Opinion Battles Round 25
Favourite Star Wars Character
Star Wars is back with a bang and Rogue One will be hitting the cinemas within the next few weeks. We have three generations of series of films one loved, one hated and the newest getting it’s own love for now.
If you want to take part in the last round of Opinion Battles we will be picking our favorite Christmas Film and you will need to send you entries to [email protected] by 25th December 2016.
Darren – Movie Reviews 101
Han Solo
Han Solo is the easy answer but that is because he defined coolness in what could easily be a film that surrounded by geek like status. Han stands outs head and shoulders above the rest and will always be one of the most iconic character to ever come into the world cinema. We can also have our own Han Solo film in the future and one of my personal loves for the characters is in the book Death Troopers where he and Chewie take on zombie storm troopers.
Kim – Tranquil Dreams
Bb-8
BB-8 might just be the cutest robot in cinema history. I’m not much of a Star Wars fan, in fact I have a lot of catching up to make me even remotely close to being one but that little orange and white robot was the one thing I cheered for in The Force Awakens.
R2-D2
A few people here may know that I’m a fairly big Star Wars fan (I recently went to Secret Cinema’s showing of The Empire Strikes Back in London) so I’m not sure if R2-D2 is the answer people would expect from me or not. I’m really curious to see who everyone chooses as I honestly can’t guess this one! Maybe Han Solo will be the most popular answer? I certainly love Solo (he’s my favorite human character tied with Princess Leia). But I adore that cheeky little peasant droid who has more personality in one blip & bleep than the majority of young actors these days (like, say, Hayden Christensen). Yes, a little robot who communicates only through a series of blippy noises! He doesn’t even have facial features that change, he can only move his head side to side a little, and the actual robot could barely move and kept toppling over during the filming of the original trilogy (poor Kenny Baker). Yet people have loved R2-D2 for years! Why is that?
I think the majority of credit goes to Ben Burtt for creating R2’s sounds. It’s amazing that he was able to create sounds that actually let us know exactly what R2 was feeling (yes – I believe he has feelings like any human so don’t argue that with me!). You can tell when R2 is annoyed, scared, happy, and when he’s being a cheeky little bugger. It’s amazing! The noises give him his personality.
Secondly, credit has to be given to his design. He’s such an iconic image now (especially next to his annoying but beautiful-to-look-at best friend C-3PO). They’re so linked that it would be a travesty to not at least mention Threepio when talking about Artoo. Hell, though, EVERY Star Wars character is extremely iconic – that’s why the films were such a huge success.
I’ll stop before I ramble on about Star Wars too much. I find it interesting that Ben Burtt also did the “voice” of another robot I fell in love with many years later (WALL-E). It’s a little easier to understand that as WALL-E has very expressive eyes & movements but, again, his sounds are a very big part of what make him so loveable. Basically, everything just came together perfectly to make R2-D2 my favorite Star Wars character, just barely beating Yoda, the world’s coolest puppet. Let’s face it – R2-D2 (along with C-3PO) is really the most important character in the whole saga. The entire tale can be told through these two (and pretty much is). They’re there for it all! And where would we be if he hadn’t delivered Leia’s message to Obi-Wan Kenobi??
Daniel – Dellens 456
Yoda
Based on what I’ve seen of him (I haven’t seen the prequels), Yoda is the greatest character in Star Wars. He has some of the greatest lines, the puppetry of Frank Oz is amazing and his death nearly brought me to tears. He is like the greatest film mentor and a great example of why Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film. Come on, you all know it’s true.
Tom – Plain Simple Tom Reviews
Yoda
Oh there are just so many to choose from and I’m sure that we’ll have loads of different choices here.
I gotta go for the little green one because he’s a true Star Wars legend, mastering the force like no other (size matters not!) and being a great mentor and trainer.
His first scene in “Empire” is wonderful and hilarious, perfectly voiced by the great Frank Oz, leading to so many fans attempting an impression or two!
A wonderful creation and an icon of the series!
Rachel – 54 Disney Reviews
Luke Skywalker
My favorite Star Wars character is Luke Skywalker. I feel it is often easier to go with charismatic side characters in these types of discussions but I love our story’s hero. Luke is a whiny teen to begin with but that gives him room to grow and learn. He absorbs a ton in the first meeting and we see him mature into a man. Then in Empire he struggles with his need to train, his self-doubt, and his loyalty to his friends. These qualities make his journey engaging and when we find out about Vader it is devastating. I love seeing him learn to use the force and his naive energy in Empire taking on Vader. Then in Jedi he has grown and accepted his role. He is still loyal and strong but has finally worked through most of his self-doubt. He never stops believing in his father and is quick to forgive and love him despite everything. He wants to save his father but then he says ‘you already have’. Perfect moment! Not to mention all we learn about him in Force Awakens makes him all the more interesting. I can’t wait for episode 8!!
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