Star Wars Episode I in 3D comes out on February 10 which is a week from today. Being a Star Wars guy, I’m really excited to see the movie again on the big screen.
I was just the other day reading my 10th anniversary review of Star Wars: Episode I. Hard to believe that was nearly 3 years ago. While I think the movie runs a little long, there are scenes and moments in it that are awesome. Darth Maul, obviously, is a BAD ASS. Darth Sidious/Palpatine is great. Qui Gon Jinn is awesome. Ewan as Obi-Wan, podracing, the final 3-way lightsaber battle and John Williams’ score (and most notably Duel of the Fates). All awesome. Not awesome? Jake Lloyd. This kid has been vilified for this movie, and I feel bad for him. I do. But his performance is terrible. And Jar Jar. What can you say about f**king Jar Jar other than he sucks ass?
Regardless, I am excited to see this again in theaters and in 3D. Plus I’m almost positive they’ve replaced that fugly looking Yoda puppet with full CGI. I saw clips of the scenes at that Star Wars Concert that toured the country two years ago. That is exciting.
So, in preparation, I’ve been reading up on some of the Episode I ancillary material to round out my experience with this movie. I know Episode I has been a bit maligned, but honestly, I think it’s better than Episode II: Attack of the Clones which is mostly terrible (except for, again, the final 3-way lightsaber battle).
Here are some of the things I’ve been reading to enhance my readiness for Episode I in 3D.
Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno – This book was released in January. I borrowed it from my friend Dr Mike and read it this past week. I just finished it on Tuesday. It’s amazing. Epic and sprawling, the plot of this book spans many years beginning 30+ years before The Phantom Menace and ending just after the events of the movie. It’s a “behind the scenes” book. The book is obstensibly about Darth Plagueis (Palpatine’s Sith Master), but it’s every bit Palpatine/Darth Sideous’ book as well. You see Plagueis come up as an apprentice, kill his master, obtain Palpatine as an apprentice, then begin the Grand Plan to bring down the Republic and decimate the Jedi Order. This book is mostly, like I said, behind the scenes, but it’s amazing how it tries to reconcile plot lines from the movies, TV shows, comics and other novels. Truly worth the read. This book makes the convoluted Trade Federation subplot in Episode I almost make sense. I have a feeling this book is going on my year end “best books” list and it’s only February.
Star Wars Episode I Journal: Darth Maul by Jude Watson – This came out the year after Episode I. It was during the early days when we knew nothing about Darth Maul. This was the first time he was revealed to be a Zabrak from Iridonia. I loved Maul so back in the day I bought up everything I could about him. This is a light, fluff read. Less than 100 pages. It’s essentially written as Maul’s journal during the events of The Phantom Menace. It’s a behind the scenes book similar to Plagueis but you don’t get as much information. It’s mainly Maul waiting around to do stuff. Cool but a bit light in detail.
Star Wars: Darth Maul – This was a comic series from 2000. It’s a fantastic story that takes place a few months before The Phantom Menace. It depicts Maul’s first real assignment from Darth Sidious. Essentially Darth Maul vs Black Sun. And it’s awesome.
