An Old Tribute To Nintendo I Wrote A Few Years Ago

I love Nintendo. It’s perhaps one of the greatest video game companies in the entire world. But can you believe that it started out as a playing card company. It wasn’t until the late 70s and early 80s that Nintendo was on the ball. With classics like Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and of course Super Mario Bros, Nintendo really made us have fun and enjoy ourselves, such as on days when it was rainy outside and we couldn’t play outdoors. It will surely entertain the whole world many years from now, when our great great great great great grandchildren are around.



If it’s any man we should be thanking for the famed games, it’s japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who was responsible for the origins of Mario, Luigi, Link, Wario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and many more. As a matter of fact, he is the reason why Nintendo is still in this world. After releasing the game Radarscope in the U.S. in 1978, it became one of the most unsuccessful games of the time. But young Miyamoto came up with Donkey Kong, based upon Popeye the Sailor Man and King Kong (kong means large in Japan). Not only was it the first game to introduce Mario (then called Jumpman) and Donkey Kong, it would also influence game designers in the years to come to create game that would be popularized all over the world.

Since then, Nintendo games were popularized all over the world. With very few cliched ideas, they released different games, obviously contrasted from the others. When the Nintendo Entertainment System arrived in 1985, it was the first to have Super Mario Bros. perhaps becoming the most successful game of all time. Today, SMB remains one of the most sold out games of all time. When the Super Nintendo arrived in 1991, we were introduced to new games, such as Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World, the best sellers of the system.



And me, growing up with the SNES has inspired me with the stories I write and the designs I create. But without Nintendo, the world would not be the same. We would not have experienced what we have experienced with the Nintendo systems. All I can say is that Nintendo will come out with many more beloved games in the near future. Thank you Nintendo, for charming us and entertaining us for many decades. Your games may be mundane, but they are masterpieces and classics that will never forgotten.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Review

As a massive fan of Batman: The Animated Series, I am also a huge fan of Batman Beyond. Although some look at the series as just one big advertisement for toys and video games, I look at it as an epic retelling of the caped crusader within a futuristic metropolitan city, corrupted with even more crime and treachery than ever before. The series is also a huge factor in the DC Animated Universe, also known as the Timmverse, named for Bruce Timm, who created a lot of the prime elements featured in shows like Batman, Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and of course, The Justice League. Without the addition of Batman Beyond, we wouldn't know where Bruce Wayne ends up after dumping the Bat disguise, or who takes on the Bat suit after Wayne retires. It's also pivotal that we observe the relationship between the new Batman, Terry McGinnis and the elderly Bruce Wayne, because we later realize, in the Justice League: Unlimited episode entitled "Epilogue" that Terry is in fact the son of Wayne, conceived during a lab experiment involving Wayne and Terry's parents. I thought it was nice how they flawlessly tied this show into the continuity of the original Batman cartoon, giving a few nods to that masterpiece of a show in several episodes and even bringing back some of our favorite characters, like Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, who has taking her father's place as Police Commissioner by that point, Bane, who is now on life support because of his constant use of venom in the past, as well as Tim Drake, the second Boy Wonder Robin, who's fate is finally realized in the Batman Beyond feature, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Considered to many to be the show that launched Batman's most lethal and deadly villain, the Joker back into his glory, Return of the Joker answers a lot of the questions we had asked ourselves while watching the Batman Beyond television show and digs deeper into the mysterious events that follow Batman: The Animated Series, exploring Bruce's live scarring confrontations with the Joker as well as a complex character development and psychology that only Batman and anything to do with Batman can bring to the party. Because, within such a vivid, imaginative animated dimension like the DC Animated Universe, there is no greater hero, no greater individual that makes us show so much compassion, so much sympathy than Batman, for his story, and the horrid things he must observe before his eyes, is hands down the most tragic tale ever to be told in both cartoons and comic books. And his tragic story is progressed further in this wonder of an animated flick, which I think is up there with Mask of the Phantasm and many of the great Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Beyond episodes Kids WB and Fox had to offer. It is surely dark, comtemporary, and displays Batman in a different picture frame, a picture frame of many different colors, themes, and character arcs.



As you would guess by the title, the Joker is back, and even more compelling than ever. And Mark Hamill is once again the king of voicing the Joker, the man who was once Luke Skywalker giving the Joker that funny, humorous tone of voice that cracks you up and makes your bones shake all at the same time. And the Joker does a lot of strange things in this film, then again, doesn't he always do things that are strange and outlandish. For craps sake, THE MAN HAS PET HYENAS! If that isn't a bit odd, than I don't know what is. But there was one scene in this film that cemented the Joker for me entirely. It's a scene that is very reminiscent of the Joker's torture scene in The Dark Knight, you know, where he tortures the Batman impersonator on live television? In the film, the Joker has paired up with some of Terry Batman's most powerful villains, the Jokerz, becoming their leader and talking them into taking part of his evil doings. However, one member of the Jokerz becomes furious with the Joker, demanding that he can leave the group at once. Then the Joker does the unexpected, he pulls out a gun and holds it up to the guy's head. As the guy pleads for mercy, the Joker pulls the trigger, and if you know the Joker, you know that he has a few BANG guns lying around his hideout, so a long BANG flag comes flapping out. The guy is relieved that the Joker is letting him live, and just as he turns around, WHAMMO! The Joker shoots him right in the chest, sending him flying upon the dining table in front of all of his companions. WOW! I mean, just WOW! Never before have I seen a scene that was so gruesome and horrifying, and after seeing that scene for the first time, my jaw literally dropped to the floor. I never really understood what exactly goes through the Joker's mind until that point, and what goes through his mind isn't exactly pretty. He's a cold, calculating menace that will eliminate anyone who stands up to him, and when he doesn't get what he wants. He can do one of two things. He can wine and scream like an infant or he can beat up and take his anger out on others. Just look at how he treats Harley! I love that scene though, even though it is blood freezing as all heck, and if you have seen some of my videos at Warp 8 Productions, you know that I liked to use that scene at the end of my videos when the Warp 8 logo would appear.

I think the relationship between Terry and Bruce is at it's greatest in this film. Of course the two have had quite a few great moments throughout the Batman: Beyond television series, but the pillars of their friendship are at their highest in Return of the Joker, the two shocked and unclear as to what to do about the Joker's reemergence. Bruce forbids Terry from going after the Joker, and tells him to hand over the Batsuit, Terry not doing so, creating quite a controversy between the two that lasts throughout most of the film. Still angry at Bruce, Terry has a talk with Commissioner Gordon, who, as I mentioned earlier is Barbara Gordon, Gordon revealing some of the secrets we have long wondered about in previous years. And what follows is my favorite scene out of the entire Batman Animated Universe, and while we're at it, my favorite scene out of the DC Animated Universe in general. It is through this scene that we learn the ghastly truth, the truth about Tim Drake and what really happened to the Joker all those years ago. It is truly a disturbing scene that shocks me everytime I watch it, but I will surely think positive as I describe the scene for you all. The Joker kidnaps Tim Drake, and through terrible torment and experimenting, turns Drake into his one miniature self, a Joker Junior as he entitles him in the film. For several weeks after, Batman and Batgirl search for Robin, and one night, the Joker invites them to his hideout to see what has become of their Boy Wonder, Joker Drake revealing himself for the first time to Bruce and Barbara.

While Batgirl takes on Harley Quinn, and sends her down the shadowy abyss where she is grievously injured, Batman goes to confront the Joker, as the Joker shows him the "home movies" he made showing Drake getting experimented on and turned into the monster he is now. The Joker also reveals that Drake revealed some secrets to him, the Joker now knowing of Batman's true alter ego, Bruce Wayne. And then, as the Joker taunts Batman about his parents' death and says that he is nothing more than a "little boy in a play suit crying for mommy and daddy", the Joker gives off his greatest line ever.

"It'd be funny it weren't so pathetic....nah what the heck, I'll laugh anyway. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Than, out of the shadows, Batman swoops in through a glass windows and starts beating the living lights out of the Joker, the Joker taking the upper hand shortly after and evening stabbing Batman with a small knife. As he pulls out his gun, he thinks for a moment, tossing the gun over to Joker Drake to finish Batman once and for all. As Joker Drake points the gun at Batman, the Joker yells for him to "DO IT!" kinda like Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars, however, Tim Drake's allegiance resurfaces, and he instead turns the gun on the Joker, killing him upon impact. Drake than breaks down crying, scarred by the horrific events that he had been apart of, as Batgirl rushes to his side, comforting him and telling him everything is going to be alright. It's a very emotional scene towards the end, and you can really sense what is going through each and every character's mind. When a character was shocked or infuriated, you could really feel it and see it upon their face, really showing how cartoon characters can carry a lot of emotion on their faces and postures. And when Drake breaks down crying, you can really feel his pain and his grief knowing that he will never live the same life again. The villains also carry a lot of emotion as well, both the Joker and Harley Quinn desperate to ruin Batman's life and threaten the ones he cares about, even his sidekicks. When the Joker taunts Batman about his parents' death and that fact that Tim Drake is now his, you see how selfish and cold hearted he really is, not caring one bit as to how much pain, suffering, agony a person must go through to become one of his allies. You see, that's what makes the Joker so cynical. He knows how Batman operates, he knows what Batman is up against, he knows that Batman often works with others to lock up criminals within the walls of Arkam Asylum. And most importantly, he knows of Batman's many weaknesses, and as any great villain would, he takes advantage of them, grabs them by the throat, flips them upside down and shakes them until the important elements come through. And that's exactly what he does here, he takes advantage of one of Batman's pupils to make Batman vulnerable, to make Bruce Wayne vulnerable and anything to do with Bruce Wayne vulnerable, although it would be his greatest mistake, for he dies shortly after and anything he was planning to do dies with him. That my friends solidifies the whole movie for me. If this entire film was focused upon this scene and this scene only, I would love it just as much and maybe even a little more, for it allows us to travel deeper into the minds of some of our favorite characters, to feel sorry for some of the characters, and in a way, wish that we were one of the characters to either ruin the reign of an enemy or help a friend in peril. That's one of the many things I observe in these kind of films, character development that goes far beyond the characters themselves.

