Transformers Prime

 

I am not going to deny it, I have Transformers fever once again. The last time I felt this way was when Transformers Revenge of the Fallen was due to be released in 2009. I remember purchasing tickets in advance to watch it at the Birch, Caroll and Coyle at Chermside's Westfield Shoppingtown in Brisbane. Right now I am feeling the same electricity after watching the incredible Transformers Rise of the Beast! Therefore I feel that it's the right time to share my thoughts about the next best series to be released after the iconic generation one cartoon of the 80. Introducing Orci and Kurtzman's Transformers Prime.

This series works on so many levels. Marrying the best of the Bayverse designs, to the memorable movie worthy soundtrack by Brian Tyler, the vocal performance by GOAT's Peter Cullen and Frank Welker and the Gen 1 lore, there's something for everyone! Granted that the cast of characters main characters was much smaller in comparison to G1 massive crew sheets, we got more fleshed out players. We have , on Team Prime, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, Arcee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead. In the Decepticon corner we have the usual suspects, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, Dreadwing, Airachnid, Skyquake as well as the generic foot soldiers and a reimagined Insecticon army. We also get a very compelling cast of human characters, Jack, Miko, Raphael, nurse Darby, Jack's mom and Agent Fowler. They all have great story arcs, with the kids having their Autobot partners. Jack bonds with Arcee, Miko with Bulkhead, and Raphael with Bee. There is even a fantastic episode that spotlights Jack's growth from irresponsible teenager to leader when Prime chooses Jack to safeguard a key, which later plays a pivotal role in restoring Prime from Orion Pax!

I really enjoyed the design aesthetics of the main characters. Even though I am all for the blocky robots of the 80's, surprisingly I didn't hate the sleeker silhouettes of the Autobots. The Decepticons were on the whole great, with two exceptions. Optimus bears a striking similarity to his Bayverse counterpart, as did Bumblebee, and I really liked their updated looks from the 2007  movie. Bulkhead was basically a much improved version of movie Hound, with more character. Arcee is closer to her G1 design, as is Ratchet, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus and Cliffjumper. The Decepticons were a little too sleek and streamlined for my liking, with the exception of  G1'esque Megatron and Shockwave. Starscream and Soundwave were way too spindly and lacking in the bulk department. 

And then there is the brilliant story lines by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Their choice of drawing from G1 lore from comics, and the cult classic 1986 movie is the way to go. Unicron is featured in the plot and is an underlying threat throughout the entirety of the three seasons, as well as the Beast Hunters hour long movie after the series concludes. Unicron is depicted as a slumbering giant at the heart of Earth, something Bay tried to implement in his fifth and final flick. Unicron's blood serves as a plot device, with Megatron and the Decepticons using this dark energon to give themselves unnatural power. This comes to a head in the final episodes for season 1 when Optimus almost kills a delusional Megatron, who thinks it's his destiny to rule the universe. He later joins forces with Optimus when he realizes Unicron's true intentions and has to face an onslaught of Unicron manifestations. To stop Unicron from reawakening fully and destroying the Earth, Megatron leads Optimus and the others to the heart of Earth, where Unicron's essence slumbers. Optimus uses the creation matrix to once again imprison the chaos bringer. 

Season two explores the hunt for ancient Cybertronian relics hidden on Earth by Alpha Trion. We get to see Optimus as Orion Pax, and the relationship he had with Megatronus before the war. Optimus reverts back to his original form after unleashing the power of the matrix and losing the wisdom of the Primes. He plays a crucial role in decoding the coordinates of some of the relics. He is only restored to Optimus after Jack goes on a perilous mission to fill the key Optimus entrusted to him in case of a an event such as this. Some of the more important relics being pursued by both factions include a hammer called the Forge of Solus Prime, the legendary weapon, the Starsaber, and the keys to the Omega Lock. The former two can only be wielded by a Prime. Megatron actually slices off his right arm and grafts the arm of a deceased Prime so he can fashion a weapon from dark energon, the Darksabre. In the epic conclusion, Optimus destroys the Omega Lock on Cybertron to prevent the Decepticons from terraforming Earth, but not before Megatron's Darkmount is created. The final episode sees the Autobots ground bridging to random locations around Earth as Megatron brings the mountain down on Optimus.

