The first main character of the famous space saga that the audience gets to know is Luke Skywalker. All the epic battles and cosmic events taking place around Luke are, in a sense, just a backdrop against which the hero's inner struggle is played out. Many adventures fall to his lot, but no matter what fate sends, the question always lies in choosing between the light and dark side of the Force.
Origin (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, 2005)
Luke Skywalker was born along with his sister Leia in Polis Massa in 19 BBY, the son of Senator and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. The birth of children was kept secret because the Great Jedi Purge was taking place at that time. Emperor Palpatine, with the help of an army of clones, achieved absolute power. Most of the Jedi were killed, and those lucky enough to survive were forced into hiding. During childbirth, Padme dies, entrusting the fate of the children to Anakin's mentor and friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. In order to protect Luke and Leia, he decides to separate the children and hide them. Leia is sent to be raised by Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, while Luke is sent to live with his uncle and aunt on Tatooine, where his father grew up.
Early Years (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977)
The first meeting of the viewer with the main character takes place on Tatooine, where he lives with his uncle and aunt. Despite the kindness of Owen's adoptive father, the young man often does not get along with him, because he dreams of being a pilot and spends a lot of time preparing instead of working on a farm. In addition, Luke loves to listen to Obi-Wan Kenobi's stories about the exploits of the Jedi, who own an energy called the Force. Kenobi does not live on Tatooine by chance: he flew to look after young Skywalker. Communicating with Luke, Kenobi became friends with him, leaving, however, secretly his belonging to the knightly Order.
change
Uncle Owen's purchase of two R2-D2 and c-3PO droids changes everything. In one of them, Luke discovered a message from Leia Organa to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke realizes that the old man appeared in his life for a reason, and goes in search of Ben along with the droids to send a message and get answers to his questions. In the process of searching, the young man is ambushed by sand people. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to the rescue. It's time for answers.
Van Kenobi tells the story of the clone army, the destruction of the Jedi Knights, the Rebels, the Death Star, and Emperor Palpatine unleashing endless star wars. Luke Skywalker learns that his father Anakin was a Jedi Knight and fell to the sword of the dark lord Darth Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi encourages the young man to join him and begin training in the use of the Force, but Luke does not want to upset his uncle and rejects the offer.
Returning home, he finds his loved ones dead: they were killed by imperial stormtroopers. Nothing else keeps Luke on Tatooine, and he accepts the offer of old man Kenobi.
"Millennium Falcon"
In company of droids, they travel to Alderaan to deliver a message to the rebels with plans for an Imperial space station called the Death Star. Thus, Luke was also drawn into the struggle of the rebels. Star Wars is now part of his life. Tatooine is crowded with stormtroopers, and it is not easy for the wanted Kenobi and Skywalker to leave it. Captain Han Solo takes over. In debt to the galactic underworld, he needs money, so despite the risk, Solo and Chewbacca, his aide, agree to take passengers on board their ship the Millennium Falcon and fly to Alderaan. During the journey, Obi-Wan began training Luke, giving him his father's lightsaber and a training droid.
"The Death Star"
Upon arriving in the Alderaan system, they found the planet destroyed and were trapped in the Death Star's gravity beam. The heroes were able to get out by hiding in the contraband compartment on the ship. There was a chance to escape, but one of the droids found Princess Leia on the ship. Luke, Han and Chewbacca went to the cell block where she was. After freeing Leia, the entire group headed back to the Millennium Falcon, only to be confronted by Darth Vader. Obi-Wan dueled him on Impaled by the Dark Lord's blade, Ben Kenobi became merged with the Force and disappeared. Saddened by the death of the teacher was Luke. Star Wars kept taking people close to him. After leaving the Death Star, the heroes headed for the rebel base of Yavin IV.
Battle
After instructing the rebels on Yavin on how to destroy the Death Star, Luke decides to join them and join the fight. Befriending Han Solo, young Skywalker invites him to take part in the battle, but he refuses. The day of the battle arrives, and Luke, who has the skills of a pilot, along with other rebels, prepares to strike at the weaknesses of the Death Star. Many rebels die in combat, Luke realizes: Star Wars won't be easy to win.
