Star Wars

[Byzantine Prince]

Chewbacca vs Freddy vs Jason

[Aurelian]

I went to the 8:30 (am) show this morning. I'm sorry to say that Episode III didn't quite work for me. I think part of the problem might have been that some of the early reviews I saw went on and on about how Episode III was the best movie in the second trilogy. Unfortunately, all the same Lucas-problems were still there. The dialogue was frickin' AWFUL! Real dialogue:

Anakin: “You’re so beautiful.”
Padme: “That’s only because I’m so in love.”
Anakin: “No, it’s because I’m so in love with you.”

Jeebus! Also, Anakin and Padme's acting isn't much better than the last go around. It's strange that in other movies both of those actors seem to be able to give reasonably decent performances, but their chemistry, Lucas' dialogue, or just something, makes them seem completely unbelievable here.

Senator Palpatine actually gives a pretty good performance... and Obi Wan isn't bad either. Unfortunately, at a certain point in the movie Palpatine transforms into the much more hammy "Emperor"... who has serious voice modulation problems and does a lot of cackling. Still, Ian McDiarmid's performance is the acting highlight of the movie.

The action is reasonably good, but to be truthful, there wasn't a REALLY compelling fight scene in the movie. Despite being somewhat crappy, Episode I had the Darth Maul lightsaber battle, and Episode II had the fight with Count Dooku. Both were pretty damn cool. Episode III has a lot more lightsabery action than any of the other Star Wars films, but perhaps there was a little bit of overkill (or fatigue on my part) because none of the fights really stood out.

WARNING - SPOILER IN FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH
Actually, one of the weirdest lines in the movie occurs during the final Anakin/Obi Wan showdown. After quite a bit of fighting over a wide variety of surfaces, beams, and footing conditions, Obi Wan ends up on an embankment overlooking Anakin and declares something to the effect of: "It's over Anakin. I have the high ground." Anakin attempts to leap to the attack anyway, and Obi Wan proceeds to make him his bitch (in a figurative sense). Game over. Personally, I thought this was an extremely lame way to end their fight. Are we supposed to believe that having the "high ground" in a lightsaber battle makes you somehow invulnerable? After all, we've seen quite a few leaping/hopping attacks between lightsaberists. Obi Wan's fingernail spring finishing move over Darth Maul's head in Episode I comes to mind. It would have been much more satisfying to show Obi Wan being overpowered by his hyper-competent padawan (who has a lot of midichlorians, after all ), and then saving his ass with a typically Obi-Wanian 'clever plan'. It would have been more in character, and would have provided a more satisfying conclusion to the fight. Oh, well.

On the subject of music, the John Williams score seemed fine. It used a lot of the themes that were developed over the course of the series. Unfortunately, there wasn't a new standout theme. There was no new "Imperial March" or "Duel of the Fates".

Well, I won't go on any more. As you can tell, I was underwhelmed by Episode III. I'm sure that if I see the movie again, I'll probably like it better than I did during the first viewing. That was my experience with Episodes I & II. Normally, after I get over the bad choices Lucas makes, I'm able to go back and watch the movies for the high points. My brain seems to be able to repress things like Jar-Jar after a while. Still, I would recommend that anyone who goes to see Episode III not go into it with hopes that are too high. It's probably better to expect something similar to Episode I & II because a lot of the things that were grievous about those movies are still present in Episode III.

[frogbeastegg]

Did you ever think of asking them to turn down the volume? How about you just wait a month or so until the crowds die down or go to an early or late show?

It's a 20 screen UCI, the only cinema I can get to, and it has no real competition in the city. They would laugh me out of the building, and the person behind the counter would stare at me like a stunned cow for a while before even managing to do that. They are not what I would call a people company.

Ear plugs might be a good option. You can get kinds used by hunters and target shooters that don't dull the audio spectrum as much as stuffing cotton in your ears.

Hmm, possible, but I'm not sure I could pluck up the nerve to try it. If they don't work sufficiently, ouch. The last film I saw was Episode I, back when it was new. It was so loud I couldn't tell what any of the characters were saying; the speech had gone to the point of coming across like rumbling. Except squeaky Jarjar. I'm not sure even hunting earplugs could cut that down sufficiently.

Anakin: “You’re so beautiful.”
Padme: “That’s only because I’m so in love.”
Anakin: “No, it’s because I’m so in love with you.”

That is bad.

