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[bonniehelps]

SOLO: A QUARANTINE STORY

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...” is one of the most iconic movie premises of all time. Even those who have never seen the saga know where this simple 10 word sentence comes from.  

Star Wars is a sci-fi franchise created by George Lucas who follows the adventures of many characters in different areas and times. As long and confusing as it may seem at first, it is one of the most successful movie phenomenon in history of cinema. It mainly consists of 3 trilogies: the prequels, the originals and the sequels, along with 2 spin-offs and they ALL have different main characters and settings. Let’s analyse each trilogy individually:

Prequel trilogy (starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-One Kenobi, Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala, Hayden Christensen as young Darth Vader and Ian McDiarmid as Darth Sidious)

Set 32 years before the events of the original movies, this trilogy tells the story of how the cruel Darth Vader was born. It is revealed that, as a child, he was just a slave who lived with his mother on the planet Tatooine, with a very inventive mind and great intelligence. When two Jedis, Obi-One Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn, arrive on the planet and find out that he is the Chosen One (the one Jedi who would bring balance to the Force, a sort of energy which binds the galaxy together), they free him and train him as a Jedi. In the following years he falls in love and eventually marries the queen of Naboo Padmé Amidala but also comes in contact with the Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, seduced by the unlimited abilities the dark side of the Force allows. But the hero of the trilogy turns completely and irreversibly to the Dark Side once his wife dies of childbirth, along with the twins she was bearing. 

Original trilogy (starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Alec Guinness as Obi-One Kenobi, Ian McDiarmid as Darth Sidious and David Prowse as Darth Vader) 

It starts on the same planet Darth Vader was born, Tatooine, but follows the story of Luke Skywalker, an orphan of both parents who lives with his aunt and uncle. Along with 2 droids (C-3PO and R2-D2), a retired Jedi master and 2 smugglers (Han Solo and Chewbacca, a bear-looking animal) Luke successfully saves princess Leia Organa, kept captive by the Imperial warlord Darth Vader. After this, they all join the Resistance in the battle against the Empire, which is eventually won by the good guys. Everything in the galaxy starts going right again and they all lived happily, ever after.

Also, this trilogy contains 3 of the most famous (and shocking) twists ever:

The retired Jedi master is non-other than Obi-One Kenobi, who decided to leave his occupation when his young apprentice turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader.

Luke and Leia are actually twins (which makes the former’s little crush on the princess very awkward) and Darth Vader’s children, who were separated from each other and claimed dead to protect them from their father.

Darth Vader eventually betrays Darth Sidious to save Luke, throwing his master down a reactor shaft. After redeeming himself, the villain dies in his son’s arms.

Sequel trilogy (starring Daisy Ridley as Rey, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Ian McDiarmid as Darth Sidious)

So you really thought things could end on a nice note for once? You fool. 

SPOILER WARNING 

30 years after the events of the last film of the original trilogy, Han Solo and Leia’s son Ben Solo (later Kylo Ren) has turned to the dark side and is now the commander of the First Order, an organization who longs to be like the old Galactic Empire. Of course he aims to destroy the Republic (formed by the Rebellion after they won) but his real target becomes Rey, a scavenger with a mysterious past. After killing both his parents and also his Supreme Leader Snoke, Ren replaces the latter as the Dark Leader and wishes for the girl to become his queen, so to create a new order in the galaxy. Rey, who has become a powerful Jedi with Luke Skywalker’s training (who later dies), is revealed to be Darth Sidious’s granddaughter, who is actually still alive and wants to turn her to the dark side. A redeemed Kylo Ren and a very determinate Rey engage in a battle with the Lord of the Sith, finally killing him. Unfortunately, Ren dies in the girl’s arms after sharing a kiss (of course romance HAD to be in the movie). Rey then goes on Tatooine to bury Luke’s lightsaber and, when a passerby asks her what her name was, she replies “Rey Skywalker”.   

Watching the entire Star Wars saga was something I had always wanted to do, encouraged by my father who is a die hard fan of it. Although I collectively liked the entire saga (spin-offs included), my favourites movies were “Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” and “Episode VI – Return of the Jedi”: I enjoyed watching the former because of its iconic quotes and the latter because it had a happy ending, even though I do not normally like them too much. I found them also well-acted, with special effects ahead of their time, even though 1983 Yoda will always give me nightmares. 

The majority of my favourite characters were from the original trilogy (Leia, Han, Chewbacca) but I will always love every scene prequel Yoda and R2-D2 were in. I absolutely adore witty characters, with minds as sharp as their tongues, so it is no news they were the ones I liked more.

I have to admit that at first I did not really want to watch the saga, as I thought it was boring, but I quickly changed my mind when I realised how funny and entertaining the movies actually were! So, if you are into films about space battles, with a lot of action, funny moments and a little romance sprinkled here and there, this saga is a must watch!

BONNIE’S NOTE: since this review was written while my country was in lockdown because of corona I decided to include that in the title lmao.

[bonniehelps]

About Me

Hi everyone! I’m Bonnie and this is my blog (duh). 

I’ve decided to create this blog since the only things I do in my life are watching movies/ tv series, reading (though not so frequently, unfortunately) and sharing my opinions (even when nobody wants to hear them) with others. 

At school my English teacher usually assigns me essays and movie/ book reviews, for which I get good grades and decent comments... so I figured I’d share them here too to help others! Hope my writing style won’t make you want to gouge your eyes out as you’re reading my posts lmao.

Side note: English is not my first language so I could (and will) make some mistakes!! Please don’t kill me.