The initial plan does not work, but in the end, Han Solo comes to the aid of Skywalker. Luke manages to concentrate the Force to aim a proton torpedo into the narrow fuel channel of the station and destroy the Death Star, which was the Empire's main superweapon. Upon the return of Luke, Han Solo, and even Chewbacca, the Rebels and Princess Leia are celebrated as heroes. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader sense a huge disturbance in the Force field and a real threat posed by young Skywalker.
Episode V ("The Empire Strikes Back", 1980, "Star Wars")
The second time the viewer meets the grown-up hero three years later in a new episode of the Star Wars saga. Luke Skywalker by this time had already participated in many battles and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander of the Alliance forces. On the rebel base of the snowy planet Hoth, Luke could have died during a reconnaissance operation, but a friend, Han Solo, came to his aid.
When Skywalker was unconscious, the spirit of Obi-Wan appeared to him, who insisted on continuing his training in the art of the Jedi. Luke was supposed to find Master Yoda on the planet Dagab and become his Padawan.
Meanwhile, the Alliance is defeated in battles with the Imperial forces for Hoth. Luke understands that it is necessary to change tactics, and decides to fly to Dagab. Despite his age, Yoda senses great potential in the young man and becomes his mentor. Luke is working hard. Finally, the time comes to meet with and Yoda sends Luke to a cave where her influence is great. There, Skywalker has a vision in which he sees himself as Darth Vader. Yoda explains to Luke that the dark side will always tempt him, so Luke still has a lot to learn to become a true Jedi.
The first battle with Darth Vader and the terrible truth
Anxiety for friends and constant visions in which Luke sees Leia and Han captured prevent him from completing his training. He goes to help his comrades. By the time Luke reached Cloud City, it was already too late: his friends had become prisoners of the Empire.
Trying to save Han or Leia, he gets involved in a lightsaber battle with Vader, in which he is defeated and loses his right hand from the dark knight's sword. Darth Vader encourages Luke to turn to the dark side and become an ally of the Empire, revealing the secret of who is his father. Luke chose death over going to the dark side, and threw himself into the shaft of the space city, where he survived thanks to the antenna he grabbed.
He was rescued by Princess Leia, who managed to escape with Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon. Since Khan was captured and handed over to Boba Fett, Lando Calrissian became the ship's new pilot. The friends had to come up with a plan to save Solo, but first, Luke had to replace the severed hand with a cybernetic prosthesis and comprehend the truth he had heard.
Episode VI ("Return of the Jedi", 1983, "Star Wars"): The Force
Three more years pass, and the viewer meets his favorite hero again. Now busy rescuing Han Solo's friend Skywalker Luke. Star Wars, meanwhile, continues as the Empire builds a second Death Star. Following Leia, Chewbacca and the droids to rescue Han Solo, who is languishing as a prisoner of Jabba on Tatooine, Luke finds them captured. To free his friends, Skywalker has to fight monsters, discovering the extraordinary abilities of the Jedi.
Sister and father
With the friends rescued, Luke decides to continue his training with Master Yoda. Returning to Dagab, he finds his teacher dying. Before his death, Yoda gives Luke the last instructions and tells another secret. It turns out that Princess Leia Organa is Luke Skywalker's sister.
After Dagab, Luke goes with friends to Endor: the rebels have discovered that the Empire is building a new "Death Star" in the orbit of the planet. To disable the station, it is necessary to turn off the generator of its protective field. Luke senses Vader's presence in the Force field and decides to face him, surrendering to Imperial forces. Leia tries to dissuade Skywalker, then he tells her that they are brother and sister, and meeting with his father is fate.
Surrendering, Luke meets with Emperor Palpatine, who tries to tempt him with the power of the dark Force. The hatch does not give in, and the battle with Vader begins, during which everyone wants to persuade the enemy to their side. After the dark lord threatens to turn Leia to the dark side, Luke fights with ferocity and cuts off Vader's cybernetic arm.