Anyone who has seen this film knows that there was a considerable amount of violence and gore featured in the film's original cut, particularly in the scene I just talked about. A censored version of the film was released in it's place, many fans enraged over this version and even going as far as to starting a petition for the original cut to see release. Eventually it did, and it received a PG-13 rating, making it the first animated Batman movie ever to receive that rating. And I for one think the rating is quite suitable, for young children might be a little disturbed by some of the scenes and might run in fright over some of the scenes. Then again, a lot of the scenes from the original Batman films were scary, the scenes with Jack Nicholson's Joker, the scenes with Danny Devito's Penguin, the scene where the Penguin bites the guy's nose, the scene where the fake penguins dump the dead Penguin's body into the water, the scene where Batman pulls out his credit card, the original Batman films were surely filled with a lot of AHHHHHHHHH moments. And this film is certainly filled to the brim with shocking animated scenes that will make kids run into their bedrooms and hide under the covers with Mr. Snuggles. The voice acting in this film is at it's best, but that's common in all DC Animated productions. Kevin Conroy's voice of Bruce Wayne is still very fitting, even though he is voicing an elderly Bruce as opposed to the young, troubled Bruce we saw in The Animated Series and movies. Will Friedle, who you all know as Eric Matthews from Boy Meets World and Lion-O from the Thundercats reboot, does a pretty swell job providing the voice of Terry McGinnis, making both Terry and Batman cunning and swift in their own right, although they are just one person. As I said before, the voice of a character can really add depth to that character, make the character much more realistic and likeable. Even the villains can be likeable, for even though they are so evil and cunning, they each have their own certain trademarks, trademarks that make them the villain they are. What would the Penguin be without his many dangerous umbrellas or Mr. Freeze without his giant oversized freezing gun?

Now the music is very fitting for each scene, and as the voices do to the characters, the music adds depth, dimension and layer to each scene's surroundings, each scene's color and mood, helping build up for the climatic events that are yet to come. And I couldn't go without mentioning that the music for both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Beyond are some of my favorite scores from television shows, each very fitting for the characters and the events caused by the characters and their decisions. In the final scenes of the film, Terry Batman is able to track down the Joker, and it is revealed that the Joker is in fact Tim Drake, Drake transforming into the Joker right in front of Terry Batman. The Joker explains that he implanted a micro chip within Tim in the experimenting all those years ago, a microchip containing all of the Joker's memories and personality. It's a pretty shocking twist, and perfectly ties in with the scene I described earlier, further progressing on the Joker's relationship with Tim Drake and his ambitions to keep his crime spree going. Angered over what the Joker has done to Tim, Terry Batman attacks the Joker, and a climatic final battle unfolds. The final battle between Terry Batman and the Joker is just as good as all the other scenes I had mentioned throughout the film, and I thought the relationship between the two couldn't be any better. The Joker hates Batman and Batman hates the Joker, and they would be willing to do anything to bring one another to a deadly end, for better or for worse. And Terry Batman even goes as far as to taunt the Joker himself, laughing and mocking his laughable catchphrases, just before the Joker becomes enrages and starts torturing Terry Batman. Eventually, Terry Batman shocks the Joker, destroying the microchip and returning Tim back to his old self. In the final scene of the film, Tim is in a hospital bed, and he is joined by Bruce and Barbara. As Terry walks out, Bruce gives him some helpful advice, saying that it's not Batman that makes his life worthwhile, but the other way around. And with that extra push, Terry fully understands his duties as Batman and will do anything to purify them, keep them at their prime, use them to better what terror might unfold within Neo-Gotham. And as many Batman films end, this one ends with Terry Batman flying through the city, confident and ready to take out some of Gotham's most terrifying adversaries. And it took him the entire film to build that confidence, that inner strength to go just about anything.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is a feast fit for any life long Batman fan. If you are a fan of Batman: Beyond, you will love every nook and cranny of this film, and if you are a fan of the original Batman animated series, I still say this film is worthy to watch. It is filled with many homages to the original cartoon and adds in many glorious things to help tie up loose ends. The character development is what makes this film this film, and each character is solid, not wooden, each with a different backstory and different view of aspects. When characters were upset, you could feel upset, and when a person was angry, you could really feel the anger building up within their insides, a feeling of hatred and vengeance. But I think the moral of this entire film is to let go, let go of the past, move forward to accomplish no things, and let me be the first to say, that isn't easy. It was hard for Tim Drake to let go of the past, especially when he had a microchip containing the Joker's memories within him, and it was hard for Bruce Wayne to move on from those horrible events as well. And with the Joker's rise to power, it all came back to them, the pain and the despair, however, in order for them to overcome the Joker in the end, they had to let go, they had to let go of the past and move on into the future, building an inner strength that can only be accomplished by doing so, building an inner strength that will allow them to discover things that will lead to the Joker's downfall. Terry McGinnis also learns to let go in this film, for at times, he was often filled with hatred and fury, particularly aimed at the Joker and Bruce, however, he had to come to a realization and throw that hatred and fury down the toilet, discovering who he really was and what he must accomplish in the process. Terry became a lot stronger by the end of the film, and would use his powers as Batman like he never used them before, to defend Neo-Gotham from crime and treachery, to prevent criminals and adversaries from making the city crumble to pieces. And even if he has a huge responsibility on his shoulders, he can still be Terry McGinnis at all times, even with the Bat suit upon his body. He can still be the person he wants to be and do the things he wants to do, as with all superheroes who take on an alter ego, an ego of an average ordinary citizen among the Earth, an average ordinary citizen who is trying to find his place in the world. I compare Terry McGinnis to myself in a lot of ways, for at times, I often feel like I will never amount to anything or that everything I do will backfire on me one way or the other. But no matter how stormy the weather is, we can always get back onto our feet and keep moving forward, keep striving for what we want, and as long as we strive for our dreams with pride and self-confidence,  saying NEVER GIVE UP to ourselves, anything is reachable. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker helped me realize that in a way, and helped me realize that the world of superheroes is, in many ways, not too different from our very own, even if there are many glorious things that one may think is impossible to bring into the real world. This film helped me realize that we will always have people who care for us, people who want to help us, people like Batman, who will always be there to defend us from what troubles stand in our path.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Review

There is no denying that I am a huge fan of Batman: The Animated Series. Along with the original X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons, it has gone down as one of the greatest animated television shows ever made, praised for it's unique storytelling, dark and linear atmosphere and of course, the character development that was off the charts. This is the show that introduced us to a lot of factors that would become prominent in later Batman media and helped get Batman to the level we all know him at today. The show also introduced us to Harley Quinn, a character who has become so popular throughout the years, that she even has her own comic book series and has been a recurring character in shows like the Justice League and the live action Birds of Prey series. So, yeh, as you would have guessed, the Batman cartoon has left a powerful impact on not only pop culture, but the comic book universe and the world of Batman in general, showing Batman like we have never seen him before and making him more of a sympathetic hero rather than a ticked off lunatic who runs around beating the crap out of random criminals. And with a great animated series, there also comes a motion picture based upon the animated series. That is no surprise for me, for popular shows like Rugrats and Animaniacs have gotten movies based upon them, progressing the story we all know and love further and making it more in depth. And Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is one of the greatest motion pictures based upon an animated television show, giving us things not even the show could top and giving us material very appropriate for a motion picture. In my opinion, it's one of the best Batman films ever made, and it is certainly up there with Tim Burton's 1989 take on Batsy as well as The Dark Knight, fit with a dark story, dark character progression and things that just plain out "freak you out". And I think everyone is on par with me when I say that all Batman films have their "freak out" moments, either making your skin crawl or making you laugh in bafflement.



Batman: Mask of the Phantasm marks one of the first times we have ever seen the backstory of Batman on the big screen. Of course we have seen his parents getting shot in the first Tim Burton film, but Mask of the Phantasm takes this concept to a whole new level. The film explains as to why, how, and when Bruce Wayne donned the Batman mask for the first time, Wayne searching for who he really is and trying to live a normal life, developing a relationship with a woman named Andrea Beaumont, who becomes much more of a solid character as the film progresses. When Andrea leaves Bruce, soon after Burce engages to her, Batman believes that he has lost his only chance of having a normal life and continues his plans of becoming a crime fighter, becoming the Caped Crusader for the first time. And when he becomes the Caped Crusader for the first time, you are really shocked and pleased at the same time, for you feel kinda bad for Bruce and wish you could help him, however, you are glad you finally know the truth, the truth of why Batman is Batman and why he wants to defend the city from crime and treachery. It's something that goes back to the early days of the comics, the days when Batman was new, and you see his training, his ambition, his quest to defend people from suffering the same fate of his parents as well as why he wishes to take on the form of a Bat. Of course Batman's backstory has been altered drastically throughout the years, each version of the Black Savior of Gotham doing something different and fresh for a new set of eyes. And this version of Batman's backstory is certainly different from the others, though quite satisfying, for it gave us the backstory we wished and prayed for when we watched The Animated Series on our television set. Bruce Wayne wants to be a normal person, move on from the events of that one tragic night, although it is a hard, rocky journey without reward, and you can really feel his pain, relate to him in a sense.










