Flickering Myth’s writing team are counting down to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens by discussing their most memorable Star Wars moments. Next up is James Garcia with the detention level rescue in A New Hope…
Unlike many fans of that galaxy far, far away, I unfortunately have no memory of the first time I saw Star Wars. The film, and its two sequels, have just always been a part of my life. I can’t recall seeing the films for the first time because, in my mind, there was never a time in my life that I wasn’t enamored by them.
When it came to pinning down my favorite or most memorable scene or moment from the saga, several major scenes from the original trilogy came to mind. The binary sunset, Obi Wan’s battle with Darth Vader on the Death Star, the climactic battle in the Death Star trenches, The Empire Strikes Back‘s Hoth sequences, Luke’s battle with Vader in cloud city… the list goes on and on. Yet one moment that kept coming to mind was one far less grandiose or obvious: the scene in which Han Solo fumbles around with the comm system in the Death Star’s detention level, trying to convince a pesky officer that things are “All fine here.”
The entire section of the film devoted to saving Princess Leia from the Death Star left quite an impression on me as a child. It’s something ripped right from a fairy tale, as it sees our heroes infiltrate the enemy stronghold to save the damsel in distress. It’s part of the simplistic yet brilliant storytelling that makes Star Wars so easily accessible. However, what makes Star Wars more memorable and important than countless other similar stories is the characters. And if there’s one sequence that truly shows how great George Lucas’ creations are, it’s the detention level rescue.
All of the characters have a part to play in the rescue, and all of their various motivations come into play. Luke is eager to jump into a Stormtrooper outfit and save the day, while Han is perfectly content with sitting back and staying out of harm’s way – until the promise of a hefty award is brought up. Even the droids get something to do, and their various personalities and skill sets factor into the mission.
I’ve always loved the look of our heroes dressed as Stormtroopers, and find the set design on the Death Star to be some of the best we’ve ever seen on film. The best part about the rescue operation, however, is the aforementioned conversation Han has on the comm system:
“Had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything’s perfectly all right now. We’re fine, we’re all fine here now, thank you. How are you?”
Han is eventually forced to shoot the computer, before claiming “Boring conversation anyway.” It’s such a great, humorous exchange, but also tells us a lot about Han as a character, both in his inability to really go undercover and his quick, off-the-cuff responses to danger.
From what we’ve seen of the film so far, The Force Awakens appears to have several detention level-centric scenes of its own. Hopefully J.J. Abrams has as much love for A New Hope‘s rescue sequence as I do, and will respectfully follow it up with something just as memorable.
James Garcia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&v=3AMx7tPsXgQ
Originally published December 14, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
