1203 replies to this topic

[Jim]

I'm sure I've seen them all, I think, but I find them pretty wearisome. Something about a green sock with a man's fist rammed up it dispensing fragmented syntax. Oh, give them all a three and have done with it.

[Harmsway]

Inspired by hrabb04's STAR TREK movies thread:

STAR WARS (sorry, I refuse to call it A NEW HOPE) - the best of the series. Enough said.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - vastly overrated. The scenes on Hoth go on far too long, and there's too much gloom and doom throughout. Worth it for Yoda, though.

RETURN OF THE JEDI - mediocre end to the first trilogy, but fun if you're in the right mood. As with EMPIRE's Yoda, we have a creature who steals the show - Jabba the Hutt. Harrison Ford has great fun as Han Solo.

STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE - underappreciated beginning to the saga. Jake Lloyd and Jar Jar Binks let the side down a bit, but the script, score and effects are all excellent. Wonderful new creatures (check out the guy who has problems getting started at the pod race), and an awesome villain in Darth Maul.

STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES - second best of the series. Thought-provoking script, fine performances, and some of the most imaginative design and effects ever seen.

Interesting ratings there, Loomis.

Mine are:
STAR WARS - It's vastly overrated. Boring beginning in Tattooine, Luke is annoying as hell, and Vader (the only real reason for watching Star Wars) isn't nearly as cool as he is in the other two films.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - The only Star Wars film I really like, precisely because of how dark it is. It adds great atmosphere and it's Darth Vader's shining hour. Better production design than Star Wars, better script, and the whole carbonite-freezing sequence is fantastic. Best lightsaber duel in the series.

RETURN OF THE JEDI - Weak end to the trilogy, but the throne room sequence ends up saving the film.

THE PHANTOM MENACE - The most excruciatingly boring film in the series. The whole underwater sequence is a snooze, as is the podrace. Only Darth Maul is really worth watching, and he's terribly underused.

ATTACK OF THE CLONES - Better than the Phantom Menace because it's more entertaining. God-awful dialogue harms the movie, as does a terrible performance by Hayden Christensen. That Yoda/Dooku duel is awful. The villains, Dooku and Jango Fett, are very underused. The action sequences are flat and uninteresting.

Edited by Harmsway, 12 August 2004 - 10:35 PM.

[00-FAN008]

Star Wars (A New Hope)=
The Empire Strikes Back= (That's when everything turned to in the Star Wars world!)
Return Of The Jedi=
The Phantom Menace= (Jar-Jar didn't bug me too much...)
Attack Of The Clones=

Edited by 00-FAN008, 12 August 2004 - 10:30 PM.

[Johnboy007]

(Jar-Jar didn't bug me too much...)

The best part of Attack of the Clones was Padme cutting off Jar Jar, the crowd in the theater cheered louder than any other point in that movie!

[freemo]

Is it just me, or is the law of diminishing returns in effect here...

STAR WARS - Great stuff. Would have been a great stand alone film. Got the OT (that's "original trilogy" for those not in "the know" acronym wise) box set on video, just before the crappy special editions, which apparently means that Han shoots first instead of that other fellow. Makes sense, I mean, if the other fellow shot first, wouldn't Han be dead?

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - You know, I just realised the other day that bugger all actually happens in these films. Take ESB: They leave that snow planet, Luke goes and visits Yoda while the rest fly around for a bit, then they meet up in cloud city and have a bit of a run in with Darth Vadar and friends before everyone (expect Han) flys off again. Overrated. Still good though.

RETURN OF THE JEDI - Best part is the first 20 minutes or so, with the escape from Jabba the Hutt, and ofcourse Princess Leia in the gold bikini. Oh yeah, now you're talking. Rest of the movie is okay, just sort of travels along, not so good, not so bad. ESB is a tad better.

THE PHANTOM MENACE - Underrated. I thought this was very enjoyable. Great story telling. Great fun. Come on prequel haters, embrace it. It's as good a "opening chapter" as you could hope for. I did say "law of diminishing returns" before, but this better than the RTOJ and probably better than ESB too.

ATTACK OF THE CLONES - Haven't seen it.

Really, the original one is a clear winner. The rest are really much of a muchness.