Now let's talk about the villains. Mark Hamill's Joker. Do I even need to go into any detail? He has solidified himself has one of the best interpretations of the character, coming out funny and cooky, yet terrifying and sadistic at the same time. And what's Mark Hamill's Joker without his sinister yet funny Joker laugh. The Joker does laugh a lot in this film, particularly in the action scenes and the scenes where he is associating with another person, although Mark Hamill's Joker is at his finest in his film. Some of the things he does in this film, as I said before, can "freak you out", make you just as sick to your stomach as when the Joker shoves a guy's head onto a pencil in The Dark Knight. For example, there is a scene where he makes a guy laugh himself to the point where he has to be taken to a hospital where he is pinned to a table by the doctors. The Joker's hideout is also kinda creepy, it's somewhat of a amusement park attraction that Bruce and Andrea visit earlier in the film, and the Joker does some pretty funny, yet demented things with the animatronic dummies present in the attraction. And I do love Batman's final confrontation with the Joker, the Joker taunting Batman as he always does during their fights. But then, our next villain, which I'll simply call the Phantom, takes on the Joker, the two disappearing in a cloud of thick smoke. The Phantom, as we see throughout the film, causes trouble by killing of gangsters and tracking down some of Gotham's most scheeming crimelords. And the Phantom has quite a few great scenes with Batman, who it often frames for the mass murders of the gangsters and fights in a few brief action sequences.Later, as the film reaches it's climax, we find out that the Phantom is in fact Andrea, who is tracking down the criminal who are responsible for her father' s death. When I first saw the film, I was very surprised at that revelation, and I'm sure a lot of were surprised as well, for we never expected such a bulky villain like the Phantom to be a girl. But the whole thing works flawlessly, for Andrea was a very well developed character by the point when she reveals herself to be the Phantom and we can see her pain and quest for vengeance against those who ruined her life, Batman telling her to let go of her hatred and move on as he has. And in the end, Batman and Andrea the Phantom get even with one another, going their seperate ways in the journey to find where they belong. And that my friends isn't something seen a lot in super hero films, for heroes and villains often end up hating one another or wanting to kill one another's loved ones.

The animation of the film is what you would expect from Batman: The Animated Series, fit with that shady, black colored scenary, along with some highly fitting 3-D elements as well. It is through this stellar animation that we really see the hard work and dedication put into it, each animated scene complimenting the story and making it more vivid, more in depth. The animated series is also known for this art, and it can really make things fun to look at, particularly in the background and in action scenes where the heroes and villains and moving around a lot or causing a lot of motion. And animation isn't an easy process, let me tell you, for one single scene can take up to 100 drawings to create, each drawing making the animation fluent, consistent. The shadowy, gritty take on some of the scenes is really stunning, some of the scenes very reminiscent to some of the scenes from the show as well as the show's opening, which were obviously inspired by the Fleischer Superman cartoons from the 1940s. One of my favorite scenes from the entire film is the scene where Batman is sitting in the shadowy depths of his Bat fortress, clutching his Batman mask as he prepares to put it upon his face for the first time. That alone symbolizes Batman, his internal conflict and the ghastly decisions he must make throughout his journey. He probably still has doubts as to if he wants to become Batman or not by that point, but he makes the prudent decision one way or the other, realizing that even know he may run into many struggles donning the ego of Batman, he can still help people, defend the city, prevent the deaths of many people and make sure those who wish to spread death throughout the city are brought to justice. It's a pivotal element in a superhero's character arc, for what would a superhero be without a backstory that explains how and why he became the superhero in the first place? And Batman has one of the most vivid, most highly developed backstories that truly makes him different from other heroes like Superman and Spider-Man.

 I really like the designs of Batman, the Joker and even the Phantom in this film. Batman and the Joker look similar to the way they did in the animated show, with a few minor changes here and there, and the cartoony, yet fitting build on the characters makes them fun to look at, fun to analyze and compare to their comic book interpretations. The design of the Phantom is very appropriate for the character, looking somewhat like a Grim Reaper or hooded menace bend on revenge. Like I said before, that really can trick you into thinking there is a guy under there, when in fact it is a girl, doing her best to hide her true form and hide within the shadows. The Phantom is surely one of my favorite villains out of the DC animated universe, for she is surely unique and has many trademarks that makes her the oddball out of all the other villains we have seen throughout Static Shock, Superman: The Animated Series and the Justice League. And the fact that ever character blends in with their surroundings flawlessly makes me like them even more, for the way a character looks in a certain enviroment can have a pivotal impact on how we look at the picture's entirety, the way the picture sticks out in our minds. The voice actors also compliment on the animation profoundly, the voices of each character fitting for the character's personality and trademarks. I really like Kevin Conroy as the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman, for he can add an edge to the character in ways no one else can. Dana Delany is also quite good as the voice of Andrea and she may very well sound familiar to some of you DC animated universe gurus. That's because Delany also voices Lois Lane on Superman: The Animated Series, another one of my all time favorites and another grand slam in 90s animated television series. The other voices actors are also at their finest, even Sal Tessio himself, Abe Vigoda voices the character of Velestra, a character perfectly mirroring Vigoda's role of Tessio in the first Godfather film. Hey, at least he's not voicing a talking penguin!

I highly recommend this film to any Batman fanatic, and I'm sure just about all Batman fanatics have seen this film and the awesome animated series it was based upon. Just about everything in this film fits Batman like a hat on a cat's head, making Batman a character that touches us rather than an average run of the mill hero. In just about all interpretations of Batman, even the campy, bat burger eating Adam West Batman, we can see the character's struggle and ambition to take action, go an extra mile to put an end to any horrid crimes or goings on in Gotham City, making sure the city remains safe and secure for the people who live in it. And Batman can be a little intimidating at times, but, hey, it's Batman, and Batman's gotta go a little "bat crazy" in order to get information from his enemies. But this is certainly one of the those films where we feel for him, and hope that he makes the right choices in his crime fighting career, making decisions that will not only benefit himself, but the other people he defends, the people he loves and cares for. The animation is intriguing and down right dazzling to look at, distinguishing it from all other Batman adaptations with it's animated appropriate style and depth. And the voice actors really know what they are doing, putting a tremendous amount of effort into the characters they are bringing life too and making them as realistic as they can. And the music, the music in all of it's high pitched glory is fitting in such a edgy world, a world far different than our world in many ways and if I were to some up the classy, yet timeless music that still sounds great to this very day in one word, it would be very, well, "Danny Elfmanish", although I am aware that Elfman did work on some of the scores for Batman: The Animated Series.

So how do you wrap up such a powerful animated flick. With a powerful animated ending, an ending that somewhat parallels the ending of Tim Burton's first Batman film. No Batman film is complete without a shot of Batman standing on the top of a building and looking out at the Bat Signal, you know what I talking about, don't you? With crime building up once again in Gotham, Batman flies out into the distance, ready to take on whatever it is that terrorizes the city. And that scene alone solidifies this film for me, makes it a masterpiece, for it embodies all that Batman is known for and makes it much, much better to observe, to love and share with family and friends. I know I love what this film has going for it and it is one of the many reasons why Batman is one of my all time favorites. The film shows that Batman is different, and that superheroes CAN be taken seriously, no matter what their powers are or what goofy costumes they put upon their bodies. This film proves that these heroes can be just as character driven and motivated as the citizens of reality and that you are not a lifetime away from fulfilling something groundbreaking, something that will change the world and the lives of others. And Batman has changed the world, changed the lives of others, all because he believed in himself and what he could accomplish, something clearly displayed within this masterpiece of a blockbuster.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

In 1968, a movie was released based upon the 1963 novel entitled La planete des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film, starring, Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall was a critical and commercial success upon it's release, critics praising the acting, the scenary, and most importantly, the makeup used on some of the actors to make them look more animal like. The film became a prominent symbol in pop culture during the Swinging 60s, eventually launching a franchise of films, a short lived television series, a ghastly remake by Tim Burton, and just recently, a reboot, a reboot intended to start the series up again for a new set of eyes to behold. Of course I am talking about the science fiction film Planet of the Apes in all of it's "APE-TASTIC" glory. I have to admit, I never really watched this film that much in my youth, I was much more fascinated by films like King Kong and the Godzilla series. But there was one channel on the television that really intrigued me and captivated my mind for the past few years now. Turner Classic Movies. It was through Turner Classic Movie that I saw a whole herd of films I had never layed eyes on before, films that would make movies and filmography one of my many passions in life. And Planet of the Apes was one of those movies that sizzled my skull, and even though I found the monkey makeup somewhat hilarious, I soon came to realize that this was a film that was taken seriously, a film with a lot of great, exciting things going for it. And even though the monkey makeup was quite laughable, it was coming from a time period where rubber aliens with plastic heads, flying saucers made of tin foil and sound effects that sound like a toilet being flushed were the normalcy in science fiction thrillers. Just look at the original Star Trek and you will know exactly what I am talking about. Of course I would spot the film and it's sequels on other channels like Sci-Fi and AMC throughout the years, but it was on Turner Classic Movie that I saw the film in the best quality, with the best sound and the greatest enhancements in color and pitch. And sure, I will say that the films that would follow just got more and more ridiculous overtime, but that only increased my love for them even more, because even the most ridiculous films with the most ridiculous acting and the most ridiculous special effects can still be enjoyable flicks that any sci-fi lover at heart will find some room for. Oh, and by the way, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is my personal favorite, please don't hammer me into a pulp!



