Star Wars Discussion

[John_and_Yoko]

I've never seen the Christmas Special although I've seen clips from it. I might hunt it down at some point. I understand it's bad, but it could be entertaining for that reason.

Incidentally, I've never seen those films about the kids and the Ewoks either. I vaguely remember a magazine entry when the first came out, and was surprised to learn years later that there were two of them. I'm not even sure they've shown them on British telly at all.

I've seen the Nostalgia Critic's review of the Holiday Special, and that alone is more of it than I ever wanted to see. Little wonder George Lucas doesn't want anyone to see it.

[Ka-mai]

Feev, I would love to hear what good you see in Ep 1 because I can't even watch it. Maybe you can redeem it a little for me.

[fernandito]

Feev, I would love to hear what good you see in Ep 1 because I can't even watch it. Maybe you can redeem it a little for me.

Why certainly!

EP I (and by exention, the prequels) did a much better job at fleshing out the both sides of the inter-galactic struggle then the entire original trilogy combined. In the original trilogy, you knew that Luke was the good guy because he was fair haired and good looking, the Rebellion was the good side because they were under manned and under powered, and Vader and the Emperor were evil because they wore all black and were hideously scarred/deformed. EP I showed all of the political maninpulations and machinations on behalf of Palpatine, his ascension to power through deception, Anakin's downfall which forms the crux of the entire saga. A living, breathing Jedi Order - the master/padawan relationship, the 'youth academy', the counsel etc.

From a purely technical standpoint, the fight scenes are much, MUCH better. There might not be a battle in the prequels to match the resoundingly thematic elements of a say, Vader vs Luke, but the battles in the prequels are a much more impressive feat, better choreographed anyway, much more intense and technique heavy. Not to mention that current technology paved the road for some truly impressive bouts that just weren't a feasible option in the originals, like the Obi Wan vs General Grivious (sp?) match, the stunning Obi Wan vs Anakin in EP III.

I'm not slamming the originals, nor am I saying that the prequels are cinematic masterpieces, they certainly have their faults, I'm just saying that the views on them are a bit skewed because they didn't live up to the ridicilous hype placed upon them, they buckled under all those expectations. Watch it again with everything I mentioned up there in mind, you might actually enjoy it this time around.

[Ka-mai]

See, I can't them because (apart from the obvious - Jar Jar and Anakin) it was so much of the Senate arguing about trade. Geez, I hate politics enough without them making an intergalactic war terribly boring. And while the fight scenes were definitely interesting, they went on forever and in my opinion were pretty ridiculous. I also felt they relied way too heavily on CGI and thus some of the scenes actually looked worse than the OT because they were obviously fake (although some of them were very good).

And then of course, Anakin ruined Darth Vader. I'm talking all three: Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christiansen, and the character Anakin. An unholy trilogy of improbability combined with the temperament of a 12-year-old suffering from hormones. Pretty much the only thing that could be worse was if Darth Vader was actually Jar Jar.

[fernandito]

Strange, I really dislike politics too, but I don't consider them boring in the SW universe. It's interesting to me seeing how Palpatine was able to essentially get the Senate to vote him into a position of absolutely power through parlor tricks and meticulous planning.

And you're using the word ridiculous to describe outer space battles that feature breathing robots and humans that are able to effortlessly jump fifteen stories and move things with their mind and telepathically communicate across long distances, you realize that right ?

And while I do agree that the character of Anakin can be a bit whiny at times, wasn't Luke Skywalker the exact same way ? I can think of several times where I just wanted to punch Mark Hamill in the face

[Ka-mai]

And you're using the word ridiculous to describe outer space battles that feature breathing robots and humans that are able to effortlessly jump fifteen stories and move things with their mind and telepathically communicate across long distances, you realize that right ?

Yes! And I'm not changing my position.

Yeah, Luke was a whiny bitch. But he was likeable! And Hamill actually put emotions into his lines, unlike Christiansen, who sounded like he was reading off a teleprompter or something. Luke is more of the everyman and is easier to relate to than Anakin, who just comes off as an entitled dick a lot of the time.