Season three introduces us to Shockwave and his hunt for CNA and fossilized remains of a extinct species known as the Predacons. He has successfully cloned and bred a Predacon, later shown to be a sentient being known as Predaking in his lab on Cybertron. Megatron thinks that an army of Predacons could help his cause. Meanwhile on the Autobot front, we see Team Prime scattered to the wind, with Optimus himself barely alive. Smokescreen bravely stayed behind and pulled Optimus to safety. Reasoning that Optimus could rebuild himself, he sneaks aboard the Decepticon warship and steals the Forge. To his dismay Optimus passes over and says that there will be a new leader. Desperate, he places the Forge in Optimus's hand.

Megatron sends threats to world leaders , now that he has the Darkmount, and a super weapon, the fusion cannon. The newly reassembled team, now under Ultra Magnus, who managed to track down the remaining Autobots launches a desperate assault on the Darkmount. Magnus successfully manages to get rid of the Predacon threat by tricking the Beast and groundbridging him to the north pole. He confronts Megatron but is eventually overpowered and captured by the Decepticons. Just as Magnus is about to get executed, in flies a newly resurrected and reformatted Optimus Prime. He takes out Megatron, Starscream and destroys the fusion cannon and Darkmount, with Agent Fowler and the US Air Force help. Megatron and the Decepticons retreat to fight another day.

In the aftermath of his failures, Megatron focuses his energy on uncovering Predacon fossils and rebuilding the Omega Lock. He, however requires energon to power his Omega Lock. Discovering that Autobot Ratchet has developed an unstable formulation of synthetic energon, he sends his goons to kidnap our resident scientist. Reluctantly, Ratchet works with Shockwave and together they figure out the formula. Ratchet then manages to slip away and deactivate the ships cloaking and manages to inform  team Prime. He is also able to reason with the Predaking after Megatron sends the Beast after him. Predaking realizes that it was Megatron himself who ordered the extermination of his kind on Cybertron. Although he best Megatron in combat, Starscream's diversion gives Megatron enough time to launch Predaking into space. 

Megatron is now poised to terraform Earth into new Cybertron.. Only team Prime stand in his way. With the coordinates of Megatron's ship now known, Prime flies in himself to confront Megatron, while Magnus flies the rest of the team in and storms the Decepticon ship. Prime beats Megatron, but in a moment of hesitation gives Megatron the upper hand. Bumblebee bravely enters the fray but gets blasted repeated in the chest and falls into the activated Omega Lock. When all seems lost, Bumblebee reappears, fully restored and plunges the sabre into Megatron's chest, finally ending his reign of terror. With the Omega Lock ready, the Autobots pilot the Decepticon warship to Cybertron and restore their home. And so ends team Prime's time on Earth. We get an hour long Beast Wars movie set on Cybertron, which I will cover in a future post.

Transformers Rise of the Beast REVIEW -Spoilers-

 

What a fun and wild ride. Yes I have finally seen Transformers Rise of the Beast! It's everything I wanted in a movie and more. Coming from a G1 fan perspective, this cinematic experience ticked all the right boxes. Just like Travis Knight's Bumblebee, still the best live action Transformers movie in my book, this story inherits the best parts of the Bumblebee movie. You get the impression that just like Travis Knight before, Steven Caple Jr is a true fan of the franchise. We get G1 designs for our main Autobots, maybe not as much as some OG fans might like, but he does do a great job of marrying the best of the Bayverse designs and G1. As mentioned in my previous preamble blog to this review, he borrows a lot from the G1 cartoons, from the brilliant 1986 animated movie, and even sneaks in musical inferences from Vince De Cola's Unicron's theme, as well as the brilliant 'Arrival to Earth' theme from Steve Jablonsky. This production has a good amalgamation of old and new, and it's sure to please the 80's kids with the live adaptation of Unicron and the Autobots and Maximals, as well as newer fans who grew up with the Bayverse. Steven does away with excessive anal and sexiest humor and imagery and instead focuses on the two human leads, played by Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, leading to more fleshed out characters, as well as allowing much more time for our Transformers to shine. I really enjoyed the pacing of the scenes and didn't once feel like there were redundant exposition to drag out the runtime. Sure there is a MacGuffin that everyone is chasing after, but that is pretty much present in the OG  cartoons. To say that the movie played out like a big budget Saturday morning cartoon would be an understatement.

