[year/rating] NA PG [genre] Amateur Sci Fi Tomfoolery [director] Mazen Mawlawi & Marty Hudzik [starring] Mazen Mawlawi Marty Hudzik Erin Simkins Chris Hanton

Tagline

There is no light without shadows...

Summary Capsule

A Jedi goes to a planet with another Jedi on it. People fight while a space battle rages overhead. Duh.

Mutant Meter

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Check out this movie for free at TFN Fan Films

PoolMan's Rating: Definitive proof: Star Wars fans shouldn't act.
PoolMan's Review: My wife-to-be came home the other night to see me, hunched over a dim picture on my computer screen while the speakers blared out the good old fashioned sounds of lightsabers clashing and ships screaming around. After figuring out that my hand wasn't on the mouse (and, therefore, I wasn't playing a videogame), she asked what I was doing.

"They were all remarkably similar; a Jedi goes somewhere where a Sith lord is waiting to ambush them."

"Watching a Star Wars fan film."

"Oh. Haven't you seen enough of those?"

I have to admit. She has a point.

I went on a real tear of watching Star Wars fan flicks last year. Couldn't name a single one of them to you now, except that if I were to guess that I saw a movie called, oh, let's say "The Sith's Revenge" or "Obi Wan's Funhouse" I'd probably be right. They were all remarkably similar; a Jedi goes somewhere where a Sith lord is waiting to ambush them. Varying degrees of difficulty of lightsaber dueling and cheesy dialogue would ensue, there would be a strange ending, and I'd immediately delete the file, with precious exception.

Now, Seeds of Darkness isn't any different. A lone Jedi named Mira goes to a planet to find another Jedi (Rotal) who apparently knows something about the newly crowned Emperor Palpatine (try not to think about how if they know what he knows, why is he especially useful? Or how they know he knows, when he's apparently living on a forest planet in seclusion... etc). Mira and Rotal are forced to team up against a pair of Sith (one of whom has facepaint and a double bladed saber... will the amateurs PLEASE come up with some other way of making their dark Jedi look menacing?) who make their way past a Rebel blockade in a cloaked ship while the Rebel fleet get their first glimpse of the new Star Destroyers Palpatine has developed. The strange ending here is too odd to spoil, but suffice it to say, you've never seen a duel like the Sithlord and Cain before.

This little film is ambitious. I'll give 'em that. And it's technically VERY sound. The CGI space battle scenes are remarkable in their quality, and the lightsaber battles on the ground are actually of a pretty high calibre. When the action's rolling, everything looks very professional, and I mean that sincerely.

Where the movie falls down is in the acting and dialogue, which are both terrible, sometimes to the point of comedy. The "hotshot pilot" (who is so important a hotshot that he doesn't even get a name, just "Red 1") has the best laugh of the whole thing following pulling off the incredibly complicated move of pulling a gigantic loop de loop that the enemy TIE fighter can't keep up with. I mean, I'm sitting in my living room just howling after this moment. If you watch this movie (I've included the link below) and don't laugh at this point, you've got a cold, cold heart.

One gets the feeling the whole project is pretty much a demo reel to show off the technical talents of those involved, and if that WAS the point, then mission accomplished. For amateurs, this thing looks 90% of the way to being a real Star Wars short film, which is something they can take pride in. But man. Do you think you could drop a couple of more obvious pieces of dialogue here and there?

Cain: "I'll meet you back on DANTOOINE... wink wink wink!"

Mira: "Um, you don't have to say 'wink', you know..."

Cain: "I've got a BAD FEELING about this!"

It's a labour of love, sure. There are better fan films out there, but this one really tries to fit in with the films proper. Awful acting aside, it's good enough to merit a look. If you want to download it, it's publicly available as listed below. Batten down your modem's hatches though, it's a three parter (totalling about a half hour), and each part is about 85 MB. If you're on cable or DSL, I'd say go for it.

If you're on dialup, well, tough noogies. Caveman.

"We got a great big convoy, ain't it a beautiful sight..." Sparkler fight!

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• There's about three minutes of opening company credits heralding the independant companies involved.
• "Mira Naolos" eh? Apparently there's a lot of Greek Jedi.
• Cain looks nothing his sister, one might notice.
• Red 1, the hotshot pilot with all the lines, doesn't get a name.
• Doesn't the Darth Maul copycat look kinda silly with hair?
• How on earth does the Rebellion ever win when in every single SW movie ever, the TIEs can take out four X-Wings in a minute flat, and the X-Wings take five minutes per TIE kill?
• Master Rotal sounds French Canadian. No, seriously.
• The SW Cliché Meter is through the ROOF here. Lines reference everything from the classic "bad feeling" to Ord Mantell to you name it.
• The website credits list someone for "set carpentry", even though the two scenes involved are in a forest, and in space.
• Is Red 1 chewing gum???
• I like all the X Wing pilots bouncing up and down like they're riding ponies.
• What is this, Palpatine: The High School Years?
• The Sith should pick an accent and stick with it.
• I like Nia's approach. Land on the planet. Walk around a bit. I'm sure we'll find a Jedi.
• The "stormtroopers" seem to be wearing BMX masks.
• Heh. "Commander Ozzel". That's actually not a bad touch.
• Rotal's hair is pretty nicely trimmed for a guy who lives alone on a planet.
• So, um, did Rotal build that dam?

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

They're well done and imitative of the original style and all, but no.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

You can download the movie in three parts here. I'd vote for "worth it", if for nothing else than the quality visuals and occasional unintended laugh. Hey, you'll get what you pay for, at least.

Groovy Quotes

Red 1: I'm a hero!
Cain: Red 1, I was only joking about the girls.

Cain: I've got a bad feeling about this.

Rotal: I feel a disturbance in the Force. One I haven't felt since...

Red Pilot: [almost monotone] This is a deathtrap!

Soundtrack Review

Not a bad original score, actually. Of course, the classic John Williams is there, but there's an original tune as well, which isn't half bad.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Reciprocity
• George Lucas In Love
• Troops