A Thousand Stars: Episode II, Part 22
Apr. 20th, 2023 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilWith Obi-Wan authorized to apprehend Jango Fett, the metaphorical gloves come off. As opposed to the literal gloves, armor, helmet, jetpack...interestingly, this is one case where a character in Star Wars could be considered his truest self when he puts the mask on. (I'm sure those fans of the Mandalorian series have many thoughts, but I'm sticking to Lucas-created canon). Jango Fett was concealing a whole lot of secrets while talking to Obi-Wan face to face, but now with his helmeted guise, he holds back nothing. This is a spectacular fight.
One of the reasons for that is the clever ways that Lucas levels the playing field between a Jedi and a "regular" guy -- first, Jango uses the advantages of his jetpack and armor to avoid the usual damage a lightsaber could cause. Then Obi-Wan loses his weapon (and after all that scolding of Anakin, too!) and the fight is a little more even. They both have to rely on creative attacks and defenses, and sometimes it's pure brute force.
A still shot couldn't really do it justice, so I'm glad I found this gif!
Indeed, much of the strength of this scene comes from dynamic features that are hard to portray in writing or single images. I'll just mention a few general trends. Lucas's style tends toward documentary-esque (there's a reason he hired Irvin Kershner for Episode V, who had primarily directed documentaries before then). It's a fairly straightforward presentation of the action, but don't mistake straightforward with simplistic. Rather, he avoids the little tricks that I personally find gimmicky and wearisome, like excessive slow motion and disorienting quick cuts, shaky cam and a general sense of giving the audience motion sickness. Things happen at a quick but steady pace; we can tell where each character is and how they're moving in relation to each other. In this particular sequence there are also some nice atmospheric touches like the lightning flashing in the background, the intermittent reactions from Boba in the cockpit of their ship, and Obi-Wan's response to hurtling over the edge of the platform on the end of Jango's tether. It's a great shot of adrenaline, it's a satisfying showdown with more payoff to come, and it has nice touches of humor.
Just hanging around.
And if you get a little deja vu when Obi-Wan deactivates his saber while watching the ship fly off, that's not an accident. A similar shot of Darth Maul happened in Episode I. Cool stuff.
Next time, more call-backs....
One of the reasons for that is the clever ways that Lucas levels the playing field between a Jedi and a "regular" guy -- first, Jango uses the advantages of his jetpack and armor to avoid the usual damage a lightsaber could cause. Then Obi-Wan loses his weapon (and after all that scolding of Anakin, too!) and the fight is a little more even. They both have to rely on creative attacks and defenses, and sometimes it's pure brute force.
A still shot couldn't really do it justice, so I'm glad I found this gif!
Indeed, much of the strength of this scene comes from dynamic features that are hard to portray in writing or single images. I'll just mention a few general trends. Lucas's style tends toward documentary-esque (there's a reason he hired Irvin Kershner for Episode V, who had primarily directed documentaries before then). It's a fairly straightforward presentation of the action, but don't mistake straightforward with simplistic. Rather, he avoids the little tricks that I personally find gimmicky and wearisome, like excessive slow motion and disorienting quick cuts, shaky cam and a general sense of giving the audience motion sickness. Things happen at a quick but steady pace; we can tell where each character is and how they're moving in relation to each other. In this particular sequence there are also some nice atmospheric touches like the lightning flashing in the background, the intermittent reactions from Boba in the cockpit of their ship, and Obi-Wan's response to hurtling over the edge of the platform on the end of Jango's tether. It's a great shot of adrenaline, it's a satisfying showdown with more payoff to come, and it has nice touches of humor.
Just hanging around.
And if you get a little deja vu when Obi-Wan deactivates his saber while watching the ship fly off, that's not an accident. A similar shot of Darth Maul happened in Episode I. Cool stuff.
Next time, more call-backs....