This movie picks up where Bumblebee left off, with only a handful of Autobots forming team Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Mirage, Wheeljack and Stratosphere. The Autobots have been stranded on Earth for seven years with no way to get back to Cybertron. Enter the MacGuffin, the Trans Warp key. The keepers of this piece of technology are the Maximals. The opening sequence, much like Bumblebee's fall of Cybertron scene sets up the story. We see Unicron enter the frame, sending his herald Scourge to the surface of the Maximals planet, with some Scorponok's to strike a bargain with the leader of the Maximals, Apelinq for the Trans Warp key. We are introduced to the main Maximals, Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rhinox and Airazor. Apelinq stays behind to confront Scourge and buys time for his brethren,but is killed by his nemesis. The Maximals escape to Earth while their home planet is consumed by Unicron.

Cut to present day Earth and we are introduced to Noah Diaz, a ex military electronics expert and his counterpart Elena Wallace a intern archeologists working in the museum. Noah is struggling to make ends meet to look after his sick little brother Chris, who has sickle cell anemia. Out of options, he takes up a grand theft auto job with his buddy Reek. This is where fate intervenes. He steals a car that turns out to be an alien robot, Mirage. As this is happening, Elena's innate curiosity entangles her as she unexpectedly uncovers part of the Trans Warp key that sends a signal into the sky, alerting the Autobots, as well as Unicron. Noah is accidentally embroiled in the Autobots plan to obtain the key.

Both factions make a beeline for the museum and a battle ensures. The Autobots try to protect Noah and Elena, but are totally outclassed by the dark energon enhanced henchmen of Unicron. Even Optimus Prime is over powered by Scourge and almost loses his life. Bumblebee bravely stops Scourge but loses his life. Airazor swoops in and stops the slaughter, but not before Nightbird secures the key. Optimus takes his rage out on some pieces of scrapes, and even blames Noah for their failure. Airazor tells them of the other Maximals and how they split the key into pieces for safe keeping. This is where Elena's research comes into play. All signs point towards Peru. Unfortunately Unicron realizes this as well.

The human Autobots alliance continues, to the consternation of Prime, who still seeks the key for selfish reasons, to return his crew to Cybertron. Little does he know that Noah is in it for his own reasons, to destroy the key and prevent Earth from destruction. Two sides of a coin but barreling down the same road. The Autobots realize that in order to locate the second half of the key, Noah and Elena are their best bet. Scourge and his minions track the Autobots and tail them, leading to another confrontation at the mountain side. An enraged Prime manages to to gain the upper hand in his fight with Scourge. Airazor has to break up the fight by bringing down the bridge, separating both combatants. Elena and Noah are still underground seeking out the key. Scourge sneaks in a corruption bug as he shoots Airazor.

Noah and Elena exits the caves after finding an empty crypt and are confronted by Optimus Primal and the Maximals. Airazor is reunited with her comrades and informs them of how the heralds of Unicron now have one half of the key. The Autobots are introduced to the Maximals and learn the location of the second half of the key. Primal educates Prime about the history between the humans and how he has grown to trust them and why all life is sacred. He doesn't agree with giving up the keys to put Earth in harms way as he presents his human tribe to Prime. The villagers show Prime a sacred resting place, which so happens to be rich in inert energon for Bee. Unfortunately Airazor is corrupted and gives their position away to Scourge. Noah has a chance to destroy the key but Prime begs him not to. In a moment of hesitation, Airazor flies off with Elena and the key. Primal gives chase but it's too late, Scourge gets the second half of the key. Primal is forced to put a possessed Airazor down to save Elena.

With the completed Trans Warp key, Scourge, Battletrap and Nightbird set up a transdimentional portal to welcome their master Unicron. When they open the portal, a wave of energy envelopes Earth, and activates the energon and restoring Bee. Prime and Primal lead the offensive as Unicron sends in his Terrorcons to overwhelm our heroes. A newly restored Bee is flown in by Stratosphere. He arrives in the nick of time and takes out Nightbird in midair while Prime and Primal take down Battletrap. Using the frontal assault as a diversion, Noah, Elena and Mirage attempt to get to the control panel with the hope that they can shut down the portal with a code Elena had deciphered from the markings on the totem and the crypt holding the keys. Primal believes that they can avoid destroying the keys, while stopping Unicron. 

