One and Only Star Wars Geekiness Thread

[SuperJerk 0]

Did anybody else think the "Noooo!!!" scene was an homage to the old Universal monster movies (especially Frankenstein)?

[Guest CronoT]

It was nice of them to leave it open like other Jedi might still be alive...its as if Lucas is planning a STAR WARS television show or something.

Well, if Lucas didn't leave open the possibility for some Jedi surviving here and there, it would simply fuck over the entire EU. The "ret-conning" that would have to take place to make it all fit would give Star Wars Puro-Geeks migranes.

[Anakin Flair 0]

Intersting note- the young Jedi that Bail Organa saw killed taking down the Clone Troopers was Lucas' son Jet, I believe.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Also, I should note that Christansen and Portman still didn't have any chemistry together, but that both performances were very solid on their own. In fact, I wonder if Portman was even right for the role; In Episodes I and II, it's clear that she wasn't a very polished actress, but anyone who's seen Garden State and Closer knows that she's matured a lot as an actress, and thus was a lot better in this movie as a result. Christansen was probably cast all along for this Episode in particular, and if they'd had another actor play Anakin in Ep.II at a younger age, it would have worked better, I think.

 

I watched Episode IV today, and holy fuck.... I'm almost compelled to put it below A Phantom Menace in the saga, but it remains just barely above it. The scenes at the spaceport was great, but the blowing up of the first Death Star was nowhere near as cool as I remembered it being. It was just like, "Oh... that's it?" It just felt so implausible and unimportant.

 

Obi-Wan vs. Vader was a total DUD, I'd give it -* maybe. Neither looked like they felt comfortable fencing at all, and it was such a short fight by two characters who are so important to the storyline. It's not like Vader was past his prime; I watched Empire Strikes Back right afterward, and Luke-Vader I was really good. Although now that I watched Episode V, I think that III was better. More action, more intrigue, far more impactful, powerful, emotional things. The only one that tops it is ROTJ, and that's only because it is the final conclusion to everything. The Ewoks almost knock it out of the top spot, but they weren't nearly as bad/annoying as the Gungans were, and played a vital role. So yeah:

 

--- Good:

1. Episode IV: Return of the Jedi

2. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

3. Episode V: Empire Strikes Back

--- Average:

4. Episode II: Attack of the Clones

--- Bad:

5. Episode IV: A New Hope

6. Episode I: A Phantom Menace

 

I think future generations will remember the thing as a saga. It's hard for us to let go of the original trilogy for us since that's what we grew up with (I remember seeing ROTJ as a little kid and I cried when Yoda died) and since the first two of the PT aren't nearly as good as the last two of the OT, it's difficult to compare. But to the kids, they'll grow up having the entire story available to them, and Anakin is prevalent in all 6 films, albeit in different forms, but you see his rise and fall and eventual redemption at the end, so it almost makes Luke's ascension to the top kind of secondary. Especially since he was such a plain, boring character in Ep. IV. Not his fault though, since most of the main characters weren't interesting until Empire Strikes Back..

[Justice 0]

My listings:

 

1) The Empire Strikes Back: So much excellent stuff in it. Perhaps the best Saber fight of them all (Luke vs. Vader #1 just OOOOZES drama, emotion, and story), the best surprises, and perhaps the most meaningful character development. The Battle of Hoth is very good, and the Asteroid Field is one of my favorite sequences ever (And by far my favorite theme out of the series). Overall, the pacing, the acting, and the plot are the best of them.

 

2) A New Hope: You might rag on it for showing it's age, but despite it all it shows us what a first episode SHOULD be. It has some great acting (Watching Alec Guinness' performance today, it's almost as though he had the prequels in mind. It's really amazing...), the Death Star battle still holds up today (It's well-paced and action-packed, but not to the point of being overbearing like too much is today). The saber battle might not have been the best, but I still like it better than most of the prequel ones because of the emotion and story behind it.

 

3) Revenge of the Sith: Loved it. You actually got emotional attachment to the characters. I thought Christensen worked out very well, and McGregor got back to form after a really out-of-place performance in #2. The fights are great, the overall feel was much better than the other prequels, and it felt like Lucas actually committed to making a dramatic film and not trying to split himself between kids and adults.

