feel richer when you return, then this one is well worth watching 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a five.

Review: “Star Wars: Dark Forces” (Retro Computer Game)

Let me start off by saying that when it comes to the old “Star Trek vs. Star Wars” debate, I’m firmly on the “Star Trek” side of things. I don’t know why I mentioned this, but it seemed appropriate to get it out of the way before reviewing “Dark Forces”.

Even so, I absolutely love 1990s sprite-based FPS games. But, the problem is that there aren’t that many of them left that I haven’t played yet. So, when I saw that the first “Dark Forces” game was on special offer on GoG back in May, I just had to buy a copy of it. I also got the second “Dark Forces” game too, which I might review at a later date.

I should also point out that this review will be more of a “first impressions” article than a full review. This is because, at the time of writing this review (in early May), I’ve only been able to play about the first six levels. So, this review will mostly focus on my impressions of the gameplay and my experiences with the game so far.

So, is “Dark Forces” any good? My answer to that question is more complicated than you might think, since there are a lot of things – both positive and negative – that I have to say about this game.

Although my very first impressions of the game were extremely bad, in a literal example of the sunk cost fallacy I persevered and gradually started to appreciate this game slightly. So, I’ll start by listing the game’s good points before I begin to completely tear it to shreds criticise it.

In “Dark Forces”, you play as an ex-imperial officer called Kyle Katarn who has been hired by the alliance to carry out a series of missions against the Empire. And, yes – in this regard – the game is very ahead of it’s time.

Whilst most other FPS games at the time mostly just made you get from one end of the level to the other (*sigh* I really miss levels like this), in “Dark Forces” you actually have mission objectives that you need to fulfil before you can complete the level:

Yes, the game actually gives you full mission briefings, complete with screenshots.

Unlike many other early-mid 1990s FPS games, “Dark Forces” also actually includes something resembling a proper story – which is also occasionally relayed through cutscenes between some of the missions:

And, yes Darth vader is in this game too.

Another good thing about “Dark Forces” is that it uses the Jedi engine, which enables it to do things that most other FPS games at the time couldn’t really do. You can look up and down, you can jump, you can crouch, there are basic 3D models, there are destructible walls and there’s even a certain level of dynamic lighting in this game (eg: you have a “headlight” that you can turn on in dark areas).

In many ways, the Jedi engine is a lot more like the Build engine (from 3D Realms’s 1996 classic ” Duke Nukem 3D”) than the “Doom” engine. So, yes, technologically – this game is very impressive for something made in 1995. In fact, this game is surprisingly ahead of it’s time. Another good thing about this game is the music and voice acting. The game is filled with wonderful 90s MIDI background music that is taken straight from the “Star Wars” movies and it really adds a lot of atmosphere to most of the levels.

Halt! Rebel scum!

Likewise, the stormtroopers and imperial guards will shout at you when they see you and Kyle Katarn will also occasionally even comment about things . Again, having the player character comment about the game was something that didn’t really become popular until “Duke Nukem 3D” a year later [Edit: Although this feature is sort of included in both “Heretic” and “Rise Of The Triad: Dark War”, it isn’t really used to the same extent as it is in this game].

But, although “Dark Forces” was at least a year ahead of it’s time, there are a lot of flaws with this game that I feel I have to mention. The most glaring flaw in the gameplay is the almost total absence of a saving system. Yes, you can’t save during each level – there aren’t even checkpoints in each level.

The game auto-saves for you at the end of each mission and only at the end of each mission. Instead of an actual in-game save system, you get a certain number of “lives” (eg: when you die you respawn nearby and lose a life) and when your lives are depleted, you have to re-start the mission from scratch. I could tolerate this in a 2D platform game, but there’s no place for lives, checkpoint saving or any of that nonsense in the FPS genre!

Yes, there’s no save option here. Consider it a giant middle finger from the developers.

What this also means is that you have to commit about an hour to each play session of the game, since you’ll lose all of your progress if you don’t finish the level. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like computer games dictating to me how long they must be played for. If you need more reasons why this is a criminally terrible design choice, then just watch this Youtube video by Extra Credits about session length.

The lives system is bad enough in and of itself, but the extreme cheap difficulty of the game compounds this problem even further. Don’t get me wrong, I love challenging games – but only when they are done fairly. There’s a lot of needless backtracking (eg: you have to return to the beginning of the level once you’ve completed your objectives) and cheap difficulty in this game (eg: with things like *ugh* first-person platforming sections), which can really ruin the experience. So, I’d advise that you play this game on “easy” difficulty, even if you’ve had a lot of prior experience with 90s FPS games.

The quality of the level design (or what I’ve seen of it so far) in “Dark Forces” is variable, to say the least. Some levels are fairly well-designed FPS levels – they’re non-linear, well-designed and require a lot of exploration and thought. They also contain fair, but challenging, puzzles that require the player to actually think. However, other levels – level three in particular – are designed to be intentionally confusing and annoying. In fact, I actually had to watch a walkthrough on Youtube before I could complete level three. Seriously, this is the first time that I’ve had to do this for a FPS game in a long time.

It’s no coincidence that level three is set in a sewer. Wading through a giant river of shit is a good visual metaphor for this level.

Other problems with this game include things like the jerky controls and some of the weapon designs. Although I love old-school FPS games with keyboard-only controls (you can also use the mouse for turning in “Dark Forces”, but not for looking up and down), they need to be as smooth as possible in order to allow for fast-paced combat and accurate shooting. Jumping in this game isn’t as precise as it should be, which can lead to frustration during the game’s platforming sections. Since you can’t save, you’ll have to manually retrace your steps and try again. And again. And again….

This LOOKS straightforward. But, thanks to the game’s jumping system, you will probably spend at least five minutes just crossing this one room.

Likewise, whilst the game will sometimes auto-aim vertically for you (like in “Doom”), it doesn’t always do this and you will have to use the page up and page down keys to jerkily look up and down (in fixed increments). Combined with the lack of a crosshair, this makes a lot of firefights more damaging and ammo-intensive than they should be.

Yes, it took me twenty seconds and WAY too much ammunition just to shoot this stormtrooper.

Whilst some of the weapons in this game are fairly good, the one you will use the most is probably the stormtrooper rifle. In a nod to the movies, this gun is notoriously inaccurate and it also uses up two units of ammunition per shot. There also only seem to be about two of three ammo types in the entire game.

So, if you run out of ammo for your stormtrooper rifle, then most of your other guns will also be useless too. Because of the gun’s high rate of fire, this will often happen in the middle of battles. And, since switching between weapons is slightly slower than you would expect in a 1990s FPS game, expect to take a lot of damage when this happens. Still, like most 1990s FPS games, there’s a creative array of other weapons on offer too – like these:

This bizarre four-barrelled gun is kind of cool.

This game also features throwable grenades… a whole YEAR before “Duke Nukem 3D” did.

This cool-looking gun fires three shots in a triangular pattern. It looks cool, but it isn’t very accurate.

All in all, “Dark Forces” is a game which – whilst well ahead of it’s time technologically – will probably be more frustrating than enjoyable. Yes, there’s some fun to be had if you doggedly persevere with this game, but it’s one of the worst 1990s sprite-based FPS games I’ve ever played. This still probably makes it better than some modern FPS games, but don’t go into this game expecting it to be as good as “Doom”, “Blood” or “Duke Nukem 3D”.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get two and a half.