The Star Wars Thread, Ep II: Blu or Blu Not, There is No Original Theatrical Release

[mobvok]

Lucas in youtube video says he has treatments for 7, 8 and 9

says he got tired of running a company, and Kathleen/Disney was a good fit.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Either way, apparently you have no rebuttal.

I have a laundry list of rebuttals. The prequel films ranged from okay (Sith) to 100% horseshit (Phantom Menace).

But what's the point in arguing? It's like me trying to explain to a hardcore Browns fan that their team sucks.

 

[dazzledbylight]

My need for more Star Wars is more than quenched by the books. I don't need to see other actors playing characters I already know and love. Just fuck this.

any books you'd reccomend? i hated the thrawn trilogy.

i did read 1 other one (don't remeber author - might have been woman) but i don't have a negative impression of it ....just got more interested in other things

 

[bono_212]

I will never agree with Disney being a good fit, but if they somehow got Spielberg, that would be the single saving grace.

 

[bono_212]

any books you'd reccomend? i hated the thrawn trilogy.

i did read 1 other one (don't remeber author - might have been woman) but i don't have a negative impression of it ....just got more interested in other things

Every Star Wars fan should read Shadows of the Empire.

 

[bono_212]

I have a laundry list of rebuttals. The prequel films ranged from okay (Sith) to 100% horseshit (Phantom Menace).

But what's the point in arguing? It's like me trying to explain to a hardcore Browns fan that their team sucks.

That's, like, you're opinion, man.

 

[trojanchick99]

My disclaimer here is that I'm actually a bigger Indy fan than SW fan. So, I probably have that bias. Indy was out of sync for sure. I liked it enough when it came out, but it feels much more forced and cheesier than the 80's films. Shia shouldn't have been in it and, from what I understand, much better stories were tossed aside in favor of a feeble attempt at 50's sci-fi.

Sith was the only one I felt held a candle to the original three. Visually, I was torn. I thought just about every other frame of the Phantom Menace was a pure eyesore, though much of the series did indeed exhibit superior craftmanship. The main thing I find unforgivable is that I can't think of one character I cared a whole lot about in the prequels. Most of the actors seemed miserably miscast and every performance was horribly wooden (if not flat out bad). Far from the cast of colorful, memorable characters I grew up with in the 80's.

I've watched the prequels recently, as Spike runs them every month, and outside of JarJar and some cringe worthy acting by Hayden Christensen, the kid and at times Natalie Portman they held up well. Visually, the were great, I loved kick ass Yoda, and Ewan MacGregor was the best part of all three of the prequels.

 

[bono_212]

I don't know how you can watch the end of Revenge of the Sith and tell me with a straight face that you don't care about the characters.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

I don't know how you can watch the end of Revenge of the Sith and tell me with a straight face that you don't care about the characters.

Actually, that's the closest I came to feeling something. But the character development (thanks in part to the poor acting, except for McGregor) was what killed it for me. Tragic endings make more of an impact if the rest of the story is more masterfully told.

 

[LemonMelon]

Phantom Menace - an embarrassment; the dialogue sounds like something they commissioned a high school student to spit out in 20 minutes, wooden acting outside of Neeson and a couple others, visually solid but I don't really give a fuck about how it looks if the content is so subpar otherwise

Attack of the Clones - the pacing is atrocious, which sinks an otherwise interesting story; probably the least memorable of the three, though it still ranks above Phantom Menace simply for not being awful

Sith - definitely the finest of the batch; great pacing, great climax, some shithouse acting from Christensen, who actually made me laugh a few times (yeah, he really blows the ending), and Portman is almost entirely useless, but Ian McDiarmid is so good that I can phase out the rest, and the last 40 or so minutes alone make it worth the price of admission

So yeah, Disney Star Wars doesn't have to do much to top the prequels. Even average casting and writing will suffice at this point. I don't know about Lucas' visual sophistication because the acting and dialogue more often than not made me want to vomit out of my eyes.

 

[Danny Boy]

I don't know how you can watch the end of Revenge of the Sith and tell me with a straight face that you don't care about the characters.

After the "romantic" lake scene in Clones, I was rooting for Anakin and Padme to die.

 

[bono_212]

After the "romantic" lake scene in Clones, I was rooting for Anakin and Padme to die.

Hold me like you did on Naboo

 

[LemonMelon]

After the "romantic" lake scene in Clones, I was rooting for Anakin and Padme to die.

Every time I watch that scene (and every scene involving Christensen and Portman) I expect to hear "No, no! CUT! CUUUTTT!" coming out from behind the camera. But no, for some reason it keeps going.

 

[dazzledbylight]

Movie popcorn? I'm in!

George Lucas' personal touch is responsible for the visual sophistication of the prequels, which maintain a formal integrity coming from one experienced director handling all three (something the OT sorely lacks). Return Of The Jedi's flat, uninspired look is what you may get without that involvement.

Because these films are meant for international audiences, I'm a lot more concerned with how these sequels are visualized than potential lame dialogue. So, the dumb jokes and corny lines we lose with Lucas stepping down might not be worth also losing his gifts as a storyteller through moving images.

I see what you mean by visual integration re the Prequals but what was was it visually that you found flat in ROTJ? (not counting the semi-ridiculousness of the ewoks <tho the tree houses/bridges were awesome>). Certainly the baiting of Luke and subsequent duel with the Emparor was pretty awesome!

ESB is the one i really love in the end, with the all the others being like, like alot with scenes I really love in all of them. AND ANH was the kick-off world/universe bulder.