The Emperor no longer needs Dart, and he orders Luke to kill his father, but is refused. Then Palpatine decides to destroy the young Jedi himself, using the full power of the dark Force, but Vader, turning to the light, does not allow him to do this. Now he is Anakin Skywalker, who, saving his son, throws himself under the mortal blows of the streams of the Force and destroys the emperor in the space station reactor. Before dying, Anakin asks Luke to take off his mask so that he can look at his son through the eyes of a man for the first and last time. After that, Anakin merged with the Force. The Empire is defeated and Luke returns to his friends.
Episode VII ("The Force Awakens", 2015, "Star Wars"): Rey is the daughter of Luke Skywalker
More than three decades passed before the viewer again met with the beloved characters. After the victory of the Alliance, it seemed that the darkness was defeated, but evil does not sleep, and the Universe is again in danger. The dark forces, controlled by the leader of the "First Order" Snoke, have formed a new Empire that captures and subjugates the planets. Snoke's goal is the entire universe, and the dark lord Kylo Ren helps him. The Republicans are once again organizing a resistance led by Princess Leia. It is almost impossible to fight an enemy who has the dark Force and the powerful weapon "Planet of Death" in his arsenal. Jedi Help Needed: Star Wars cannot be won without mastery of the Force.
Luke Skywalker is the only Jedi left in the universe. He lives as a hermit, and no one knows where. After defeating the Empire, Master Luke rebuilt the Jedi Order and began training the Padawans. One student, who was very dear to the mentor, went over to the dark side of the Force and killed all of his students. Luke blamed himself for everything and went into exile. The rebels find an information carrier with the coordinates of Skywalker's location, Kylo Ren finds out about this and begins hunting for the map.
By chance, the droid, in which the information is hidden, falls into the hands of a girl named Rey. Helping the droid deliver information to the Resistance leadership, she becomes embroiled in the rebel struggle. Along the way, Rey meets former stormtrooper Finn, who becomes her true friend, and Han Solo and Chewbacca. Together they go to Princess Leia.
Kylo Ren learns that Rey has seen the map, and at the first opportunity captures the girl in order to extract information from her. Han Solo, Finn and Chewbacca go to save Rey on the planet of the Empire, in addition, they have the task of destroying the enemy's superweapon.
With the help of the energy of the Force, Kylo tries to subjugate Rey's will to himself and feels a strong rebuff: the girl has energy much more powerful than Ren. It turns out that Kylo lacks the ability to control the Force field and wage star wars. Rey is the daughter of Luke Skywalker and her powers are great, she just didn't know it yet. Now the girl felt in herself the full power of this energy, which Ren himself awakened in her.
Taking advantage of the opened abilities, Rey escapes from captivity. By this time, her friends manage to disable the protective shield of the Planet of Death, but the final victory is still far away. In the midst of Star Wars, Luke's daughter goes to her father. He again must help the universe get rid of evil.
Who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars
The role of the brave Jedi in all three episodes was played by actor Mark Hamill. Before participating in the film "Star Wars" he did not have significant roles in the cinema, the actor mainly worked in the theater. Interestingly, George Lucas immediately approved Mark for this role. Hamill's open face and demeanor appealed to the director: that's how he imagined the young Skywalker. Luke performed by Mark Hamill liked the audience so much that the actor instantly became popular. After the first film, the question no longer arose of who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.
But, unfortunately, the role of a young Jedi became the only significant one in Hamill's career. Unlike Harrison Ford, who, thanks to the role of Han Solo, has become a constant favorite with directors. After finishing work on episodes of the saga, where the main character was Luke Skywalker, Hamill practically disappeared from the screens. Trying to get rid of the stamp of the image of a space hero, he played in musicals on Broadway. He acted in serials and was engaged in dubbing cartoons, tried his hand at TV shows.