So what looms within my noggin regarding the latest reboot in the Planet of the Apes series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes? Was the film a four star opera with a great story and visual effects that will make your eyes pop out of your skull, or was it just another CGI slopfest that makes the Burton remake look like Star Wars. Well, before I saw this film, I didn't know what motion picture would be placed in front of me, would I get a film that would bring back many fond memories of watching the original Planet of the Apes on TCM or a film that would make me wanna jump out the nearest window? I know I have given just about all of this summer's major blockbusters positive reviews, but I had very reasonable expectations for each film, and this film was no exception. I enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it wasn't my favorite film of this summer's movie reign, but it was incredible for what it was, and I will be looking forward to seeing this film once more in the near future. The action was nothing out of the ordinary, but it did have a few things to make a cake over, and this film displays a unique style of computer animation, both on the apes and on some other aspects that fit in quite well with the film's enviroment. And the acting was some of the best acting of the entire summer, James Franco delivering one of the greatest roles yet, although I will always remember him as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man film series.

Franco plays a determined young man named Will, who is on the brick of creating a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a disease that has stricken his father, played by John Lithgow. He tests his discovers on apes, causing the apes to grow an extraordinary amount of intelligence, though at the same time, and extraordinary amount of rage. Overtime, Will befriends one of the apes, who he names Caesar, and the relationship between the human and the monkey is one of the many highlights of the film. It was interesting to see how much of a loyal companion Caesar was to Will and his father, who he defends from an angry neighbor after one of his Alzheimer's spells. But things suddenly go down the drain pipe soon after, and Caesar is taken away for his treachery and stored within a special facility where other apes are being kept. There, the apes are treated quite coldly by one of the guards, played by Tom Felton, and Caesar has a hard time fitting in with the other apes, the other apes treating him like vermin. Luckily, Caesar makes a friend, an ape named Buck, and they are able to escape the facility shortly after. And it all goes down the crapper from there. We are talking about a serious monkey uprising, a controversy that will put all humanity to shame, the biggest monkey revolution since Donkey Kong Country. And when that happens, the humans are vulnerable, they don't know what to do to stop the crazy Magilla Gorillas of Death, and it would only be a short time after that the Earth would be dominated by the apes, and the humans are on the edge of extinction. Fellas, break out the banana creme pies, these apes are going to cause some supreme ruckus.

Andy Serkis, who you all know as the Gollem from The Lord of the Rings, does a stellar job of bringing Caesar to life, giving him that animalistic nature you would expect in an ape, but at the same time, giving him a brief touch of humanity. And it's not the first time Serkis has played a vicious killer monkey of destruction on the big screen. He has had experience playing Kong himself in Peter Jackson's remake of his favorite movie, King Kong, so as you would imagine, Serkis brings a lot from that role into this role, particularing in scenes where Caesar is seen fighting off other monkeys or jumping in thin air. And instead of beating up on dinosaurs and climbing the Empire State Building, Caesar takes his frustration out on the humans, making sure they do not get in the way of his deleterious planning. The effects done on the monkeys as top notch and at times, looked like they had used real monkeys in the film rather than CGI animated monkeys. It's quite obvious that the film makers and producers used real apes and drawings of apes to get the posture, the overall feeling of an ape down to the teeth, making the apes of this film as realistic and crazed as possible. They did just about everything you would imagine an ape to do, and when you were least expecting it, they would do something drastic, cause chaos and panic, and that can leave quite a funny feeling within, for it adds to the suspense and the wonder of how the film will commense. Breaking out of the facility, beating up all those who get in their way, rallying on the Golden Gate Bridge, the apes of this film were very menacing and bone chilling, for they were determined to bring all humans to their knees and to get revenge on the humans for what they have done to them. It's a perfect example of how one's creations can lead to a villainous uprising, a life changing event that will change the way humans exist on the Earth forever. It's like in the Terminator when the machines dominate the globe and bring humans to the point of nonexistence, only in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it is apes instead of robots, apes with feelings, apes with a heart and soul, apes that are getting more and more human as each and every minute passes by. The apes, in conclusion, were some of the most compelling creatures I have ever seen on film, proving that something can be cute, and also threatening at the same time, and I mean threatening to the point where your heart races everytime they appear on the silver screen.

The music was hands down one of the best scores of this summer's onslaught of blockbusters. It was composed by Patrick Doyle, who also composed the scores for films like Thor and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and as he did with those films, he brought something harmonious, something that made the hairs on the back of your neck jump to the audio levels of the film. The score that played when the apes were on the move was very breathtaking, and just as fitting as Captain America's patriotic theme in Captain America: The First Avenger or the prehistoric theme for the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. I also couldn't help compare this score with the score of the original Planet of the Apes film, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who is probably most notably for composing the scores for films like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Gremlins, and Poltergeist. Some of the chords and pitches with the instruments really reminded me of the music from the original film, especially in the action scenes and when the apes were going to do something life-threatening. And boy, by the end of this film, you really don't know what is to come next, nicely setting it up for possible sequels and revamps to come in the near future. Seeing Caesar turn against his master was quite heartbreaking if you think about it, and I was very surprised when Caesar spoke for the first time, taking his rank among the other apes who will soon turn the human race into their pets and start a "Monkeypire" as displayed in the earlier films and the dreadful Burton remake. Will and Caesar have been friends for such a long time, and seeing Caesar turn against Will to join his monkey companions really makes your heart jump, showing exactly what is going through Caesar's head and what he wants to accomplish now that he carries several humans. It's like when Charles Xavier and Eric Lenscherr parted seperate ways in X-Men: First Class, only in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we are dealing with a monkey and a human rather than two mutants who were just trying to make their way within society. And Will is left wit the terrible guilt of what he has created, a pack of power hungry apes that will turn the world upside down and morph it into the enviroment we all know it as in the previous films. And he did this all because he wanted to help people, he wanted to help cure such a horrible illness that not only plagued is father, but many other humans as well. He is like Miles Dyson in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The two of them just wanted to discover new, revolutionary things that would change the world, not knowing of the havoc that would slowly unfold and take effect because of their discoveries, turning the world as we know it into desolate wasteland and bringing the forces they inadvertently created to the point of an autocracy. It's a clever method of story telling and helps in making a good science fiction thriller that will make us ponder, make us say to ourselves "WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED". It's interesting if you think about it, how the good guys, the characters we get attracted too and follow throughout most of the film become the bad guys, doing something that can not be undone so simply.

When it comes to prequels or reboots, most just sit back and roll their eyes in disgust. But I think Rise of the Planet of the Apes has it where it counts. It was just as clever and charming and suspenseful as the golden original, and brought in a lot of new factors, a lot of elements that fit in quite well, made the series fresh again and appropriate for today's reign of movie goers and critics, who would most likely bash the movie if it didn't have a good story or action that made them fly off the handle. I thought it was good for what it had going for it, and was one of the best films of the summer, and if I can stretch my mind even further, into the depths of outer space, I will even say that it was one of the best science fiction films of the year! Spit the Tim Burton remake out of your mouth like a wad of flem, because this film blew my mind on so many levels, and I will definately recommend to any ape lovers or science fictioners at heart, something this film carries a lot of. The action was fitting for the film's overall mood and atmosphere, the story was quite sensational and unforgettable, and the apes, well, they weren't your average ordinary apes you would see at the zoo. These apes had attitude, and Caesar, as chilling as he appeared in some scenes, makes Mighty Joe Young look like Diddy Kong. The effects were also quite realistic and a perfect example of how far we have come with special effects in this past decade. Now, we can add a great amount of detail, realism, and dimension to our computer animated creations and make them look as vivid as possible, or as I like to call it "Candy for the eyes". Just imagine how those effects would have looked in 3-D or IMAX! The character development was also a prominent factor, and you can really feel for the characters, feel their pain, their ambitions, and what exactly is running through their heads. It something you don't get a lot in today's films, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes gets the job done and done properly, making the characters unforgettable and legendary.

I have know doubts that this film will spawn a series, or if you wanna think in a different shade, you can throw away the Apes sequels and remakes and make this a direct prequel to the original 1968 film. But it would surely be something worth $7.50 to see the sequels, the revamps, and the character arcs to come in the newly awakened Planet of the Apes franchise, which will suck a new generation of monkey monks under its realm and give them new stories and perils to enjoy that many ape lovers didn't get in the old days. I will surely be looking forward to seeing how this series progressing throughout the years, and maybe 100 years from now, the Planet of the Apes franchise will be remade once more, delivering new and improved things not even the original could catch up too. Roddy McDowall would be proud!

OH YES, WE HAVE PLENTY OF BANANAS!!!!!

Thundercats 2011: My Personal Thoughts

Thundercats are on the move, Thundercats are loose...once more. After waiting nearly 30 years for the resurrection of Lion-O and the rest of the residents of Thundera, the new Thundercats television series  delivers a lot of nostalgia and glory to many cat fanatics, however, some are left with a bit of a saturated feeling inside, feeling the show just doesn't live up to the original Rankin Bass cartoon it was based upon. But what are my thoughts regarding the rebooted Thundercats universe currently running on Turner's Cartoon Network? Was it good, was it bad? Well, to be honest, I really enjoyed the one hour premiere, although it was far from perfect, however, this is of course the inception of the series, and there is no doubt in my mind that the series will get better and better overtime, giving us that "Thundercatty" goodness we all know and love and admired from our youth. And this certainly isn't the first time we have seen a "start from scratch" take on a classic 80s TV show. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe got a fresh new look way back in 2002, although it was unfortunately cancelled after just a few seasons, and that is truly a shame because that was a pretty badass remake, and a perfectly example of how something from older days can be reinterpreted for a fresh new audience who never even heard of the original. I surely hope the new Thundercats doesn't share the same fate, because I really think this new series will build on the Thundercats universe much more and bring in new elements, new mythology, new characters nobody, not even Thundercats fans have seen before. Grab your cat nip and Meow Mix and let's get going!



