Farenheit `77

When someone like George Lucas is sitting on top of his own Empire with unfathomable reach, and doesn't need further acclaim for the same exact paths he's already trodded, you would think at some point he must have mulled over his own divided motives on how to approach this last film and complete the circle of absolute power.

Does Lucas stick to polishing up daytime soap material through a reconjuring of the proven visuals of ILM, and thus achieve certain gain without risk? Or will he listen to the Jedi council of conscience and take some hard-earned risks in battles and actually win the hearts and minds of fans, peers, even skeptics?

Unfortunately the Dark side won; the lure of CGI immortality (visual competency) is the black magic that makes the film work just like any other summer blockbuster extravaganza. Even though he's already proven that his fans will show up in droves no matter what kind of tripe he produces, he must also hope that this magic will distract the skeptics enough to forget that he has made a wretched science fiction film. Absolutely wretched. If I were a Star Wars geek, I would call Lucas a traitor.

Think about it: forget all the cheesy dialogue and predictable story (what spoilers are there exactly?). Think about the actual sci fi cosmos portrayed in this film. Nothing was inventive, it's all been done before. There was not a single moment that made me (nor hopefully anyone else) go "Wow, that's clever", is there? Or any sort of evidence of a fertile mind imagining the future benefits and consequences of advancing technology? Nope. But that's the heart of real science fiction isn't it? There must be some risk in proposing an imagined future where, even though it correlates enough with our present time, some inventive elements and creatures could prove to change our way of thinking even in small ways. Lucas has none of that sort of old school Jedi trickery, because he wants to complete his dominion his own way, thinking in the absolutes of proven cinema gimmicks.

Lucas' noisy but empty saga further threatens to destroy whatever is special about the genre of science fiction if he is to be the so-called standard bearer. I don't expect much from hardcore Star Wars fans' reactions, but any true science fiction fan ought to feel not only insulted and cheated but fearful of what kind of damage this whole saga has already and now will continue to perpetuate for the future of science fiction cinema, (especially with the supposed emotional appeal?). I really wonder if he had any ambitions at all for this particular film beyond (A) quickly getting us back to the 1977 disco-era archetypes and (B) the supersaturated metaphors for U.S. politics.

The best scene was in that giant opera arena with those ameoba like globs floating in the center stage. I felt like I was an audience member there watching a representation of the whole film: lots of amorphous Light and Magic and Sound with no substance, no provocations.