Yup. Rizzo and I are pretty big Star Wars nerds. Boba Fett becomes the third of the franchise to be rated. (Jabba the Hutt and the Death Star being the first two.)
Those of you that know Boba Fett and Star Wars and know how popular he is probably know where i'm going to go with this one. But those that don't, here's what some consider him - courtesy of good ole' Wikipedia:
Fett, the personification of "danger and mystery",[2] is a "cult figure"[3] and "one of the most popular characters in the entire Star Wars galaxy".[4]
True. Many of my fellow Star Wars nerds are big fans of the Fett man. Me? Not so much.
"Personification of danger and mystery" - FALSE. Boba Fett is a lame ass bounty hunter. His claim to fame is capturing Hans Solo, but he really didn't even do that much to capture him. Darth Vader did. All Boba Fett did was locate him. I could've done that If I tried hard enough, had a spaceship and lived a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. That's not that impressive, Boba. If he had actually, y'know, taken Han Solo down alive (and fought off Chewbaca at the same time, a tough task that only the Evil Lord Vader could've handled,) then maybe I would think more of him.
THEN, we go to Return of the Jedi, where Boba Fett dies about 20 minutes into the movie. Does he die in a blaze of Glory? Does he get decapitated by Samuel L. Jackson like Boba Fett senior did? (Yeah I know his dads name is Janga Fett or some shit, he's Boba Fett senior to me.)
But does Boba have some awesome badass death? FALSE. A half-blind Han Solo accidentally bumps into him, and he falls into some death pit...or something. The bottom line is he goes out like a total punk ass bitch. "Danger and Mystery" my ass.
I don't understand this. Star Wars fans that love the Fett man...why is he so popular? Darth Vader, the Emperor, the General Grand Moff Tarkin from A New Hope, Jabba the Hutt...hell even Darth Maul were all WAY sweeter bad guys than Bobba Fett. The fact that wikipedia labels him as "one of the most popular people in the galaxy" leaves me no choice but to rate him as such.
VERDICT:
OVERRATED
i'm not all that impressed with boba fett, either. i think he was in the right place at the right time. it was always hyped that there was a deeper and darker past between fett and solo, but the movies never explained that at all.
ReplyDeletebut there is a possible explanation as to why boba fett started to get popular. part of it has to do with the drivel-of-a-train-wreck that was the 1978 CBS star wars holiday special, featuring live action sequences of carrie fisher, harrison ford, mark hamill wearing so much make up he looks like a tranny, bea arthur (no joke - she would do anything for money), art carney (the guy who played ed norton on honeymooners), a prequel of the ewoks/muppets that were supposed to be chewbacca's family, and this true gem of animation featuring the real actor's voices:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhf34nxbkV0
in it boba fett is truly seen for the first time, not in empire, or even in the original-with-enhancements-version. the character was supposed to spark curiosity and intrigue since it wasn't well known if a sequel to the original blockbuster was going to be made.
the problem i have with the cartoon here is this - CHEWY DOESN'T EVEN KNOW BOBA FETT! you would think that if han and fett actually knew each other, and supposedly hated each other, he would have at least told chewy. and in the cartoon boba comes off as quite the pussy. at the end he has han and luke in some kinda drug-induced hangover state when c3po babbles that r2 has intercepted a transmission between boba fett and vader. fett did have a gun drawn, it was pointed at everyone who were either droids or all strung out, but he apparently was scared of anthony daniels' voice (as well anyone should be) and he then takes off in his jet pack. i guess if he offed everyone there would be no sequels, but if fett was such a bad-ass then han and luke and chewy and golden-rod would have all been disintegrated, as fett was warned not to do by vader in empire.
boba fett is most definitely overrated. the cartoon is cool enough, though. george lucas would like to forget that gawd-awful holiday special ever happened, but thanks to the glory of youtube some asshold recorded it and posted it as well... i wouldn't recommend it.
in relation to the death star, another fun video is this from the good folks at howitshouldhaveended.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzoeEdW-EDQ&feature=related
wow great work sen...this is more detailed than the initial rate,love it!
ReplyDeleteI fucking love star wars.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletejust because my grandma had balls, doesn't mean she was my grandpa, and just because boba fett fell into the sarlaac doesn't mean he died.
ReplyDeleteand don't even compare fett to vader, one of the best characters in the series and possibly the best villain on screen.
AND...that youtube is pure comedy gold. i think DJ shadow samples this video on psyence fiction's u.n.k.l.e
ReplyDeleteWait....Sam your grandma had balls?
ReplyDelete