They're all intact. Lion-O, Tygra, WilyKit, WilyKat, Cheetara, Snarf, they are all present in this fresh new series, although it is quite obvious that Snarf has been rid of what many people considered annoying on the original television series, his corny voice and his chanting of "SNARF, SNARF SNARF" whenever something terrible was going on. In my opinion, Snarf has been turned into more of a household pet rather than the comic relief he was beforehand, and he has definately been "cutzified" for the newer audience, who will instantly fall in love with the little critter and wish they had one of their own. In conclusion, the new Snarf puts Gizmo from Gremlins to shame, but that's just my opinion. The famous Panthro, voiced by Earle Hyman (Russell Huxtable) on the original series, finally came along in the most recent installment of the series, now fit with a white scar across his left eye and wrist gauntlets with huge spikes upon them, possibly giving Mumm-Ra's henchmen a bit of a scratchy job in the coming episodes. I really like how they pulled off Panthro in the latest episode of the series, showing him at the very end of the episode when you least expected it, and no doubt the youngsters got excited when they saw a new, exciting, and buff character join the Thundercats team, because it simply wouldn't be Thundercats without the nunchuck wielding Panthro. That's like Masters of the Universe without Man of Arms. And it just occured to me, if they make another Masters of the Universe series, Orko will be without the ability to speak and will be more of Prince Adam's pet, similar to Snarf in the new Thundercats television series.

It also would not be Thundercats without the menacing, the manacle, the sinister Mumm-Ra, who is even more sinister than his 80s counterpart in this new series. This Mumm-Ra the Everliving is much more cunning, swift, and resourceful as he attempts to bring down the planet Thundera in order to obtain the jewel from the Sword of Omens' hilt. A major change from the old Mumm-Ra to the new Mumm-Ra is that the new Mumm-Ra's weakness is sunlight, as opposed to the old Mumm-Ra's weakness of his own reflection. His pyamid base has also gotten a bit of a makeover, appearing much more darker than it was on the original show, showing how certain elements of vintage series can be toned down a bit, made comtemporary and much more grittier. After all, this is a new generation of fans with a darker, grittier Batman and possibly a darker, grittier Spider-Man. Gee, I can't wait for The Amazing Spider-Man! Mumm-Ra's henchmen, the Reptilians, have also joined the dark side, filled with much more anger and villainy than their somewhat goofy, clumsy original forms. And I thought it was interesting to see quite the conflict the Thundercats go through with the Reptilians, the Reptilians helping in Mumm-Ra's evil reign, turning Thundera into a desolate, apocalyptic world where no where is considered safe. I thought the designs of Thundera and Mumm-Ra's dimensions were much more vivid, much more detailed and interesting to look at than their original forms, which were much more appropriate for the 80s time period. Thundera reminded me a lot of Asgard from Thor, a world filled with colossal palaces of glass and steel, and villagers dressed in the most unusual clad, clad we would get beat up over in the real world. After Mumm-Ra's raid, Thundera kinda looks like Krypton, burning and fiery ed, terrifying for all the pussies living on the world. It's up to Lion-O and his minions to stop Mumm-Ra and restore their kingdom, otherwise Mumm-Ra turns all the Thunderians into flesh eating zombies that will make kitty chow out of one another. Nah, I'm not sure about that! I have to say, I'm not a total expert at Thundercats, however, I have seen a few episodes of the original TV series, produced by Rankin Bass, the company we all know for bringing us those iconic Christmas stop motions.

The original Thundercats are said by few to not hold up in this day in age, however, I think they hold up quite flawlessly, bringing in that 80s goodness that many cherished during that decade. I think that children who are captivated by this new Thundercats television series will one day go back and observe this series, for the episodes I have observed were pretty innovative and had a mythology, a mythos far different from other shows that jumped into pop culture around the same time like Masters of the Universe and of course, Transformers. Larry Kenney is solid as the voice of Lion-O, once you hear his legendary THUNDERCATS HOW, you immediately know it's him and his voice really compliments Lion-O's character and personality in a similar manner John Erwin's voice went along well with He-Man's character and personality. They are both tall, bulky fellows that kick the butts of all enemies that try and bring them down and they both wield an all powerful sword, a sword with unnatural abilities, magic far beyond their very dreams, and they must both raise their swords in the air to get the power they need, to use the abilities of the sword. I'd like to see these two get into an encounter, no doubt He-Man would win, for he is the most powerful man in the universe of course, but it surely would be intriguing to see how Lion-O fights to keep himself alive, maybe he would claw He-Man right across the face.

And before I forget, Larry Kenney voices Lion-O's father, Claudius, in the new Thundercats televisions series, doing his very best to sound different, sound abstract from the original Lion-O, but we all know that's him in there, that's the original Lion-O baby! And boy do we love him! It's almost as great as when they got Adam West to voice the Grey Ghost in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series entitled "Beware of the Grey Ghost". We all know it's the original Batman in there, and that adds to the beauty of the entire thing, helping us reflect on our fond memories of watching the 60s Batman on television. The same thing goes with Thundercats, hearing Larry Kenney's legendary voice helps us reflect on the roots of the franchise, helps us realize how far the franchise has come. It's like Kenney is passing the torch onto a new Lion-O, voiced by Will Friedle, and he is the wise old mentor looking over the new Lion-O's progression, perhaps giving Friedle a few pointers on voicing the character and making the character reminiscent of his own interpretation. So far, Friedle is incredible as the new Lion-O, very similar to the original, yet bringing something new and delectable to the dinner table in the form of a more fiesty, more fierce and ferocious Lion-O that children can relate to and pretend they are as they might very well pretend they are Thundercats and defend their backyard from the forces of Mumm-Ra. I know that my brother and I pretended we were X-Men when playing in the backyard of our old home. Gee, I miss the good old days!

Speaking of play time, did you see the new Thundercats toys from Bandai? They look incendiary! The scalp and the paint job on each figure is surely something to write home about, and no doubt new Thundercat gurus will jump for them, for they will surely vanish from the toy store pegs fast. In the end, I enjoyed the beginning of the new Thundercats television series and I am at high hopes that the series will get much, much better as the years go by, perhaps ranking up there with Batman and X-Men as one of the greatest animated television shows ever! And hey, the original Thundercats is on that list as well, for it is just as good, in many ways better than the new Thundercats, and the new Thundercats will no doubt pay homage to the original series in later episodes, maybe they will get some of the original voice actors to voice some of the characters. That would really make my day, because I really do like Thundercats and all the incarnations it has to offer.Now if you don't mind, I am off to explore some of the Thundercats comic books by Marvel Comics! They may be badly printed by today's standards, but they are surely fascinating to check out if yo are a Thundercats buff!

May the Sword of Omens protect you! Snarf! Snarf!

What I Love About The Star Wars Prequels Part 3

What I Love About The Star Wars Prequels Part 3

I recall something said by Tom Hodges at the “Why We Love The Prequels” panel at Celebration V last summer.

“I do art expos for children and you ask them what their favorite Star Wars film is, nine times out of ten it’s going to be one of the prequels. This is their generation of films. If you look at it from that standpoint, and think about when we were kids, it’s the same thing. If The Phantom Menace came out in ’77, it would have had the same impact.”

That is one of the very many quotes that motivated me to write these three essays displaying the brilliance and wonder of all three prequel films. These films, that are put down by many original Star Wars fans around the globe, have had a critical impact on the minds of the youth and have captivated their minds just as the original trilogy captivated the minds of the original fans. If you saw the prequels at a young age like I did, you would have certainly been sucked into all it’s great mythology and universe like no other films before it, allowing you to indulge yourself in the whimsical world Mr. Lucas and his team have worked so hard to conceive. These films, like them are not, have not only gotten me into Star Wars, but many other young children of the decade as well, allowing us to experience the groundbreaking original films that defied cinema years earlier. The CGI in the films blew us away like the stop motion spaceships and puppetry blew the original fans away. History repeats itself but in a different manner. The lightsaber duels and Clone Wars battles knocked us off our seats like the AT-AT battle and Death Star Battle knocked the original fans off their seats. You see, no matter how much a film is put down, there will always be those who see the films at a young age and are amazed in all it’s glory. For Star Wars has things that adults like and children like, things within both epic trilogies. Yes people, some fans actually do like Jar Jar Binks, for he was meant to be the comic relief and humor during some of the darker moments of each film. Star Wars has things all people can relate too, things people can enjoy within both trilogies. The stellar starships, the planets and their mechanized enviroment filled with the most outlandish of creatures, and the stories, stories of the characters, stories that would lead into the classic films.

Let’s go back to 1933 with the release of one of my all time favorite films, King Kong. It took them many months to render all the stop motion, superimpose the film and even get Kong to roar like he did in the film. None of it happened overnight. This would inspire many stop motion artists like Ray Harryhausen to do the same in many ’60s epics like “Jason and the Argonauts.” And it wasn’t easy for Mr. Lucas to do all the crazy special effects and imagery in the original films. As said by many historians of the original trilogy, everything on the set of the original Star Wars was falling apart, nothing was working, and even the original landspeeder chase scene through the dune sea was a horrible projector effect. But after all that hard work, they got the job done right, and got it the way Mr. Lucas wanted it. Now you are probably asking yourself what all this has to do with the prequels. Well, the CGI characters and surroundings aren’t very easy to make and render either. You have to design the characters, use silicon material through a computer device, and all of it could cost hundreds, thousands of dollars. It could even take several days just to make a character’s mouth move. All of this groundbreaking art, displaying in all 3 prequels, helped other filmmakers following in Mr. Lucas’s footsteps. Just think of all those exemplary characters in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films or the Harry Potter films. They are all done by CGI and most of the backgrounds and settings are through green screen or made within a computer as well, but people seem to rave more about them more than they do the Star Wars prequels. Y es, sure, the special effects in the prequels aren’t the best special effects since sliced bread, and believe me, they are not that realistic either, but they revolutionized the special effects companies like ILM and and all their luminosity. The effects in the prequels, in my opinion, aren’t meant to look the best, but that’s the point. You have to use your imagination. You have to expand your craniums and make these effects look dazzling, just as the original fans did with the effects in the original trilogy.