Thirty years have passed, and the public is having a hard time remembering who played Luke in Star Wars. And finally, a new movie came out - "The Force Awakens". For the audience for a long time the plot of the film remained a mystery. The studio kept it a closely guarded secret. Various options for the further development of the saga were discussed in magazines and social networks. Shortly before the show, information appeared that the hero, disillusioned with the Force, decided to go into exile forever. Therefore, the very presence of Luke Skywalker's character in the frame was the biggest intrigue.
Until the last moment, kept the secret of "Star Wars" 7. Who plays Luke? When the film was released, fans devoted to the hero finally breathed a sigh of relief. Luke is back, now a powerful Jedi, as ever, played by Mark Hamill. Let's hope that the hero has many more adventures ahead, and that Hamill has acting work. Moreover, the universe is again in danger, which means that the history of the Jedi continues. After all, when according to the plot of the film it became clear who Rey from Star Wars was Luke, the audience realized that they would meet their favorite characters more than once.
Now that most of the hard questions have been answered about The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson has begun to tackle some of the finer details, specifically what happened to Luke Skywalker's robotic arm at the end of the movie. The loss of limbs was an important part of the plot. Star Wars since the original trilogy, so much so that many fans speculated that Rey would also lose her right arm, which obviously didn't happen, but that didn't stop fans from asking what happened to Luke's right arm. There are SPOILERS ahead for The Last Jedi read at your own risk.
Luke Skywalker ends up using all his powers to project himself out of Ahch, all the way to Srat to say goodbye to his sister and engage in battle with his nephew. Luka lashes out at Kylo Ren, but ends up using all of his energy, causing the Jedi Master to become a Force Ghost. At the end "The Last Jedi" we see a return to "New Hope" with the return of the "Binary Sunset" theme with two sun settings, and then Luke disappears with his empty clothes falling to the ground.
So what happened to Luke's metal arm? A Twitter user asked Mark Hamill about the arm, but the actor didn't know, so he put the question to director Rian Johnson, who had a humorous anecdote about the post-sales portion of the movie during Luke's closing scenes. Johnson said it.
“In the editing room, someone was joking, suggested that when he disappears, his robot arm should crash into the rock. Could undermine the moment."
Until the Headmaster addressed the question directly, it would seem that Luke's Hand robot is now part of the Force with Luke. There really is no other explanation unless Rian Johnson pulls it out of the book. Star Wars somewhere below. Luke's metal arm following him into the Force makes sense in terms of the Force Ghosts we saw were fully clothed and not naked. But the idea that Luke's haunting ghost has a metal arm is completely destroyed by the idea that Anakin Skywalker has returned as his full human self and not part of a machine. Not only that, but he returned as his younger self in later editions of the film. So why shouldn't Luke return as his "New Hopper" or "Return of the Jedi Age" with a hand on the beat?
There have been many questions related to Luke Skywalker in the last jedi addressed by Rian Johnson. Recently, the director used some quiet tweets to prove the point, describing Luka's sudden use of astral projection in the film. hardcore star Wars fans accepted the issue that Luke's new Force powers seemed to come out of nowhere. As it turns out, they didn't. Rian Johnson tweeted from his library and focused on the book Path of the Jedi, which explained Jedi astral projection.
Rian Johnson will answer questions "Star Wars" life, especially since he is now creating his own trilogy. He's done with social media for a bit, but Johnson and the cast seem to be doing it all by answering as many questions as they can, no matter how trivial. Another day and another question Last Jedi answered, in fact two days, thanks to Rian Johnson. You can check out the thread where the location of Luke's cybernetic arm is revealed thanks to Rian Johnson's Twitter account.
In the editing room, someone joked, suggested that when he disappears, his robotic arm must be knocking down the rock. Could undermine the moment. ?
As you can see from the trailer for The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker has completely abandoned his views. This is not how we expected our beloved Jedi…
Hollywood loves fallen heroes. From the broken Batman (Christian Bale) in The Dark Knight Rises to the debilitated James Bond (Daniel Craig) in 007: Skyfall, there's something about a fallen personality that inspires and delights. directors.