[nokhor]

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers



i've seen it twice now and i thought it was significantly better than the previous 2 episodes. i don't know how to compare it to the original trilogy yet though. that will take some time. the new trilogy has always been good with the action scenes and crappy with the romantic ones, so i knew that anaking/padme wouldn't all of a sudden turn into shakespeare's romeo and juliet on screen. they also put in a lot of the miscellaneous stuff that i didn't think they would cover like the beginnings of luke and leia and how they get to their adoptive homes, the 3PO/Vader relationship, why the good dead jedi get that blue nimbus around them and communicate with the living etc. the one thing i didn't like, though i will be the first to admit is cool, is the duel between palpatine and yoda. i thought it was very out of character for the sith lord to engage in physical violence. he always redirects the energys of others to wage his battles for him. he uses his apprentices, maul, dooku, vader to represent the visible manifestation of the sith, and he uses dupes and decoys like the trade federation, separatists, senate to wage his wars. the only time we had previously seen him actually fight was when he was attacking an obviously weakened luke on the second death star so him not being prepared for someone else to fight his battle with yoda seems false to me. but again i can see the pressure to have the ultimate good guy fight the ultimate bad guy.

[Steppe Merc]

Easily better than the other prequels. I was blown away. I really enjoyed it. Frankly, I almost cried... well, y'all can probably figure out where, don't wanna ruin it for anyone else...
Acting was deffinetly better. Natalie Portman's part I didn't like that much, pretty much just whing and crying.
But I loved the action, and the story line was impressive, and I loved the fact he finally didn't tone it down to make it PG.
And Nokhor, he didn't have a choice. He tried to run, remember? But Yoda wouldn't let him. And I think that Yoda could have destroyed him, but he realized he needed to live to continue the Jedi.

Did anyone else expect Anakin to exclaim 'What have you done to my voice?!' after they put the mask on?

Or "Why the hell are my legs so damn long? "

Again, I think the critisim is unwarranted. This was deffiently up there with the originals. Not sure how it will rank, need to see it again a few times, then watch them all back to back. But it was on the same playing field, IMHO.

[ichi]

With the new Star Wars movie out, one radio station put out a method for you to figure out your Star Wars name.

First name
1. Take the first 2 letters of your first name.
2. Add the first 3 letters of your last name

Last Name
1. Take the first 2 letters of your mothers maiden name.

2. Add the first 3 letters of the town you were born in

Star Wars Honorific Name
1. Take the last 3 letters of your last name and reverse them.

2. Add the first 3 letters of make or model of your first car.

3. Add an 'of'

4. tack on the name of the last medication you took.

Sincerely,

Erall Jopre of Lledartum

[LittleGrizzly]

Satho Lehgol of cannibas (or paracetamol if it had to be taken for medical purposes)

[kiwitt]

I'll see it. Just wait for the crowds to die down a bit. There is a Star Wars TV series coming. Not sure which era, but I think it is after the RotJ

[Togakure]

Joshe Chizam, Nadmat of Viagra. Why should you flee? Because I'm squeezing my sexual detonator ... .

Actually, I am the Nadmat of Paxil ... just needed a laugh.

[Voigtkampf]

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

GAH! I ignored this thread, not wanting someone to slip off and give away any crucial info (what the hell, we all knew what would happen anyway ) before I saw the movie yesterday.


Frankly, I was gravely disappointed.

Before I go on, I would like to say that I am a Star Wars fan, a great one. I saw the old parts hundreds of times (I kid you not), I even used to run them on my TV as I was doing something else like cleaning up the house or eating. I believe I could recite 95% of the dialogues of New Hope, ESB and ROTJ without any problem. I’ve read dozens and dozens of books on Star Wars. When I imitate Vader’s and Emperor’s voice, people’s jaws just drop down in amazement.


The good thing was that it was darker than the previous ones. Bad things? Dozens of them!

First of all, the Palpatine vs Vindu fight: Palpatine begging and squealing for mercy “pleaaaaze, don’t kill meeee, I’m weeeek…!!!” Damn it, even if he wanted only to move Anakin to his side, that part was downright pathetic. It is not the vile, cruel and merciless Emperor I knew from old parts, even considering the fact that he was going to die.

Second: Again, full of cheesy dialogues. Both romantic ones and Jedi vs Sith ones. I also hate when they slide on the old glorious lines like “come with me, and we will rule the galaxy together”.

Third: Acting. Even though Anakin’s acting has gravely improved itself, Natalie’s quality went down the hill big time, she didn’t bring over her part well. She was mostly just a nuisance, a pregnant woman sitting around the house, crying and sniffing. OMG…

Fourth: Special effects. Another special effects orgy. You don’t know where to look, you are overwhelmed with thousands of troopers and millions of laser beams, and I mean that in a negative way.

Fifth: Editing. I went mad over this one. Lucas doesn’t know titty twist from directing, as well as from editing, where he substantially gets involved. The movie suffers so from unbounded scenes with bad transitions, changing the paste with absolutely no feeling of timing. The gravest objection I have for the movie.

Obi-wan: Give up, I’m on high ground? Omg…

Vader raging after he hears about Padme’s death? Laughable, not in the least impressive.