Mirage bravely confronts Scourge in a kamikaze move reminiscent of Jazz in the  2007 movie with the hope that Noah and Elena can make their way to the controls via the underground tubes. Scourge realizes this and grabs Noah after incapacitating Mirage, and sends a Freezer after Elena. As Scourge is about to kill Noah, Mirage sacrifices himself to save his best bud, and to keep his promise to Noah's little brother. Mirage doesn't die. Due to extensive damage, he gives Noah full control by becoming Noah's exosuit. Prime joins the fight and takes Scourge out, but not before he destroys the control panel. Despite Elena succeeding in evading the Freezer and getting the code in, there is now no way to close the portal. Prime decides that life on Earth is too precious and volunteers to destroy the device and sacrifice himself. He smashes the panel and is sucked towards the portal opening. Primal and Noah saves Prime to the strain of Steve Jablonsky's Arrival to Earth!

Is this the start of the Transformers Renaissance? Rise of the Beast

 

I am not going to lie. I am really looking forward to getting back into the cinematic movieverse of the Transformers. In fact I am hopping around like the Energizer Bunny! The trailers, the TV spots and the general direction the story seems to be taking all reeks of G1 goodness. My hope is that they will build on what worked for Travis Knight's Bumblebee. The images from the opening scene is forever seared into my memory. We can already see that they have kept most of the designs from the mentioned movie. Indeed we seem to be veering away from the messy Bayverse of excess everything. For one we have freaking Unicron, and he appears to be the Unicron from our favorite Transformers 1986 movie. He is not the 'core of Earth' Unicron from Bay's time line. I also appreciate how the Maximals and the Terrorcons are the main bot cast as opposed to bringing the Decepticons back. And we get a new antagonist, Scourge, Unicron's herald. It will  also be refreshing to see Optimus Prime in a different light as he learns from the Maximals about the value of human life. It will be a mark departure from the worldly wise Optimus we have grown so accustomed to. Just how good this movie will be, only time will tell. I just felt like getting my thoughts out there before the flick hits the silver screen. Not long more to wait. Movie opens June the 6th. I believe that this is what Hollywood needs to shake off the superhero fatigue. Here's hoping for a Renaissance of the Transformers franchise and a return to a fun filled and woke free summer blockbuster!

So just how good is Andor?

 

I know that I am late to the party and that I reviewed The Mandalorian season 3 ahead of this series. Andor, the prequel to Gareth Edwards Rogue One, easily the best motion picture to come out of Disney owned Lucasfilm follows the exploits of protagonist Cassian Andor as he develops from a scavenger and slowly leans towards becoming a rebellion sympathizer. I figure I might as well share my thoughts about Rogue One, seeing how intertwined the movie and the series are. Andor just completed season 1 and season 2 will debut in  August of 2024.

Rogue One : A Star Wars Story 

I remember watching this movie after watching the main line Skywalker saga movies and really enjoying the freshness and the character development of the main players. They felt more three dimensional and fleshed out in comparison to the other movies. Edwards for one didn't use nostalgia or lighsabre wielding/ force powered jedi or sith, save Darth Vader, as this scene was required to link the movie to episode  IV. We are introduced to every day ' nobody's' playing their roles for the rebellion or empire. For the first time the main characters are not linked to the Skywalker bloodline! Contrary to popular belief , Skywalker's are not required to guarantee success. All we fans need are a well written script!

The story revolves around Jyn Erso, daughter of the architect of the first Death Star, Galen Erso. Jyn is played to perfection by Felicity Jones, while Galen is played by Mads Mikkelsen. Galen is a retired former Imperial engineer who is forced to work on the Death Star by Orson Krennic. Jyn is hidden away from her father to save her. Galen reluctantly builds the deadly battle station, but secretly includes a fatal flaw that would eventually allow Luke Skywalker and the rebels to triumph over the empire and destroy the super weapon. This story is the tale of how a brave squadron of rebels, led by the the titular Andor, portrayed by Diego Luna, the producer and star of Andor meets Jyn and learns about the Death Star. They are aided by his dedicated partner and copilot droid K2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, a jedi temple guardian of the Whills Chirrut Imwe, played by martial arts extraordinaire Donnie Yen and his enforcer Baze Malbus, and a rag-tag band of  rebels. Their ultimate goal is to secure the schematics to the Death Star. The story focuses on Jyn Erso and her arc from innocent farm girl, to battle hardened thief, and finally rebel. Andor's backstory is explored in the series. The events in this movie lead directly into the intro sequence in episode IV.