I'd like to see some cameos with the OT charactors while focusing on ?? their kids as young adults foward in #7, rebuilding the Jedi, and possibly changing some of the Jedi code and also bringing in one or two new other sapient Jedi as major charactors. Maybe hidden Empirests ready to make a come.

But it does negate the higher budget features.maybe if Cinderella 2 was an isolated incident,i could agree with you, but there is far more than one sequel to that one.plus don't get me stated on what a shit-fest Pixar has turned into.

What Pixar movies are you complaing about? Other than Cars 2 ....

 

[LemonMelon]

Pixar made Wall-E four years ago. The last Disney film to match that was the fucking Lion King. Cars 2 was an embarrassment, but four years without a masterpiece (and two other very good films in the meantime) is no reason to call Pixar a "shitfest" yet, and it's certainly no blame of Disney's either way. Since the merger, they've released Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3 to go along with all the crap, which is pretty strong.

 

[bono_212]

I see what you mean by visual integration re the Prequals but what was was it visually that you found flat in ROTJ? (not counting the semi-ridiculousness of the ewoks <tho the tree houses/bridges were awesome>). Certainly the baiting of Luke and subsequent duel with the Emparor was pretty awesome!

ESB is the one i really love in the end, with the all the others being like, like alot with scenes I really love in all of them. AND ANH was the kick-off world/universe bulder.

I'd like to see some cameos with the OT charactors while focusing on ?? their kids as young adults foward in #7, rebuilding the Jedi, and possibly changing some of the Jedi code and also bringing in one or two new other sapient Jedi as major charactors. Maybe hidden Empirests ready to make a come.

What Pixar movies are you complaing about? Other than Cars 2 ....

Regarding hidden empirests : iirc, a lot of the AU books focus on the fact that by killing the emperor, they didn't destroy the entire force of his army, and they become a good portion of he villainy.

As for Pixar: two Toy Story sequels, Cars 2, monsters University (one of the biggest offenders)

 

[bono_212]

As most of you already know, I find ratatouille to be one of the worst things I've ever seen.

 

[lazarus]

dazzled: I just don't find the frame compositions in Jedi to be very interesting. Lucas didn't direct Empire either but Kirschner gave us a lot of iconic imagery.

Lucas has said before that he considers dialogue to be just one element of the soundtrack, secondary to the music and probably the sound design as well. These films are watched around the world, often not even in English. So ultimately, how good the line deliveries are isnt as important as the other things.

 

[LemonMelon]

monsters University

You should drop them some suggestions. They still have a year to fix it.

 

[LemonMelon]

Lucas has said before that he considers dialogue to be just one element of the soundtrack, secondary to the music and probably the sound design as well. These films are watched around the world, often not even in English. So ultimately, how good the line deliveries are isnt as important as the other things.

What a bunch of fanboy bullshit. Come on. This is like accepting Bono's word if he had justified Sexy Boots by saying he couldn't be fucked to write anything better.

Clearly, Lucas' whole ass was used for the dialogue to IV-VI. There are scores of brilliant lines. He can't half-ass it and play the "it's not that important" card now.

 

[bono_212]

I'm going to need you to give me examples of these droves of great dialogue.

 

[LemonMelon]

In the original trilogy? Are you kidding me?

I could quote New Hope backwards.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

I hope Disney can find a way to undo the desecration of the original trilogy. I can ignore the prequels, but I can't forgive the aggressive mutilation of three classics.

 

[bono_212]

In the original trilogy? Are you kidding me?

I could quote New Hope backwards.

You were suggesting those lines were remarkable, not memorable.

 

[bono_212]

I hope Disney can find a way to undo the desecration of the original trilogy. I can ignore the prequels, but I can't forgive the aggressive mutilation of three classics.

Desecration?

Agressive mutilation?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

It seems now, at least in this thread, that today's news has merely stirred up a bunch of lame and done-to-death conversations and arguments.

Are the prequels any good? Is Return of the Jedi any good? Lucas is an asshole! What are the best Pixar movies?

Too bad.

Let me know when there's more information about the upcoming trilogy.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Desecration?

Agressive mutilation?

Greedo shoots first, Bad Jabba CGI, Sy Snootles redo, Hayden ghost, Luke screaming like a girl as he falls, Darth yelling NOOOOO! at the end of ROTJ, . . . If you think any of these jacked up changes are anything short of an abomination, I have no idea what to tell you.

 

[LemonMelon]

You were suggesting those lines were remarkable, not memorable.

So you find nothing remotely poignant, even superficially so, in Empire? Luke's scenes with Vader in the closing minutes of Jedi? As someone fascinated by dialogue and screenwriting, I'm of the opinion that the most remarkable lines are fairly pithy. In a science fiction context, they tap into some universal truth about humanity and condense the message to a few words, all the while relating to the film's universe. Obviously, you're not going to get an MLK speech out of Star Wars, but there still are many subtly inspirational lines.

I'm not going to spend 5 seconds of my time contrasting those with the prequels because I'm preaching to the choir here, but the only lines from the prequels that truly resonated with me all came from Yoda, and even those were few and far between.

 

[bono_212]

We've had the hayden ghost argument enough. I am ardently pro his inclusion. Seeing jabba in New Hope was great for 12 year old me, so I have no issue.

Obviously I'll concede Han shot first.

I have no idea what you're talking about with Vader screaming.

 

[LemonMelon]

It seems now, at least in this thread, that today's news has merely stirred up a bunch of lame and done-to-death conversations and arguments.

Are the prequels any good? Is Return of the Jedi any good? Lucas is an asshole! What are the best Pixar movies?

Too bad.

Let me know when there's more information about the upcoming trilogy.

Well, it's not like the announcement was going to go without discussion. This isn't the Interference homepage.

I'll let you know what's up in 2015