Star Wars Episode IV

That's just superficial talk. His real desire is of course to go to...

He really was a blank slate of a character. Never hated him, but Leia and Han definitely overshadowed him.

Ehh, that's only human. I'd always wanted to go to Japan and didn't hesitate to volunteer for orders there for my first duty station. But I still had an "Oh fuck, I'm actually going to be living overseas for three years" moment.

That's cuz even in galaxies far, far away, women pull up their big girl panties and deal with life.

But you've got a point there. The Skywalker men are big fucking babies. You'd think Ben would've balanced out with Han as a dad, but no.

Someone on my FB page just posted this

That is Red Leader.

Really? The voice sounds different than it did during the trench run. Probably his helmet distorted it.

It is a slow movie, but then many were in the 70's and 80's, and I confess that when I watch it these days there is more than a small element of recapturing childhood rather than quality that keeps me engaged.

And given that the 'vision' for the trilogy wasn't very much set, it's something of a miracle that there aren't swathes of flaws in hindsight.

Which version did you watch? The original or the Shortbus Editions? Because most of the crap Lucas added to the SE harms the film. The insertion of Jabba slows things down tremendously and Lucas was right to leave it out the first time.

Think of how much better, no matter your opinion of the original STAR WARS from 1977, if it had been taken AWAY from George Lucas?

I like Episode IV fine, but I can understand why it's not some folks' cup of coffee!

Lucass had full reigns over the prequel trilogy, & look at what he pooped out?

Jar Jar Binks & Mannequin Skywalker

I think the scene with Biggs in the hangar is a welcome addition and makes his death during the attack more impactful.

That's why I said "most of the crap," not "all of the crap."

The Biggs scene was a SE addition? I never knew.

The SE was released when I was ten, and growing up with family that knew fuck all about nerd stuff, it's the only version I've ever seen.

I can stomach Jabba being added as long as Han shoots first.

I'm reminded of Ridley Scott's VO on the Director's Commentary for Alien.

"We're 20 minutes in and nothing's happened yet - you don't always have to rock 'n' roll, y'know?"

That's reasonable for horror films, though. Not so much with action/adventure movies.

Never heard of it. Is this a sequel to Disney's Rogue One?

You're going to hate Raiders of the Lost Ark. Fuck, you'll think there's a false ending half way through.

If only Michael Bay had made it instead

What's wrong with Raiders? I remember "The Big Bang Theory" episode about it but though that was a valid point (Indiana Jones has no real effect on the course of the story) I still think the movie was good.

Humbug. Without Indy, Marian dies in the fire, and the Nazis never find the Well of Souls because they had the wrong staff length.

Yeah, the helmets distort a lot. Took me an unreasonably long time to realize that Wedge is the one who says "that's impossible, even for a computer".

Although on further research (just now), while the character is Wedge, it turns out briefing room Wedge was played by a different actor than X-Wing Wedge (Colin Higgins and Dennis Lawson, respectively).

Really? Learn something new everyday.

X-Wing Wedge has to be one of the luckiest rebel pilots ever.

He survives not one but two Death Star runs and the battle with the AT-ATs on Hoth.

And that's not counting the shit he lives through in the EU

I thought about that but every time I mention the Expanded Universe someone chimes in and says "the EU isn't canon".

Nothing. That wooshing sound you heard when reading that post was something going over your head though...

It isn't

Having Han shoot in reaction to Gredo firing, rather than simply killing him in cold blood is my only real gripe with the Stupid Edition cuts. I still prefer the originals, but that's the onky change that wrecks the original version.

I find some of the added creatures in the Mos Eisley sequence to be annoying as well. There's not really any reason for them to be there, other than they could insert them in.

It was the Imperial Academy.

The Empire was a massive propaganda machine. It had to be to get people to sign up and fight for it.