It’s all through the power of imagining and being sucked into a certain story that makes it really good to someone. What might be the best film ever made to some might be a travesty to another. Heck, some people might think Batman and Robin is a masterpiece and think The Dark Knight is a dog turd and vice versa. And like I said before, the prequels will continued to be despised even when I am done with this essay, but along with haters, there are lovers, ones who can analyze the films, break them down into tiny bits and point out what was really remarkable about them. The prequels did have some of the most remarkable moments, not only in the Star Wars saga, but films in general. It’s all how you look at it. I enjoyed and will continue to enjoy these films, no matter what the RedLetterMedias of the world say about them, for along with dog doodoo, as some people point out about some of the elements in the prequels, there is gold, shining moments, moments that myself and other people will say, made the prequels stand out and make them truly remarkable films that defined a generation. One scene in the prequels, in particularly, I thought to be not only compelling, but very unique, showing how one man ultimately turns into the villain we love to hate in the classic films. The scene on Mustafar where Anakin Skywalker burns at the end of the lava river, in my opinion, symbolizes the death of Anakin’s humanity, the death of Anakin Skywalker himself, the death of the rebellious, kind loving jedi we seen through the first two films and the Clone Wars series. When Anakin burns, he ultimately becomes Vader, no longer a nice guy, a tyrannical monster, sadistic in the suffering of others in his quest to kill the Emperor and take the galaxy as his own. That scene alone, made the entirety of the prequels worthwhile for me, that was the scene that ultimately made me love the prequels. Yes, sure, it was a gruesome, horrifying scene, but it answered the very question I wondered from the very start I saw Anakin in Episode 1, recalling how he would become Vader. How did a nice guy like Anakin get into that black suit? That was not only a question that stuck out in my mind, but many other people’s minds as well. And it, along with many other questions were answered in the prequels. The prequels are meant to explain things, as all prequels are. They are meant to open the doors and show why one thing is the way it is or why somebody is the bad guy. The Star Wars prequels, and all prequels in general, help make the story more a whole, more like one film, so when all the films are released, we can watch the films, starting with the very first of the prequels and work our way up, ending with the last of the original films. Then, my friends, the story makes a hell of a lot more sense than it did before. The Star Wars prequels tackled this perfectly. They made me appreciate the original films a lot more.

I am proud to be a fan of Star Wars because of the prequels. These films, as the original films did, made me relate these stories to the stories of the Bible, mythology, folklore, even other films that me and many other film nuts have come to cherish. It is with the prequels that the morals and values of the original films are more powerful. The scene where Vader kills Obi-Wan in Episode 4 was more powerful. It was through the prequels that we understood who Obi-Wan really was, the true master of Anakin Skywalker and one of the pivotal heroes of the Clone Wars. When he dies, and speaks to Luke through the rest of the film with the power of the Force, it makes Obi-Wan more than the average old mentor to the main antagonist. With all his character development through the prequels, we see his experiences as a Jedi, a Jedi Master, all his teachings and motives, something he teaches to Luke, which allows him to continue his ways as a Jedi, to help redeem Vader and bring and end to the Empire. This would also help Luke become the founding Jedi Masters of the New Jedi Order in many expanded universe novels, because of what he learned from Obi-Wan, and we get to see how Obi-Wan got to the point he did in Episode 4 through the prequels. The death scene of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker was also saddening at the very end of “Return of the Jedi.” With his backstory in the prequels, we see Anakin and all that he went through, AS WELL AS THE SCENE WHERE IT IS EXPLAINED WHY HE WAS IN THE SUIT TO BEGIN WITH. Through the entire saga leading up to that point, we seen Anakin’s battle, for power, revenge, and in the end, redemption. He won this battle, though he died in the end, but he died with dignity. His death meant something more, because we knew who Vader really was. He wasn’t Vader at all. He was still that podracing whizkid from Tatooine. He was a character trying to find his place in the universe, was manipulated by pure twisted evil, and had to find himself again to overcome this evil. You could just cry when Anakin died in that scene. With the prequel films, we know who he really is, not just a bald headed guy within a life support suit. He was a character with a rich and tragic backstory. Adding Episodes 1, 2, and 3 makes the character of Darth Vader less of a bad person, just a person fighting a never ending battle against true evil, trying to rise from the ashes of his previously fallen self. And those aren’t the only scenes in the original trilogy that are enhanced with the developing noir in the prequels. Seeing Luke and Leia being born in Episode 3, really was a sorrowful scene, but at the same time, bittersweet. Seeing the characters we know and love from the original films being born from a character we know and love from the prequels films, really made the biggest difference, for we now know where Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia came from, we know who their mother is. We know why they grew up not knowing of each other’s existence. You see, with a great character, there is a great backstory to that character, showing how the character got to the point we know and love him as, and in my opinion, the prequel films are filled with just as many rich and prominent characters as there are in the original films. The Star Wars saga in general has many glorious characters from Quinlan Vos, Darth Revan, Darth Bane, Cad Bane, Bane Malor, Aurra Sing, Asajj Ventress, Jaxxon the Rabbit, all with a story to tell, all with meaning. Even the great icon in Han Solo has an interesting backstory, showing he is more than your average ordinary smuggler that shoots Rodians and calls kids cocky.

And if you think the prequels aren’t that iconic and didn’t leave an impact, then why do you think people do parodies of them on such hit shows like Robot Chicken? Why do you think people make tribute videos of the prequels or music videos showing many of the prominent scenes of the prequels? Why do you think people dress up like Darth Maul, or Jango Fett or Clone Troopers at the release of the latest Star Wars films and comic conventions? I see a lot of brilliance within the second trilogy, things that not even the original trilogy could topple. There were things that I thought blew my mind when I first saw these films, things that I have never even seen on film before. I though the prequel films were astonishing when I first saw them thoroughly, for they were the thing that made me a Star Wars buff. However, after a while, I became aware of the controversy and poop that was thrown at them by many fans, expecting epics just like the original films. Their ranting and raving really made me debate whether I actually still liked these films, and if they really were the monstrosities the critics made them out to be. When the new Star Trek movie came out in 2009, a visual and illuminating masterpiece that made me a die-hard Trekkie, a lot of people compared this prequel/reboot to the last three Star Wars films.

“I enjoyed this a lot better than the last three Star Wars films” said many critics and movie buffs alike.

But then, ironically, I came across this site, a site where people could talk about the diversity and wonders of the Star Wars prequels, showing that they really were great films and left an impact different from the first trilogy. It wasn’t until the release of RedLetterMedia’s reviews of the prequels that I decided to let it all out about why I liked these films and why I think they stand out from all films in general. It was through writing these 3 essays that I came back to my senses and my love for the prequels returned. The stories were great, the acting was science fiction (what do you want sci-fi romance to be like), and they had just as many memorable moments as the original films did. Those who don’t remember much about the prequels probably didn’t watch the films that many times, for when you watch them again and again and again, they can really grow on you, and that is when things can really begin to stick out. The characters of Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Maul, Jar Jar Binks, Shmi Skywalker, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, Padme Amidala, General Grievous, Jango Fett, and the many other characters in the trilogy are diversely eminent images in the Star Wars universe, and the many worlds and spaceships seen in the films make the galaxy far, far away more appealing, more outreaching, more epic. It was through the prequels that I learned to love films, films with a good story, good characters, and morals and lessons that can inspire a lifetime. Basically, the prequels not only got me into Star Wars, but also science fiction, fantasy, and worlds that were originally conceived in people’s minds, worlds that we see develop in all sorts of different motion pictures. And the prequels inspired me to make my own stories, stories of great warriors and treacherous villains wanting to overthrow the protagonists and his allies, perhaps take over the world and start a crippling empire. Someday, I hope to make a Star Wars story of my own, with new characters for people to relate too, new settings for people to be blown away by, and a story that people will come to love and enjoy. It’s amazing what a person can tell through the art of storytelling and making movies. I have come enjoy what I love to do today, I enjoy making stories and gallant characters wanting to bring balance to society, because of the impact Star Wars has had on my life, the impact of the prequels. The impact of films and media as a whole.

What I am trying to get out with these essays is that you don’t have to like the prequel films, but you have to admit, they did a lot of things right as they did wrong. They did things that the original films did not, as the original films did things that the prequels films did not, that is what makes it all the better, makes the stories displayed in Star Wars unique and expressive. Look into these films more and you can see things you never seen before, perhaps things will make better sense to you overtime. The prequels films did things that other film makers never even dreamed of, things even George Lucas didn’t even dream of up until that point. Like Carrie Fisher said, they relate Lucas to himself, as we see the primitiveness of the original films evolve to the sweet “erraticness” and astonishment of the prequel films, as George Lucas is able to do things he wasn’t able to do before, the exact reason he made Star Wars the way he wanted it to be in 1997. Look at these films in greater detail and you can really see the hard work and dedication that actually went into them, the character development and the struggles that will lead to the struggles in the original trilogy. There is plenty to love about the prequels, things that really distinguish them from the classic films. These films are what made Star Wars one of the most beloved science fiction tales ever told. With the prequels, we see things unfold, things that will make us want more, things that will make us enjoy Star Wars much more. Like Mr. George Walton Lucas himself said, “We were always dreaming of how it was going to be.” In other words, they did it the way they wanted it to be done. Lucas envisioned Star Wars the way it is from the very start. It was overtime that he developed the sci-fi fantasy into the way it is today, as all storytellers unfold their awesome storybooks of different perils and conflicts. And hate George Lucas all you want, but either way you put it, he did leave an everlasting impact on film, not only with Star Wars, but with other fields he worked so hard to incept. We wouldn’t have films the way we do today if it wasn’t for George Lucas, sound systems like THX and special effects companies like Industrial Light and Magic making us go deaf and making our eyes bleed everytime we go to see a blockbuster movie. He also made this impact with the prequels, inspiring others to follow in his storytelling footsteps. Maybe films like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Avatar, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Spider-Man films, the X-Men films, Iron Man, Abrams’ Star Trek and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films would have never been made if it wasn’t for Lucas’ contribution to film with the prequels. He inspired others to make stories just as good, make prequels as well, make films that will leave an everlasting impact. Films that can influence the individuals of tomorrow. Among us might be the next Steven Spielberg, or James Whale, Robert Wise, or Stanley Kubrick, slowly building up stories that will make all people bite their nails and scream in theaters for generations to come. The Star Wars prequels, no matter how you look at it, had something to do with that.