Andor

This 13 episode series follows the exploits of Cassian Andor. We see Andor as a child and how he is separated from his tribe after a botched raid on a crashed Imperial ship, and is saved and adopted by Marva. He lives a life of obscurity. That is until Andor's run in with two officers at a local bar, and his subsequent termination of the two. This puts his home planet in the crosshairs, and marks him as a wanted man. He also has in his possession some Imperial technology from the time he raided an Imperial ship in his youth. He gets recruited by the mysterious Luthen, played by Stellen Skaarsgard. They escape from the local authorities and Luthen drops him off for a mission with a band of rebels. We also see how Luthen and Mon Mothma work behind the scenes to orchestrate the genesis of the rebellion. While the first three episodes are a slow burn, Tony Gilroy's great writing, the use of actual locations, as opposed to the excessive use of The Volume, and the focus on character arcs gave this series a different view of the 'background' players in the war between the two factions. We get to see how morally grey a lot of these characters are. This is one of the strengths of this story. Those that work for the empire are not necessarily evil. They are just doing their job, to the best of their abilities. From their point of view, they are the good guys, bringing peace and order to the galaxy. As for the so called ' good' guys. They resort to some really despicable acts to achieve their objectives. If you were to look at this from another point of view, they could even be mistaken as the bad guys. Such is the brilliance of Tony Gilroy's writing. It is such a pity that this series is not more well received. It's obvious that their views have been tainted by more mediocre series such as The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are some really outstanding episodes, such as the prison arc of the story involving the highly talented Andy Serkis as Kino Loy, in what seems to George Lucas's THX mini movie. I highly recommend slogging through the first three episodes. You will definitely not be disappointed!

Star Wars : A May the 4th Retrospective Review

 

I thought it would be fitting of me to finish reviewing the original three movies by maestro George Lucas since Star Wars day 2023 is fast approaching. This is the flick that started it all, launched a franchise and would forever change the way we would view VFX productions. It was this movie that prompted the visual effects revolution, as George and his production crew would have to develop a lot of the technologies required to bring his fantastical visions to life. This would lead to the formation of George's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the premier VFX house that every movie production today uses. George's tale was a simple story of good versus evil that captured the imagination of kids all around the world back in the late 70. This was also the start of a massive merchandising opportunity, that would become the staple for current popular movies of today. To think that at that time period in history, no toy company was willing to work with George. Thanks to a small unassuming Illinois based company, Kenner, the 3.75 inch figures have now become an industry standard.

No one could have envisioned how big the movie would become, or what an influence it would have on the zeitgeist, not even George or Kenner. That Christmas after the premiere, Kenner had to issue a cardboard certificate to appease the thousands of disappointed kids who wanted action figures of their favorite Star Wars heroes. Kenner would only start shipping the first four figures of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, R2D2 and Chewbacca the following year. These early bird figures are highly sought after these days and fetch a princely sum of money. In fact any of the action figures from the original three movies can net you a small fortune, especially if they are mint on card (MOC) and unpunched. The same kids who grew up with the Star Wars are now parents and sharing this experience with their children. This passing of the torch only further cements George Lucas's legacy in pop culture.

Ironically though this was not my favorite entry into the trilogy. As stated in my last post, that would be Return of the Jedi. The movie did leave a lasting impression on me and this would continue to influence my choices well into adulthood. To say that the effects are ahead of its time is a gross understatement. The VFX still hold up to scrutiny, even when compared with the movies of today. George's idea of a used and lived in universe definitely helped. The story itself is pretty straight forward. We get the evil empire chasing and capturing Princess Leia , but not before she manages to hide the schematics of a battle station called the Death Star in the astromech Droid R2D2. The opening sequence to the movie fully immerses the audience in the most indescribable way. From the memorable Star Wars theme by the immortal John Williams, to the scrawl, and finally the thunderous Star Destroyer soaring over the viewers on the silver screen in pursuit of the rebel Blockade Runner, George cast his spell on the audience. If that wasn't enough, we are introduced to the most recognizable villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader. He was made all the more terrifying by his booming voice, courtesy of James Earl Jones, and the mystery surrounding the character, and his mastery over a equally mystical power known as the force!.

The scene switches to the sand planet of Tatooine where the droids R2D2 and C3PO  are picked up by Jawas and sold Luke Skywalker and his uncle, Owen Lars. Luke accidentally activates the message from Leia while cleaning R2D2. This leads to R2 rolling away in the dead of the night in search of his former owner, and Luke having to go after him. This leads to Luke being ambushed by Tusken Raiders and Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi saving him. Ben brings Luke and the droids back to his home and reviews Leia's message. He reveals to Luke that his father was a great Jedi warrior and ask Luke to join him in his quest. He also gives Luke his father's lighsabre. Luke is hesitant as he is worried about his uncle and aunt.

