Back To The Future 1985, Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace 1999, XMEN 2000, The Matrix 1999, and The Terminator 1984
Probably one of the most unique and oddest movie marathon combinations ever paired together but the ongoing theme that runs rampant through each of the films and executed in their own different ways is the fight to save one's existence. This is the story arc and theme that binds them all together as the theme of war gets louder with each film. To begin with a lighthearted film like Back To The Future and end with a dark futuristic thriller like Terminator shows a great contrast and progression in the story arc of saving ones's own existence. The theme of time travel is also introduced in Back To The Future with a young Michael J Fox going back 30 years in the past thanks to his friend Doc Brown played by Christopher Lloyd on a mission to ensure that his high-school-age parents meet in order to preserve his own existence. Nominated for 4 academy awards and winner of one, as well as the unexpected box office smash of 1985, Back To The Future introduces the device of time travel that comes back full circle in The Terminator. Changing one's own future is also a theme that Terminator plays off of with a soldier from the future named Kyle Reese going back through time to protect a young Sarah Connor whose the mother of the savior of the resistance in a futuristic Nativity Story angle. The second movie of the lineup is the highly controversial and criticized first installment of the Star Wars franchise titled Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace. The first entry in the Star Wars prequels places two Jedi Knights named Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jin on a mission to protect the queen of Naboo from the Trade Federation that wishes to take control of the galaxy and initiate war through the use of the droid army. While escorting the queen to safety, her ship experiences damage forcing them to land on a deserted planet called Tatooine. While searching for repair parts for the ship, they come across a young boy named Anakin Skywalker who becomes their savior for winning a Pod Race that allows them to repair their ship with the prize money. The Jedi Master Qui Gon slowly realizes that the boy is more talented than he appears and may be the Jedi master which the prophecy says will bring balance to the force. The Phantom Menace introduces the theme of protecting an important figure as well as the emergence of someone who becomes a savior of the galaxy. The antagonist Darth Maul can be summed up as the Terminator in this film as his mission is to hunt down the location of the rebels protecting Queen Amidala. The third movie of the marathon is Bryan Singer's first installment in his popular comic book trilogy titled XMEN. The story centers around two young mutants who attend a school for gifted mutants run by Professor X in a quest to better understand their mutant powers. They soon discover that the residents in the school form a superhero team called the XMEN who fight to oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers run by their mutant leader Magneto. XMEN is a story about a group of mutants fighting for their on survival and existence with the enemy being regular humans who fear the mutants. The character of Wolverine played by Hugh Jackson protects the mutant Rogue played by Anna Paquin from becoming captive to Magneto's misguided plan to turn all humans into mutants, but is actually destroying them. The 1999 Wachowski Brothers scfi classic titled The Matrix centers around a computer hacker named Neo who gets a mysterious message on his computer about joining a mysterious rebel gang, learning about his true purpose, and the part he plays in a war against those who control the system as well as machines called The Sentinals. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving, The Matrix parallels The Terminator as well as Episode 1 and XMEN in the form of a rebellion taking place between man and machine, the republic vs the trade federation, and human vs mutants vs mutant terrorist organization. The films also emphasize a character in each film that's represented as the chosen one or someone with great importance to the rebellions cause such as Senator Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, Wolverine and Rogue, Neo, and Sarah Connor in Terminator. The Terminator marks the fifth and final movie of the night for the theme of saving your own existence with Arnold Schwarzeneggar and James Cameron teaming up as lead actor and director in one of the greatest Science Fiction stories ever told. The Terminator centers around a soldier from the future named Kyle Reese being sent back through time to protect a young woman named Sarah Connor whose revealed to be the mother of John Connor, the leader of the resistance and savior of humanity. A great parallel between The first Terminator and The Matrix is that both are essentially love stories hiding within the plots of each film. The character of Kyle Reese reveals near the end of Terminator that he volunteered to come across time for Sarah because he loved her, and Trinity admitted that the Oracle told her that the person who was the chosen one would be the man she would fall in love with. The plot device of using time travel that was introduced in Back To The Future comes back full circle with this film as the rebel forces in the war with the machines sent a soldier through time to protect the mother of John Connor from the killer cyborg called The Terminator. The Terminator and Matrix share many similarities from the war against the machines to members of the rebel forces like Kyle and Trinity going back through time or into the real world to protect the people that are not only heroes but those they secretly love.
So what is the message behind all of these films when they are combined? When all of these movies are put together in one big lineup, the message ultimately says that you must fight to preserve your own existence and the existence of everyone else around you. If there is a war that's coming, you must do everything in your power to fight it in order to survive. Good men have great mentors such as Doc Brown, Qui Gon Jin, Professor X, Morpheus, and John Connor to mentor them into prevailing when the odds are stacked against them.
Our heroes and villains for this evening:
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