Star Wars 7: Geezers and Abandonment Issues

I want everyone to know that I am breaking a (pinky) promise to my son by writing this...I told him I would do no writing on my laptop this weekend as my castigo for yelling very loudly at the bank folks on the phone after...well, never mind, it was their fault. Anyway, I said I wouldn't do any writing but it's 5:30 in the morning and everyone's asleep but me, who has been unable to sleep for 3+ hours now (since I got up with the baby), so...well, I'm breaking my promise.

Saw Star Wars VII this evening. Just walked in and purchased tickets. Star Wars isn't as big in Paraguay (though you'd never know it from the saturation of merchandise/PR/screenings). Plus, I went to the subtitled version (folks here prefer their films dubbed). But really, it's not as popular. I've met many Paraguayans (usually the non-billionaire, non-American educated, non-English speaking ones) who've never even seen a Star Wars movie. And I'm talking folks in their 20s and 30s.

Anyway...

It was a very good movie. Certainly the best Star Wars film I've seen in decades. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the movies (especially the original trilogy). Heck, I'd recommend it to anyone...my wife has never been a big fan of the franchise, but she was downright stoked after seeing the film. She wants to go back and see it again...as in, we're already trying to figure if we should catch another showing tomorrow (since it's so easy to get in), or wait till we get to Mexico, or both. It was the first film she can remember seeing that she wishes was longer than its actual running time, mainly because the pacing through the latter half/two-thirds is so frantic and action-packed it was hard for her to believe the character development (in terms of relationships/bonding) that took place between characters.

And she'd just like to see more of the same. As with me, we left the theater hoping the sequel isn't too long in the making.

So...that's the "review" sans spoilers. I'd like to offer a few more thoughts on what I saw, and though I'll try to avoid giving anything away, if you haven't yet seen the film you may not want to read even what follows (and the comments section might be a bad read, too, depending on what folks write).

First off, I'd like to say that going into the film I experienced a momentary (and very slight) trepidation at the knowledge that the main protagonists (and, presumably, the main protagonists for the future installments) would be characters I'd have a hard time relating to...namely, non-white, non-male characters. Yes, I realize how ridiculous this is...I live in a world where the cinema is absolutely dominated by white, male protagonists, especially in the action, sci-fi, and fantasy genres and I am one privileged sonofagun. It was a momentary weakness. I quickly realized that there were already six Star Wars films featuring blonde haired, blue eyed men in the title roles (Luke, Anakin, Young Obi-Wan)...it certainly wouldn't hurt to let someone else drive for a few films.

And guess what? The new characters are awesome, wonderfully fun and interesting to watch, and I can't wait to see more of them. I am sooooo glad the filmmakers chose this direction in casting...it made the film so much more interesting to watch. The bad guys are back to resembling Space Nazis, but now their ranks are made of both men and women. There's more diversity in terms of people of color mixed among the non-alien extras and cast, and no I didn't think it felt "forced" at all. Rather, it looked natural to have more non-white humans on display than the first two trilogies combined.

[and I don't think that's an exaggeration]

So, yay, progress. Except that it's sad that I even feel the need to note it. At least my daughter can grow up and watch a movie and not aspire to being a princess in a bikini or a midriff-baring politico. That's kind of nice.

Stylistically, there's a nice return to the original trilogy, and I'm not just talking aesthetic...although that's there, too: the galaxy is once more a shabby, run-down place (probably even more so than the original trilogy...things have not been totally smooth since the end of the rebellion). But, no, I'm talking about a return to a focus on cinematic storytelling...the first ten to fifteen minutes is wonderful for how little dialogue is there (stormtroopers barking orders notwithstanding). You're left to just take in the sights of this strange galaxy, these new characters, this interesting spectacle-story. It grabs your attention and engagement without any vomited exposition. You see the character of the characters through their actions, not their words.

And then, of course, there's the action and pacing. Once the movie starts to pick up steam, it's pretty go-go-go with just a couple pit stops along the way. But it's well done, with a lot of movement-motion...again, something the original trilogy had that was in short-supply for the prequel trilogy (you had nice little set-piece combats in static environments...but gone were the chases and the sweeping ship-to-ship dog fights and whatnots). It's a lot more dynamic than saber-fights.

