Fan Film - Legacy of the Force (Review)

  In the old Expanded Universe, Jacen and Jaina were Han and Leia's twin children. Legacy of the Force centers on them, roughly 30 years after Return of the Jedi. The Imperial Remnant, run by the Moffs, has developed a biological weapon; the Nanokiller. Jacen Solo has become a Colonel in the Galactic Alliance after he turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Caedus. Although he is aligned with the IR, he opposes the use of the Nanokiller, because it would threaten his wife and child. Meanwhile, the New Jedi Order has sent Jaina to put an end to her brother's reign.

  It starts with a space battle, which has a great Star Wars vibe, and it really should have lasted longer. Jaina is able to get to Darth Caedus's wife, who is used in some late stages of development for the Nanokiller. Eventually she's able to catch up to Jacen, and the battle of the twins is very well done. It has a lot of suspense, with both of them using Force powers on each other. The music is very accommodating throughout the entire film. In the scene with Jacen's wife there's a small segment sounding like Anakin and Padmé's theme. The soundtrack is definitely the highlight of this fan film for me. The CGI is not this fan film's strong suit; the environment during the space battle and a lightsaber cut in a wall look a little off. It's only mildly distracting for a couple of seconds though. They mostly use sets, which are actually pretty good.

  But the story didn't make much sense. I never read beyond the Yuuzahn Vong series so I really have no idea of the events that drove Jacen away from the Jedi. The dialogue drags a bit and is hard to follow. The factions are also confusing because Jacen is with the Moffs but working against them, and they're holding his wife but he doesn't know or act accordingly. I imagine these things will make much better sense if you read the novel Invincible by Troy Denning, that they based this film on, but it shouldn't be a necessity to understand what's going on. Despite these issues I did enjoy the film, but would only recommend it if you are familiar with the novel.

Article by: Joel "Mith" Storms