1203 replies to this topic

[Janus Assassin]

I'm really going to dread working this weekend at the AMC, because believe the theater is going to be packed as hell. But in one way it's going to be exciting. It's like Christmas, so much anticipation is in this film, it's fun.

Sucks for you dude. But look at it my perspective. You didn't work at an Irish Sports Bar on St. Patty's Day. I guess were even.

[Genrewriter]

I notice a bunch of negative reviews are coming in now from the can't get laid fanboy geeks.  I hate these people with a passion.  Not sure which group is worse, the Star Wars fanboys or the Star Trek ones.

Oh, I'd call it a tie. Both can tend to venture into the realm where fandom becomes psychosis quite regularly. Rather disturbing. Still, I always say that if you ever feel as though you're a loser with no life or you just feel bad about yourself all you need to do is go onto a sci-fi message board and roam around for a bit. I'll tell you what, that's right up there with state fairs and Wal-Mart for improving the old self esteem.

[Tarl_Cabot]

While not a huge Star Wars fan, I'm getting kind of pumped for all this myself. The hype is actually kind of fun even if it would be nice to watch television without getting pummeled with a different Star Wars commercial two or three times a break.

The hype is beginning to annoy me, along with Harry Knowlesish "reviews" like:

REVENGE OF THE SITH is the most perfect ****ing film ever made by the hand of man. No words can express how ****ing cool it is, how perfectly Lucas integrates it with the other five episodes. You cannot possibly have the slightest understanding of the power of this masterpiece unless, like me, you saw the first one in 1977 (yes, the one with Han firing first, and the one that used to be called just STAR WARS rather than STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE). Chewie's appearance in SITH just brought tears to my eyes, and the way Tarkin was handled - well, folks, I nearly came. Straight after seeing SITH I drove home in a daze, my hands were shaking, and I watched my bootleg DVDs of the original trilogy, and then dived straight into my ultra-rare Turkish 16mm prints of TPM and AOTC which both have exactly four seconds of unseen footage and these really cool credits in some weird-*** Middle Eastern font or something, and I finally fell asleep reading my autographed by Lucas copy of the script for the pilot of the proposed Boba Fett TV show (which I assure you will KICK MAJOR *** if it gets made), and I'll review SITH again once I've seen it two or three more times on the big screen, which should be doable over the next 36 hours....

Agreed that there are much worse films out there, though, Turn.

Nice.

I saw Star Wars in '77 and I was 7 years old and I did not ever
see it again or buy or ask my dad for any SW toys.And I didn't see Empire until 1981. I saw it for the first time the same weekend I saw 'Raiders'. I liked the movies but I thought Bond was cooler.

[Gri007]

[quote name='The Dove' date='16 May 2005 - 20:20'][quote name='Gri007' date='16 May 2005 - 04:18'] It is interestin to note the titles

[Harmsway]

It is interestin to note the titles  of the new trilogy to the old trilogy.

They have the same amount of words in

The Phantom Menace + A New Hope (3 words)

Attack Of The Clones + The Empire Strikes Back (4 words)

Revenge Of The Sith + Return Of The Jedi (4 words)

Was it done like this or is it just  a coincidence

It was definitely intentional - Lucas said he chose the titles to compliment each other. The films are also supposed to compliment each other in a similar way:

TPM/ANH - Introduction
AOTC/TESB - A romance
ROTS/ROTJ - One falls into darkness, the other rises to victory

[Johnboy007]

Reviews seem evenly divided between completely awesome and total crap, with very little in between. The common points seem to be that the acting and dialogue are terrible once again, but the action scenes, lightsaber duels, and the baddies are spectacular. It's the best of the prequels, and to some, the best since Empire, and for some, better than A New Hope.

Holding my breath until Saturday night...

[Stephenson]

Saw it last night! Won't give away anything, except to say that it was very good, but not great. ESB was great, and while this comes close in parts (the opening is amazing!!), it isn't consistent. Only my opinion, but if helps four theatres worth of Guatemalan movie goers loved it and were walking around with huge smiles after.