And I have to say, the Millennium Falcon was sorely missed from Episodes I-III. It is practically a character itself...at least as much so as R2 and C3P0 were. Having the Falcon in the movie (I don't think that's a spoiler...it's in all the trailers) makes up a LOT of ground. It communicates so much about the state of this fantasy universe...it doesn't matter whether it "makes sense" regarding its FTL travel or space-worthyness. The Millennium Falcon, in all its shabby glory, is a big (and needed) piece of the franchise. It's like the Enterprise for Star Trek...you just don't get the same experience without it.

Likewise the Geezers. I have probably downgraded Harrison Ford over the years in a way that's unfair. He's like Madonna...not the greatest range, but she gets everything she can out of it. Ford brings as much nuance (if not more) to "Old Han Solo" as he ever did to Indiana Jones. It makes you realize that before he was ever a galactic hero, Han Solo was kind of a hotshot loser. And now you see where that road leads: sad sack loser. Still with the heart of gold, still with the quick wit (and quicker trigger finger), but this guy never really was Jedi material...nor was he ever really in the same league as a princess. Ford (and his character) are a highlight of the film.

The other highlight character (for me) was Kylo Ren, the villain. I haven't written my blog post on the Ant-Man film yet, in which I wanted to discuss how the villain really makes (or breaks) any kind of "heroic cinema." Kylo is great, truly disturbed, and fascinating to watch...powerful, yet flawed. His image is an echo of Darth Vader as originally imagined (if you read The Secret History of Star Wars, before the mask became a permanent fixture), and his character is what I always imagined Anakin was supposed to be (before the prequels gave us...well, what we got). He is the young, power-hungry Mordred...twisted and tragic. And his get-up is as visually cool as Darth Maul.

Looks like all my KOTOR characters.

But while those are the only two characters I want to specifically mention (in this post), all of the principles are great (well-written, well-acted) and, as I said, I am excited to see how their stories develop over the course of these new films. I will certainly be shelling out the ducats to see Episode VIII, whenever it gets released. However, right now I have a question to ask:

What is up with J.J. Abrams and the abandonment issues?

Seriously, how unhappily neglected was he as a child? There is this constant theme of orphaned, abandoned, unloved, and disappointed children that runs through his shows. You saw it with most of the main characters in the Lost television show, you see it in the reimagined Star Trek film (where both Kirk and Spock lose their parents), and now you see it with Fin, Rey, and Kylo. What's up with that, man? My wife said the movie brought up a lot of "maternal instincts" in her...me, I just got the idea I ought to do a better job of taking care of my kids.

And speaking of which...my son really wants to see the film, and both my spouse and I really want him to see it, but there are definitely some pretty intense, nightmare-inducing scenes in the movie, not to mention some pretty scary themes (killing and abandonment stuff). Right now, we've decided to recount the story to him verbally to see how he handles it, and then we'll consider taking him...but maybe not. A guy I know is taking his six-year old to see the movie in a few days, and I want to know how she handles it. That might decide me.

Anyway, that's all I want to say about the film at this time...except that again I can't help but think Cascade Failure is a great jumping off point for a Star Wars game (really works with the rundown future concept). Okay, maybe now I can get some sleep.

May the Force be with you.

[sorry...couldn't help myself]
: )

One Boring Summer of Rifts

I associate many RPGs with various music albums…I listen to a particular song or album, and it reminds me of the RPG I was playing at the time. For example, Def Lepard’s Hysteria always makes me think an awful lot about 1^st edition AD&D and Faith No More’s Epic always conjures to mind Vampire the Masquerade.

And Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti always remind me of Rifts.

I played Rifts throughout high school, but pretty much stopped once I got to college (other friends played Rifts in college, but I was into Vampire my early years and then…well, into my major and things other than role-playing in my later years). This, and lack of funds, probably accounts for why I stopped buying every single world book and supplement Palladium published for the line.

However, one lonely summer during college Rifts was my sole form of entertainment for a couple weeks as I ran a solo “mini-campaign” for myself.

