| Friday May 3rd 2002 Tonight's the big Spiderman debut, which I'll be attending with a bunch of friends. I like the crowds at opening nights; usually these are your hard-core fans, and you can feel the excitement. Yes, you have to fight for your tickets and seats, but it makes it more than just a movie - it's an event! Truth be told, however, I consider this just a warm-up for Star Wars in two weeks. That's the series that's captured my heart, ever since I was a five year old in 1978. Those were the pre-VCR days, so theatres often brought back well-performing movies for a second run, third run, etc. So Star Wars came out in '77, but I think it was '78 I saw it with my parents. Definite magic moment for me, topped only by the sequel 'Empire' in 1980 when I was seven. That's the one that stuck with me most, more so than ROTJ did in '83. So I, like every other Star Wars fan, was expecting a recapturing of that magic when Phantom Menace hit in '99. And, like most of them again, it didn't entirely happen for me. I've heard several theories about why, the foremost being Stars Wars has always been a series for kids and we're not kids anymore. But you can't watch Empire and then Phantom Menace and tell me those two are on the same wavelength. Empire had heart, and Phantom Menace included something that rhymes with that, among other juvenile bits of humour, mostly centering around the infamous Jar Jar Binks. You gotta feel sorry for Ahmed Best. First he got a role in Star Wars, which must have been a fantastic moment for him. Not only that, but he got to play a cinematic first - a CCG character playing a central role - also fantastic. And the creative license to make up the character's mannerisms, accent, etc - how can you beat that? Unfortunately, Jar Jar was what most fans wanted to beat most after they saw the movie. Now picture Ahmed faced with all these accusations about the racist accent and the funky walk, and virulent wishes for a Jar Jar death scene in the sequel, preferably a violent and bloody one. The poor guy must have felt like total dirt. I hear Jar Jar has a short but important role in Episode II that gives his character a little more weightiness. For Ahmed's sake, I hope so. |