All in all, special effects orgy just like the previous two, IMHO of course. As I went out, I heard the kids saying how stupid the movie was. I was shocked. I remembered as I went to the movies when they brought out the old parts in new, edited edition; there were massive kids there, too, and they all liked it and laughed and screamed in joy after the movie. Worlds apart from the old and new episodes. I went to see ROTJ when it was re-run in the cinema three times, I won’t go to see the Revenge (as I didn’t go to see the episodes one and two) again in the cinema. Of course, I’ll get it on DVD, but for me it is and will stay a mediocre movie.

There was one scene though that carved itself in my memory, better than anything else. Anakin tells Vindu that Palpatine is the Sith Lord, and they go to get him. Anakin wanders alone in the deserted Jedi council, Padme wanders restlessly in her apartment and gazes throughout the window towards the Jedi temple in the distance. Anakin hears the voice of Palpatine in his thoughts “If I die, no one will be able to save her.” There is music, so unlike William’s score (which is, btw, as mediocre as the rest of the movie), a woman singing in Lisa Gerard fashion, a slow, sad, but strong tune, and that moment is so exquisite and special that it sticks out in the movie like a pearl in the mud. Of course, the very ending of the scene is spoiled by 3PO that pointlessly strolls over to Padme and stands next to her, his joints wheeling and squealing. WTF!?!

It was like Lucas took a nap and someone, Ridley Scott perhaps, sneaked in and did that scene.

Sorry for the rant, but the disappointment still sits deep. Revenge of the Sith was my last hope (hahaha, the New Hope will come along, lol) for a good new movie on Star Wars. I’m off to put some part in my DVD.

[Steppe Merc]

I disagree. As for kids, trust me, not all of them like it, but a bunch do. A lot of people (well I probably wouldn't be considered "kid", but whatever) hate Star Wars, cause they don't get the story. That would probably be those kids you heard.
You are intitled to your opinon, but this redeamed Lucas for me. I won't forget or forgive him for the Phatom and Clones, but this deffinetly blew the socks off of those. Could it have been better? Sure, what movie can't be?
If anything, I get caught up over details that screw up what the books made. Not as much on this one, but still. How can clones, who kick ass, turn into sucky stormtroops? Sure, most of them would be dead at the rapid rate they age, but I don't get how the hell the quality fell that much. Also, Ithought that at least Cody (a Clone Commander) wouldn't try and kill his friend Obi, but I guess that made it all the more powerful (at least to me, since I knew that they hade served together on a bunch of campaigns...).

[xemitg]

Alright I saw star wars on Thursday. It was a disappointment, but I’m used to being disappointed by Lucas by now. It wasn't bad except for the constant use of the words "baby and babies." I couldn't stand it. They could have said "children” or "offspring." That and Darth Vader’s "NOOOOOO” ruined it too. Besides that it wasn't bad. Some directors bring the best out of the actors while other brings the crap out of good actors. In this film Lucas really brought out the worst in most of those characters.

[ah_dut]

I agree eith VK in many ways...especially the dialogue, I could write a less cheesy dialogue for goodness sake

[Lazul]

SPOOOOOOOILER!!

WTF was up with Darth Vaders; "NOOOOoooooooOOOooooo" Scene?

First of all, the whole thing is "Nooooooo!!" scenes can never be done is such a way it doesnt make you anoyed.
Having Darth (the badass Sith) Vader, making a NOOOOoooo scene is stupid.
And even tho Lucas is a crappy director I never thought he would make such a Huuuuge misstake to add such a dumbass scene!!! aaaaarrrrghghhh!!

[econ21]

***MORE SPOILERS***

A very good film - I liked it. I like it better than the original Star Wars, although not its not up to the heights of ESB. The best feature of the film for me was the emotion it stirred and the epic, tragic atmosphere. The original Star Wars was really little more than a Flash Gordon type science fantasy adventure - if the heroes got vaporised, I am not sure any one cared [and anyway, the nature of that kind of romp was that they would not get vaporised]. This one moved me, although no doubt in part because of the groundwork done by the other five films. The pivotal scenes were around Jedi Temple and the wiping out of the Jedi. There was something biblical - a massacre of the innocents, a moment of the cross - in the horror of those sequences. When Annakin meets the younglings and lights up his sabre, you feel as Obi Wan Kenobi or Amidala would feel.

The politics were quite nicely done - the Republic vs the Jedi Council machinations provided a plausible background to Annakin's fall and the creation of the Empire. Until his naff face change, Palapatine was one of the most intriguing character's in the three recent films, perhaps because he was so lightly sketched. The instantaneous "betrayal" of the clone troopers was also well done and, unlike Palapatine's act, came a little out of left field. But the psychology was awful - why Annakin is seduced to the dark side is wholely incredible (he had a bad dream). However, to me, that's forgivable - perhaps it is one feature of evil, that it must be somehow incomprehensible to ordinary people. If we can understand it, we tend not to call it evil.

Very good culmination to the six films, infinitely superior to first attempt to wrap up the story - the abysmal Return of the Jedi.