Later that day, they find a ruined Sandcrawler and dead Jawas. When Luke discovers that his uncle and aunt have been murdered by stormtroopers, Luke takes up Ben's offer to learn the ways of the force, and save Princess Leia. We are introduced to the concept of the mystical force, and to a weapon called the lighsabre, another drawcard for impressionable youngsters like myself. Ben travels to the Mos Eisley Cantina where they enlist the help of smuggler Han Solo and his partner Chewbacca, for a small fee. Ben starts training Luke in the ways of the force using Luke's father's lighsabre and a training remote aboard the Millennium Falcon. They travel to Princess Leia's home world of Alderaan, only to discover that the planet has been destroyed. Moff Tarkin has used the Death Star against Leia's home as a demonstration of its power, and to coax Leia to reveal the location of the rebel base. Han and company encounter tie fighters and give chase, only to be caught in a tractor beam and are brought aboard the Death Star. They hide in the Falcons smuggling compartments and evade capture. Han and Luke disguises themselves as stormtroopers and set off to save Princess Leia while Ben attempts to shut down the tractor beam. He is successful, and Han and Luke find the princess , but they are forced to jump into a trash compactor.

Ben encounters Vader while making his way back to the Falcon. They engage in a lightsaber duel. Luke manages to contact C3PO  and R2D2 disables the trash compactor in the nick of time. Our heroes make their way back to the Falcon. Ben buys them time to board the Falcon and sacrifices himself. Luke witnesses this and is saddened. This however further solidifies his resolve to help defeat Vader and the empire. Using the schematics obtained by Leia, they find a weakness in the Death Star, an exhaust port on the surface of the powerful weapon. The rebels launch their assault with a squadron of X Wings and Y Wing bombers. Darth Vader personally leads a squadron of tie fighters as they systematically take out the rebels. It is is now up to Luke to take out the Death Star. Han unexpectedly drops in on Vader just as he is about to take Luke out. Using the force, Luke let's his proton torpedoes fly and the Death Star is finally destroyed. The rebels have won and Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca are rebellion heroes!

40th Anniversary Lookback at The Return of the Jedi

 

This used to be my favorite Star Wars movie. Yes you heard me correctly, but as a kid though. The reason for this was very simple. When I was young, I didn't like Empire Strikes Back as much as I do now. Luke lost his hand, and we lost Han to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Empire was a dark entry into the original trilogy that left us fans hanging and wanting more. It's only with age have I been able to fully appreciate how magnificent Empire was. It had so much depth and layers to the story.

Enter Return of the Jedi  the penultimate episode in the George Lucas's Star Wars saga. This story was more straight forward. The good guys triumph over the evil empire, and Darth Vader is redeemed by the protagonist, and his son Luke Skywalker. In my opinion, this was the perfect end to the Skywalker saga. No need for sequels to this completed story arc. And since 2023 is the 40th anniversary of this flick, what better time than now for me to discuss this movie? Well let's jump right into it. I will first cover some facts and discuss my thoughts about the original theatrical release versus the special edition, and the Blu-ray release. Yes there are several versions of the movie.

For hard-core Star Wars fan's, you would probably remember that the movie was originally supposed to be called Revenge of the Jedi. There were posters and even toys with backing cards using the Revenge moniker. George Lucas changed Revenge to Return at the last minute as he felt like jedis do not take Revenge. This change in title would also have the added benefit for George's prequel movies, seeing how episode III would be titled Revenge of the Sith.

As for the final cut of the movie we got in 1983, several scenes were also cut from the movie. The more memorable ones that I wish had made it into the final cut include the scene in a cave on Tatooine where Luke puts together his green bladed lighsabre and hides it in R2, and the sandstorm scene that sees our heroes make their way to the Falcon.

Then there is the debacle that drove a wedge between George Lucas and the OG Star Wars fan's. George made numerous changes to 'improve' on the original release of the movie. I could write a multi page essay extolling why the original release should be left alone and not altered in any way. George felt that he couldn't achieve the vision he had for the movies with the technology at that time. When VFX tools finally caught up, George went back to the three original movies, reworked, added some scenes, and re-released them in theaters as the special editions. Star Wars received the most extensive additions, while Empire received the least, a testament to how perfect the final product was. I personally didn't mind the modifications to both of the mentioned as the scenes did add to the enjoyment of the films. The same cannot be said for Return.

