I'm not one to usually bash a fan film. No matter what the produc-tion levels or caliber of acting may be, I realize that when a specific subject touches someone's heart enough that they want to emulate it in order to vicariously live within that realm, a certain amount of respect must be paid to that fan's perspective.
The counterpoint to this however, is that selfsame fan must real-ize that when playing in someone else's universe, they have a duty to follow the rules--at the very least, the majority of them--which have been established by that realm's originator. The new Italian fan pro-ject Star Wars: Dark Resurrection plays fast and loose with nearly all of George Lucas' well-established rules to play out a story which seems better suited to someone else's universe.
The story takes place an untold number of centuries after the end of Return of the Jedi. The once great Jedi Master Sorran has fallen to the Dark Side, tempted by a continuous vision he sees which tells him that he will find a legendary planet which contains immeasurable power--power enough to make its wielder the living embodiment of The Force itself.
Many Jedi have fallen in the quest to stop Sorran, but at the beginning of the tale, he awaits judgment from the Jedi Council. While the legendary heroes Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and others are obviously long dead(the story never refers to any of them, although for some reason R2-D2 is still around), their bloodlines continue in some form, as elderly Jedi Master Organa(Elisa Wernek) is a member of the Council. Before the meeting, one of the Council members voices concern that it might have been a mistake to allow Sorran to keep his lightsaber on him during the final judgment. Naturally he is correct, as Sorran uses the lightsaber to channel the power of The Force in a way never before seen, and renders all seventy members of the Council unconscious at once!
This was one of the cool aspects of the movie, and one of the minor deviations from Lucas' established rules that I didn't mind. Although this manner of wielding The Force seemed more akin to something out of Lord of the Rings than Star Wars, it's often been stated that all Force-wielders share certain powers which are not often seen but which they can channel at almost any time. The way in which Sorran defeats the Council without taking a single life is impressive, and is the first of many cool visuals within the film.
Our tale shifts to a training session which Jedi Padawan Hope (Marcella Braga) is undergoing at the whim of her master, Zui-Mar-Lee(Maurizio Zuppa). Hope--a child stolen from the clutches of Sorran years ago by Master Organa and another Council member, then raised in the ways of the Jedi--has just completed construction of her own lightsaber(which is shown as the opening credits roll), and Zui-Mar-Lee wishes to see if she's truly ready to wield it. She manages to rise to the challenge, although she only manages to best her master by channeling anger...a big Jedi no-no.
Meanwhile, intel comes to Master Organa and some of the Coun-cil members that Sorran may have finally found his holy grail: the planet Eron, where a temple supposedly exists which can grant its finder unlimited power. The Jedi are worried: Sorran has already discovered the secret to cheating death(in this film, he actually dies three times and comes back), and if someone of his already formid-able abilities can tap into such power, the galaxy will fall into eternal darkness. Sensing that the time is right to find out if Hope can live up to her name, Organa and the other Council members decree that Zui-Mar-Lee and his apprentice will travel to Eron and put a stop to Sorran's plan once and for all.
All of this sounds pretty exciting, and on paper, I'm sure that it was. The main problem with Dark Resurrection is not that it's really a bad film, or even poorly made; it isn't. But it is a slow film, poorly paced, with very little payoff in the end. It runs at only about an hour and two minutes, but only fifteen to twenty minutes in, I found myself checking the clock almost constantly. Even when the action sporad-ically and finally happens, you're so bored that it just doesn't matter.
Plus, with the exception of Wernek as Organa, the majority of the cast--remember, the Italians invented opera--really know how to overact the hell out of a film. Minor statements of fact are carried out with such bluster and will, one would think God Himself were return-ing to proclaim the Ten Commandments all over again, this time deciding to forego middleman Moses. Sadly, even the lovely Marcel-la Braga, who until the last scene with her Jedi master has managed to deliver a well played and subdued performance, gives in to the Grand Opera approach and out-emotes all the other hams put together.
There are small pleasures to be had within the film, however... especially if you're a CGI junkie. The visuals, delivered by brand new company Lords of Illusion, are highly impressive. The rendering of the ships are in some ways actually superior to what Lucas has done in his most recent trilogy, especially for the upgraded Imperial Star Destroyer and the Jedi transport Lightcrow. However, the ships' very design raises questions about the movie's consistent and perplexing story incongruities...
