Posted on 08/31/2016 6:56:03 AM PDT by C19fan
My brother and I have discussed this a bit, and I have to say that the prequels are mixed: there are very good things and very bad things.
For the bad, I totally agree that the dialog and wooden acting were horrible and will not stand the test of time. I count Christopher Lee (Count Dooku) and Ian McDiarmid (Senator/Chancellor Palpatine) as the great exceptions. These two talented actors have been around in the industry long enough that they can turn in a great performance even with bad direction or poorly written dialog. I think both steal every scene they are in.
For the good: Lucas does very well in world building. From the forests and plains of Naboo, to the watery world of Camino, to endlessly urban Coruscant, Mustafar, Geonosis, Lucas does know how to craft worlds and settings. Even the battle above Coruscant between the Republic and Separatists was epic in its staging. Sound design has always been superb with Star Wars, and the soundtrack, especially Duel of the Fates is great.
This was one of the problems that my brother and I had with the latest movie (The Force Awakens). It seemed the whole Star Wars universe got smaller. The desert planet of Jakka (Tatoonie copy), a brief glimpse of the capital of the New Republic before it is obliterated, snowy ice world. All were underwhelming as far as world building goes. You never got a sense of a new threat squaring off with the good guys. Even the opening post-crawl scene of the large New Order ship eclipsing the moon was rather dull. Even the soundtrack, apart from Rey’s theme sounded like Williams was coasting a bit.
Yes, ROTJ definitely clearly had, what’s the tie in, all over it... toy or otherwise.. but give Lucas credit that’s what made him his Billions... Sony though the original film was going to be such a complete flop they gave him all rights to licensing...
The first 2 films were groundbreaking... and to this day Empire is still the greatest Star Wars film made... and I don’t think that is likely to change, even with Disney making new ones... today’s filmmaking is all action, little plot.. michael bay pointlessness... I doubt you will ever see a great film made in this universe again... They will keep the fans coming, but none will live up to what was put on film in those first 2 films.
” I count Christopher Lee (Count Dooku) and Ian McDiarmid (Senator/Chancellor Palpatine) as the great exceptions. These two talented actors have been around in the industry long enough that they can turn in a great performance even with bad direction or poorly written dialog. I think both steal every scene they are in.”
I agree, they delivered solid acting in every scene they were in, no matter how poorly conceived or written the scene was... but they were by far the exception in these films.
In the Phantom Menace, I’m guessing the Anakin character was originally supposed to be a teenager, but they decided to make him a kid to appeal to younger people.
The next two, Anakin is just a moody, unlovable, dick. It violates my “suspension of disbelief” that a good-looking princess, with lots of options, would pick him as a love interest.
The force awakens was about rebuilding the brand IMHO... don’t offend anyone, play it safe.. and honestly retell in the macro the story of the first film.
Good guys, nobodies... big bag guys... big bad weapon... good guy nobodies have to destroy it...
A cantina scene for good measure.... an apocolypse now rip off leading into a big fight scene...
a sword fight for no reason because apparently storm troopers just decide to drop their guns in the middle of a big battle and fight hand to hand...
It was really about rebuilding and playing it safe, while making it all action and special effects that are how films are made today....
Will see how the next one goes...
I agree with you but the new one I would drop between sith and clones. It has a few good moments but on later reflection it’s badness shined through.
When you put Star Wars next to 2001, Solaris, Alien or Blade Runner, the unbearable lightness of its being is revealed. Paglia surprised me by going on about George Lucas’ “genius”. Lol, at making money maybe.
I was re-watching Space: 1999 a few months ago and was surprised to see how many British actors made appearances as guest stars who would go on to be cast in Star Wars movies: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Julian Glover, Brian Blessed, David Prowse.
Jar Jae Binks MUST DIE! LOL.
He wasn't as bad as people make him out to be but...he eventually gets on your nerves. Like that stupid friggin' donkey voiced by Eddie Murphy in "Shrek". By the last hour of the film you're screaming "Just shut the **** up!"
Hey levitating a nabooian fruit is pretty impressive!
Go onto YouTube and watch the Star Wars parodies by Auralnauts. Better than the prequels. Seriesly.
I have heard that the original plan was for the second death star to be orbiting the homeworld of the Wookies (Kashyyyk) but that budgeting didn’t allow for it. It would have been much more believable that oppressed Wookies would rebel and beat up on Imperial forces than teddy bears.
The best reviews, WAY BETTER than the actual film, is “Mr. Plinkett.”
http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/
The dynamics change drastically after the first signs of success, which greatly affects the direction of the franchise moving forward.
Instead of wasting your time watching those God-awful sequels (the original three being the exception) rent a copy of The Hidden Castle by the master Akira Kurosawa and see Lucas’ inspiration for his franchise.
BTW, I think the whole series started to go downhill when they insisted on sticking as many unnecessary but marketable characters as possible into the movies. Plot and dialogue be damned as long as next Christmas’ gotta-have toy has the Lucasfilm copyright.
I agree, those two items were completely unnecessary.
Perhaps the “virgin” birth thing could have been explained better if there was some exposition or scenes of Palpatine’s master, who is thought to have been able to utilize the force to create or extend life.
The only way I could see that working is after the opening crawl you have a scene where Palpatine witness his master doing that to Shmi Skywalker right before he betrays his master. If that was set on Tatooine it would sort of tie into why that planet figures frequently in galactic events even though its a backwater planet.
Would one of those be "Darth Vader in Love?" Hilarious!
I agree with one exception, and it may have been accidental on the part of the young actor playing Anakin in Episode I. In the scene where he is in front of the Jedi council and Yoda decides that he is too old and will not be trained, young Anakin is seen to narrow his eyes and furrow his brow in anger and defiance just slightly in a way that foreshadows his character
It seems almost unintentional, almost as if the actor was naturally reacting, like a young boy told by his parents he can't have the new toy.
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