Friday, November 21, 2008

Jar Jar Binks: Still Alive, Still Lucky, Still Dumb As An Endor Tree Stump

Dumb and Dumber. Actually, C-3PO isn't dumb, annoying maybe, but not dumb. Jar Jar he's dumb, but damn is he lucky.

I shouldn't have to apologize. Really. There are some things in this life we will never understand. One of those things is why on Earth did George Lucas create Jar Jar Binks for Star Wars? He's useless, worthless, annoying and a complete and utter liability to everyone around him. Alright he's not worthless, because he's one of the luckiest aliens to ever live. He somehow saves the day when everyone should be piled high upon a bloody heap of bodies. I was watching The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, more or less in passing, while the boy wonder was engrossed.

Jar Jar Binks was in the spotlight for the entry. Didn't George Lucas get the message that nobody with a brain ever wanted to see that character ever again? Sure, I know he was relegated to a brief cameo for Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones after everyone complained about him in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Further, Lucas quickly chalked it up to the simple fact that he was simply not planned as part of the next level to his prequel trilogy. He was written out as planned not with no mind to fan pressure. Perhaps.

Jar Jar Binks nearly single-handedly destroyed the first Star Wars prequel film. It was awful in large part because of that character. I know this is well covered territory, but my inner rage for the character's existence was reawakened this night when he graced my television screen here at home.
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UGH! Jar Jar is back like fingers on a chalk board. Misa this! Misa that! Or is it Meesa? Whatever. It's the stupidest creation to ever enter the science fiction pantheon and in some ways it was the beginning of the end for Star Wars. I still love the franchise despite Jar Jar and other missteps [nobody's perfect], but what the heck was Lucas thinking? I mean, wasn't C-3PO enough?
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Alright, I think I'm through venting.
Wait. I'm not. Okay so clearly Jar Jar should have been killed long ago [in a galaxy far far away], but he wasn't. Clearly someone had further designs in store for the Gungan. Apparently the creators of The Clone Wars thought dusting him off for the kiddies at home would be a good idea. Why? Why do they continue to poison the Star Wars legacy with this kind of ridiculous character? Some of those kiddies watching at home are big kiddies and we can't stand Jar Jar. Okay so I'm not the target audience, but the young boy next to me wasn't loving him. He thought he was okay. He was being kind. I quelled my disdain for Jar Jar. I didn't want to jade his innocent love for the series so I didn't make a single comment. Quietly though I cursed that vile creature's existence.
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Notice to the creators of The Clone Wars, please stick to the clones and jedi for action. R2 D2 and his sidekick for comedy relief are just fine. The battle droids with their incessant "roger, roger"s are pretty funny at times too, but meesa just can't stand Jar Jar. Bring on Commander Fox, Rex and Grievous even, but please be sure to send Jar Jar off on an ambassadorial mission deep in the heart of nowhere.
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How far can this franchise fall? I don't know. The whole thing is certainly debatable. Part of me enjoys seeing the series for what it is and how it ties the generations together with a common joy even if it is watered down Star Wars-lite. Star Wars bonds us. It's like comfort food. I just don't find comfort in Jar Jar Binks.
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The Clone Wars: B
[This Episode of Clone Wars with Jar Jar "Do you feel lucky punk?" Binks: D]
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Damn, did I just spend thirty minutes of my life writing about Jar Jar? God help me!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess Lucas intended to create a "wise fool" character with Jar-Jar, and he does have a few prophetic lines in TPM (like when he talks about having been banished for being clumsy to Obi-Wan, this is exactly what happened to Obi and Yoda at the end of ROTS. Or his line "monsters out there, leaking in here, all sinking and no power? - an accurate description of the state the Jedi Order is in).

However, he overdid it and the character wasn't only too childish but seriously overused. Worse, it appears to me that he reacted to the backlash and reduced Jar-Jar to an extra in the next two movies, so unfortunately we'll probably never know what his plans for Jar-Jar originally had been.

M.

SFF said...

Interesting, thanks M. I suspect, despite declaring otherwise, he did have more in store for Jar Jar. Thanksfully he succumbed to pressure from the fans on that one. "Childish" and "Overused"- well said!

SFF said...

By the way, the boy wonder said to me, "R2 is cool." Doesn't that say it all?