Plazma

16 post s
May 5, 2005
10:15 PM I can't help it, I bought my tickets two weeks ago and I'm anxiously awaiting the midnight release of this film. I've seen some of the clips for it and the video for "Battle of the Heros" It looks very VERY visual its like sex for your eyes. I'm a star wars geek and am proud to admit it.
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"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."
-=Sun Tzu "The Art of War"=-

Boltwoman
Guest
0 post
May 6, 2005
9:07 AM I'm an old school Star Wars geek. They were probably the first films I ever fell in love with. But I found this new cycle to be disapointing. Do you think this one will be better than the last two? The one previous one was okay, but Phantom Menace was dreadful.
Plazma

17 post s
May 7, 2005
3:14 AM I liked the first two since I'm big on story telling, the first one laid down the thread, the second one began to weave the threads and the last one will weave everything together, and yes I think its going to blow all 5 previous movies out of the water, considering that it will be the darkest of all 5. All the remaining jedi except for Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin are eliminated, The republic becomes the scary Empire, the rise of Palpatine as the Emperor, and Darth Vader coming full turn to the dark side. Its going to be major. I just hope I don't jinx it. I've got high expectations.
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"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

-=Sun Tzu "The Art of War"=-

Plazma

20 post s
May 19, 2005
3:12 AM After a long awaited year or so, SW Ep. III was finally released. Yes I went to the midnight showing, yes I know that makes me a geek, and yes I'm absolutely ok with that. Now that that's out of the way, where do I start?
I'm not sure how much of a spoiler this is, but the movie had a very Shakespearian tragedy feel to it ala Othello, Darth Vadar is a very tragic character in these three episodes in compairison to the evil Lord Vadar we saw in the first movies released in the 70's and 80's.

I could sit here for what would be a very long post and talk about the intricacies of the movie and what that means to the stories as a whole.

While I think George Lucas is quite the asshole, I must give him recognition in that he's an absolutely masterful story teller. The tragedy, the love, the pure emotions and the human qualities that we can see both in ourselves and everyone else around us are personified and displayed by every character. Anakin and his love for Padme which actually leads him down the path of the Dark Side are very true emotions that anyone could easily grapple with.

The betrayal that befalls him, the brotherly love he has for Anakin and final realization by Obi-Wan are also things we can understand.

Ultimately I think that's what makes Star Wars a tail for all times more so than a lot of stories. These are all characters you develop an attachment too, and have empathy for. I actually got misty eyed when the Jedi Order was obliterated (Technically not a spoiler if you've seen the previous 3 movies.)

But anyhow if you've seen the first two star wars, then I recommend you see this one. It still sort of left something to be desired in the first one "The Phantom Menace" it still weaved the majority of that film and almost all of the second film together and then tied everything with the 70's 80's films as well.

Brilliant story telling, sometimes melodramatic acting, non stop entertainment for quite honestly the whole family though, there are a few scenes in there that might scare children, particularly with the final battle scene, and the rise of the emperor as we all saw him in the first Star Wars films.
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"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

-=Sun Tzu "The Art of War"=-

Boltwoman
Guest
0 post
May 19, 2005
9:23 AM Well, clearly, I have to see it as I am sure anyone who grew up with any of the five films will.
My favorite of the previous five: Empire Strikes Back. When I was kid I loved watching Luke's training with Yoda in the swamp, the philosophy and spirituality, and the sexy fire and ice between Hans and Leia. Is that the one where we are introduced to Jabba the Hutt(sp)? Great character. And of course Alec Guniness as Obi Wan is brilliant. If you have seen his earlier films, he is as great an actor as there ever was, and it carried over to Star Wars.

What I missed in the two most recent films was the witty dialog and sense of irony that were so prevalent in the orignial three (okay, the original two). But yes, I am eager to how Anakin transforms in Darth Vader and how Yoda and Obi-Wan (sp) try to stop him.

Is Padme developed as a character? I was surprised that since Portman is a solid actress she was played so flatly, whereas Carrie Fisher was electricity-.

Plazma

22 post s
May 20, 2005
12:10 AM Unfortunately Padme's development as a character is lacking in this third film. All you really see is that she honestly loves Anakin and is somewhat afraid of what she does or doesn't know is happening to him. She's more of a catalyst for Anakin's turn to the darkside than anything else. Thought I can't say that I'm actually sad about that, simply because the love he had for her was well developed in the AOTC, which brings me back to the idea of the TPM and AOTC being the threads that would weave these stories together.
There were parts that I felt were unnecessary to the overall movie but I'm absolutely pleased with the way this third movie turned out. I plan on seeing it again, so that instead of being swept up in the nostalgia, I can actually pay attention to the acting, the cinematograph, and the quality of CG effects used in the film, which are many.

