The real problem with Captain EO

Personally, I love Captain EO. I was in college when it was made, and it so perfectly captured the era in terms of music, costumes, dance, etc. Those of us who loved MJ in the '80s were not disappointed.

Where the film falls short, though, is in one of the most basic production decisions that was made -- the decision to not create any character development.

The movie starts as if we are all supposed to be familiar with the spaceship crew. We're supposed to know their history and their backstory. Of course, we do not have a clue about these things. This is the fundamental flaw that prevents this film from actually being able to tell a story. We, the audience, spend the entire film trying to figure out who the characters are and what their relationships are.

Had the first five minutes of the film been spent expeditiously developing the characters, George Lucas could have actually told a cohesive story, but, as it is, we end up with a train wreck of a plot that contains some cool dancing.

After having seen the film repeatedly, I feel that I now have a good handle on the intended "plot," but I don't think the average audience member "gets it" the first time around.