Fan Film - Dresca (Review)
Released on Star Wars day just over a week ago, Dresca is the most recent addition to the extensive stock of fanfilms. In just seven minutes it claims its place at the top near the likes of Jedi Code, Distant Echo, Days Past and Scout. The acting is phenomenal, the setting is great, and the music gives the finishing touch. The strong opening sequence uses brief cuts of the Battle of Endor to immediately claim our full attention. Each shot is truly remarkable, just long enough to make out what is going on and short enough to deliver the chaotic depiction of scrambled memories.
The close up of Dresca's scarred face, accompanied by the characteristic beeps of medical equipment, is great. The scene tells us her name, her situation, and how she got there. It does an amazing job of slowly revealing her injuries, from her scars to her mechanical arm to her mechanical eye. She looks very Terminator-like, which is a cool touch. Being told Skywalker rescued her prompts a strong reaction, but then it turns out she thought of Darth Vader. That's a small issue for me, because in the Empire only Sidious was supposed to know his real name.
The next scene is fantastic; she turns on the doctors with the full rage of the Dark Side. Her scream, throwing a doctor across the room and pulling the gun of the security guy is finished off by a gorgeous detail: a Sith eye. The subtlety in its delivery is outstanding, and maintained while she pumps lightning into her next victim. And then we see why Sith lightning doesn't work if you have prosthetic limbs: they don't react well to it.
The doctor calms her down, and then makes the grave error in judgment to put her weapon down. It's very much in line with Rebel characters, but Dark Side people are unaffected by this display of trust. And when Dresca lifts her up while Force choking her, we see a point of view the movies don't get into. For the Empire and its loyalists, Luke is not a hero. He is a mass murderer, and the Rebels are terrorists to the legitimate regime. The Empire has treated Dresca well, probably like most of its human subjects. They gave her a place when she had nowhere else to go. When she finds out this terrorist who blew up the Death Star had rescued her after the second one blew up, and her master Darth Vader is dead, the shock is perfectly done. The ending is a bit puzzling. Vader didn't think he would be saved by Luke at all, he was counting on getting Luke to the Dark Side. The issues are minor though, and the rest of the film is incredible.
Article by: Joel "Mith" Storms