SHOWDOWN ON CORUSCANT

review written 5/9/2003

Mongarfilm's first major release shows us a very promising group. They don't make fan films the same way everyone else does. They've got ambition and a brand new set of tricks, and even when their media doesn't come out perfect, at least they attempted something new.

The opening crawl is... long. I don't like the music edit in its midst. And, again, it's looooong. I can tell how they accomplished the pan down, too (I see that ship sitting still!)

Then suddenly the film gets impressive. The Sith Infiltrator, a classy-looking ship by any standards, flies around, and then we meet someone with a mask out of Brazil.

There's a lot of work with digital characters, props and environments here. And I gott be frank, it doesn't look realistic most of the time. But you can tell what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish, and it does not disrupt the story at all. You kind of chuckle and move on with enjoying the film.

I looked forward to every new shot. I liked the envelope-pushing that the creators were attempting to do, even when it looked cheesy or out of place. There were some nice bold colors, good play between light and shadow... there was just a look. Cartoony? Perhaps. But I hope director Gary Mongar isn't apologizing for it.

I think the main problem with a lot of the digital work is that it wasn't fast enough. Just speeding it up in the editing software might have helped. Objects in the scene do not move fast enough, nor does the camera, and it bogs down the show.

But memo to Mongarfilm: as cool as it is to see a battle droid get crumpled, as neat as the Emperor's throne room is... you just can't play the Imperial March quietly. It's gotta be loud. Sorry.

Jango Fett. Geek moment. I want that armor so much. (But why is he fighting with Hannibal Lecter?) You gotta love Jango walking through cheesy CG fire. It reminds me of how old movies used to do a one-step over overlay of footage of an effect onto something and expect it to look right.

One more note on Jango as he heads to serve Palpatine: I can't believe that Slave I isn't real. They must have actually built it and not told me. Okay, it's someone else's 3D model with modifications by Mongar. Sometimes other people's models are better than his... sometimes they ain't.

Huge geek moment as we get Maul, Jango and Palpatine in the same freakin' room. Many a message board has hosted a pointless thread about who would win in a fight between Maul and Jango and Palpatine. Now we know.

This is what fan films are all about. The movies never did this. The EU couldn't touch it. But with fan films, we can visualize this nifty little fight.

Jedi enter the story, and, of course, lightsaber duels ensue. These are a little slow at first but improve quickly. And when Maul and his adversary duke it out in the middle of Coruscant traffic at nightfall—how often do you get to see that?

There's not much of a story to this film, so I can't give it full marks. But I was really impressed with what I saw, and I look forward to Jango. Initial screenshots have been nothing short of amazing, and I don't expect to be disappointed in the final product.