6. Big Bits
Trilogy I was bursting at the seams with interesting bit characters.
What on Earth happened? The snitch in Mos Eisley, the Cantina Band, the Jawas, the boarish Ugnaughts of Cloud City, the Gammorean guards of Jabbas palaceeven the cheesy droid eye which pops out of his peep hole is more entertaining than the Prequels bit players combined. In fact, its almost impossible to find a character which
isnt compellingwhich doesnt offer the sense that one is observing a curious cog in the machinations of a galaxy as teeming with life as the Amazon, inducing a kind of Attenborough-esque delight. On the other hand, Trilogy IIs bit players are either bland or absurd. Was Lucas trolling us? Was Jar Jar a forewarning of his dissonance? (Another J.J. Maybe weesa really
are in bombad trouble). I didnt dig Sebulba the Dug, or Dexter (the
slowww talker) Jettster. Sometimes I wonder whether, because I didnt grow up with CGI, Ill never be able to emotionally connect with it. Its possible that I only curled into a ball and cried when Optimus Prime was killed by Megatron in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen because I was reliving the childhood trauma of seeing him die at his arch nemesis hands in Transformers: The Movie, a cartoon. You see, I grew
up with cartoons, so perhaps I just have a problem connecting to CGI characters in live-action movies. Though,
Gollum was the best character in The Lord of the Rings films, so perhaps its live actors in
CGI movies?
Hmm On reflection, the humans certainly let the side down. Okay, Jack Thompson, Neeson and Pernilla August were responsible for the films only genuinely poignant moments, but the random scenery chewers like Alethea McGrath (Jocasta Nu) and Matt Doran (Elan Sleazebaggano) seriously dented our bio-credibility. The talented Temuera Morrison had nothing to do as an utterly insipid Jango Fett, and for some reason, Rose Byrne had to die like a pantomime villain. Adding a completely irritating kid as young Boba was a boneheaded move, but
nothing compared to casting the
mostirritating kid of them all Heres how its done: One of my favourite bit moments is in The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader addresses the bounty hunters hes charged with finding the rebelsDengar, IG-88, Bossk, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and Boba Fett. For a start, you have the sheer visual punch of this motley assortment of bounty hunters; the juxtaposition of their idiosyncratic appearances with the cold aesthetic minimalism of the Empire. On top of that, their willingness to work for the Empire is an amusing sign of their amorality, as well as an indication of what shape the galaxy is inone in which the bad guys put bounties on the good guys. Further, the dark, ceremonial vibe conveys the sense that theyre entering into a pact with the devil (which is probably why Boba Fett ends up in a Sarlaccs stomach, discovering a new definition of pain and suffering as slowly digested over a thousand years i.e. in hell. In other words, bit characters werent just thrown into scenes like bits of cast-off furniture into students shared housesthey were carefully designed to look and sound and behave in a fitting way, and the scenes they were in were greatly enhanced by their presence. Watto, Boss Nass, Nute Gunray, Count Dooku, Captain Typho and Co. are just talking heads, and such bland meat puppets really don't add to the Star Wars universe at all.