Darth Maul (Ray Park) was very much the spectre at the feast of Episode I. He took the role of the guy you were watched to see what he was going to do. Huskily muttering at the Emperor in his first scene, he then made for Tatooine, where he stalked Qui-Gon Jinn and his companions. When he showed his moves he did so in brief but eye-popping fashion. Zooming toward the fleeing Jedi on his Maulmobile, he somersaulted off and ferociously engaged Liam Neeson's bland, bearded sage in lightsaber combat. The skirmish got cut short, but it was as obvious as Jabba The Hut at a Weight Watchers convention that the fight had only just begun. This sequence became the first glimpse of a proper Jedi/Sith face-off, in the ninja-esque manner you might have imagined the old order to have conducted itself. The classic trilogy was slack by comparison, a bunch of blokes standing about swishing their glowsticks. Maul Vs Jinn on the other hand? An acrobatic mini-masterpiece of burning blades. Abrupt it may be, but you can't dismiss this revealing sliver of Star Wars history.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
