If you can use the Force to guide your laser sword, you can use it with your pistol. And make something less clumsy and random, while you're at it.
Still, light sabers work in the Star Wars universe. The light saber duel at the end of Empire was the high point of the movie. Vader and Obi Wan crossing swords again, after all those years, made the original feel like it really was part of a bigger story. For all the bitching and moaning about the prequel movies, every time the light sabers come out, the movies work.
Last night, at the Grand Illusion, I saw Space Battleship Yamato. We saw the mid-20th century battleship - one of the best two or three ever built - refitted as a space ship and sent into space.
Launch Yamato!
The movie is a live action remake of a 1974 Japanese cartoon, imported to America as Star Blazers in the late 1970s - and it was tremendously fun! It had a real 1980s Star Wars feel to it. They left a lot out, especially remaking the Gamalons into a less personal enemy.
Our heroes launched the Black Tiger squadron and fought their way through Gamilon ships. Captain Avatar (with his actual Japanese name) got too sick to lead and passed the mantle to our hero. They fought their way to the dying world of Iskandar, fought through the Gamilon ground forces, and got the CosmoDNA (called something else in this version), then hauled ass back to earth.
The movie includes everything from the show, but it didn't feel like they were checking off boxes (I'm looking at you, Pacific Rim).
The characters did their things and could have, but didn't, ruin the movie, but the star of the show was the Yamato, raised from the dried ocean bed to save all mankind. They pulled out the wave motion cannon early on - so we wouldn't be waiting for it - and later we saw the big guns cut loose, holding off the Gamilons long enough to jump to safety.
You can probably guess that I watched the Americanized version, back in the day. I watched many things, back in the day, but they are forgotten, even by me. Star Blazers had something of worth to offer.
Launch Yamato!
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