 

4) Return of the Jedi: I dunno, this one just didn't click well with me. There are some parts that are really good, but it just doesn't feel on par with the others. It's not just the Ewoks, it's just... I dunno. It's not a very good reason, I love the end battle, but part of it just drags for me. :-\

 

5) Attack of the Clones: Okay, but that's it. A lot of stuff just seemed like it was happening just for kicks. It just never developed a real flow for me. The end battle scene doesn't work for me. It's cool, but it just comes off as "Look at all the neat things the concept artist drew up!"

 

6) Phantom Menace: Ugh. Something only saved through some great acting. Qui-Gon is an excellent character, embodies pretty much exactly what yuo think the Jedi would act like: Wise, patient, defensive. I enjoyed him greatly.

 

And he wasn't wrong: If they didn't teach him, he'd never have Luke and Leia. Luke is the one who brings about balance to the force. This could only come about if Anakin was trained. If he wasn't, the Sith would still have suceeded (Sidious had the Jedi in his pocket for the most part). Anakin's actions are immaterial to the fact that it would have come to pass anyways and through Anakin came Luke who brought the balance. Not only that, Qui-Gon is the one who comes up with the idea of "The Living Force", which is why he's the first one who can do the ghost thing (That's his little mention at the end). That's why he's so much better than most Jedi.

 

Uh, other than that, the movie for the main part sucks. Anakin really needed to be older to be believable, Jake Lloyd can't act worth crap, Jar Jar was horrid in the role of comic relief (Which should NEVER really be in a Star Wars movie save for the droids), and while the overall idea was good, it was just shitty, shitty execution.

[Guest Vitamin X]

We differ on our thoughts on ROTJ and the 1st Death Star battle (to me, it felt like there wasn't any kind of battle, it just sort of happened.. most of the movie was some combination of the characters escaping or running from something, which was really lame), but although your rankings are different, I agree with most everything you said, Justice.

[Art Sandusky 0]

A thread at TF.N raged for 50 pages after one guy put together a bunch of stuff from the films, novelizations, and whatever else to say that Mace is a few shades from being a Dark Jedi, but not a Sith.

 

Again, the Obi-Wan/Vader fight is between an old man and a half robot, neither of whom have brandished their lightsaber in ten years or more probably. They've also already had a knockdown-dragout fight. They're seeing each other for the first time in 20 years. It's more about their words than their actual duel. Obi-Wan wasn't putting everything into it either, as he planned all along to have Vader cut him down. "Escape is not his plan, I must face him alone" was Vader's declaration as he went off to fight Kenobi. He could sense it also. Imagine a PT-style duel between those two. Would it really have the same effect?

[Guest Mosaicv2]

Here are my Star Wars movie rankings:

 

1. Epidose V: The Empire Strikes Back

2. Epidose VI: Return of the Jedi

3. Epidose IV: A New Hope

4. Epidose III: Revenge of the Sith

5. Esidose II: Attack of the Clones

6. Epidose I: The Phantom Menace; who doesn't hate Jar Jar Binks?

[Guest Vitamin X]

Wow, I'm not one to rag on spelling errors or anything much, but I have to mention it's amazing someone spelt episode incorrectly six times in such a small post.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Might as well join in on the rankings fun:

 

1. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

2. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

3. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

4. Episode IV: A New Hope

5. Episode II: Attack of the Clones

6. Episode I: The Phantom Menace

 

ROTS could possibly be higher, on my first viewing i definately liked it alot, the good easily outweights the bad and even the things i could nitpick about didn't really bother me much at all. Jedi, Sith and maybe A New Hope (though i haven't seen it in a long time so my memory may be off) could all interchange for me, i'm only 100% set on my favorite and least favorite of the six.

[ragingfear79 0]

Hey Vitamin i went to see it at the Crown on 57th ave where the new walmart is, normally dead. My girl was all like watch nobody be there and stuff, was cool to see the crowd there. Im gonna watch again tomorrow night that will probably change this but ill give my ratings

 

ESB

ROTJ

ROTS

ANH

AOTC

APM

[Guest Vitamin X]

Found this to be an interesting quote:

Despite these drawbacks, Mondello says Revenge of the Sith offers a serviceable tale of the genesis of Darth Vader, and how a "fair-haired kid from the intergalactic suburbs ends up emphysemic, dressed in black, and serving a dictator."

