THX 1138

Impressions before seeing it
I'd been curious about it for a while. Outside of Star Wars, George Lucas really hasn't directed that much in spite of being around for over 40 years, and I wanted to see what his one non-Star Wars sci-fi film was like.

How was it?
To be honest, I was kind of bored. Like the original Tron, it was probably revolutionary for its time, but becomes uninteresting in today's film era, and I've already seen Equilibrium and that movie put THX 1138's concept to much better use. I felt no sympathetic connection whatsoever to the characters. I understand that the society depicted mostly lacks emotion and personality due to the mandatory medication everyone takes, but even when certain characters went off it and began to feel again, there wasn't enough there for me to start finding them interesting. Where Equilibrium has its defectors enjoying art and music, all we really get here is THX and LUH lusting each other, with no concrete examples of why this attraction would or could exist because they still don't have very full personalities. It actually plays, surprisingly, like a Stanley Kubrick film - 2001: A Space Odyssey, to be exact, which similarly has little characterization and minimal dialogue.

But that being said, 2001 is a visual feat, and THX 1138 is not without directorial prowess. Lucas' camera work and editing produce some interesting effects that create claustrophobia, surveillance awareness, and mechanical viewpoints. It almost feels like this movie was directed by a robot - and given its characterization, perhaps written by one, too.

Recommendation
In a purely technical, directorial sense, THX 1138 is superior to any Star Wars movie, but Star Wars is way more entertaining, and Equilibrium way more effective in its execution of the "stunted emotion society" concept. I think THX 1138 is only worth watching if you are a student of film looking to observe as many types of filmmaking as you can. It's a good one for the study list, not so good for a fun night at home.