I found Han of ROTJ to be decidedly two-dimensional, and the Special Edition of ANH walked back the reprehensible outlaw side of Han, which necessarily reduced the depth of the character.
Star Wars: Episode VII: The Nerd Rage Awakens
- Thread starter cooleddie74
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I've joked with friends over the years that a year spent inside a block of carbonite turned Han from a rogue and a scoundrel into comic relief with a loaded gun so it's always nice to know I'm not the only one who noticed that Han Solo was largely defanged as a character between Empire and Jedi. The change in his personality after he's freed from the carbonite has always been one of the things that bothered me most about ROTJ but it was never enough to make me stop loving the character, just take him less seriously because of how Harrison chose to perform him and the sudden hard-left turn in how the writers wanted to portray him.
Doctorwhovian
Fleet Captain
^That could be said of a lot of ROTJ's takes on the characters IMO. Especially Leia, although she still had some badass moments such as killing Jabba.
I noticed in the first television broadcast of RotJ they edited every aggressive thing Leia did.
Killing Jabba, shooting the Scout Trooper when she meets the Ewoks, anything that was not 'lady like' ended up on the cutting room floor.
Killing Jabba, shooting the Scout Trooper when she meets the Ewoks, anything that was not 'lady like' ended up on the cutting room floor.
I'm just having trouble thinking fourth dimensionally.
Yeah as much as I still love ROTJ, there's no denying that Han and Leia suddenly became much less interesting and complex characters in that movie. Heck, even in ANH they got to show some real attitude and spunk and had a wider range of emotions to play.
Although at least Han still shows a hint of his old self at times in ROTJ. Leia is so overly soft and warm and maternal that she barely resembles the character we saw in the other movies at all.
Although at least Han still shows a hint of his old self at times in ROTJ. Leia is so overly soft and warm and maternal that she barely resembles the character we saw in the other movies at all.
Han did get to pull a Dick Cheney on Endor and shoot a Stormtrooper in the face. That's something. 
They may have sanitized his character a bit for the more kid-friendly Jedi but he still got a few jabs in.
They may have sanitized his character a bit for the more kid-friendly Jedi but he still got a few jabs in.
Mark Hamill asks for managed expectations with new movie. Here's the link for his comments:
http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2015/...-awakens-im-telling-you-its-just-a-movie.html
I think he's tyring to tell us something.
http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2015/...-awakens-im-telling-you-its-just-a-movie.html
I think he's tyring to tell us something.
Yeah, to treat this like a movie and not like a religious experience. Seems pretty reasonable to me, and has no bearing on the quality or lack thereof of the film itself. He'd probably say the same thing of the original films if they'd happened in the days of instantaneous international fanrage or reverence, drones buzzing the set, and people describing the slightest possible misstep in continuity as childhood rape.
And that's absolutely outstanding advice from Hamill.
That's a lesson I learned early, too. I remember feeling disappointed with The Empire Strikes Back, even though it's clearly an outstanding movie and I even thought so at the time. Impossibly high expectations are impossible to meet.
That's a lesson I learned early, too. I remember feeling disappointed with The Empire Strikes Back, even though it's clearly an outstanding movie and I even thought so at the time. Impossibly high expectations are impossible to meet.
It's also important to remember that Hamill may have experienced the same disappointment from the Prequel Trilogy is that a lot of fans did at the time after waiting 16 years for a new trilogy of movies to be made, so any negative feelings that he had after the PT may be playing a role in this advice. It's great advice, too. In the end, it's just a movie - however fun and exciting it might be.
At least it's not blind cheerleading of the film he's in, which is fantastic P.R. from a studio's point of view but doesn't do fans much good if the movie is built up far above and beyond realistic expectations.
Not Star Wars news but this Vine with Mark Hamill and Tara Strong (voice of Harley Quinn from BTAS) I had to share.
https://vine.co/v/heaahBYW1Ou
https://vine.co/v/heaahBYW1Ou
Without Googling I believe Tara also did at least one voice for The Clone Wars.
I never understood the fan wailing about Han shooting first damaging his character. He still casually shoots a guy across the table and notes "sorry about the mess" to the barkeep. Still just as cool and ruthless as ever. So what if Greedo (just about) gets a shot out first? (It's actually the same time since 2004 edition).
Never understood why "Greedo shoots first" became the poster boy of "everything wrong" with the special editions. It's at worst unnecessary - but do we forget that terrible scream of Luke's in the SE version of ESB when he drops down the Bespin chute? It goes from heroic, stoic sacrifice to foil Vader to screaming boy. Terrible (and happily reversed now).
And what about ROTJ? It got the worst of the SE changes - that terrible musical number they included in Jabba's palace (with the CGI characters mugging at camera) just completely takes me out of the film now.
For all the complaints of the SE, after watching the pre-Special edition VHS's a few months ago, I just find them inferior. They miss a few scenes I like, and just don't work as well for me. The SE are far from perfect, and the later editions got worse, but for me the first SE will always be my preferred version of the OT.