While our heroes go on a drinking binge or feel sorry for themselves, we do not lose sight of their former appearance, their real best essence. The action steadily leads to a sudden and decisive rehabilitation: if Bane breaks Batman's back, then the Dark Knight of Gotham will certainly take revenge on him. If Agent 007 gets so drunk that he can’t even hold his “Walther PPK” in his hand, then then he will undoubtedly return to his previous service.
Ever since April, when the entire network was struck by the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, speculation began to appear that in the new part of the space opera filmed by Rian Johnson, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) would have a similar story. The flawless hero of the original trilogy, thanks to which we generally learned about the priests of space and laser swords - and suddenly these words: "One thing I know for sure - it's time for the Jedi to end."
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Official Trailer
This week's issue of Entertainment Weekly confirms speculation that in the new episode of the saga, Johnson will portray Luke as a downcast man. Daisy Ridley (she plays the Force-sensitive scavenger Rey who handed a lightsaber to the incredulous Skywalker at the end of The Force Awakens (2015) describes the Jedi Master like this: "Angry guy, sitting on an island and wanting her to get out of here." And the magazine says that Luke is a "broken man" who "didn't want to be found."
Hamill himself did not easily accept such a change in the character of his hero. "The very fact that Luke said, 'I only know one thing: it's time to end the Jedi'... well, it's strange to hear that from someone who in the original trilogy was a symbol of hope and optimism," he shared with Entertainment Weekly, adding: “When I first read this, my jaw dropped. What can make a person so turn away from their beliefs? You can’t think of something like this in a day, I really struggled with it. ”
It's up to you, Rei... it would be good for her to fix the situation. Photo: Youtube
What Johnson is leading to is easy to imagine. Star Wars fans can't wait for Luke to return to his rightful place in the Resistance alongside Leia, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Rey, Finn and more. However, you can’t just take and wave at Ahch-To, and after 5 minutes already fly from there on the Millennium Falcon with Luke on board and remember how Vader chopped off his hand and how he lost to Chewbacca in golocheks. This requires a deep understanding of the causes of his suffering if we are to believe that Skywalker can get up from his knees and blow up a couple more Death Stars.
We have some thoughts about why Luke sent himself into exile to Ahch-To in the first place: Kylo Ren, whom Hamill believed Skywalker considered the new "chosen one", killed his mentor's students and fled to the dark side. But while we are talking about Luke Skywalker, and in fact at the beginning of A New Hope (1977) he personally saw how his adoptive parents burned down, and did not even blink an eye. So, with his depression, not everything is so simple, there must be something else.
Why didn't Luke follow Wren? To correct his mistake? After all, he is the most experienced Jedi, perhaps only he in the entire galaxy is able to stop this whiner and wannabe Vader.
Kylo Ren... Why didn't Luke follow him? Photo: Allstar/Disney/Lucasfilm
This seems to be the connection with the fading of his faith. Does Luke blame himself for not being able to see through Ren's true character because of some significant flaw in his training, or even because of some flaw in the concept of the Jedi Order as a whole? Could this discovery explain why Yoda and the Jedi Council did not see Anakin as a dark personality in the terrible prequels, although the fact that the young Padawan is prone to a gloomy mood and cold-blooded murders, it was clear to all of us that he was not suitable for priests of space?
Even if Luke decided that a religious overhaul of the Jedi faith was necessary before defeating the First Order, why didn't he set to work? Instead, he prefers to sit on a rock and mope in the company of birds and foreign jackdaws (it turns out that porgs are found not only on Ahch-To). In Star Wars, hope has always been the catalyst for change, but for now it seems that the saga's most important symbol - faith in a better future - is losing ground.
This is probably the secret that Rey will have to puzzle over. In the meantime, she is looking for a clue, we will have to look at such a Luke, which we did not expect - we did not want to see. Let's hope that our young heroine will quickly get to the very bottom of the despondency of the Jedi Master. There is nothing wrong with the fact that the canonical character is presented in a completely different perspective. But this new, surly, Jedi-hating Luke Skywalker would be obsolete very quickly if he was allowed to stick around for long.