And don't get me started on how Padme began as an intelligent, capable woman with a career and turned into a sappy baby machine who "lost the will to live" despite having two kids that might actually need a parent who isn't murderous. (And somehow either didn't know or didn't tell anyone she was having twins? It's the future, they have mastered space travel but don't have an ultrasound machine?)

[DoctorDodge]

Yeah, Luke was a whiny bitch. But he was likeable! And Hamill actually put emotions into his lines, unlike Christiansen, who sounded like he was reading off a teleprompter or something. Luke is more of the everyman and is easier to relate to than Anakin, who just comes off as an entitled dick a lot of the time.

QFT. Mark Hamill = good actor. Look at his work as the Joker for that. Hayden Christensen = For both films he's in, that's his acting face. The man's got about as much range as a KFC chicken.

And don't get me started on how Padme began as an intelligent, capable woman with a career and turned into a sappy baby machine who "lost the will to live" despite having two kids that might actually need a parent who isn't murderous. (And somehow either didn't know or didn't tell anyone she was having twins? It's the future, they have mastered space travel but don't have an ultrasound machine?)

Clearly, Lucas is a man who knows a lot about women!

[Ka-mai]

Oh, and one of my favorite parts of Ep III: Obi-Wan asks Padme, "Anakin's the father, isn't he?" Let's see, they are always in the same apartment together (are they actually living together? Because that would be an even bigger clue), when you want Anakin you go ask Padme if he's around, and you know Anakin's had a crush on Padme since he was 7. Your Jedi mind powers are amazing!

[Girlystevedave]

And while I do agree that the character of Anakin can be a bit whiny at times, wasn't Luke Skywalker the exact same way ? I can think of several times where I just wanted to punch Mark Hamill in the face

No Luke bashing should be allowed in the Star Wars thread. Just sayin'.

[Odetta]

But I was going to go into town and pick up some power converters!!!

[Merlin1958]

Han Shot First!!

I have the T-Shirt to prove it!!!

[DoctorDodge]

Not according to Lucas. To him, it never happened. And I mean, never: http://www.themarysue.com/greedo-shot-first/

Repeat: the man is now actually denying clear evidence that Han even shot first in the original version.

[Robert Fulman]

I am a huge supporter of The Phantom Menace. I should probably have my nerd card revoked, because it is my favorite Star Wars movie (and Return of the Jedi is my second). I went to see it in 3d on Saturday, and by my count that is the fifth time I have seen it in a theater (I'm 35, and I was a few weeks shy of my college graduation the first three times I saw it). Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie (of course) and I loved that they included the extended Pod Race, the Coruscant taxi, and CGI Yoda. My only complaint is that the 3d was completely unnecessary. I can't remember a single moment when I said, "Wow!" but I can remember several moments where I had to remove my glasses to check that it actually was in 3d. Even worse, there were a handful of times where the 3d conversion was relatively poor. In a scene like the one below, the characters in the foreground were 3d-ified, but the background crowd section was all on a single plane. Because those background people were meant to be sitting at an angle but were all projected on a flat plane, it seemed (to my brain at least) that they were pitched forward at a rather strange angle:



Overall, though, it was a lot of fun. They had adult sized collectible glasses, and the kids got little Star Wars toys, and we can't wait to see Attack of the Clones next February.

[fernandito]

Yeah, Luke was a whiny bitch. But he was likeable! And Hamill actually put emotions into his lines, unlike Christiansen, who sounded like he was reading off a teleprompter or something. Luke is more of the everyman and is easier to relate to than Anakin, who just comes off as an entitled dick a lot of the time.

While I do agree on Hamill being a better actor than HC, most of the likeablity factor is by design. Luke is designed to be a stark contrast to his father in every sense of the word - the likeable, benevolent do gooder vs the arrogant hot shot. This is one of my favorite aspects of the Luke - Vader relationship, how much alike and how much different they they can be at any given time.

And don't get me started on how Padme began as an intelligent, capable woman with a career and turned into a sappy baby machine who "lost the will to live" despite having two kids that might actually need a parent who isn't murderous. (And somehow either didn't know or didn't tell anyone she was having twins? It's the future, they have mastered space travel but don't have an ultrasound machine?)

Yeah, this really annoyed me too. The 'losing the will to live' bit pissed me off too. This definitely could have been handled better.

