60-Second Critic: Star Wars at the Franklin
When I heard that Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, was coming to the Franklin Institute, my giddiness had nothing to do with science. I wanted to see props from the movies without having to lightsaber-fight past hordes of convention nerds to get close to them. I wanted Chewbacca suits, scale models of the Millennium Falcon and anything related to Boba Fett.
To that end, the exhibit delivered. The first display gives you an idea of what’s to come: a full-sized Landspeeder from Episode IV, backed by video interviews with Industrial Light & Magic special-effects gurus explaining how they made this wreck hover and hum in the movie. From there, you’ll find costumes galore (Darth Vader’s imposing suit), props (Boba Fett’s blaster — sweet!) and trivia (the booster rockets on the Imperial starships are plastic L’eggs pantyhose shells).
The only disappointment was the “Falcon Millennium Experience,” as our heretic hostess mistakenly called it. Sitting in Han Solo’s seat, you want to feel like you’re blasting through the trenches of the Death Star, not stuck in a 6th-grade science lesson narrated by Anthony Daniels. The link between science and Star Wars never feels complete, but really, who cares?
Just watch out for the gift shop — surely Lord Vader would approve of its unavoidable placement at the end of the exhibit, intent on separating parents from loads of hard-earned cash in exchange for Greedo bobbleheads and Yoda slippers. How Dark Side of them.
GRADE: B+
— RICHARD RYS
When I heard that Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, was coming to the Franklin Institute, my giddiness had nothing to do with science. I wanted to see props from the movies without having to lightsaber-fight past hordes of convention nerds to get close to them. I wanted Chewbacca suits, scale models of the Millennium Falcon and anything related to Boba Fett.
To that end, the exhibit delivered. The first display gives you an idea of what’s to come: a full-sized Landspeeder from Episode IV, backed by video interviews with Industrial Light & Magic special-effects gurus explaining how they made this wreck hover and hum in the movie. From there, you’ll find costumes galore (Darth Vader’s imposing suit), props (Boba Fett’s blaster — sweet!) and trivia (the booster rockets on the Imperial starships are plastic L’eggs pantyhose shells).
The only disappointment was the “Falcon Millennium Experience,” as our heretic hostess mistakenly called it. Sitting in Han Solo’s seat, you want to feel like you’re blasting through the trenches of the Death Star, not stuck in a 6th-grade science lesson narrated by Anthony Daniels. The link between science and Star Wars never feels complete, but really, who cares?
Just watch out for the gift shop — surely Lord Vader would approve of its unavoidable placement at the end of the exhibit, intent on separating parents from loads of hard-earned cash in exchange for Greedo bobbleheads and Yoda slippers. How Dark Side of them.
GRADE: B+
— RICHARD RYS
So that you’re not trolling around on Craigslist at the last minute for overpriced and quite possibly counterfeit tickets to your favorite shows …