THE JEDI SAGA
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review written 1/22/2004

This flick doesn't get off to a good start. I'm not sure what to think of a title like The Jedi Saga. Why is a PT-era fan film about the clone armies labeled Episode X? And "saving the entire galaxy" is a bit cheesy of a phrase even for Star Wars.

But things pick up. I love the shot of the ship coming down from the sky. This forest doesn't look like your usual fan film forest either. Seems like Florida. Which isn't exotic either, but at least it's not your usual forest of big thick oaks.

And someone shows up in a very, very, very cool costume that really looks Star-Warsy without seeming a ripoff of Boba Fett or something. I'm a huge fan of the invisibility effect as well. The way the bad guy goes down bugs me a bit, simply because no one ever seemed to bother to try this thing with Vader and all the buttons on his chest.

Hey, battle droids. And our Jedi hero is recreating a cut scene from TPM—very clever. Fine effects here and throughout—the evil Death-Star-like hideout is very convincing.

Plo Koon! Plo freaking Koon! Sorry, geeked out there. But, really, how often does Plo Koon put in an appearance? Love the CGI building that follows as well. When Plo freaking Koon and his pals go to investigate at night, we get some digital coloring work. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's pretty, but it's not accurate at all. It looks fake. Can we chalk it up to impressionism, or something?

I can't recall seeing so many battle droids in one film before. Heh.

The Jedi Kes has some kind of character change going on that involves her stealing Calis' outfit from Broken Allegiance. I'm not sure the change was earned. It feels tacked-on. The saber dueling is just the same two bangs back and forth over and over again, and I don't buy the way Force-sensitive characters lose fights. Your average stormtrooper would know better.

Holy crap, CGI Yoda. He looks really strange. Something's wrong with his ears. I am somewhat scared. Good voice though.

This film has some interesting moments, which is enough to recommend it for at least one watch. It's a great example of what potential there can be in amateur filmmaking. Director Rory Cejas is very much a one-man show on this project, and even if I didn't always find the movie compelling, I commend him for turning out so much with so little.