Supermarket or Star Destroyer... Yeah, it doesn't matter. The debut episode of the Saga of George Lucas, “A New Hope” presented us with Darth Vader as the perfect villain, who finally lost his inclination to good. Having hinted at the past of the villain, in which he performed on the side of the valiant Jedi Knights, Lucas decided not to burden the plot line of the film, since the viewer only began to delve into the essence of the narrative, and the overwhelming heap of plot details could simply scare him away. And yet the box office success of the film played into the hands of the creator of the Saga, after which he felt the strength to continue the story, open unprecedented spaces and complement the biographies of his favorite characters with unexpected revelations. Of course, Darth Vader also received his share of attention, gradually turning from the spectacular but slightly similar antagonist of Luke Skywalker and the entire Rebel Alliance, into the last hope of the Light disappearing under the relentless onslaught of the Dark Side.
The first hints of possible glimpses of doubt about Darth Vader’s indestructible appearance began to appear in Episode Five, The Empire Strikes Back. The ruthless Sith, destroying both rebels and negligent subordinates with a single wave of his hand, could not deal a crushing blow to Skywalker, who turned out to be the son of the Dark Lord. Previously seemingly utterly intractable, effective, and deadly, a powerful villain, subordinate only to the Emperor, gave a serious slack, allowing Luke to escape and continue the war against the New Order professed by Vader himself and his teacher. Doubts about the correctness of the decision did not let go of the Sith until the tragic duel on the second Death Star, when all the masks were dropped and it was time to decide what future awaits the entire Galaxy. No longer able to resist the Light Side, which is punching its way through the black armor that once concealed the battle-mutilated body of a former Jedi, Vader in one sure move crossed out the entire milestone of Palpatine’s reign, putting all his undertakings on the brink of extinction. Thus, the title of the sixth episode, “Return of the Jedi”, found much more meaning than it seemed at first and brought back to the Light Darth Vader, who again took the face of Anakin Skywalker, who managed to restore the prophetic Balance of Power. The greatest movie villain in the history of Hollywood managed to whitewash his own reputation, becoming one of the most ambiguous characters, to which the public a priori can not be one-sided.
Having dealt with the Empire and returned Vader to the camp of heroes, George Lucas thought that it would be useful to go back to the past of the galaxy far, far away, namely 32 years before the Battle of Yavin, and show how Anakin Skywalker appeared in the narrative. The first episode, The Hidden Menace, presented the future thunderstorm of the Empire as the pure soul of a boy forced to grow up in slavery on the planet Tatooine. Absolutely selfless, honest and responsive hero could not help but like the visiting Jedi, who without hesitation sent him to the capital of the Old Republic, where the central Temple of the Order was located. The next chapter of Skywalker’s life leapt a decade from meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi and showed him as a self-doubting young man, burning from within with unfulfilled ambitions. The teacher’s misunderstanding and knowingly tragic love gradually led the boy to the Dark Side, from which he was not destined to escape. Having succumbed to the persuasion, paternal tutelage and advice of Chancellor Palpatine, the true Lord of the Sith, Anakin cast aside all doubts and became the one we so much admired when watching A New Hope.
The audience took hearty throws, mistakes and dissatisfaction with Anakin’s place in the pantheon of Republican heroes not easy, but mostly favorably. No matter how much drama raged in his image of serving the Jedi Order, no one could take Anakin away from his mesmerizing dark guise, forcing us to return to the classic Star Wars that once changed the whole world. Based on the complex biography of Vader, many books were written, entire series of comics were drawn and even short films were released, created thanks to the incredible enthusiasm of fans. Often, Darth Vader acts as the perfect villain, preferring to wield a lightsaber rather than talk, but some independent directors are not averse to present him in an unexpected light, revealing the hidden comedic talents of the great Sith. A year after George Lucas presented us with the only and canonical version of Anakin’s transition from Light to Darkness in Revenge of the Sith, director and screenwriter Aaron Yonda presented a small project called Chad Vader. The debut release of an extraordinary idea introduced us to Vader’s younger brother, Chad, who descended from distant heights to Earth and took the post of supermarket manager in one of the suburbs of the United States.
The highlight of the short film was that Chad Vader appeared before us in the classic form of his older brother and completely adopted his habits, trying to build tough imperial discipline where this is impossible in principle. Vader Jr. did not lose sight of any incident, helped customers decide on the goods, smoothed conflict situations and tried to guide the truth of overzealous employees who refuse to work excessively. Vader’s leadership was frankly tired of his military orders, but the Sith was not going to be fired, since under his leadership the supermarket became the place where the whole district gathers to look at the odd manager, and at the same time buy the necessary goods. The success of the first series of the project spurred Aaron Yondu to continue work, in connection with which the charming short turned into a funny mini-series based on everyday humor and Vader’s place in the realities of the life of an average citizen. In each episode of Chad Vader, the main character had to face a variety of problems, some of which could be solved in two counts. However, Vader is not used to working at half strength. When he sees trouble, he cannot sit idly by. He will do whatever it takes to resolve the conflict with minimal consequences. Only, as you know, well-intentioned paved the way to not the most pleasant places, and therefore infectious enthusiasm Vader often leads to a local disaster, which has to correct his colleagues. It can not be said that the humor of “Chad Vader” boasts a special variety, but it is quite easy to watch the series of the project, not least thanks to the gentle timing of five minutes, from which Vader’s adventures in earthly realities simply do not have time to get bored.
In the end, I want to say that Chad Vader is a charming, completely optional craft of a frankly comedic nature. The idea of moving Vader from the Star Destroyer Bridge to the supermarket is noteworthy, as it is unique in itself. Director Aaron Yonda co-partners tried to saturate the project with action, avoided repetitions as much as possible and did not hesitate to use cult quotes from the films of George Lucas to enhance the parody effect of the production. Without expensive special effects and unimaginable tricks, Chad Vader has no problem keeping the viewer in front of the screen, making it one of the best comedy shows ever made based on Star Wars. And this tells us that the viewing will definitely be enjoyable!
8 out of 10