POWER OF THE SITH
creator's Web site
Web site for downloading @ TheForce.Net • also available at AtomFilms

Read an interview with creator Jeremy West

review written 2/23/2003

This may be the most deceptive title on record. It sounds generic. And Sithly. It is neither.

This is a short that Jeremy West did with his wife and kids, something the kids are going to be able to look back on for ages and realize what a great dad they have. It's for the family's benefit, not ours. This is where it suffers. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for cute kids at the time (don't I sound so awful writing it?).

That said, there's a few interesting things going on here. The hologram toward the beginning is well-done and an attractively chosen color that's not the usual glaring blue. Sith Witch Lori West's cloak is just the right blend of evil and feminine (and to think it's store-bought!) The comlink looks good, and I like the joke of it being huge in the kid's hands.

The AtomFilms version has some nice original music by Nathan Jones that reminds me of something else which I can't place right now.

My only real issue with the production-based stuff is that I have difficulty understanding what the child actors are saying, though they are younger than the kids in Dark Skies (I'm in no position to judge the comprehensibility of the decidedly non-English dialogue in Kid Wars).

Those familiar with my reviews are wondering why I'm not ripping into the typography. Okay, I'm not thrilled with the use of Geneva in the crawl. But the ending credits font, while hardly accurate, is cute and kid-like somehow while not being a childlike handwriting font or something. (The credits also contain some good laughs, so stick around for them.)

I feel bad flinging such a low grade at this. I almost hesitate to call it a fan film—heck, distribution to the public was almost an afterthought. But once the public gets to it, well, there's no stopping us nasty people.

There's a sequel in the works, The Newborn Uprising. This time, the Unclepain Productions gang knows that they're under observation, and I will watch their career with great interest.