A Look At The Fan-Made Knights of The Old Republic Movie

Given the artistic license to imitate Star Wars films, Bioware created the eponymous and well received RPG epic Knights of The Old Republic, lending heavily from the lore they worked from. That almost giddy excitement to produce something familiar to Star Wars fans, encasing it in a vividly imagined gameworld, was reciprocated further when fans of the games went to anachronistically revert it back into a Star Wars film.

This KoTOR movie is the basis of this article, detailing its long development time and giving some insight into its contents, changes & other unique elements. The KoTOR movie trilogy is still incomplete, with only the first two parts being released as of this writing, with the middle entry ending on an apt cliff-hanger. Darth Malak has just captured Bastila and the main character, named Logan Starr by director & creator of the fan-made KoTOR movie, being told of his past life as the malevolent Darth Revan.

The first movie, full title of Star Wars, Knights of The Old Republic: Episode I, manages to replicate most of the early stages from the game. Taking a few liberties, necessary in most cases, it flows well and is only hindered by the amateur & unfettered approach.

The direction is slapdash at some points and the lack of a free camera, something Episode II would later thoroughly rectify, becomes slightly problematic. The content is solid however, with integral plot elements and dialogue infused with the creators own judicious scripting, creating a unique but enjoyable KoTOR movie experience.

It is with the second film, subtitled “Veil of The Dark Side”, that this particular KoTOR movie series is tinged with something remarkable. Although grandiose plot additions and some new characters may seem lacklustre to some harsher critics; fans of KoTOR in general should find enough satisfaction in this well made homage to the classic RPG.

The use of sweeping shots, Kurosawa/Lucas styled screen-wipes, a luxurious Star Wars sounding musicality and some satisfyingly unexpected CGI, the movie has more substance and direction than its predecessor.

Its not surprising that the sequel surpasses the original in this instance. After an apparent three year long development cycle to fine tune aspects of the first release and realise the specific direction & ambition held within its creator, affably named Kayden Sentry on the movies own dedicated forums. The KoTOR movie does a successful job at capturing just enough of the integral plot points and character dynamics that make the game great.

Although filtering the game down into three episodic hour-and-a-half segments may have people wondering if they’ve lost the essence of the game itself, the second movie reaffirmed the complete opposite, with a new direction & imagining being the driving force behind this KoTOR movie trilogy.

Instead of condensing what was a fantastic story into 7 or 8 hours of action, the creator has decided to impact his own thoughts & ideas into the plot, integrating them to suit his own re-telling. This may seem arrogant or short-sighted, but it also appeals more as a reinterpretation than direct copying or stealing, re-invigorating a 7 year old game title.

Regardless of your personal prejudice towards fan-made content based on video games, such as Counter-Strike machinima, this KoTOR movie has individuality and charm to at least require a viewing. Although the film can be downloaded, from the forum linked to above, for ease here are the two episodes youtube links. Enjoy.

• Episode I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RmsyoYPz7E
• Episode II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3wrPnb24so