I took particular offense to the Jabba throne room sing and dance number featuring close ups of some aliens I didn't care for, or the new song. Give me Lapti Nek anyday. I had the issue with George getting rid of the ewok celebration song Yub Nub right at the end of the movie as well. Did not like the ' elevator music' we got as replacement. And what's with replacing Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen? We so didn't appreciate that swap. And George didn't help the situation by refusing to release the original theatrical version of the movie. Fans have resorted to scanning and restoring these from old film reels. In fact that is the only way to see these three classics in their full unaltered glory. Kudos to these dedicated fan. The last release of these versions were a low resolution copy of the Laser Disc release!

And with all that griping, here is my unadulterated recap of the original 1983 theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. The movie brings back our crew of heroes. In Empire Luke struck out on his own after the events on Hoth to train with Jedi Master Yoda. Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C3PO escape from the Imperial fleet, but are later ambushed at Bespin, and Han is frozen in Carbonite and given to vile gangster Jabba the Hutt.

The movie opens with the revelation that the empire has started construction on a new Death Star. Darth Vader personally travels to the Death Star to oversee it's completion. Meanwhile on Tatooine, R2D2 and C3PO make their way across a desolate landscape towards a foreboding metal gate. They have been sent by Luke Skywalker as a token of goodwill to Jabba the Hutt. The plan is to infiltrate Jabba's palace to rescue Han Solo. Leia, disguised as bounty hunter Boussh brings in Chewbacca in an attempt to gain access to Han. She successfully releases Han from his carbon freezing prison, but is captured in the process and made a slave to Jabba. Luke has to make an appearance to try and bargain for Han's life. Jabba tries to kill Luke instead by dropping Luke into the rancor pit. Luke makes quick work of the rancor, enraging Jabba even further. Jabba decrees that our heroes are to be brought to the Dune Sea and cast into the Pit of Carkoon, the resting place of the Sarlacc. With the force as an ally, and with the help of a semi blind Han, Lando disguised as a skiff guard, and Chewbacca, Luke dispatches the guards on the skiffs and on the main deck of Jabba's sail barge. As for Jabba himself, he is choked to death by the very chain he used to enslave Princess Leia. Our heroes escape after blowing Jabba's Khettana to smithereens.

The second act sees Luke travel back to the swamp planet Dagobah to complete his Jedi training. He is saddened to discover that Yoda has fallen ill and is on his death bed. Yoda reveals to Luke that his training was complete save one fact, he was not ready for the burden of learning that Darth Vader was in fact Anakin Skywalker his father. Yoda also mentions to Luke that there is another Skywalker before  becoming one with the force. Luke struggles with his feelings as Obi-Wan appears to comfort him. He reveals to Luke that he had a twin sister. Luke senses that Leia is his sister and Obi-Wan confirms his feelings. Luke then regroups with the others as they plan their assault on the Death Star. In order to gain access to the Death Star, they will have to deactivate the force field beamed from the forest moon of Endor. The rebels assemble a strike force to take down the shield, led by General Solo. Lando leads the strike on the Death Star. The heroes then depart for Endor in a stolen Imperial shuttle.

The Endor strike team land in a forest clearing and spot some Imperials. Han's clumsy approach accidentally alert the Imperial scout Troopers. Luke and Leia give chase and although successful, they are separated. Luke is able to reunite with Han and the rest. Leia is rescued by Wicket, a teddy bear like creature called ewoks. The rebels later fall into a trap set by the ewok tribe. When they spy 3PO among the group, they fall to their knees in reverence. They are convinced C3PO is a god, and Luke uses this to free them. They are reunited with Leia. The ewoks join the rebels in their fight to take down the deflector shield after listening to 3PO's tale about their escapades with the empire. Luke reveals to Leia the truth that she is his twin sister, and that Vader is their father before surrendering to Vader. He believes there is still good in him, and that he can save him. After Luke's departure, Han and company begin planning their assault.

