All Things Star Wars (No Spoilers)

[ACamp1900]

Spot on with the last two comments.

Yoda kicking ass is sweet. It's like the old man saying, "son, don't make me prove that I can still kick your ass" - in the context of the movie he is really still too old for that sh!t though, that battle should have 100 years earlier seeing how Yoda was decrepit at 300+ years old when Vader is probably 60 but when Yoda is 50 years younger his is supposed to be in his prime? Seems a bit loose - rather see some footage from 100 years earlier of the little green guy going ape sh!t.

I never heard Ewok choice was an expense thing. I didn't realize little people were less expensive actors than giants. Who knew. Maybe they were exploiting child labor or something. I did hear that it was a conscious decision to go small instead of big driven 100% by Lucas.

Using the Redwood Forest to shoot Jedi was perfect example of finding Earthly locations that seemed other worldly. Same with Hoth, and Tatooine. Makes it seem more real when the set is actually real. I always thought Lucas got stupid with computer graphics and childish planted subjects to appeal to what he thinks a three year old would like - more so for the sake of commercialization than anything. Ewoks and Jar Jar, wtf. Jar Jar is enough to make me never want to re-watch I-III alone, and as Lion points out in the Order 66, there is some good stuff going on in there worth seeing.

I didn't like Yoda, the ultimate cosmic badass, losing both of his battles in the movies... or at least not winning them.

 

[ulukinatme]

Phantom Menace was easily the best of the prequels imo... by far... Jar Jar and the CGI destroyed any chance it had to be a good film on it's own... but compared to the other two, especially AofC, it was a much better film.

All my opinion of course.

Phantom Menace probably would have been my favorite considering Darth Maul was a badass (And Ray Park still goes to conventions and can do all the crazy lightsaber shit he used to) and they had Liam Neeson, but Christopher Lee was also pretty damn good in his own right. General Grevious certainly sucked.

The bolded is what destroyed Phantom Menace for me though. Any redeeming performances by Ray Park or Liam Neeson were ruined by Jar Jar and the overuse of CGI. The entire Naboo battle between the Gungans and the Trade Federation was a fucking travesty. This shit, and the Jar Jar antics during the battle, were horrible to watch. The entire fucking fight was done on the computer, there were no live actors at all:

Gungans throwing around a bunch of damn blue balls...there's probably a metaphor in there when it comes to Star Wars geeks like us.

 

[ACamp1900]

agreed... it's still a better story (by miles) and film than the other two tho, imo...

 

[ACamp1900]

I would say in terms of writing and story, PM had an as good or better story than any of the SW films except for ESB... but the CGI, casting and Jar Jar just ruined it... that's why the theory Cack shared is interesting and all (I have noticed the similarities for years, some are pretty obvious) but the theory doesn't positively impact anything that made the prequels so bad to being with...

 

[ACamp1900]

Now I'm going damnit! Phantom Menace pisses me off, as a Star Wars fan, it should have been SO MUCH better... it WAS a great movie, all they had to do was not reinvent the wheel and not break what wasn't broken.... and then Lucas and Co took a wonderful story and hacked it to freakin pieces....

 

[ulukinatme]

Seriously, must watch. The breakdown of the story and everything messed up in the movie is amazing. I'm almost done rewatching them all now. The final minutes of Part 6 are exceptionally good, comparing the light saber duels from the previous films and the prequels.

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[Buster Bluth]

I don't mind that it wasn't Kashyyk, that would have made the galaxy appear too small. That's one of my fundamental disagreements with the prequels (the worst example being that the clones just happen to be based off the father of a minor character in Empire/Jedi. Fucking lame George, fucking lame).

 

[Buster Bluth]

Seriously, must watch. The breakdown of the story and everything messed up in the movie is amazing.

This guy does the does an amazing job. I stumbled upon these a few months ago and spent like six hours over a weekend watching it all. Totally worth it and will fill you with a hatred for George Lucas that cannot be undone.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I didn't like Yoda, the ultimate cosmic badass, losing both of his battles in the movies... or at least not winning them.

It's just that they did such a great job in Empire Strikes Back with having him be mysterious. We didn't know what made him be such a character, we only went off Obi-Wan's word and Luke's brief lessons. As with many other things, Lucas couldn't resist bringing it back to the prequels and shitting on it.

 

[ACamp1900]

This is spot on and it's something we see in a number of film series'... Another film series dear to my heart is Halloween... Well, at least the first two and H2O... I grew up loving slasher flicks and that's like the godfather of the genre IMO... Anyway, the Rob Zombie reboots are generally loved by my friends and such,... They sucked, massively... The coolest part about the originals was the mystery of it, why he was so damn crazy and blood thirsty, it made Myers more frightening not knowing the answer to those questions... The new ones took the best part of the originals and shat on it... Michael Myers is actually a very wounded human being, let me show you all the intimate details... Screw that, he's better as an unknown monster. Taking what makes your story great and altering it is the definition of jumping the shark IMO...