I don’t remember exactly what the circumstances were that summer. I was working a lot, and (if I remember correctly) I was working off-campus that summer…probably fast food. Between girl friends at the time (they only ever seemed to last from March to June back in those days) and my gaming friends were out of town…I think that was the year Michael was in Prague, Ben and Mike were in Missouri, and probably BEFORE I met Joel, Andrea, etc.

In fact, I think it must have been the summer AFTER my Freshmen year in college, ‘cause I met all my college gamer friends around Sophomore year…and I spent a lot of summers partying with them after that…I also usually had better summer jobs.

Anyway, I ran a whole war campaign against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Rifts World Book 4: Africa. Ha! A lot of people say that’s one of the worst of the Rifts World Books, but I sure got MY money’s worth out of it.

I created a whole plethora of characters using the Rifts books I had at the time (and there were many). An Apok and a Worm Speaker from Wormwood, a Knight and a Druid from England, a Tattoo Master from Atlantis, a minor Godling from Rifts Pantheons, an Elementalist from the Conversion Book 1. There must have been at least 15 or more characters in the party, armored up and loaded for bear, driving around in a Coalition APC (or its equivalent).

And I didn’t just stick to my own characters…I used NPCs from the various books as well. I know for sure Erin Tarn and her cyber-knight boyfriend were along for the ride (though Sir Eaglefeather or whatever his name was didn’t make it back alive), and probably a few of Reed’s Rangers from the Vampire Kingdoms. All-in-all, a pretty beefy bunch.

So in between late night shifts at the fast food place (Burger King, I believe), even later night-early morning card play with co-workers at the 24 hour greasy spoon Beth’s Café, and the sleeping in till early afternoon, I would hang out in my room fiddling with dozens of papers, notes, dice, and Rifts books, all the while listening to Led Zeppelin...over and over again.

Pretty sad really.

But what can I say…then as now I had a longing to play games and no one around to game with. This was before the internet, and there were no gaming shops in my neighborhood (and I was saving my money for school anyway)…hell, I didn’t even have a car back in those days! I was one broke joke. But I had music and I had RPGs and they provided me with many hours of entertainment.

Playing solo, one creates all sorts of rules to best meet one’s own “needs in play.” Over-hauling the XP system is the main thing I remember, but I know I had to tweak and house-rule things that came up “in play.” With no competing visions (i.e. other players) I was able to shape the action to my own liking…in essence I was using Rifts in a “drifted” fashion to facilitate a narrative creative agenda. I was writing/telling a story in play…one that I didn’t actually know the ending of until the dice fell from my hands to the desktop.

Actually, I believe it was the last game of Rifts I ever played. Later in college, I had friends that played Rifts to death, and I even loaned them some of my books for their games, but I had no interest in playing. I don’t know if that lonely summer “cured me” of Palladium, if it had been a high point that I felt (subconsciously) could never be equaled, or if I’d simply moved past it to other entertainments. Honestly, I don’t know. Hell, maybe it was just that I was super-focused on my acting and romantic relationship(s) of the time. Certainly the gamers were many of the same people with whom I continued to drink and party.

With regard to my African war campaign, I’m pretty sure that I finished it, soundly defeating (i.e. slaying) all four Horsemen. I seem to recall the Big Baddies got weaker with each death and so the final battles may have been anti-climactic compared to the earlier ones. In the end, many of the gathered “host of heroes” fell in battle against the Horsemen, and the Apok was the main hero (of course!) of the expeditionary force, killing the last one with a blow of Sir Featherhead’s flaming “rune flail” (Sir CyberKnight having been killed earlier by one of the Horsemen).

Ha! Yes, Supernatural Intelligences CAN be killed with enough firepower and twink magic. I will say this: the nice thing about having played it through, I have absolutely no urge to re-purchase/re-visit Rifts Africa…though I wonder if I still have my notes from that game? Maybe somewhere….

; )

[one quick note: my copy of Rifts Africa had the original cover, not the revised one pictured in this post. I couldn't find a good clipping of the original, and besides I have to admit I prefer the revised version]