the rise of skywalker

November Writing Challenge Day 29: Attack of the Clones

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

Earlier during this challenge I announced my next challenge: watching all of the Star Wars movies and TV series on Disney+ in chronological order before watching Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker on December 19th.

I jumped right in, watching Episode I: The Phantom Menace for the first time in years (and I think my third time overall). The passage of time did nothing to change my opinion of the movie (it’s terrible) and I wondered how Episode II: Attack of the Clones would fare. I remember seeing this one in the theater and actually enjoying it. It’s diminished over the years, though, to the point where I can understand why people think this is the worst Star Wars movie of them all.

Of course, Anakin’s “sand” speech is laughably bad, but one thing that made the prequels unbearable for me is the overabundance of CGI. At the time, this new generation of special effects was set to change movie making, but I feel the same now as I did then about the prequel special effects: just because you can show all of these amazing details like a planet full of spaceship traffic doesn’t mean you HAVE to.

I may have mentioned this before, but I remember reading Liam Neeson talking about his frustration with acting in front of green screens all of the time, with Lucas’ special effects teams filling in the background later. Although Neeson and Ewan McGregor are just fine in Episode I, almost every other actor wasn’t and Episode II has some forgettable performances by Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman.

So, I made it through Episode II and thankfully The Mandalorian was available to get the first two prequels’s taste out of my mouth. I appreciate that a whole generation of fans got into Star Wars through the prequels and I’m certainly not one to gate-keep Star Wars fandom or keep people from enjoying what they enjoy. Just know that I’ve given the first two episodes multiple chances, still think they’re awful, and realize they’re not for me. I’m done with them.

Continuing the action chronologically, I started watching the Clone Wars series. I liked the first Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network back in the day and was bummed when I learned it was no longer canon. I’ve watched a handful of the “new” Clone Wars series so far and they’ve been okay. I’m not a fan of the animation style and it’s definitely skewed toward a younger audience with characters like the Padawan Ahsoka, but at least they seem like they’ll be more entertaining than the first two movies.

If not, then I’ll skip the rest of the series and amend my original challenge to include only the movies.

November Writing Challenge Day 21: The Phantom Menace

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

Last night I started my latest challenge: watch all of the Star Wars movies and two of the animated series before The Rise of Skywalker debuts next month. I’m watching them in chronological order, which means I started with Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

I never saw Episode I in the theaters. When it came out I was more interested in going out to the bars with my friends. I thought I’d get around to watching it, but before I knew it the movie was no longer showing. When I did finally get to see it on videotape, I was underwhelmed. I watched it a second time on DVD years ago and was bored by it.

So I wasn’t really looking forward to it when I logged into Disney+ last night. The opening scroll talks about a trade blockade and this is where I knew I was in trouble. Trade talks and politics? Not exactly the best way to kick off The Saga, right?

Within 15 minutes, or about the time Jar-Jar Binks made his first appearance, I was ready to turn it off. Jar-Jar was just as annoying as I remembered him. So was young Anakin Skywalker.

The podrace was cooler than I remembered, but it would’ve been better without the two-headed sports announcers. Did we really need this nod to modern sports?

Liam Neeson and Ewan MacGregor were the best parts of Episode I. Darth Maul was a menacing presence, but like most of this movie the best parts were too short and the worst parts were too long. I remember reading an interview with Liam Neeson years ago where he complained about having to act in front of a bunch of blue screens.

Neeson’s interview was on my mind when I saw part of the Star Wars documentary that’s on Disney+. In it, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford joke about George Lucas’ directing style: “Faster and more intense.”

I thought about that quote as I watched Episode I. For its time, the CGI was the latest and greatest in special effects, and it was obvious that Lucas was more enthralled with these than the actual actors or dialogue. You have all of these great actors in the greatest space opera of all time and all you get is a dull film? What a waste.

It’s no wonder I’ve been watching these films in Machete Order for years. After my challenge, I’m going back to it.

November Writing Challenge Day 14: Star Wars: Rebellion

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

With just over a month left until the final film of the Skywalker Saga hits movie theaters, I’ve decided to get an early start on the Star Wars madness. For Episodes VII and VIII I watched Episodes II through VI in Machete Order (IV, V, II, III, and VI; skipping I, aka my least favorite and the worst Star Wars film of the series). I haven’t started the movies yet, but I’ve already decided to watch them all, including Episode I, before the big day.

I’ve also decided to play a bunch of Star Wars board games. My buddy Patrick and I played what is probably my favorite Star Wars game, Star Wars: Rebellion. I’m terrible at this game, but it’s awesome. Although it can be played by four players, it’s really a two-player game, with you and your opponent playing the Rebels and the Empire. The Empire wins if it can locate and destroy the Rebel base, while the Rebels win if they can remain alive for a set number of turns.

It’s an epic experience that neatly ties in Star Wars lore throughout the game. In today’s game I was the Empire and I was able to capture Obi-Wan Kenobi, but of course he become a Force Ghost instead. I quickly found the Rebel base twice early in the game, but the Rebel scum wouldn’t go down without a fight and they managed to turn things around for the win.

There are certain parts of Star Wars: Rebellion that remind me of my other favorite space-opera-in-a-box, Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition. Activating systems and “locking” them down seems very TI4-like to me. The production of ships is also determined by the planets you control, but here in Rebellion it’s a bit simpler. Combat also comes down to dice rolls, but like TI4 there are cards that you play. And just like TI4, Rebellion can seem like a long game (up to three hours), but it certainly doesn’t feel that way since you’re only doing one action per turn.

After only two plays, Star Wars: Rebellion is one of my top five all-time greatest two-player games. It’s a grand, movie-like experience and although you don’t need to know anything about Star Wars to play the game, if you’re a lifelong Star Wars geek like me then you’ll undoubtedly love this as much as I do.