For instance: Dark Resurrection takes place an unspecified number of centuries into the future of the Star Wars universe, yet not much technology or building design seems to have changed or for that matter, improved. The Lightcrow seems to be an upgraded version of the Millennium Falcon, but its origins are never touched upon, and in fact while the ship does look cool, it's poorly designed from a defensive standpoint. From the first time I saw the Falcon in the '77 original, I loved the fact that the pilot's section was set off and into the slight recesses of the ship for better protection in combat(the fact that Star Trek's Enterprise and other vessels had their bridges positioned right where an enemy could cover their eyes, throw a dart and hit them always irked me a bit). The Lightcrow's command section sticks right out in the center! Did one of Beetle Bailey's descendants design that?
Also, the Jedi seem to be the dominant power in the galaxy, and it seems that Sorran is the first to turn to the ways of the Sith in a good long while. So if the galaxy is at peace...why are there Imperials? Why are there Star Destroyers? Although the authorized post-Jedi books are hardly the most inspiring tales going, they have managed to find a worthy adversary for the Jedi in the Yuuzhan Vong--insidi-ous invaders from beyond the known galaxy, whom the Jedi have not yet been able to repel. Surely writer/director Angelo Licata could've drawn upon that reference or come up with something more imagina-tive than a Sith apprentice named Lord Drown(Andrea Buccella)!
Imperial fleet admiral Zail(Angelo Bigazzi) makes a couple of statements about his forces finally being able to strike back at the Jedi, but not one of the Jedi themselves ever makes reference to conflict of any kind, other than the need to find and stop Sorran. An establishing shot of a temple eerily resembling the ruins of the Yavin base is shown as a meeting place for Organa and others, with R2-D2 in attendance...yet this place is called by a different name. The Force itself is manifested in several different ways which, while impressive(actual "Force" fields which can withstand a strike from a small tactical nuke), they are very inconsistent with what Lucas has established, almost bordering on flat-out magic. One can argue that having Obi-Wan once explain it as "an energy field which surrounds all living beings, penetrates them, and binds the galaxy together" (yes, paraphrased) doesn't exactly qualify as hard science, there are still limits to what a wielder of such energy can do. Aside from Hope being slightly winded when using The Force to run at hyper-speed, there seems to be little limit to the power of the Jedi in this universe.
While the final fight between Zui-Mar-Lee and Sorran is very impressive, and the music(by various Italian artists) is magnificent in many respects(though unforgivably, a hideous rock song blares over the closing credits!), Dark Resurrection is a film that is beautiful to look at but not beautiful to watch. The plot meanders at an almost glacial pace, wandering between a few different storylines. And for all the necessity in stopping Sorran which is put forth several times by Organa and her crew, there seems to be very little urgency in Hope and her master actually reaching the planet Eron.
The production of Dark Resurrection was a somewhat troubled one, with numerous delays in several areas, including the film's drawing criticism for initially not being available for download with English subtitles. The film received raves when it was premiered in Italy, but I can only attribute this to fans' desire to have any new Star Wars product placed in front of them for their eyes to feast upon. Director Licata states on the Resurrection website that the second half of his film should be complete soon, and that part might run two hours or more--! Factoring in dog years, that means it should feel like it will run four or more hours.
As your humble reviewer, it will fall to me to watch it so that I can give you a report. All I can say in the end is that while I laud the effort, devotion and love this cast and crew has for the source mat-erial...they still need to remember that when you play in someone else's sandbox, you still have to play by their rules. I'm just glad this flick was a free download. If I had to pay anything to watch it, I would have been mighty pissed.
A Disturbance in the Force
Dark Resurrection: The Italians deliver a story which is far more Lord of the Rings than it is Star Wars.
Marcella Braga plays Jedi-in-training Hope, whose destiny may be greater than it first seems.
Jedi Master Zui-Mar-Lee(Maurizio Zuppa) prepares to teach the ways of The Force to his hot little padawan.
The Dark Lord Sorran(Guiseppe Licata, right) waits for news with Admiral Zail(Angelo Bigazzi).
The planet Eron is uncovered by Jedi Master Organa; proof that the Skywalker-Solo line has endured.
The Jedi transport Lightcrow; a cool looking ripoff of the Millennium Falcon.
How Sorran got his groove back: This somewhat frog-lipped beauty(Giorgia Wurth--giggity!) is an apprentice of the new Sith Lord.
The Sith vessel Silent Rage swoops in low for an attack. Cool visuals alone, however, do not make a great flick.