Thank you for listening to my opinion on these films, for I truly believe the Star Wars prequels are more than three dog turds. They are films, rich in universe and divergence, and I could watch them over many other films out there today. I enjoy them and will continue to enjoy them, and they will inspire me to write the many stories I want to write in the near future, stories of futuristic material and the most intrepid of fierce heroes and creatures. I have the prequels to thank for getting me into Star Wars, getting me into science fiction, getting me into film. I take these films seriously and believe them to be underrated, deserving a lot more credit than they get. Surely, they are not the best films ever made, but they are far from terrible. They are far from decent. They are groundbreaking and make the original trilogy shine more. May the Force be with these prequels. Always.

What I Love About The Star Wars Prequels Part 2

What I Love About The Star Wars Prequels Part 2

Stories come in all sort of shapes and sizes. They sometimes tell the tale of one man trying to find what he was put on the Earth to do. They sometimes tell the tale of one man trying to kill another, to take out revenge on another individual. They sometimes tell the tale of one man’s struggle to return to the light, for redemption. That is the epic lesson George Lucas was trying to tell with Star Wars. The Star Wars saga as a whole is the tale of Anakin Skywalker, his struggles for more power, his manipulation through the cunning Palpatine, which ultimately leads to his downfall and transformation into Darth Vader. The original Star Wars films focus on Anakin’s thirst for overthrowing Palpatine, but in the end, he comes to realize the horror and misery he has caused in the process, which allows him to return to his former self, save his son, destroy the Emperor and fulfill the ancient Jedi prophecy, and save the galaxy from a horrible fate, though it costs him his own life. What knowledge of what Vader once was and what he once dreamed of would we have if the Star Wars prequels were never made. Through Episodes 1,2,and 3 we see Anakin go from the sweet, podracing youth wanting to help the galaxy and become a jedi to a children slaughtering psychopath, wanting to become the most powerful creature in the galaxy and eventually rule the galaxy as his own. The story of the prequels are, as I said before, not meant to have the greatest visual effects or the greatest characters like in the original 3 films, but to explain things, explain why things are the way they are in the films which defied cinema decades earlier. Anakin Skywalker has had a profound impact on the galaxy, the Star Wars galaxy, and our own galaxy if you think about it. He has many struggles which many people have struggled with in history. He carries on traits reminiscent of Julius Caesar, Adolf Hitler and mirrors the devil himself, a once benevolent force what goes from being with the power to being against the power, which ultimately leads to his descending into a living hell. It is also worth pointing out that Anakin’s downfall is also driven by love. He sees visions of his wife’s death in childbirth, just as he did his mother back in Episode 2.He loves his wife so much, and he wants to become a powerful jedi and learn the powers of Darth Plagueis so he can save her and the twins, and he would give up anything or do anything to get to that sort of rank, even go against the very thing he was destine to destroy. And it isn;t until after she is dead that he realizes that it was all part of Palpatine’s plan, to bring him to the bad side, and he has to go through living agony serving the Emperor.
Luke realizes that Vader turned for love in Episode 6, “There is still good in him”, so he decides rather than kill him, try and help him dig deep within himself, return as Anakin Skywalker. And when the Emperor tortures Luke, Vader decides that he will not allows Palpatine to take another loved one. It was love that allowed Anakin to pull through and save Luke from the Emperor, and fulfill the prophecy of “The Chosen One”, to bring balance to the force. That is why he was a force ghost at the end, that is why he was young. It was because that his contribution was so strong, it allowed him to return to the way he was before he became Vader, to pick up his life as Anakin Skywalker in a Netherworld of the Force.

Looking at the entire Star Wars saga, from Phantom to Jedi, we see Anakin Skywalker’s character development from good to bad and the struggle to takes to get back to good by the end of Return of the Jedi. It’s an amazing story, and something people who despise the prequels often overlook. Star Wars isn’t about the best looking starships or the most appealing characters or the best stories that make sense, it’s about corruption and betrayal, and how we pick up the pieces and go up against crippling forces like the Galactic Empire. Anakin Skywalker can be related to the Old Republic, a prominent, well known society, driven to the point of darkness by the ruthlessness that is Palpatine. He had an excellent, yet cunning plan. The whole point of the Clone Wars was to drive the Jedi Order apart, to drive the Senate apart. He wanted Count Dooku to die, and he wanted Anakin to do it. He wanted a clone army for one purpose, to dispose of the jedi which know that he was corrupt and possible Darth Sidious. All of this was his way of getting to the emperor’s throne, to bring sith rule back to the galaxy. This epic tale, displayed in the prequels, isn’t meant to make the best of sense, it’s meant to be thought about. That is why there is the EU, that is why there are Clone Wars TV shows. That is why novels are written to coincide with the prequel films. It is all meant to explain the controversy that lies within the Republic and Jedi Order, and with all that back up material, the story of the prequels does actually make sense. Sometimes, films on their own can’t tell the complete story, that is why books and other media are made to help fill in gaps and explain things. That is why there are sequels, to further the story and touch up on things the previous film left behind.

All three Star Wars prequels are flawed, but if you really think about it, aren’t all films flawed. Aren’t the original films filled with just as many errors and inconsistency as the prequels films. Heck, aren’t all films inconsistent and different from one another. That is what makes a story good, something to ponder on and lure you into the realm and universe which was all thought of in someone’s mind, in this case, in the mind of George Lucas. The Star Wars films, prequels included, pulled this off perfectly, filled with mystery and dazzling nature. What do you think made films like The Wizard of Oz and 2001: A Space Odyssey some of the most beloved motion pictures of all time. It’s not all about special effects or comparison to the previous films, it’s all about what these films can do. People who dislike the Star Wars prequels most likely wanted films that were primarily identical to the original films, filled with the same characters, same places, same story art. They never gave the prequels a chance rather than to just constantly bastardize what they disliked about it like Jar Jar Binks and the acting. The prequels were meant to be different than the original films, to have an impact of their own. And if you think the prequels didn’t leave an impact like RedLetterMedia said, then why do you think some people think that Revenge of the Sith was the best film of the saga, or why some people’s favorite character is Qui-Gon Jinn or Darth Maul, or why some of the iconic elements of the prequels were lampooned on the several Star Wars themed episodes of Robot Chicken. The prequels are made of a lot. The story is rich, the characters are full of personality, and they have just as much excitement and wonder as the original films, it was just displayed and distributed in a different manner.

 The point I am trying to make is that stories, especially prequels, don’t always have to follow the blood and bones of the original story exactly. People can reinterpret and reanimate things the way they want it for the better of one’s character development and the story, that is what George Lucas did with the newer Star Wars trilogy. He wanted to make things a little bit different because it would have a profound impact on what occurs in the original films. And don’t forget, the prequels were written and directed by the same gentleman who brought us the very first Star Wars film, the film that started it all. It is often said that George Lucas made the prequels the way he did because that is what his children wanted. Well, isn’t that the way it should be. Doesn’t family, friends and love always come first. The prequel films could have been done a different way and still most likely would have been panned by critics and RedLetterMedias everywhere, but still would have left an impact all to their own, an impact that certain people are able to come across and piece together themselves. What is wrong with the prequel trilogy is something I can never really understand (George Lucas gave us three dog turds with these new Star Wars films) because it’s not that hard to understand, and like George Lucas says “Star Wars is for everyone, not just adults”It’s every epic story rolled into one, and without the prequels, well, we just wouldn’t get the whole picture. You should try looking into that RedLetterMedia. The prequels were a success, not a success at being terrible movies as many people would put it, but as allowing us to get the whole story straight. Star Wars doesn’t suck because of the prequels, it was made a hell of a lot better because of the prequels.

What I Love About the Star Wars Prequels Part 1

Hey everyone. Here is a set of essays I wrote about the Star Wars prequels quite a few months ago, a set of essays for the Star Wars Prequel Appreciation Society. I spoke of why I loved the films and why they left such an impact on me, for they were one of the many things that got me into Star Wars, got me into observing films and science fiction. I bring up many things in these essays, even RedLetterMedia and how the people often react towards the prequels, but my overall view of the prequels remains positive, for they have just as many iconic moments and characters as the original trilogy does, and they have left an impact in their own right, inspiring other film makers to make the films of their dreams, make films with out of this world creatures and myth, make prequels and backstories to some of the greatest stories ever told on film. The prequels have attracted a new audience and have made many people hard core Star Wars fans, people adoring some of the characters, some of the prequels' settings and the plot elements that many critics and film historians bash. So with that being said, I hope you enjoy these essays, for I have worked very hard to right all three of them, and I did enjoy righting them, so sit back, get comfortable, and read my overall view of the newest Star Wars trilogy George Lucas has put before us.

