gurustump

This is not the most philosophical movie ever made. But it is one of the most finely crafted overall films ever. The story is just a fun ride, but the tone, pacing, seriousness of the acting, music, art direction, cinematogr.aphy...everything comes together so perfectly to make an incredible homage to the serial adventure films of golden age Hollywood, and to create some new and beautiful from it.

But the real magic of this film is that it manages to sneak so many laugh out loud gags in without sacrificing the believability of the characters or the story. It's just fantastic. If you haven't seen it, watch it immediately.

Like many movie viewers, I saw the original Star Wars as a child. So great was its effect on me, I don't remember it so much as a movie as something that happened to me as a kid. As such, my feelings about the recent prequel trilogy are prone to be colored by my having placed the first trilogy on a rather inaccessible pedestal.

Nevertheless...I feel there are some problems with Episode 2--specifically story problems. To best explain my thinking, I must go back to Episode 1.

There was really only one mistake in the story of Episode 1. Too many people have hotly criticized Jar Jar Binks. I suppose his anachronistic dialogue could knock the audience out of their suspension of disbelief...but there was that kind of dialogue in Episodes 4-6, too. I think Jar Jar haters are just those who haven't realized that between Episode 4 and Episode 1, they grew up and suddenly didn't like the kid stuff anymore.

The real problem in Episode 1 was Anakin. I think Anakin should have been far more precocious in this first film. His assault on the droid armada should not have been guided so much by chance and ignorance as by design. He would have been a stronger character if he had known precisely what he was doing throughout the battle. There would have been no "I'll barrel roll...that's a neat trick" stuff in there. I think this would have made him the sort of heroic, decisive character that audiences adore.

Episode 2's failings again revolve around the character of Anakin. I think it was a mistake to make him into unlikable. It appears the filmmakers decided that he should be an average teenager: rebellious and with issues about being misunderstood. The only exceptional thing about him was his super-powers.

I think they should have made him wise beyond his years. I suppose they wanted a character that teenagers viewers could identify with, but I think they blew it. Nobody wants to identify with an ingrate, or someone who is driven by false beliefs or egotism. We like to watch someone greater than ourselves, because we can still empathize with that greatness, even if it only exists in small amounts in us personally.

So Anakin should have been very wise, patient and humble. Instead of bickering with Obi Wan, he should have constantly surprised and perhaps even surpassed Obi Wan by always doing the right thing, perhaps even shaming Obi Wan who wanted to do the wrong thing.

Part of the problem of writing Episode 2 is that you have to show the intricacies of the fall of a great man into an evil man. Darth Vader is a fabulous character. He's abjectly evil in Episode 4, but by Episode 6, he really does seem redeemable. I suppose some have criticized the change in Vader, but I thought it was well rendered. The conversation between Luke and Vader on Endor is beautiful (in large part because James Earl Jones read Vader's lines so well). 'It is too late for me, my son.' Heart wrenching stuff, and in my estimation, accurate to how real people find redemption.

Episode 2 has to show the reverse of this process. It has to show the fall.

I think the fall portrayed in the film is clunky. I never felt that Anakin was all that great a person to begin with…he doesn't start too high, and therefore can't really fall that low. He's just an arrogant turd. Back in Episode 1 he was an oblivious little kid, running completely on luck, rather than on moral impetus. In Episode 2 he's motivation seems to be his arrogance. That's why I think he should have been kinder, wiser, more patient, and therefore an all around more exceptional character from the start. Then there would have been a substantial level for him to fall from.

The seeds of his fall were amply planted in Episode 2. The republic is corrupt, and the Jedi council is losing its powers as a result. It would have been so easy to set up a rift between Anakin and the council. Anakin, through his profound powers in the force could have sensed the danger to his mother in time to save her. Yoda and the council, unable to see very far off, would have ordered him to stay put (wrongly), and then Shmi could have gotten killed. Instead of going on a murderous killing rampage (a huge mistake…how can I believe Amidala's falling in love with Anakin in the midst of his revealing that he's a mass-murderer?) Anakin should have tried to humbly accept the council's orders, and should have tried to tell himself that he was wrong and they were right. That internal schism would eventually get him, when in Episode 3 he and the council could once again disagree…this time relating to saving Amidala from some massive danger. This time the council would be right and Anakin wrong (the death of his mother would have wrecked his personal faith enough that his own foresight would have dwindled), and in disobeying the council, he would get Amidala killed.

Of course, I don't know if they plan to kill Amidala in Episode 3, but that would be the sort of massive guilt-inducing event (when Anakin would have to face his responsibility for her death, or actually deny the responsibility) that would send him into a downward spiral, denying all his beliefs to the point of turning on the Jedi and trying to destroy them.

Oh well. Maybe someday they'll make the last three films in the Star Wars storyline, and will be more insightful about their character arcs. In the meantime, Episode 2 is a wonderful film and impressive accomplishment. I just wish it would have been a little more profound, and finally got George Lucas a best film Oscar.

I haven't been so excited about a movie since I saw Moulin Rouge the first time years ago. I have been a fan of Brad Bird since I saw his episode of Amazing Stories way back in the day ("The Family Dog"...well worth renting if you can find it, incidentally). In any case, I'm glad Bird's finally at the top of the animated heap. I suppose things were looking somewhat bad for him back when his very skillfully rendered "Iron Giant" didn't make all that much money (which I am led to understand is more the fault of the distributor...was Warners just fearful after their Quest for Camelot and King and I flops, or did they have something against Bird?). Now he's directed a superb film for the premier animation outfit in the world. I hope he gets to do more. Indeed, I'm already hungry for an "Incredibles 2."

I've wondered when someone in animation in the U.S. would attempt to match the dynamic motion and speed in action sequences that you see in Japanese pictures like Macross Plus and Cowboy Beebop (thinking of the feature here, not the series). Disney's Tarzan had some pulse-heightening jungle-swing sequences, but it wasn't until the beginning of Toy Story 2, with the video game Buzz Lightyear doing battle with robot armies and his nemesis Emperor Zurg that I felt that American animators had really noted how exciting and mobile they could make their visuals. Incredibles will probably get a lot of praise for its humor, especially as it relates to the funny mixture of a standard American nuclear family and super powers. What may be neglected is the fabulous is praise for the very animated animation. Kudos for gorgeous action sequences. I'd love to see more.

I hope that Pixar will continue to knock 'em out of the park. So far, every story has been the sort of heart-warming, feel good stuff that we American (and probably international) audiences really adore. I suppose there are some Marxists out there somewhere that think this is a bad idea. I don't buy that. There are some things we need to believe in at a very personal and very profound level. I hope Pixar will never forget that the simple themes of love, family, belonging and such are the ones that we all seem to respond to the most. Disney tried the politically correct theme of tolerance and got their butts handed to them at the box office for it (thinking of Pocahontas here, and Hunchback, for that matter). I hope Pixar keeps it simple, and keeps to the things that really matter most to most human beings.

Furthermore, I hope Pixar can keep the artists and animators around who have the wonderful comic timing that their present crew has. These folks are so good at what they do, it's amazing. There's a lot more subtle and nuanced stuff going into drawing and moving characters in such a way that they turn out to be really good actors than one might realize. Right now Pixar is the reigning champ. I personally hope they stay that way.

A couple of last thoughts: if John Ratzenberger gets a role in every animated movie made from now on, I think that would be just great. Also, nice work Jason Lee. I've been watching his career since Mallrats. Very much enjoy his work.