• Solo: A Star Wars Story

    May 25, 2018 - By 

    ‘I’m an outlaw’, declares Alden Ehrenreich’s young Han in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the latest in Lucasfilm’s line of standalone spin-offs. Emilia Clarke, playing Qi’ra, the One Who Got Away, laughs. She doesn’t believe him. And neither will anyone watching. Kylo Ren’s call to ‘let the past die; kill it if you have to’ is great storytelling advice masked as Oedipal anxiety, and it’s advice that post-prequels Lucasfilm, addicted to the past, is unable to grasp. Lucasfilm can’t kill the past because the past is the golden goose. Solo, written by father-son Kasdans Lawrence and Jonathan, and directed, in…

  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi

    December 14, 2017 - By 

    There’s a scene near the end of The Last Jedi, the second in Disney’s rejuvenated world-eating trilogy, when Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the floppy-haired bastard prince whose crackling Oedipal resentment makes him the most fascinating of the new batch, has pretty much had enough of the whole Star Wars thing. Rey (Daisy Ridley), the heir apparent to the ways of the Light Side, is talking about The Resistance, but he cuts her off, launching into a speech of delicious, weary iconoclasm. The Jedi, the Sith, the rebels, Luke, Leia… he wants to torch the whole thing, this over-loaded mythology on…

  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story feels like the highest budget fan film you’ve ever seen. You might think that sounds like an insult, but I mean it as the highest of compliments. It’s the spirit of Star Wars channelled through the lens of a World War 2 film. Rogue One takes place before A New Hope, referencing events mentioned in the opening crawl of the first film. A squad of rebels are tasked with swiping the plans for the Death Star to help the Rebel Alliance destroy the Empire’s most deadly weapon. The story fills in some of the gaps…

  • Star Wars: As If Millions of Voices Suddenly Cried Out In Terror…

    December 15, 2015 - By 

    I don’t know if you were aware, but Star Wars is coming back. Yes, lightsabers will soon be in vogue, talking back to front will be cool again, it will, and random acts of violence against guys in white armour will be totally ok. The original films form a crucial building block of my childhood, and like many people of a certain age, Star Wars is so omnipresent that it’s become very difficult to imagine a world without it. For a whole generation of kids (and adults) this will be their first opportunity to experience something new, a long time…

  • MCM Comic Con Dublin 2015

    August 31, 2015 - By 

    MCM Comic Con recently returned for the second year running at the RDS in Dublin, bringing stalls catering for everything from Pokemon plushies to carded Star Wars collectible figures. Fans could get up close and personal with stars from Game of Thrones, Once Upon A Time, Arrow and various well known voice actors. There was even wrestling matches on the hour with appearances from WWE legends Scotty Too Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay. This year had a very strong turnout from cosplayers who went the extra mile with their anime and video game character creations. Amongst them we met Stormtroopers, scouts from Attack on Titan,…