What I Love About the Star Wars Prequels Part 1

Everyone who is familiar with the Internet has probably heard of a guy called RedLetterMedia. He has recently posted reviews on all three of the Star Wars prequels on his website. I am plain up going to tell you right now that I enjoy his reviews, they are funny and are very intriguing to watch. But some of the things he has said about the prequels are in my book, very harsh and uncalled for. He says that all people who like the prequels are drooling idiots and children and says that the prequels failed to carry on the same impact as the originals. As a reviewer of this material, I can honestly say that the prequels did not carry on the same impact, but rather, an impact of their own. It’s quite fine to like these films because there is nothing really horrific to dislike about them. Sure, Jar Jar was a bit of a nuisance but if you look at the prequels as a whole, and what was really brilliant and exciting about them, they were just as fascinating and breathtaking as the classic films, carry on the same message and impact that was just distributed in a different matter.
All people who nitpick about these films mainly focus on what they didn’t like about them. Jar Jar, the midi-chlorians, the bad acting, the “crappy and unrealistic” special effects, it has all been said several hundred times by all critics spanning the internet and television. But the prequels, like the originals, had a lot of moments with tension and suspense, and has a lot of people wondering what will happen next. The lightsaber duel with Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul was probably the best lightsaber duel in the entire saga. The stunt work that was pulled off in that classic scene had me on the edge of my seat, and never had me suspecting that Qui-Gon Jinn would be dead at the end of that duel and Darth Maul sliced in half and tumbling down a reactor pit. Seeing Yoda pull out his own lightsaber and take on Count Dooku had my jaw on the floor. To see a classic character fight in such an erratic manner really was exemplary, especially considering that fact that Yoda is a very old jedi master that shouldn’t even be fighting with a lightsaber because of his health. It’s interesting and unique stuff that has never been done on film before, not even in the originals. And I would be a fool not to mention that I absolutely loved the podrace with Young Anakin Skywalker in Episode I. Sure, it was fast and predictable, but that is what made it good. I never knew Anakin was a mechanical and racing genius in his early days. The gungan battle at the climax of Episode I was also interesting. To see the dim witted gungans clumsily take out battle droids and droid tanks, it was exciting and hilarious at the same time.



RedLetterMedia states that the characters in the prequels are less memorable than the characters in the originals. If that’s so, than why do people get excited when a character from the prequels, like Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker , appear on the Clone Wars TV show. Once again, the characters of the prequels don’t leave the same impact as the original characters, but an impact of their own. Who doesn’t like Darth Maul? He is a very iconic and well received character even if he was killed off quite quickly. Who doesn’t look at Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and see Luke Skywalker? Who doesn’t like iconic jedi characters like Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Ki Adi Mundi, Aayla Secura and more. I can’t help but see the characters of the prequels mirroring the characters of the originals. They are briefly shown on screen and developed in a different way, but they still stick out in our heads, and a lot of SW fans’ favorite characters are from the prequels. The characters are also developed differently than the characters in the originals. Anakin Skywalker, we see throughout each of the three films, becomes very powerful to the point where he wants to become the most powerful jedi ever and save people from dying. It is quite similar to the story of Luke in the original trilogy, although, as we all know, Anakin’s story would become very tragic. Seeing Anakin’s thirst for prominence and manipulation by Palpatine turn him into the mechanically breathing maniac we all know and love in the originals was a very powerful moment that left such a powerful impact. A lot of people say he is too whiny, but that’s the point. In order for Anakin to ultimately turn to the dark side, he has to become arrogant and angry inside, that’s the way all great villains start out. They are heroes that are blinded and guided in the wrong direction which ultimately leads to their downfall.

The whole point of the prequels is to explain things. They are meant to take the same ingredients that made the originals the most well acclaimed movies all of time and re render them to explain why things are the way they are in the classic films. People think George Lucas rushed through the scripts of the prequels and just wanted to make “crappy” special effects on his computer. That’s not the case. George Lucas developed the prequels right around the same time he did the originals, If George Lucas released the prequels first, this is how he would have done, and I can almost guarantee you that Star Wars would have still made the same impact. The prequels are laid out and worked on for a very long time. Why do you think it takes 3 years for a new Star Wars film to see release. The story of the prequels does make sense, you just need to look at it from a different perspective, not the mention that some of the stories in the original films were also intriguing, but still just as brilliant. The impact of the originals is what makes the impact of the prequels. To see Anakin build C-3P0 was mind boggling and to see the Death Star plans in Episode 2 makes the prequels just as memorable, and who can forget Chewbacca’s unforgettable appearance in Episode 3. These appearances of things from the classic films tie the 2 trilogies together, and in my opinion, and in a lot of other people’s opinions, it makes the original films even better. Now we know who is within that Darth Vader suit. Now we know why the Emperor has a face like a gorilla’s behind. Now we know why Yoda is living on Dagobah. It’s all because of the stories told in the prequels.

And the SW prequels still take elements from other films and roll it into something new just as the original films did. They even take elements from the original films themselves, something RedLetterMedia talked about in his review. But’s that is what makes it good. That is what makes the Star Wars Prequels the Star Wars Prequels. SW fans can immediately compare the scenes to the scenes in the originals, and once again, it makes the originals all the better because it proves that the physics and dynamic abilities as well as the Force are all part of the same universe, and that the characters are quite identical to each other. Padme wears white just like Leia wore white. C3-P0 is broken apart just like he was in Episode 5. Luke looses his arm just as Anakin lost his arm in Episode 2. It’s like two tellings of the same story with different endings, and like the originals, I can help but see the stories of the Bible, mythology and other classic material within the prequels. The settings, the space ships, the species, the character development, it’s all just as good in the prequels as it was in the originals, you just need to look into it with an open mind to understand it. And the main reason why I think the prequel films are vastly underrated is what I will explain next.

I got into Star Wars because of the prequels. I remember when Episode I came out and how big it was. There were fast food promotions, action figures, contests, even a Jar Jar Binks sippy cup. It was a major release in motion picture history. But the hype of the film proved too much for the film to handle, and the film was met with a lukewarm response. Myself on the other hand, loved the film, and I still do. It was the first Star Wars film I ever saw and I was just blown out the window by it. The special effects, the lightsaber duel with Darth Maul, the acting, everything I enjoyed, and this is what motivated me to continue my exploration of the Star Wars films in the near future.It wasn’t until the release of Revenge of the Sith that I really settled down and watched the original films thoroughly for the first time, and from watching the prequel films first, I could come to enjoy the original films even more. And the fact that George Lucas restored the original films with references from the prequels really made the SW films one whole story. I thought it was brilliant to see young Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi, and it makes sense. Anakin Skywalker, redeemed or not, died when he became Darth Vader, and since he killed the Emperor and fulfilled the ancient Jedi prophecy, he was rewarded by spending eternity in the netherworld of the force as a young man. It makes perfect sense why George Lucas would do that, for George wanted to make the prequels and than use the actor who played Anakin as the force ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi, something else that would make the whole Star Wars saga one whole story. It was amazing to see what I saw in the prequels in the restored originals, for it proves that the characters are all the same characters, and the settings are all the same settings, and who cares if George replaced some of the scenes with CGI, that is what makes the universe more consistent and imaginative. Watching all six films in order really is an amazing experience, because you can understand what Star Wars is all about, and you can come to understand the mythology and ethics George Lucas was trying to get out to the world.

And put it this way. If we didn’t have the Star Wars prequels, Star Wars would have become a thing of the past.The prequels is what made Star Wars the prominent franchise it is today. It kept the universe alive just the Star Trek: The Next Generation kept the Star Trek universe alive, and the brilliance of the prequels is what inspired an infestation of EU material, including both Clone Wars TV shows which further made the prequels better in a lot of people’s books. It set in stone what Star Wars really is, a universe full of treachery, wisdom and temptation. And this is Star Wars for a new generation of viewers. There is no question in my mind that with the SW films being released in order in 3-D next year, it will continue to captivate many more children and adults alike with it’s wonder and glorification. “The appeal of Star Wars has become greater than I have ever imagined” quoted George Lucas, and he is absolutely right. And it’s all thanks to the beauty of the prequels, the films that ultimately defined Star Wars and made it the ultimate franchise it is today. These films relate to real life and the struggles humanity faces everyday, in politics and relationships, as well as the morals and lessons taught with in the Bible like temptation, redemption and how to cope with certain perils. As a Christian man, I can see the tales of the Bible through Star Wars and relate the characters of the Bible to characters of the Star Wars universe. Anakin is in many ways like Jesus, a person of virgin birth who has to one day fulfill a prophecy (Anakin was conceived by the Force, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit). And who can’t look at Palpatine and see the Devil, tempting people to turn to the Dark Side just as the Devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread in the forest. It’s every epic story in the Bible rolled into something new and original, and if you ask me, this is prominently seen within the Star Wars prequels, tales of betrayal and deception. That my friends is why I like them so much because it shows that all people, even people in a galaxy far, far away have issues, and it will take some drastic measures and sacrifice to get through these horrible times.

The Star Wars Prequels did change cinema, very different from the impact of the originals, but still very prudent. And I honestly feel great sympathy for George Lucas, who is constantly panned by many critics for these last three films, because they simply can not see what he was trying to get out with these prequels. And surely, these films will still be horribly panned for many years to come by RedLetterMedia and many other critics, but it’s good to know that there are those who can understand why these films were made and see what they were trying to get out to the world. Thank you, George Lucas, for keeping the SW universe alive, and inspiring many other film makers, like J.J. Abrams to release several epic stories that would captivate the lives of millions. And many years from now, we can look back at the onslaught of films that have come throughout the years and say, “The Star Wars Saga, the prequels, they started it all!”