With the help of the ewoks, Han manages to gain access to the base. However it is revealed that Emperor Palpatine had anticipated this and set a trap for them. We then see Han and the rebels captured, as the rebel fleet, led by General Calrissian and Admiral Ackbar come out of hyperspace. The rebel fleet is stunned when the Death Star fires upon them. To buy Han and company more time, Lando moves the rebel fleet closer to the Star Destroyers. Han and the rebels are freed by the ewoks and successfully blow up the shield generator. Lando then leads a squadron of rebel star fighters to the core of the Death Star. Meanwhile on the Death Star itself, Vader brings Luke before his master, Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor is successful in goading Luke to embrace his anger and fight his father. Luke, with the dark side as his ally overpowers Vader and chops off his hand. Luke then realizes what he has done and stops. An enraged Emperor Palpatine unleashes his full fury on Luke, bathing him in sith lightning. Just when he is about to strike the final blow, Luke's faith in his father is repaid. Vader absorbs the killing blows and hurtles Palpatine to his doom! Luke has to then half drags carries his redeemed father to a shuttle. In a final touching moment father and son come face to face for the last time. Luke takes off just as Lando fires the shot that takes out the Death Star.

The Wacky World of Cosplay

 

A staple of comic and anime conventions, Cosplay, or costume play has seen an explosion in the past few years. From casual fans like mua and my daughter, who buy our costumes to some of the professional Cosplayers who make a living from their art, Cosplay has become an integral part of the geek culture. Indeed it's increased prominence and popularity has propelled some of the more popular Cosplayers into the celebrity stratosphere. I'm sure all you Cosplay fan's would have seen the TV show, Heroes of Cosplay. Below are a discussion of the two main stars of this show, as well other Cosplayers of whom I have personally met and befriended through the many cons I have attended throughout the years..

Probably the most popular and well known cosplayer to grace local as well as international cons, Yaya Han was featured prominently in Heroes of Cosplay, and is regarded by many as the queen of Cosplay. Yaya developed her own textile and product line, in collaboration with her partner Brian Boling to support the cosplay community. This super talented Cosplayer makes her own props and costumes and is largely regarded as one of the pioneers of Cosplay. She is busy these days jetting around the globe as a competition judge and sharing her experience in the creation of her different personas in convention panels. She is also extremely approachable and enthusiastic about Cosplay. We shared some highly informative discussions on Cosplay and geekdom at cons in SoCal.

Another big name in the world of Cosplay is American Kiwi Jessica Nigri. She was featured along side Yaya Han in the TV series Heroes of Cosplay. She was discovered by scouts at a San Diego Comic Con where she did her own take on Pikachu. Jessica has a knack for putting her own sexy spin on cute and gender bent Cosplays. She is best known for her quirky personality and sexy costumes, makes all her props and costumes from scratch and is highly sought after by gaming companies to promote their wares. Jessica gives back to the community by uploading extensively detailed how to behind the scenes YouTube videos detailing how she brings her creations to life. She even details the intricacies of working with worbla, a heat malleable thermoplastic, as well as other materials used in crafting weapons and body armor. Her video series are a great resource for DIY Cosplayers. She also has an insane number of dedicated followers on Instagram.

And talking about representation, there are so many excellent Asian American Cosplayers . Close to home, as is San Jose, we have Cosplayer Linda Le, better known as Vampy Bit Me . Vampy has a sizable Instagram following and uses her platform to review games, as well as Gundam kits and such. She is most well known for her X-MEN Psylocke Cosplay, as well as for her One Piece Nico Robin. She is also in demand as a judge and as a brand ambassador. Another well known Cosplay judge and comic book reviewer is Animia. She also has an impressive Instagram and YouTube channel and crafts her own costumes and was very generous with her time with me and my daughter, who dressed up as Jedi Rey. We spent a good part of the afternoon picking her brain! She is Asian and hails from Atlanta, Georgia.

That said I would like to shine the spotlight on some of my close friends who happened to be amazing Cosplayers, Reel Guise David Schowman and his husband Paul Baum. I first met David and Paul at Stan Lee's Comikaze, where they were Cosplaying Rick Grimes and a zombiefied Shane Walsh. We would later meet up again at Walker Stalker Con in San Francisco. David also does one mean Dragpool Cosplay and happens to be a swell human being. Through Reel Guise, I met Macy Thompson, another NorCal resident and versatile Cosplayer. I would become close friends with Macy and her family. The Reel Guise folks are fantastic people.

Some other familiar faces at cons that I would befriend include Hugh Jackman look alike Lonstermash, who does a mean Wolverine and Rocky Cosplay, and Jacqueline Groehner who embodies the very essence of Sara Pezzini's Witchblade. They are some of the more outstanding Cosplayers to look out for if you attend cons in the California. Overall I am really enjoying the popularity that Cosplay is currently encountering. It adds a new dimension to cons and gives it that more immersive feel. It gives more creative fans an outlet to express their love for pop culture regardless of creed or religion. And the best of all is that anyone can participate without any prejudice.