[The Dove]

Its great that those of you who have been fortunate to have seen "Sith" already, are at least liking it. It doesn't have to be your absolute favorite Star Wars film. Personally, I already know I'm going to love it, and I haven't seen it yet!! I'm just gonna ignore all the nay-sayers and negative critics (as I have done with Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones) and just enjoy myself when I go see it.

[Stephenson]

With that attitude, you definitely will. Have fun!

[[dark]]

Just came home from seeing it (exclusive Uni screening)!

For the most part, it's very good (the first and last half-hours in particular). Occassionally, there's some horrid dialogue (par for the course, though), but it's lost amidst the spectacular action sequences, some of the best of the series. The opening space battle is superb.

Harry Knowles is on the money in his review about the film being tied together nicely with the original trilogy. All throughout the film, you can see the pieces falling into place with how we're greeted in Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. I was worried - as I have been all throughout the prequels - that it would be a little too nicely tied together, but it's handled here quite well, and the point at which the film ends, is perfect.

Of course, the film is an absolute downer. It's dark, depressing and ends badly for all characters concerned.

Without doubt the best of the prequels, but it doesn't touch the greatness of the original trilogy (my rankings for the series are: V, IV, VI, III, II, I).

Oh, and R2D2 clearly steals the show in the film's first half, while Yoda does in the second.

[The_Mole]

Saw it at 12:30am this morning at a preview screening.

Damn...

Better than Attack of the Clones, although I'd say some elements prevent it from topping the original trilogy. The best of the prequels by far!

Bloody worth the money!!!

Just watch out for the chilling ending... Sent a shiver down my spine when 'he' (to avoid spoilers, but everyone knows who anyway) goes bionic.

The film is incredibly depressing, and there will be scenes that make you think just how evil one can become.

/spoiler.gif

I may be evil, but I'm not the kind of guy to kill a room load of kids at an Emporer's wish...

/gen_line.gif

Not as much emotional ending as LOTR, but well worth it.

Don't stand there taking my word for it, see it!

Edited by The_Mole, 19 May 2005 - 01:07 PM.

[trs007]

AGREED. Was at the midnight show earlier today as well, and what an experience. Awesome.

[Skudor]

So, if I was bored and appalled by the atrocious acting in the last two installments, will I dislike this one?

[Stephenson]

So, if I was bored and appalled by the atrocious acting in the last two installments, will I dislike this one?

The acting is better in this one than the other two. It's just that every single line is supposed to have such weight and emotional power that it can't be sustained. The actors all slip into over acting at times. The dialogue itself isn't really any better or worse than the OT (as Ford said to Lucas, "You can write this , but you can't say it.") but OT had better actors overall, as well as better directors for the last two IMO.

[Bond_Bishop]

This movie rocks! I can't say more than that. It is so darn good I can't describe it with words. Congratulations to Lucas! I feel this is the best SW movie since ROTJ

[Brix Bond]

Yes, this movie is, for the most part, actually quite surprisingly good.

However.

There is one moment which thwarts the film's attempt to be genuinely good. One moment above every other moment in the film where they positively COULD NOT screw it up...and they screwed it up.

To paraphrase the character in question:

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

[Brix Bond]

Oh.

But Yoda delivers the best line in cinema history.

Fact.

[00-FAN008]

Well, dammit. It appears my brother has already bought tickets to Episode III, and now he's going to see this film without me.
But I think this means he will miss both the last episode of Apprentice and the CSI season finale. At least I think so.

[Donovan]

I liked it a lot, but didn't love it. The best thing was all the lightsaber duels, which is really what everyone wants to see anyway. You really get your money's worth in this one, lightsaber-wise. (But it seemed to me like the sound effects for the sabers was really under-mixed).

But, yes, the dramatic moments kind of fly by. I was amazed at how wooden Natalie was. She makes George Lazenby look like Marlon Brando (well, maybe not physically).

[The_Mole]

Obi-Wan was a bit wooden.

Well, if a bit means the equivalent of a tree.

Even his

/spoiler.gif

"YOU WERE LIKE A BROTHER TO ME! YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!!!"