[Righty007]

EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE
EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI

I love Episodes IV, V, & VI. I saw all three of them in theater when they were re-released in 1997. I think I got the STAR WARS trilogy for Christmas '98. I have tried watching the beginning of Episode I and its so boring I've never been able to finish it. Maybe I'll watch Episodes I & II with my friend who is a STAR WARS fan before Episode III comes out. I doubt I'll get the new STAR WARS trilogy on DVD because I don't love them enough to replace my VHS's. Every once in awhile I have a STAR WARS marathon and I think this thread has influenced me to have another one soon.

Edited by Righty007, 29 May 2005 - 03:37 AM.

[JackChase007]

EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (I suspect I'll rate this one as well)

But.... but....

Sorry Loomis... I guess I must be a stick in the mud

No, Athena, you definately are not - I agree with you completely on the prequels...

For me, the only things that make the prequels worth watching are Liam Neeson in Episode I and Jango Fett in Episode II.

But as far as the series goes as a whole, there are only THREE movies as far as I'm concerned, and they were made in 1977, 1980, and 1983. None of this prequel business for me.

[Righty007]

EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (I suspect I'll rate this one as well)

But.... but....

Sorry Loomis... I guess I must be a stick in the mud

No, Athena, you definately are not - I agree with you completely on the prequels...

For me, the only things that make the prequels worth watching are Liam Neeson in Episode I and Jango Fett in Episode II.

But as far as the series goes as a whole, there are only THREE movies as far as I'm concerned, and they were made in 1977, 1980, and 1983. None of this prequel business for me.

The prequels wern't a last minute thing because they were planned before STAR WARS came out. Episodes I, II, & III are as part of the series as Episodes IV, V, & VI. Episodes IV, V, & VI just happened to be better.

[Athena007]

But as far as the series goes as a whole, there are only THREE movies as far as I'm concerned, and they were made in 1977, 1980, and 1983.  None of this prequel business for me.

My thoughts exactly

(though I must admit, I've enjoyed watching Ewan McGregor in the prequels)

[Righty007]

I'm no STAR WARS fan but isn't Episode IV's official name STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE? You all are making it sound like A NEW HOPE is an alternate title when really it's part of the official title.

[MillesGloriosus]

Ranked from Best to Worst

1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope
3. Return of the Jedi
4. The Phantom Menace
5. Episode II: Citizens on Patrol

[Harmsway]

The prequels wern't a last minute thing because they were planned before STAR WARS came out. Episodes I, II, & III are as part of the series as Episodes IV, V, & VI. Episodes IV, V, & VI just happened to be better.

They were barely planned at all before Ep. IV came out. If you even read the draft right before the shooting script of A New Hope, you'd be amazed how much is different. If there's anything I know, it's that Lucas really didn't have an exact vision of his saga at any point. Heck, Lucas didn't even really know what TESB and ROTJ were going to look like.

Both TESB's and ROTJ's early forms are unrecognizable from their finished products. ROTJ originally had two Death Stars (!). And Lucas' earliest conceptions of Ep. I were likewise quite different from the finished product. Lucas' filmmaking style is to invent as he goes along and hope that the finished product is acceptable.

I really think that the prequel trilogy was unnecessary. It ruins a lot of the mystique of the series for me thinking that Darth Vader was an annoying little kid and then a bratty teenager. Ugh.

Edited by Harmsway, 13 August 2004 - 12:32 AM.

[freemo]

5. Episode II: Citizens on Patrol

LOL! Fantastic.

Come on prequel haters, open up your hearts. Embrace the new films. You know you want to.

[Johnboy007]

The prequels wern't a last minute thing because they were planned before STAR WARS came out. Episodes I, II, & III are as part of the series as Episodes IV, V, & VI. Episodes IV, V, & VI just happened to be better.

Yes, what Harmways said. (Beat me to it!)

They weren't really planned as movies though, just a background story for the original trilogy. He started creation of the events in Star Wars, but made outlines of where everyone came from which has become the core of the prequels, but not specific events like Genosis and Naboo, just a background story.

It wasn't really until 1994-95 that is was known that a prequel trilogy would be made.

[Harmsway]

Come on prequel haters, open up your hearts. Embrace the new films. You know you want to.