Luc Besson is undoubtedly one of the brightest representatives of modern cinema. In his career, there are a lot of contradictions, creative successes, outright failures and interesting facts for the tabloid press. Like many great directors, he often devotes his work to the search for self-identification. We decided to approach the review of his films as detached as possible, relying on dry facts, statistics, box office results, ratings and critics' assessments.
"" (1997)
Budget:$90 millionFees:$264 million (US: $64 million)
Ratings: 72% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 7.7/10 (IMDB rating)
We specifically started the review not from the early films of Besson, not from the classics of the genre, like "Nikita", and not from the first international success - the film "". The Fifth Element is the director's first film to break even at the box office (i.e. grossed three times its budget). For a long time it was the highest grossing French film project in history, the record of which was broken only 16 years later with the release of "1 + 1". This is one of the most expensive films not only in France, but also in European cinema, as well as the peak of Besson's directorial form as a visualizer, as a storyteller, and as a producer. After all, it's beautiful to start with a film that is celebrating its anniversary this year.
So let's go back 20 years. What is good about The Fifth Element is its atmosphere. Complete anarchy in the script, bright and outrageous characters even for 2263, frilly costumes from Jean-Paul Gaultier and other "big-bad-boom". Just a childish delight, not a movie! The problem is that for the director it became an insidious bandwagon.
He began to be quietly hated by envious people in the shop and now former fans. They can be understood. After "The Underground", "The Blue Abyss", "Nikita" and other successful films, instead of a new entertaining and at the same time saturated with subtexts film, they got a children's fairy tale with Hollywood actors, saturated with special effects and "burst" colors. Of the characters, only Leela demonstrates some kind of development, the rest of the actors have to play their clichéd images, and the main message here is “Love will save the world.”
It begs a comparison of Besson's career with, excuse me, Nikita Mikhalkov. To replenish the pack of enemies, the French director only needed to shoot a big historical epic.
Joan of Arc (1999)
Budget:$85 millionFees:$67 million (US: $14 million)
Ratings: 72% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 7.7/10 (IMDB rating)
Strictly speaking, Besson did not want to shoot Joan of Arc and planned to limit himself to screenwriting and production functions. But all the directors refused to cooperate with him for various reasons. When the most likely contender Kathryn Bigelow left the director's chair (according to rumors, Bigelow did not like the casting imposed by Besson), Luke took over as director and was immediately stoned.
The weakest point, according to critics, was the main character. Milla Jovovich, in their opinion, was too weak for the role of the Virgin of Orleans. How can such a fragile girl lead half the country? “For such a budget, the film turned out to be too heavy, it clearly needs a bigger engine,” critics quipped. The rest of the audience was upset by the too harsh atmosphere of the film, because Besson had previously won the hearts of the audience with his ease.
To finally fall, Besson had only to start writing children's books.
"Arthur and the Invisibles" (2006)
Budget:$86 millionFees:$107 million (US: $15 million)
Ratings: 21% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 6/10 (IMDB rating)
Probably, any director after a failure like Joan of Arc would have fallen into despondency, but not Besson. Either arrogance, or some kind of inescapable positive energy allowed him to take, probably, the most important step not only for his career, but also for European cinema. In 2000, together with his eternal companion Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, he created not even a studio, but a huge film concern EuropaCorp. Starting with a relatively modest project "Taxi 2", the company grows to such a scale that it allows itself to shoot up to 15 films a year, very different in style and genre (from action films to documentaries) with the biggest stars of world cinema and television. Put on the conveyor "Hostages", "Transporters", "Taxi", "13th districts" and other commercial films side by side with such festival hits as Malik's "Tree of Life", Gondry's "Rewind", the documentary "Bay" by Psyhoyos or " Three Graves by Tommy Lee Jones. This is normal, and brings in huge profits (Hostage 2, filmed for $45 million, collects at the worldwide box office almost ten times the production budget).
