When I think of the term “fan film”, my mind immediately conjures images of horrific atrocities shot on camcorders or iphones with abysmal lighting, poor sound quality, and people who are committing egregious fraud by calling themselves, writers, directors, or actors. I appreciate the enthusiasm and love for the source material, but one of the things that allows sci-fi epics like Star Wars to capture our imaginations is a budget sufficient enough to believably create immersive worlds with convincing futuristic technologies (despite being set “a long time ago”).
Darth Maul: Apprentice from 2016 is nothing like the above description. It is so well-produced that I would’ve believed it was a deleted scene from The Phantom Menace Blu-Ray, rather than a fan video found on Youtube.
It brings back Episode I’s villain, Darth Maul, in what seems to be a prequel to the prequels. Evil Sith master, Darth Sidious, has dispatched him to slay a group of Jedi, which is to serve as a final test to see if he is ready to apply the skills acquired during his apprenticeship.
Darth Maul encounters the Jedi clan on a forested planet, reminiscent of Endor from Return of The Jedi. Few words are exchanged before the action starts, and almost all of its 16-minute runtime is spent depicting an epic 5 on 1 light-saber battle.
Darth Maul looks just like he does in Episode 1, albeit slightly heavier, and because he speaks so little, there’s nothing to make you feel like you’re just watching a fan in red and black makeup. The Jedi are dressed like Luke Skywalker from the original films and Rey from The Force Awakens, so they are also convincing. I did take one issue with the costume of one Jedi character, whose facial armor/mask made him look like Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat or Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. It just felt out of place.
There isn’t much characterization given to this group of Jedi, as most of them are slaughtered by Darth Maul before we can get any sense of what makes them unique or distinct from one another, other than their physical appearances. The ones who survive the longest make the deepest impression, but the film is very short, so even the last ones standing aren’t particularly memorable.
The original trilogy of Star Wars films introduced us to the coolest sword ever, the light saber. However, as time has passed and action movies have evolved, the light saber battles in the original films leave something to be desired, as they’re basically glorified fencing matches. The prequel trilogy tried to up the excitement of the light saber fights with a lot more movement and different types of thrusts and parries, but those fights typically come off as overly choreographed, described by some fans as looking like two individuals doing a dance, rather than fighting to the death.
The swordplay in Darth Maul: Apprentice finds a delightfully happy medium between the flawed swordplay in the original and prequel trilogies. It is a joy to watch the Jedi and Darth Maul clash light sabers. It implements the acrobatics of the prequel trilogy’s battles, but it feels much more organic, like the fighters are responding to the moves of their opponents, rather than the instructions of a choreographer.
The music isn’t from past Star Wars movies, but this works to the film’s benefit. Its score is busy and uptempo and it creates the sense of tension one would likely feel when battling in a fight to the death. It complements the signature light saber sound effects and overall the sound design is excellent.
While the film favors action over exposition, it does tell an impactful story and gives insight into the mind and heart of Darth Maul. The Phantom Menace failed to do this, which made him a bit of a flat character in that movie. I’d hate to give away one of the few story points of the whole movie, but the ending is very satisfying and deepens the meaning of all the fighting that precedes it.
Overall I don’t have a single complaint. Perhaps I sound like a Star Wars fanboy with an ultra-strong pair of rose-tinted glasses, but if anything a fan film is a much tougher sell than a studio-produced theatrical feature and I’d be more likely to over-scrutinize it.
I don’t watch much on YouTube, but I can safely say this is the best piece of original content I’ve ever seen on the site. If you want to see it for yourself, here you go:
Darth Maul: Apprentice (2016) audiopinions rating:
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