Not really. I like the vision that I created through speculation after watching the original trilogy far better than what Lucas showed me. But hey, if some people like the prequels, go for it!

[zencat]

STAR WARS (that's the title, it is NOT A New Hope)
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
RETURN OF THE JEDI
EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MEANCE
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH - I give the title

[00-FAN008]

I found "The Empire Strikes Back" too depressing to enjoy. I didn't like it when Han Solo was frozen in carbonite, and I didn't like it when Luke Skywalker got his hand chopped off. But I can't say it was a bad film.

[Righty007]

Why isn't it STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, zencat?

[Johnboy007]

I found "The Empire Strikes Back" too depressing to enjoy. I didn't like it when Han Solo was frozen in carbonite, and I didn't like it when Luke Skywalker got his hand chopped off. But I can't say it was a bad film.

That's what makes the movie great, we can't have the Rebels win every single round, or the movies wouldn't as enjoyable. It makes the Rebels seem vulnerable, which they are.

Chris: It wasn't originally Star Wars: A New Hope. Fans who saw it in theatres in 1977 (Zencat, lucky devil) saw STAR WARS in the opening credits roll, not STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE. A New Hope was just tagged on a few years later, when Lucas decided to make prequels, and just plain Star Wars, didn't fit.

[Righty007]

I love the "snow" one! Isn't that THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK?

[Righty007]

Chris: It wasn't originally Star Wars: A New Hope. Most fans (who saw it in theatres) saw STAR WARS in the opening credits roll, not STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE. A New Hope was just tagged on a few years later, when Lucas decided to make prequels, and just plain Star Wars, didn't fit.

Thanks. It's STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE to me.

[zencat]

[quote name='Righty007' date='12 August 2004 - 17:55'] [quote name='Johnboy007' date='12 August 2004 - 19:48'] Chris:

[Johnboy007]

What about Raiders of the Lost Ark? Lucas now wants us to all call it: "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Never!

Good thing we got DVD's of the movies before he does so.

Doesn't matter that much now!

[JackChase007]

I'm no STAR WARS fan but isn't Episode IV's official name STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE? You all are making it sound like A NEW HOPE is an alternate title when really it's part of the official title.

When it was first released, the film's title was simply Star Wars. However, once the film became a hit and Lucas dreamed up his epic series (well, at least THREE of the films are epic...), he decided to title the entire saga Star Wars, and to give each film a subtitle (such as A New Hope, etc). It wasn't until later editions of the film (when it was released in theatres over the years and subsequently released on VHS, Laserdisc, and so on) that it was renamed A New Hope.

When the film first came out, there was no "Episode IV: A New Hope" tag at the beginning.

[JackChase007]

Damn, looks like I was beaten to the punch on the title thing.

Why did it hafta take me so long to type up? OH THE AGONY!!!

Sorry - melodramatics are over.

[freemo]

[quote name='zencat' date='13 August 2004 - 11:05'] What about Raiders of the Lost Ark? Lucas now wants us to call it: "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Never!

[zencat]

I think that's why I resent Lucas' attempt to make Star Wars just another "episode." It's not. It's a movie that stands on it's own and is ground zero in the Star Wars universe. It deserves the title STAR WARS. All the others are sequels.

But I think these days all Lucas cares about is efficient packaging. Forget the masterpiece of my youth! Stick it in a box with the rest of my junk and sell, sell, sell the toys!

Lucasfilm = the Empire.

[DLibrasnow]

Star Wars:

The Empire Strikes Back:

Return of the Jedi:

The Phantom Menace:

Attack of the Clones:

[Qwerty]

[quote name='zencat' date='12 August 2004 - 21:05'] [quote name='Righty007' date='12 August 2004 - 17:55'] [quote name='Johnboy007' date='12 August 2004 - 19:48'] Chris:

[Harmsway]

I found "The Empire Strikes Back" too depressing to enjoy. I didn't like it when Han Solo was frozen in carbonite, and I didn't like it when Luke Skywalker got his hand chopped off. But I can't say it was a bad film.

That's what makes it brilliant. Besides, Star Wars is a movie where it's okay to root for the bad guy. Vader is so freakin cool. And part of the brilliance is just its emotional impact - it's more resonating than any of the others.