But if you'd like more information on any of the characters may I recommend www.theforce.net I believe that's the URL. An excellent place to answer almost any Star Wars question you may have. But I give you my geek warning now, that place is chalk full of 'em.
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"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

-=Sun Tzu "The Art of War"=-

jopaku

138 post s
May 24, 2005
1:30 PM The cinematography was great. Natalie Portman is a great actress. Her character isn't developed as much as it could be, but none of them really are. This movie does blow away the others.
The previous two could have been merged and edited down to an hour or two and cut into this one making for one great epic, instead of sitting through a couple of so-so movies that were only enjoyable with an effort.
Samuel L. Jackson seemed terribly miscast and I still can't figure out what Jimmy Smits was doing in a movie like this.
I see him as a t.v. guy that doesn't have a big screen presence. Jackson usually does stand out, but here he isn't able to rise above the poorly written character he is portraying, unlike Portman, who still manages to shine.

Lucas seems to get away with a lot of mistakes in his movies. Poor casting, weak dialogue, flat storylines and inappropriate characters(j.j.binks), doesn't seem to deflate the power of the Star Wars concept.

I still enjoyed the movie, even though it took a tremendous effort on my part to overlook the massive onslaught of political analogies that were being thrown my way.
The Dems should get rid of Dean and put Lucas in charge of their party. Maybe they will start to win some elections.

me.

902 post s
May 26, 2005
4:44 AM What! It always comes back to libril bashing!
How did you do that?
JB

1325 post s
May 26, 2005
9:11 AM Does Anakin really say, "Are you with us or against us?" That's funny!
JB

1330 post s
May 29, 2005
4:28 PM Well, I saw it.
WHAT WORKS:

1) The last half hour has a few satisfying, even thrilling, moments. These provide key visuals that serve as a bridge to imagery and plot from the original films.

2) The guy playing the evil Senator Palpatine/Sith leader relishes his role, as he coaxes Anakin to the Dark Side. Good fun.

3) There's a cool lizard that Obi-Wan rides. I want to ride a big galloping colorful lizard like this one.

4) Ewan McGregor has a couple moments where he transcends the sterile script and bland direction. I can almost see him growing up to be Alex Guinness.

5) One leaves with a better understanding of Darth Vader. In this plot, the emergence of Darth Vader is dependent on Anakin's vacant immaturity. Anakin would have to be pretty shallow to make the switch to the dark side for the illogical reasons that he does. For better or worse, Hayden Christensen convinced me of Anakin’s shallowness. (Not necessarily a diss on Christensen since he showed he could act in "Shattered Glass…") A few times I saw a genuine glint of evil through the childish glowering.

6) The film stays on-point with plot, unlike the other meandering prequels.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:

1) While I can almost see Ewan McGregor morph into Alec Guinness, there is no way that happens in twenty-some years. That would take closer to forty, and we all know Luke and Leia weren’t that old.

2) The special effects. Of course they were very good, but so busy, that they do nothing to add to the excitement. In terms of excitement level, they do not improve on the originals. In the end special effects are only as good as the drama that surrounds them.

3) Lucas' direction of the actors. How is it possible for energetic and charismatic Samuel L. Jackson to be so flat? Why is Natalie Portman’s Padme so bereft of anything resembling a personality? And could the love scenes have been less convincing?

4) The dialog. How can you have all this money and time and talent and come up with such drivel? What’s even the point of C3PO here and his 1/4-assed "jokes"? Where's the sexual tension and passion? Compare the dialog in this film to the witty energetic banter in the original series. Wow -- big gap.

5) The Jedi. Collectively, these people/creatures did not seem especially wise nor powerful. And Yoda has lost his sage-like edge.

6) The political analogies. I would have welcomed them, but with paper-thin dialog, they were barely transparent. And not particularly subversive. (Jopaku, the last thing the Democrats need is more paper-thin rhetoric...)

7) Jimmy Smits!

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:

1) It is briefly implied that Anakin suspects something between Padme and Obi-Wan. With more verstile direction, that triangle could have been exciting. Like Camelot... Or Luke/Leia/Hans.

2) It would have been interesting to have a side plot. maybe just a sequence, with a scrappy street kid named Hans Solo.

MOST STUNTED AND CHEESY LINE:
Yoda: With Wookies good relationships I have.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Overall the prequels disappoint. Like most people my age, the originals were probably the most important movies of my childhood -- as allegories, spectacles, romances, and adventures. I still love the first two, especially Empire. And apparently Star Wars is still important to lots of the younger generation too, like Plazma. Therefore, I’m glad that the Star Wars series, as a whole, is in the world. Despite what Lucas says, I hope we get the sequels. But I hope Lucas does significantly more collaboration or else turns over the reigns to someone with a reverence for the orginals and a fresh persepctive. Maybe someday we'll get the Star Wars movies our imaginations our hungry for. Or maybe we'll have to settle for the last half-hour of Sith. In the meantime, I'm renting Episode One, Empire, and the movie that started it all -- Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress!

