So I just watched the premiere airing on 8 pm GMT - perfect to relax after a long day!
But it was...shorter than I expected...with 21 minutes it felt more like the first epsiode of a new series. Or maybe the intro of a James Bond movie.
However I do keep in mind that this is a movie made by fans for fans and that every single one of those 1,280 seconds of material was a hell of a lot of work. So I appreciate and honor the length of this project.
The set looks awesome, camera and cuts are well done and the acting is good I think!
Only the script might be a little overdone just for the sake of all the Easter eggs (read quotes of Star Wars).
I find it remarkable that the makers of this project were able to find (and pay) so many actors, to get so much material and film all scenes in excellent quality!
So much respect goes to everyone being part of this!
The set looks awesome, camera and cuts are well done (Star Wars feeling there) and the acting is good I think! The script might be a little overdone just for the sake of all the Easter eggs (read quotes of Star Wars). Specifically some phrases of Walter sound a little read down sometimes (like 15:06), but just a little, so no real criticism here! I find it remarkable that the makers of this project were able to find (and pay) so many actors, get so much material and film all scenes in excellent quality! So much respect goes to everyone being part of this! All actors did a fantastic job there! The music and sound effects are most excellent in my opinion!
I generally like the idea of an Indiana Jones/Star Wars crossover.
The paintings in the cave reminded me of primitive documentary of the Ewoks and C-3PO telling them the story of the great Civil War. The holocron and Stormtrooper helmets shown look fantastic!
But I don't know why Darth Vader's helmet should be found on Earth. He did not die here nor was he burried here by Luke. Also Anakin's lightsaber isn't supposed to be here, either. ANY lightsaber could've been taken. But maybe I'm too critical here...
They got some very cool surprises there! That Wookiee roar (Chewie?) when the ship's engines start let me think that the Millenium Falcon was covered under the sand. But it was actually much bigger. The Star Destroyer looking like a temple first, is like the invisible elephant in a room. It's masssive. And having it start on auto pilot makes so much sense as it'd be close to impossible to navigate it alone. Brilliant! Some good Jedha reference there! If this was just the beginning of a new story, the first episode of many - well, then I'm hyped! If this was it and stands as a "movie" it was definitely too short to me and the plot was shown too much on a rush. When the German Wehrmacht arrived I thought this might be the one and only moment for Ellie to be relieved about their arrival. Luckily they are all burried under the desert sand and I'm not justifiable to make such evaluation. I'm just happy that Ellie wasn't shot by the blue crew.
I think it's amazing that the crew got not one but TWO M60 tanks for the shoot! It doesn't even matter to me that they had not exsisted back in 1944, it's just cool! Wars always catalyzed science and technology. So finding those things from a "different world" is a very interesting theory to explain all the new technology that WWII brought (such as new engines or aircrafts, rockets and the UFO!)
I really hope more of this is possible maybe with financial support by the fan base? I actually thought this movie was going to be shown in U.S. theaters?! But I wondered how Lucasfilm would tolerate this at the same time...
I give this movie a 9.5/10 for being a fan movie! I enjoyed every second of it!
- Philipp