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Star Wars: Episode VII

Star Wars: Episode VII

This is spot on and it's something we see in a number of film series'... Another film series dear to my heart is Halloween... Well, at least the first two and H2O... I grew up loving slasher flicks and that's like the godfather of the genre IMO... Anyway, the Rob Zombie reboots are generally loved by my friends and such,... They sucked, massively... The coolest part about the originals was the mystery of it, why he was so damn crazy and blood thirsty, it made Myers more frightening not knowing the answer to those questions... The new ones took the best part of the originals and shat on it... Michael Myers is actually a very wounded human being, let me show you all the intimate details... Screw that, he's better as an unknown monster. Taking what makes your story great and altering it is the definition of jumping the shark IMO...

Halloween 3 was the BEST lol

As far as SW goes: entertaining the notion there is currently more than 3 movies will do nothing but make you angry.

 

[wizards8507]

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Trailer to Debut During Halftime on ESPN’s Monday Night Football - ESPN MediaZone

 

[gkIrish]

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Trailer to Debut During Halftime on ESPN’s Monday Night Football - ESPN MediaZone

As if I needed another reason to watch.

 

[Corry]

They have done an excellent job marketing this movie.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Never watched a Star Wars movie. I'm 35 and I'll be taking my boys (5 and 14) to the one out in December. The 5 year old is a huge fan. I have no clue where he gets it from.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

They have done an excellent job marketing this movie.

Not surprised.
Disney is going to pimp this out to the next level.

 

[wizards8507]

They have done an excellent job marketing this movie.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Its not like the other films suffered from poor marketing! And are we supposed to be rooting for corproate profits, or a great movie?

Star Wars is kind of the Notre Dame of films. Exciting, bigger than life, but wholesome and with a purpose. The family-friendly brand. As a huge Star Wars fan, my fear of what the Disney machine will do with Star Wars is tempered only by the reality of what Lucas did with Episodes I, II, and III.

Its kind of like our relationship with NBC. On the one hand, I worry about the PC, corporate banalization that Disney brings with it (think ABC "Family", Avengers 2, etc.). On the other hand, I believe that they have a whole lot of resources available to tell the best story to an international audience with a PG rating, so they will have to keep it clean and creative. JJ Abrams seems like a home run pick who really gets it.

Based on what I've seen. I expect Episode VII and VIII to be spectacular. Not sure what will come after that.

 

[NDohio]

Never watched a Star Wars movie. I'm 35 and I'll be taking my boys (5 and 14) to the one out in December. The 5 year old is a huge fan. I have no clue where he gets it from.

You should have a Star Wars marathon with them before taking them to the new movie. Get caught up on the first six. They would love it.

 

[Irish Insanity]

You should have a Star Wars marathon with them before taking them to the new movie. Get caught up on the first six. They would love it.

I have a friend who is a Star Wars fanatic. I'm thinking I may barrow all of his Blue Ray copies during the Thanksgiving weekend. Make a long family movie weekend.

 

[wizards8507]

Its not like the other films suffered from poor marketing! And are we supposed to be rooting for corproate profits, or a great movie?

Well corporate profits help my bonus, so...

Its kind of like our relationship with NBC. On the one hand, I worry about the PC, corporate banalization that Disney brings with it (think ABC "Family", Avengers 2, etc.). On the other hand, I believe that they have a whole lot of resources available to tell the best story to an international audience with a PG rating, so they will have to keep it clean and creative. JJ Abrams seems like a home run pick who really gets it.

Yeah, ABC Family is garbage. But the counter-points to Avengers 2 would be Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Netflix' Daredevil. I'd also be shocked if they got a PG rating. The only movies that get that from the MPAA these days are kids' movies.

 

[gkIrish]

That trailer was fucking awesome. I'm so gassed up.

 

[greyhammer90]

If this movie sucks my heart will break

 

[gkIrish]

If this movie sucks my heart will break

Same.

It won't.

 

[nlroma1o]

I went to both Fandago.com and Movietickets.com to try and get presale tickets and both sites are crashed and down at the moment. I want to see this opening night so badly.

 

[ACamp1900]

If they kill off Han my heart will break and the movie will suck no matter what else happens...

FIFACamp... Seriously, tho. That's where I am. Also, I would never see one of these films opening night, I don't get it... Why subject yourself to that noise? Just wait a couple weeks and see it without the lines, crazies and packed ass theaters... I'll see it on a random early bird showing after the madness dies down. My expectations are pretty low right now, not gonna lie.

 

[loomis41973]

Never seen a single one....i feel i'm not alone.


Not sure i'm missing anything.

 

[ACamp1900]

Never seen a single one....i feel i'm not alone.


Not sure i'm missing anything.

Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest films ever made... But its such a part of Americana now that a lot the greatness of seeing it the first time NOW may be lost... Kind of like someone seeing Forrest Gump for the first time NOW after hearing every great line or moment catch phrased for years...

 

[greyhammer90]

Never seen a single one....i feel i'm not alone.


Not sure i'm missing anything.

Cool story bro.

 

[greyhammer90]

Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest films ever made... But its such a part of Americana now that a lot the greatness of seeing it the first time NOW may be lost... Kind of like someone seeing Forrest Gump for the first time NOW after hearing every great line or moment catch phrased for years...

To be fair, Forrest Gump is a garbage movie that just so happens to be quotable as all hell.

Empire is a masterpiece though.