Plazma

27 post s
Jun 11, 2005
5:12 PM WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
1) While I can almost see Ewan McGregor morph into Alec Guinness, there is no way that happens in twenty-some years. That would take closer to forty, and we all know Luke and Leia weren’t that old.

"Actually the time line for the whole thing is just about right. 'A New Hope' which is the first episode from the 70's is about 30 years after Anakin turns to the dark side. Obi-Wan is a teenager roughly around 16 or 17 when he's Qui-Gon's padawan in 'The Phantom Menace' so add the time that it took for Anakin to grow up, plus the time for Luke and Leia to grow up the time is there, just not visually all that well done."

2) The special effects. Of course they were very good, but so busy, that they do nothing to add to the excitement. In terms of excitement level, they do not improve on the originals. In the end special effects are only as good as the drama that surrounds them.

"I agree, there are a lot of issues that actually a lot of star wars fans have problems with regarding the visuals in the movie. For example the big change in the way technology looks from the time that Mace Windu (Samuel L Jackson) was alive to when Darth Sidious (The Senator) was ruling the empire."

3) Lucas' direction of the actors. How is it possible for energetic and charismatic Samuel L. Jackson to be so flat? Why is Natalie Portman’s Padme so bereft of anything resembling a personality? And could the love scenes have been less convincing?

"Mace Windu was never meant to be like Jules in Pulp Fiction, or any of the other characters Jackson has played. Mace Windu is a calm even-tempered jedi so adding "mother fucker" to the end of each line although funny as hell would be out of character for the role he's playing. At least I think I'm comprehending what you mean by that statement, I may be wrong of course."

4) The dialog. How can you have all this money and time and talent and come up with such drivel? What’s even the point of C3PO here and his 1/4-assed "jokes"? Where's the sexual tension and passion? Compare the dialog in this film to the witty energetic banter in the original series. Wow -- big gap.

"I honestly don't know. C3-P0 is not really a major character at this point, he doesn't become the true comic relief until the the last 3 episodes."

5) The Jedi. Collectively, these people/creatures did not seem especially wise nor powerful. And Yoda has lost his sage-like edge.

"These three prequels don't deal with the Jedi order at the height of their influence on the galaxy, the jedi council is extremely aged at this point and near its end. The jedi order goes back over 4000 years at this point and were very insular. So then you see how Luke Skywalker changed the Jedi and created the new Jedi Order. As far as yoda goes, he was wise, but he did nothing but train when he got to the Degobah system which is after the three new episodes which may explain his sage like wisdom."

6) The political analogies. I would have welcomed them, but with paper-thin dialog, they were barely transparent. And not particularly subversive. (Jopaku, the last thing the Democrats need is more paper-thin rhetoric...)

"I rarely watch movies for analogies or things like that. Though I'm aware there are a few in there they never really caught me."

7) Jimmy Smits!
"Someone needed play Senator Ordana, and seriously for roughly 15 lines, I don't think its really important. Who would you have cast if you don't mind me asking?"

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:

1) It is briefly implied that Anakin suspects something between Padme and Obi-Wan. With more verstile direction, that triangle could have been exciting. Like Camelot... Or Luke/Leia/Hans.

"Well the whole reason that would most likely have been avoided is because Jedi Knights weren't supposed to have romantic connections like Anakin and Padme did, he had to keep it secret from the entire order. It wasn't until much later that Obi-Wan put together that Padme and Anakin were together. Obi-Wan was true to the teachings of the Jedi and was content with being where he was."

2) It would have been interesting to have a side plot. maybe just a sequence, with a scrappy street kid named Hans Solo.

"I believe if Han was born at all at this point he would have still been in diapers."

MOST STUNTED AND CHEESY LINE:
Yoda: With Wookies good relationships I have.

"Almost as bad as Yoda: Goodbye CHEWBACCA; I mean really what's the point of doing that."

FINAL THOUGHT:

Overall the prequels disappoint. Like most people my age, the originals were probably the most important movies of my childhood -- as allegories, spectacles, romances, and adventures. I still love the first two, especially Empire. And apparently Star Wars is still important to lots of the younger generation too, like Plazma. Therefore, I’m glad that the Star Wars series, as a whole, is in the world. Despite what Lucas says, I hope we get the sequels. But I hope Lucas does significantly more collaboration or else turns over the reigns to someone with a reverence for the orginals and a fresh persepctive. Maybe someday we'll get the Star Wars movies our imaginations our hungry for. Or maybe we'll have to settle for the last half-hour of Sith. In the meantime, I'm renting Episode One, Empire, and the movie that started it all -- Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress!

"I hope so too, or possibly going into the Jedi Civil wars and how it tore the jedi order apart, the Mandalorian wars and how it started the ruination of the Old Republic, or even what happened after Vadar was saved, and Luke rebuilt the Jedi Order."

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"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."