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Did anybody else think the "Noooo!!!" scene was an homage to the old Universal monster movies (especially Frankenstein)?

That wasn't even the start of it, when he got out and stumbled around I said "Frankenstein walks!" That line was totally not meant for James Earl Jones, especially Un-Vader like, too. 1980s Vader would have been like "Eh, who cares?"

 

 

I think Vitamin X is going overboard slamming on ANH as hard as he is up there. The movie isn't very good, the characters weren't as developed, at the time it more about a new form of cinema tied together with a decent little "save the princess" plot.

 

Problem is, ANH changed the movies so much that every sequel has the same formula: People talk about how the next movie will be the greatest one ever (I've even heard one person call Ep3 "the movie of our time." The fuck is up with that?) and it turns out to be exactly as bad as the last one, and not as revolutionary. So everyone is disappointed and immediately builds their hopes up for the next one.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

I'm glad others pointed out the "NOOOOOOOOO!"

 

I couldn't stop laughing.The rest was quality.

The Vader NOOOOOO actually made sense to me.

 

It was his scream of anguish that..hmm...better spoilerfy this.

 

Was his scream of anguish that, from what Palpatine told him, he was the one responsible for the very thing he was trying to prevent.

 

And hell, screams of NOOOOO run in the family. Look at Empire for a further example.

Ok, but the other NOOOOO was a NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This NOOOO was basically a nooo...... dot dot dot that just kind of trailed off.

 

I challenge anyone to defend it. Someone post an audio clip of Luke's scream and then a clip of this new piece of shit.

Easy defending of Vader's NOOOO

 

You try making your voice emote when it's being synthesized...

[Guest Smues]

When I saw the Opera thing whatever that sphere was I immediatly thought it looked like Blitzball in Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X. Maybe I was just tired when I saw it, but I ever time the camera would change and you could see the sphere and the audience I just thought it looked incredibly like the Bliztball sphere.

 

And the Vader NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo didn't bug me. Padme's "So this is how democracy dies, to Thunderous applause" bugged me.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

I thought Vader doing a "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" was super lame.

[Black Lushus 0]

great flick...moved a little too fast, but that's alright because there were parts in APM and AOTC that draaaaag. Example: the scene when Anakin finally becomes Darth Vader, to me it just kinda seemed like: "join the darkside Anakin" "mmm okay" and that was that...

 

The Order 66/Jedi Temple sequence was fantastic, probably one of the best I have seen in any movie...

 

George Lucas did a good job of showing us how tragic the character of Anakin Skywalker really is, in this film moreso than in ROTJ...a man who would do anything for his wife, sacrificing all he valued only to end up losing her anyway because of those sacrifices...

 

One thing Hayden really did well: with Vader in the original trilogy you liked him because he was a bad ass mofo, but in this flick, you hated him because he was the ultimate heel. I don't mean X-Pac heat, I'm talking Triple H 2000/2001 heat. I actually found myself really hating this guy as I watched...the youngling scene was pretty damn chilling and at the end of the Obi-Wan/Vader duel, the venom and hatred he was spewing just made me hate him so much more...

 

I found the scene with him donning the suit....odd....it was weird hearing James Earl Jones talking about Padme and of course the NOOOOOOOOOO....

 

I'm an Ewan McGregor mark, but boy did he ham up that final scene with Vader "You were the chosen one, you were like my brother, I loved you!"

 

my rankings:

ESB

ROTJ

ROTS

ANH

TPM

AOTC

 

I'll be seeing it probably two more times in the next week or so...

[Guest Nater]

Anakin : Obi-Wan :: C3-P0 : R2-D2

 

The duo represented an aspect on life and the way two different people walk down the same path.

 

They were always in the same boat but when one got erased from memory, the other continued to keep the other one in the dark.

[Black Lushus 0]

best line in the movie:

 

Bail Organa: have the protocol droids' memory wiped

 

C-3PO: WHAT???

[SuperJerk 0]

--- Bad:

5. Episode IV: A New Hope

But you've said you haven't seen it in a while though, right?

[Guest Flyboy]

I'm an Ewan McGregor mark, but boy did he ham up that final scene with Vader "You were the chosen one, you were like my brother, I loved you!"

Umm... actually, that was one of the best scenes/lines/moments in the whole entire movie.

[Black Lushus 0]

yeah sure, if you like ham...