Developing and branching out, the studio puts on its posters the invariable phrase: "Film from Luc Besson", involuntarily creating the feeling that the French director makes all the movies in the world (or "he is everywhere"). However, Besson appears in these films most often as a producer and less often as a screenwriter.
In 2006, it became known that all these years he still thought about a solo revenge, building up his muscles on 3D technologies and writing children's books. As a result, a series of fantasy about the boy Arthur, which was released simultaneously in paper and theatrical format. The first film "Arthur and the Invisibles", filmed in the technology of combining 3D animation and feature films, was replete with the director's characteristic infantilism, unreasonably bright colors and foolishness. The semi-cartoon clearly wanted to please everyone, but only upset everyone. In 2009 and 2010, two sequels were released (with a total budget of $90 million, which collected about $75 million for two), the last of which, "Arthur and the War of Two Worlds", in many countries hit DVD and Blu-Ray immediately.
If it were not for the timely EuropaCorp, no one knows how Luc Besson would get out of this situation.
"Angel-A" (2007)
Budget:€15 millionFees:$10 million (US: $205,000)
Ratings: 44% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 7.1/10 (IMDB rating)
A year after "... Minimoys" a film is released that managed to win over critics and fans of the "former" Besson. "Angela-A" the director shot for the French in French and even in black and white, like his early picture - "The Last Battle". In it everyone finds something of their own. There is no deep pathos here, charming main characters (beloved by the audience Jamel Debbuze and luxurious blonde Rieu Rasmussen), a criminal adventure plot, romance, love and friendship. Modest fees do not seem like a failure, but an eccentricity: Besson remembered his youth and shot a pleasant trifle "for his own." "Grandfather is old, he doesn't care."
"The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele" (2010)
Budget:€25 millionFees:$33 million (unreleased in the US)
Ratings: 83% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 6.3/10 (IMDB rating)
A film based on a comic book series about an eccentric journalist looking for adventure on her own head at the beginning of the 20th century can be scary at first. How? An action-packed plot, steam-punk interiors, an unknown to most leading lady Louise Bourgoin. Mixed in a bunch of people, corpses, pterodactyls, mummies, voodoo and postcard Paris. But it's all told so casually and hilariously that critics have been raving (see Rottentomatoes rating) and longtime fans have begun to speculate where it's headed. Although the film has an open ending, Besson shot Adele clearly not in order to open another franchise.
"Lady" (2011)
Budget:€22.1 millionFees:$3.7 million (US: $355,000)
Ratings: 33% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 7.1/10 (IMDB rating)
In 2011, Besson again took up the historical epic, but the task was even more difficult than in the case of Joan of Arc, since the events shown in the film took place quite recently, and the main characters were alive at the time of the development of the picture. This is a completely different film from Besson's past projects, which tells about Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman defending the democratic principles of human freedom in Myanmar in the 90s of the last century. For a long time, critics have not scoffed at Besson. "Lady", although called a realistic tape, but so "super-realistic" that "it could be seen on TV." And it would be forgivable if the film was commissioned by some pro-Eastern political organization. But no, Besson shot The Lady honestly and with a blue eye.
"Malavita" (2013)
Budget:$30 millionFees:$78 million (US: $37 million)
Ratings: 29% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 6.3/10 (IMDB rating)
"Besson wants to return the American audience" - this is how this film adaptation of the novel by the ironic French writer Tonino Bonaquist can be called. He cast iconic actors Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones in the lead roles, placing them inside a compact story about a gangster family on the run from mafia persecution. Witty, caustic, exciting, inexpensive - everything we love. Another "trifle" of Besson for once went to "zero" in fees.
"Lucy" (2014)
Budget:$40 millionFees:$463 million (US: $127 million)
Ratings: 68% (Rottentomatoes critic score), 6.4/10 (IMDB rating)
Finally! In less than 20 years, Luc Besson regained the name of not only a successful producer, but also a film director. A cyber-thriller with a murky plot that develops around the myth that a person uses only 10% of his brain becomes a super hit, grossing ten times its budget. At the same time, the story is simple and filmed rather modestly, despite the abundance of special effects. The girl, played by Scarlett Johansson, has packets of powerful drugs sewn into her stomach. After the "bomb" inside Lucy accidentally explodes, the counter turns on: the brain gradually begins to use up to 100% of its potential, after which the girl dissolves, leaving behind a flash drive and the message "I'm everywhere."