Oh, and one of my favorite parts of Ep III: Obi-Wan asks Padme, "Anakin's the father, isn't he?" Let's see, they are always in the same apartment together (are they actually living together? Because that would be an even bigger clue), when you want Anakin you go ask Padme if he's around, and you know Anakin's had a crush on Padme since he was 7. Your Jedi mind powers are amazing!

I don't think Obi Wan has had a gf his entire life! Cut him some slack woman!

No Luke bashing should be allowed in the Star Wars thread. Just sayin'.

Quiet, before I do this to you




Oh, and I saw the 3D Phantom Menace with my awesome, hot date this past friday - twas amazing

[DoctorDodge]

Yeah, Luke was a whiny bitch. But he was likeable! And Hamill actually put emotions into his lines, unlike Christiansen, who sounded like he was reading off a teleprompter or something. Luke is more of the everyman and is easier to relate to than Anakin, who just comes off as an entitled dick a lot of the time.

While I do agree on Hamill being a better actor than HC, most of the likeablity factor is by design. Luke is designed to be a stark contrast to his father in every sense of the word - the likeable, benevolent do gooder vs the arrogant hot shot.

You know who this reminds me of? Han Solo. I think the prequels would've been so much better if Anakin had been designed as someone a lot closer to Han, but with Jedi powers and who made some of the wrong choices. Anakin should've been a lot more likeable than he was, to illustrate how really easy it is to fall to the dark side. Him coming across as an unlikeable douche instead kinda made it hard to sympathise with him when he made the wrong choices as a result.

[Ka-mai]

Exactly! I wasn't surprised he went to the Dark Side because he was an asshole. It didn't take any work. "Oh, if I do this the only person I don't hate will live? Cool, I'm in." It was about 30 seconds of deliberation, and he went directly to slaughtering children about five minutes after that. Isn't there some sort of transition period where you have to ease into being evil?

And Feev: Just because he's never had a girlfriend doesn't mean he doesn't know what goes on between a man and a woman! Although if they're lacking ultrasound machines they may also be lacking basic sex ed.... Besides, he's supposed to have amazing Jedi mind powers.

[pathoftheturtle]

Don't you guys watch daytime T.V.? There's always a chance that some other guy is the father.

[Merlin1958]

I am a huge supporter of The Phantom Menace. I should probably have my nerd card revoked, because it is my favorite Star Wars movie (and Return of the Jedi is my second). I went to see it in 3d on Saturday, and by my count that is the fifth time I have seen it in a theater (I'm 35, and I was a few weeks shy of my college graduation the first three times I saw it). Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie (of course) and I loved that they included the extended Pod Race, the Coruscant taxi, and CGI Yoda. My only complaint is that the 3d was completely unnecessary. I can't remember a single moment when I said, "Wow!" but I can remember several moments where I had to remove my glasses to check that it actually was in 3d. Even worse, there were a handful of times where the 3d conversion was relatively poor. In a scene like the one below, the characters in the foreground were 3d-ified, but the background crowd section was all on a single plane. Because those background people were meant to be sitting at an angle but were all projected on a flat plane, it seemed (to my brain at least) that they were pitched forward at a rather strange angle:



Overall, though, it was a lot of fun. They had adult sized collectible glasses, and the kids got little Star Wars toys, and we can't wait to see Attack of the Clones next February.

Wow!! Glad I'm not the only one who liked Phantom Menace and the next 2 installments. It's not my favorite, I would have to go with episodes 4 and 5 as my favs, but I thought it was pretty darn good overall and fit the story line!!!

I'm with you, Mike!!!! One with the force!!! LOL

[fernandito]

Have you read the past few posts Merlin? I've been defending EP I-III in just about all of them

[Merlin1958]

Have you read the past few posts Merlin? I've been defending EP I-III in just about all of them

Sorry, I know, guess I just picked Fulman cause he was sorta the first. IDK!!!! LOL

[fernandito]

[Bethany]

hi! I'm Bethany and I like all 6 episodes.

[fernandito]

hi! I'm Bethany and I like all 6 episodes.

And are you sure you shot first ? You're sure ?

[Bethany]

My children cannot stand that I like these movies. I think it literally offends them that I own the DVDs.

[fernandito]

What ? Why ?