/gen_line.gif

line didn't seem to come from his heart.

The Sith Lord Sidious (with manky teeth - message to kids: avoid sweets and Jedis) stole the show, as did Yoda.

And Brix, what line of Yoda's did you mean by the greatest in cinema history?

[General A. Ourumov]

It is interestin to note the titles  of the new trilogy to the old trilogy.

They have the same amount of words in

The Phantom Menace + A New Hope (3 words)

Attack Of The Clones + The Empire Strikes Back (4 words)

Revenge Of The Sith + Return Of The Jedi (4 words)

Was it done like this or is it just  a coincidence

Also, you'll notice that "The Phantom Menace" refers to one of the characters in the film, as does "A New Hope".

"Attack of the Clones" and "The Empire Strikes Back" refer to an army, or a large group of people.

"Return of the Jedi" and "Return of the Sith" have obvious similarities.

[General A. Ourumov]

In regards to my thoughts on Episode III, I saw it on Wednesday the 18th (oh how lucky I was!), and I have to say it really is amazing.

I still woouldn't put it above the original three, because those will always be a little special to me but, it's bloody good. Acting and dialogue is poor though, which is a shame. The only performance I gave a damn about was that of Ian McDiarmid, who was absolutely blinding!

Good Stuff.

[hrabb04]

Natalie Portman made me feel wooden.

[Robinson]

The best of the Prequel Trilogy IMO. It almost makes me wish that some of these events had been spread out over the trilogy (Battle on Kashyyk, Grevious, etc). This was a well-paced film that actually could've gone on another 10-15 minutes- especially since Anakin's journey seems a bit forced.

The film has the same faults that have dogged the other two and I swear every I see Lucas go "cut, it's perfect," Ed Wood immediately comes to mind. Dude, do another take for safety. The effects are seemless save for one or two scenes at the end. I love how Lucas went the Scorsese route ala "Goodfellas" for the opening sequence.

That being said, the film's a worthwhile experience and I was satisfied at how this trilogy came to a close. How in the next "twenty years" Obi-Wan goes from Ewan "I've got the high ground" McGregor to Alec Guinness, is going to be a stretch.

There'll be plenty of time to nitpick but I enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to seeing it on a digital projector in the next week or so.

[Johnboy007]

I have tickets for it tomorrow at 10 A.M.

Can't wait!

[The Dove]

WOW!!! I just saw it today and boy did Revenge of the Sith totaly blow me away!! It supersceded all my expectations and I just was thrilled with how kick it was!! It really tied in very, very well with Episode IV and the beginning of the original trilogy and was even more dark and sinister than what I was suspecting. Overall I give this film a grade of "A"! I'm already planning to go and see it again next week. I won't spoiling anything for those of you who have yet to see it, so I'll hold off on discussing my favorite scenes for a while. While I haven't fully had time to let Episode III sink in, here is a pretty good scale of how I would grade it with the other Star Wars films (subject to change once I see it a few more times)...

Ep. I- The Phantom Menace B-
Ep.II- Attack of the Clones A
Ep. III- Revenge of the Sith A
Ep. IV- A New Hope A
Ep. V- Empire Strikes Back A+
Ep. VI- Return of the Jedi B+

[Tarl_Cabot]

You gave The Phantom Menace a B-? You musta been in a really good mood after Denver won the Superbowl in '99.

I give menace a C-. I loved the battle droids, Darth Maul and the vistas but the rest sucked.

[Righty007]

I saw it today and I liked it.

[Loomis]

Seems very tough to get tickets for this in London at the moment. Never known anything like it. Probably see it next weekend.

[The Dove]

You gave The Phantom Menace a B-? You musta been in a really good mood after Denver won the Superbowl in '99.  

I give menace a C-. I loved the battle droids, Darth Maul and the vistas but the rest sucked.

LOL...very funny Tarl! I gave Menace a B- because first and formost its a Star Wars movie. Despite its weaknesses, I still like it. Granted its not my favorite, but I'll take it over those god awful TV movies Ewoks and The Ewok Adventure (1984, 1985). Those I would give C minus to.