[pochorenella 0]

According to Boxofficemojo.com, ROTS made $16.5 million on its midnight showings for Wednesday to establish a new record. That's fucking unbelievable.

My thoughts on the movie will come after I see it a couple of times between tonight and sunday. I'm enjoying all the discussion here, though.

[Guest Fook]

My rankings:

 

1) The Empire Strikes Back

2) Return of the Jedi

3) A New Hope

4) Revenge of the Sith

5) Attack of the Clones

6) The Phantom Menace

 

I'll need to watch ROTS a few more times to see if it will move up or not. It won't be moving down though.

[cabbageboy 0]

I am holding off until I see Sith tonight to give my official top 6 rankings. But isn't it interesting that so many here have a fondness for ROTJ? I think that movie is unjustly trashed in some bizarre postmodern attempt to seem cool by badmouthing Ewoks or whatever.

 

Vitamin X, hell I watched Jedi last week and I cried a little when Yoda died...and I'm 25. My dad was even a little misty eyed. And I was nearly as bad at the end. People call the ghost visions at the end cheesy but every time it works for me and I become a bitch.

[Black Lushus 0]

I've just always found the Battle Of Endor to be incredibly boring and it's not entirely the Ewoks fault, but the Emperor/Vader/Luke confrontation more than makes up for it...oh and I tend to choke up from time to time during Vader's death scene...

[Justice 0]

It's not that's it's bad or anything. I think one of the critical things is that the magic is sort of getting used up. Star Wars brought us to these fantastic worlds, Empire took us further, and Jedi is sort of at the edge of running out. It probably doesn't help that two fo the set changes have been used before (The Death Star aspect and Tatoonie).

 

Plus, the "Point of View" After-school special. Luke saying "A different point-of-view?" is probably the one line in the entire original that kinda makes me wanna groan, especially with Mark's delivery. Overall, the acting didn't seem as solid as the other two, which is completely my opinion and nothing else.

[ragingfear79 0]

I totally agree with the battle of Endor. Ever since i saw it the first time when i was lil i thought it could have had more hmph to it. But to me the three way dance totally redeemed that movie and every single time i see Vader lifting the emperor and throwing him over the rail i get goosebumps. I really hope this movie does well in the box office, I dont care what everyone else thinks or says about Lucas, im thankfull to the man for giving me the best memories of my childhood and for always giving me hours and hours of entertainment.

[cabbageboy 0]

Isn't it interesting that most people here seem to think Empire and Jedi are the two best....and those are the 2 Lucas didn't direct? The man is a wizard with technology and ideas, but in terms of actual directing of scenes and actors he leaves something to be desired. Irving Kirschner and Richard Marquand directed those by the way, and I don't think they get enough credit.

 

This might sound silly but the original Star Wars is hurt by it being carried by droids for seemingly the first 30 mins. Looking at it now, the first half hour of the film is pretty campy stuff, then once Obi Wan gets into the film it picks up a bit, and then when Han and Chewy get in it starts kicking ass. Anyone else agree with this? The first film HAD to have Han in it....he has chemistry with Leia, a cocky type friendship with Luke, and obviously with Chewy. He ties it together.

[Anakin Flair 0]

Did anybody else think the "Noooo!!!" scene was an homage to the old Universal monster movies (especially Frankenstein)?

That wasn't even the start of it, when he got out and stumbled around I said "Frankenstein walks!" That line was totally not meant for James Earl Jones, especially Un-Vader like, too. 1980s Vader would have been like "Eh, who cares?"

 

 

I think Vitamin X is going overboard slamming on ANH as hard as he is up there. The movie isn't very good, the characters weren't as developed, at the time it more about a new form of cinema tied together with a decent little "save the princess" plot.

 

Problem is, ANH changed the movies so much that every sequel has the same formula: People talk about how the next movie will be the greatest one ever (I've even heard one person call Ep3 "the movie of our time." The fuck is up with that?) and it turns out to be exactly as bad as the last one, and not as revolutionary. So everyone is disappointed and immediately builds their hopes up for the next one.

But thats just it- it wasn't the 80's Vader. It was a newley formed Vader who still loved, in some way, Padme, and had just been told that he had been the cause of the vision that he had been trying to prevent.

 

That being said, the Noooooo! was lame. The staggering around I could get, cause he had two new legs.