Despite what Disney and Lucasfilm have been doing lately with the “Star Wars” cinematic universe and promising “Star Wars” films until the foreseeable future, that doesn’t stop fans from contributing their own stories. “The Force and the Fury” is a great and simple short fan film that is beautifully directed and works on the fundamentals of “Star Wars”: The narrative is simple, straight to the point, and about family and how the Sith and Jedi affect those within its realm.
After crash landing during a terrible battle, Aiden awakens in a desolate forest on a distant planet to discover that he’s being hunted by a Sith lord. He flees looking for his lightsaber and is shocked when he takes a glance at his enemy. She is a swift and deadly warrior, and all he has to defend himself is his knowledge of the force and a lightsaber that is on the verge of losing battery life any moment. Director Jason Satterlund delivers a very beautiful and exciting short film that gets to the heart of the narrative, and slips in some really good lightsaber matches to boot.
Kudos to Federico Verardi whose cinematography makes this fan film pop and resemble something directly out of canon. Much like the original movies, the lightsaber fight featured is not about show, and is packed with a ton of emotional meaning behind it. When Aiden finds himself overpowered by the dark Qira, he has to do whatever he can to survive their match, even appealing to her humanity. But, considering they share a surprisingly dark past, Qira isn’t quite intent on letting him survive their skirmish. “The Force and the Fury” is quite a memorable side story that explores the cost of devoting one’s life to the force, and the dark road that can be taken when one submit themselves to the dark side.