Audience interest in the film is understandable. The beginning of the first decade of the 21st century is filled with fears of total surveillance, conspiracy theories and cybercrime. "" is not only a spectacle, but also a statement by Luc Besson about himself. Starting from the name (“Lucy” - “Luc”) and ending with the phrase “I am everywhere” (we talked about the distribution of EuropaCorp above). This, of course, is our own invention, but critics around the world once again applauded the director.
Let the theory of “10% of the human brain” be naive about itself, but in the film it has received an even greater simplification. Let the rhythm of the film constantly slip due to inserts in the speech of a scientist played by Morgan Freeman. Let the computer graphics here look more like video art by Terence Malick than a way to convey a story to the viewer. There are many such "let"s here. The main thing is that Luc Besson is back, and now everyone will be waiting for the next step of the master.
"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" (2017)
Budget:$177 millionBox office as of 08/13/2017 (4 weeks in North American box office, still running):$115 million (US: $38 million).
Ratings (reviews are still coming in, ratings are still being posted): 51% based on 210 reviews from Rottentomatoes critics, 6.7/10 (IMDB rating).
Now ask yourself: what does Besson do better - low-budget projects or megalomaniac fantasy blockbusters? Films with a plot or films-pictures-comics? Epic or modest projects?
There are also more specific questions. "" is positioned as "The Fifth Element 20 years later", but do you want to go back in time? Judging by the words of Besson, he dreamed about this film all his life: does the childhood of the director attract you? Judging by the director's interview, he realized that the project could be carried out when he visited the Avatar site. Do you want to look at the special effects of 2009, as in the latest creation of Cameron? (That doesn't mean "bad", the key word here is "2009")?
And why were we not a bit surprised to learn that in its first week in the US, Valerian, with its heavy $177 million budget, started at number five, earning $17 million? (By comparison, Dunkirk came out the same week, coming out on top with $50 million.) In the meantime, EuropaCorp, the huge elephant, began restructuring back in July, selling off some of its work, and also redrawing the grid of future films, preferring light genres over dramatic stories.
When the international distribution of "Valerian" ends, there will be many more questions to ask, but for now ...
So what's wrong with Luc Besson, huh?
As the credits rolled on the screen for the latest Star Wars saga, a galaxy far far away was undergoing great changes.
While fans may have had their own hopes for what would happen to the Resistance's most significant fighters, writer/director Rian Johnson didn't live up to those expectations by placing his characters in unpredictable circumstances.
In the film's final battle, he faces off against Kylo Ren, and it looks like he's trying to buy time for the Resistance to avoid being completely destroyed at the hands of the First Order. But in truth, he does ignite a spark of hope in the galaxy as the tale of confrontation spreads far and wide.
But at that moment, Luke disappears and joins the Force, like Yoda in Return of the Jedi. Johnson and actor Mark Hamill spoke with Anthony Breznik of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences about Luke's demise in the new film and how they came to that decision.
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"I had a huge sense of insecurity," Johnson said. - "I was scared. And the fear grew as I realized that such an end would make sense in this chapter.”
Johnson said he discussed his decision with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of the production team before taking his idea to the screen.
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“It wasn't like I wrote the script and put it on the table. It was very important to me that I was collaborating with the people at Lucasfilm from the very beginning,” said Johnson. “I traveled to San Francisco for a few months to keep them updated on my ideas, especially the big ones.”
Hamill, who previously said that he argued with Johnson about the fate of his character, was deeply affected by Luke's death.
"Well, I'm still in denial about that death," Hamill joked, "I just think my character has moved on to some other place."
But since Luke's journey ended with Return of the Jedi, Johnson wanted the new film to focus on new characters to move the story forward. But Hamill still had a chance to stay.
