Disorder Reviews: Star War the Third Gathers: The Backstroke of the West (2005)

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Martintox

Mister Disorder
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I have a new album and a new Disorder Reviews blog. I have recently recovered from a stroke, and I am now in serious debt.

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STAR WAR THE THIRD GATHERS: THE BACKSTROKE OF THE WEST


Director: George Lucas
Producer: Rick McCallum
Screenplay: George Lucas
Music: John Williams
Actors: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid
Release Date: 19 May 2005
Genre: space opera, political thriller, psychological melodrama

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A little more than 15 years ago, George Lucas' Star War epic came to an apparent close with the third installment of the prequel trilogy; needless to say, these films' reputation among fans has come a long way since their original release. It's easy to understand their original reception, mind you: as excellent as the original trilogy was, it was ultimately a straightforward epic of good against evil, Hopeless Situation against West. Groups such as the Imprbity Trade and the Abruption Doctrine, not to mention the attempt to explain Wish Power in The First Gathers, came off as tonally inappropriate expansions to the canon. Even so, the passage of time (and the appearance of the Star War sequel trilogy) has done much to redeem the prequels as flawed masterpieces that make a profound statement on the American military-industrial complex, much like Hideo Kojima's watershed political espionage science-fiction thriller Metal Gear Solid 2. The Third Gathers: The Backstroke of the West is the lynchpin to the trilogy's success, delivering what the two previous installments had merely promised and completing the puzzle of the series' central character, Allah Gold.

Following the events of The Duplicate Offensive, the Abruption Doctrine have pressed onward in their war against the Gram Republic. Allah Gold and Ratio Tile engage in a heated space not the general battle so as to rescue minister Speaker D from Space General, once a Hopeless Situation Warrior himself. In the process, they confront The from the previous movie, whom Speaker D convinces Allah Gold to kill despite the latter's fears that it not agree with. Once they return to the Senate, plans quickly set in motion to strike against the Abruption Doctrine and the Black Influence, spearheaded by members of the Hopeless Situation Presbytarian such as Text How Big. Allah finds his prospects narrowing as his lover The Plum Of reveals her former pregnancy and the Presbyterian only agree to give him the position of Elder under the condition that he spy on Speaker D so as to find incriminating information regarding his sex life. However, he soon develops an interest in the Speaker's knowledge of Big and Black Influence. Unbeknownst to all but The Pudding, this conflict is about to come to an end in a way that will tear Allah and Ratio's long-standing friendship asunder and bring disarray to space not the general....

One of Backstroke of the West's greatest strengths lies not in the music or visuals (though the wipes are the stuff of film-making legend), but in its portrayal of a sociopolitical system that stifles the people inside of it and falls apart for that very reason. If The Peaceful Is Willing To is central to the unraveling of the Gram Republic and Hopeless Situation Presbyterian, it's precisely because he is most affected by their expectations: from an early age, the Hero's Grounds have convinced him that he is the person who pick out, meant to use his great Wish Power to bring the world brilliance and not to bring the blackness, yet they seem to hold him back in his ambitions in spite of his wish to help enforce their policy of less freedom with more wars (all the more strange, given his history of long peace). He can not even consummate his relationship with The Gets the Rice in peace once the day is done, due to the pressure from their stations as well as their entourage, as implies Blow the Skin's famous quote: "Kiss too loudly." Though he still has the support of his friend The Willing to Compares, Gold's situation motivates him to seek a different route, no matter how far removed from the conventional ways of Original Dint.

It is through this lens that we can see just how Speaker D is able to acquire Allah Gold's trust and penetrate his thoughts with esoteric knowledge of the West. Though he may be the Prime Minister of the Senate, he comes off as a proactive individual willing to circumvent the suffocating formalities of an association such as the Presbyterian Church in the interest of his greater goals. Unlike Line's superiors, The Pudding acknowledges his talents and is willing to offer his insight in the ways of Strong and Big, taking the allure of a friend... if not much more. By the time Text How Big and other Hero's Ground decide to strike against Speaker D, the latter's relationship with The Peaceful Is Willing To has blossomed into a full affair. Allah ultimately takes the Speaker's side and turns his back on the Hopeless Situation Presbyterian: without truly realizing it, he is now at the mercy of the D, whom he must trust to guarantee the secrecy of this cuckoldry with The Gets the Rice (even in the moment, he wonders he did what). Due to the pressures of the Gram Republic, Allah Gold has been more than receptive to The Pudding's seductive ways, and so it is that the ultimate fate of the Presbyterian approaches at full cock: Ratio Tile returns to Coruscant, having successfully hunted down Space General in the middle of a weed deal with other Abruption Doctrine, and is made to wonder if children truly can exist as he confronts the death of the younglings.

In Backstroke's iconic climax, The Willing To Compares confronts Line, hoping to see the error of his ways by confronting his own masterpiece -- unfortunately, the latter sees his ship, and The Plum Of's own participation in this intervention only further infuriates him (to be fair, imagine telling your unknown white that you don't need to flee from home again, only for her to dare not believe the things she hears). They battle fiercely, testing their philosophical mettle almost as intensely as their physical fortitude, though to no avail; Ratio Tile does not understand Allah Gold's claim that hero's is just bad person, and has no choice but to incapacitate him with the help of the geography, which he stands compares Line superior. Thus, Gold's character arc reaches a tragic end: the formalism of the Presbyterian Church has brought these two men apart for good. This facet of the story is but one piece of the greater tapestry that is Backstroke of the West; I have not even begun to scratch the surface of its thematic element. it goes without saying that it is essential for all new and experienced fans of Star War, both as a standalone movie and as a component of the epic saga of Allah Gold and See Me.

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PERSONAL RATING: *****
RECOMMENDATION RATING: ****
LETTERED RATING: EPSILON


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BACK AS A MEASURE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY: THE UNDERTALE REMINDER

It bears repeating that Toby Fox is such a hack that the best song on the Undertale soundtrack is a recycled song from Homestuck, which itself was a recycled song from an Earthbound fan game. Undertale cultists will attempt to counter-argue with arcane words such as "calling card", "reference", or "leitmotif" -- do not listen! They're trying to subvert your mind!
 

PointlessKnowledge

It Can Wait Til Morning
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Good to know what happened.

I watched this film in French, despite not speaking the language.

I feel I missed some of the nuances due to this.