Why Put a Marketing Angle on a Sure Thing?

Make no mistake: I fully intend to watch Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I was hooked as early as the teaser trailer, which showed Darth Vader in full armor as well as a whole bunch of wookies, and the trailer proper has really raised my enthusiasm to a level I haven't felt since just before I saw Episode I. This says a lot, considering I was (one of the many) burned by the first two Star Wars prequels.

I have a very good feeling about this last prequel, which will allegedly be the last movie. I predict that it will succeed where the first two failed to connect with audiences and critics alike, because it has the one thing they did not: Darth Vader in full armor. In my opinion, this is the first Star Wars prequel which everyone will appreciate with the fervor that they gave to the original series because the character most widely identified with those films will finally appear in the incarnation for which he is best known, not as some irritating kid or some whiny post-adolescent.

It's no secret that Lucas, despite the unquestionably large grosses of the first two prequels, failed to captivate audiences the way he did with the first trilogy because it was widely perceived that he deviated from the storytelling style which had made those films part of cinema history. The first movie played largely like a video game with paste-board characters and a lame Vader substitute in the person of the sawed-off, virtually dialogue-free Darth Maul. The second movie was pushed as a love story, and as such fell flat on its face. While these two movies had unmistakable ties to Star Wars lore like light sabers, Yoda, R2-D2 and C-3PO, they just could not capture the magic once more. Sure, the effects were much prettier, but the heart just wasn't there. There weren't any gut-wrenching revelations akin to "Luke, I am your father" or any plucky, memorable characters like Han Solo.

The image of Darth Vader folding his arms and staring menacingly into space, as well as the unforgettable, tinny sound of his breathing, should be more than enough to close the emotional distance between the first and second trilogy.

And yet...

...George Lucas himself seems to demonstrate a lack of faith in his final Star Wars opus by choosing to describe it as "'Titanic' in space." This was the latest of a number of announcements in the newspapers concerning the last prequel. The first announcement was that the movie's violence and dark themes would likely earn it a PG-13 rating, a step in a more mature direction away from all five previous PG-rated films. Another said that the movie would be a "Faustian tragedy." And the latest was that this movie would be another "Titanic." Lucas, in what strikes me as a consummately presumptuous statement, has advised his Jediphiles to "leave their lightsabers at home" and to "bring their tissues." Although this could genuinely be how Lucas feels about his final film, it strikes me as a cheap, ridiculous marketing ploy.

For one thing, nobody really gives a damn about Anakin Skywalker. Lucas himself, with his rancid screenplay and direction for the first two prequels, has done very little to really make people connect with, much less care about this character to the extent that they would weep upon seeing him turn over to the dark side. As a matter of fact, Star Wars fans are eagerly counting down the days till they get to see Anakin transform into the black-armored one.

For another thing, Star Wars fans are, by and large, not likely to be "Titanic" fans. "Titanic" struck a chord with women who went to see it over and over again so that they could cry their eyes out over seeing Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have a one-night stand which ends when Leo freezes to death. It earned as much money as it did because the women dragged their boyfriends and husbands along every time. The Star Wars movies' core audience, as just about everyone knows, consists of little boys of all ages, whether they are five or fifty-five. These people DO NOT NEED comparisons to "Titanic" in order to want to see Episode III. They couldn't really give a crap about weepy love stories, and in fact many of them denounced Episode II because that's what they thought it was trying to be.

So what is Lucas trying to pull then? He appears to be doing crossover marketing, the way he (unsuccessfully) did with Episode II. In 2002, he was unable to sell audiences on the love story between Anakin and Padme, even though his leads were absolutely gorgeous. One would think he would have learned his lesson and focused instead on the most important aspect of Episode III, which is Anakin's journey to the dark side. Instead, he comes across as someone who is down on his knees begging another demographic to come and see his movie. It's as if he's saying to the women of the moviegoing world "I know my last attempt at a love story sucked, but you'll like this one. It's like 'Titanic.'" James Cameron, whose mastery of effects-laden storytelling undoubtedly owes a huge debt to Lucas' pioneering spirit (and to his effects company, ILM) should get a good laugh out of this.

To his credit, Lucas is making no predictions as to the movie's success. He never really has shown such hubris, and when confronted with the fact that not everyone was thrilled with his first two prequels, he did the right thing and said that all he could do was make the best movie he could and hope for the best.

Still, it speaks very poorly of his faith in his own creation when he feels he has to liken it to another movie.

I am going to go see this movie, but I cannot help but shake my head at all of this.