Star Wars Episode 7

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

Originally Posted by Shark_Blade

Cheers. I do enjoy ESB as well, reading how you described the movie makes me wanna watch it again when I get home later lol.

And yeah Christensen.. I don't really feel the chemistry between him and Padme. Padme worked with what she got and she came off very natural and endearing, but Anakin..the less talk about him the better.

What if I told you those good moments in Phantom Menace are far superior and much more abundant than all the other films' good moments?

You need to chillax and take differing opinion from yours more calmly rather than calling people "nuts".

That's funny that you say that about wanting to watch ESB because I've been in the mood to watch it for like the last few weeks and the other night on the way home from church I told my wife that I wanted to watch ESB and she was like "We are watching Mad Men!" LOL. I've still not lost my hankering though. That movie just never gets old to me. I'll tell you something really awesome too. We have a Disney "timeshare" and we go a few times a year and in 10 days I will be back for our first trip this year and we are usually there in May during "Star Wars Week" at Hollywood Studios. It's really fun. But this year I'm gonna do this thing that they started doing where they do a cast of your face and then "freeze" it in "carbonite" and basically you wind up with an action figure of yourself frozen like Han! How awesome is that?! It costs $100 to do it but I think it's worth it for a hardcore geek. What do you think? Han is also my favorite character ever so that makes it even more worth it to me.

[electric_sheep]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

The scene where he's being forced to do that by the guy that tricked him into embracing the dark side and basically was the cause of his emotional and physical destruction?

How can you not feel sympathy for a guy that was broken and pretty much turned into a trained animal by some asshole in a cloak? This is all stuff established in the original trilogy. Obi-Wan got the ball rolling in New Hope.

You watch the prequels? It was all his fault, he wasn't seduced into the dark side, he was trciked into. Anakin was going with Palpatine's plan because he told him he has the power to save Padme (who isn't in any danger by the way) Anakin kill's mace windu and what does Palpatine say? He dosen't have the power to save her life, why doesen't he yell "BETREYAL" and guy killed children and blew up a whole planet, he's way the point so sympathy...

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by electric_sheep

You watch the prequels? It was all his fault, he wasn't seduced into the dark side, he was trciked into. Anakin was going with Palpatine's plan because he told him he has the power to save Padme (who isn't in any danger by the way) Anakin kill's mace windu and what does Palpatine say? He dosen't have the power to save her life, why doesen't he yell "BETREYAL" and guy killed children and blew up a whole planet, he's way the point so sympathy...

He was seduced and tricked into it. The Emperor played with his already unsteady emotions and pushed him over the edge. Anakin was having constant nightmares about Padme dying. That's why he was paranoid and scared. Fear leads to anger and such and such. You watch the prequels?

"Hey. Know that wife you think is gonna die? Well if you just turn to the dark side and do what I tell you. She might not die....hmm? Tempted?" Oh yeah. Anakin wasn't being played at all.

Anakin was lied to and manipulated. Not to mention the Emperor's mind and emotion altering powers that are alluded to.

[electric_sheep]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

He was seduced and tricked into it. The Emperor played with his already unsteady emotions and pushed him over the edge. Anakin was having constant nightmares about Padme dying. That's why he was paranoid and scared. Fear leads to anger and such and such. You watch the prequels?

"Hey. Know that wife you think is gonna die? Well if you just turn to the dark side and do what I tell you. She might not die....hmm? Tempted?" Oh yeah. Anakin wasn't being played at all.

Anakin was lied to and manipulated. Not to mention the Emperor's mind and emotion altering powers that are alluded to.

Or he was just stupid? The first scene we see him in he's crying about Obi Wan won't let him do what he want's to do. It's just poor writing, Lucas didn't know how to write a transition from a kind and noble jedi to the murderous sith so he made him an asshole from the start...
Palpatine did it, no charachter is ever responisible for his own actions in the prequels, palpatine did it...

[NinjaPug]

I go back and forth between TPM and AOTC as the worst movie. Darth Maul is the best thing from either movie but his screen time is very short. Unfortunately that movie also has the worst thing – Jar Jar Binks. At least they cut his role in the following two movies down substantially. Both Anakins were terrible. They aren’t good actors to begin with and the dialogue they had wasn’t doing them any favors. I really wish George would’ve brought in others to help him with the script.* The story still would’ve sucked but at least it would’ve cut down on some of the cheesy lines.

I also hate what the Clone Wars ended up being about. When I read about the Clone Wars as a kid I certainly didn’t think it was a bunch of robots fighting the precursor to the Storm troopers. I will say that the Clone Wars tv show has made me appreciate the prequels more.

I agree with sheep – Anakin wasn’t seduced by the dark side at all. It was just an elaborate plan by Palpatine to get him to turn and do his bidding. The turn was too forced and way too abrupt. He’s worried about losing his wife so he suddenly starts murdering tons of people. Then he kills his wife a day later and continues killing more people. What?

To me the prequels are more about Palpatine taking control and creating the Empire as opposed to Anakin becoming Darth Vader.

[NinjaPug]

Principal photography has now begun:

[CyberCubed]

There is no doubt in my mind the sequels will be received better than the prequels were. The people at Disney know they can't mess these movies up, they want to create a new empire of Star Wars fans.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I know this post will get a lot of hate, but what the shell..... I really like the prequels for the most part. I really loved the duo of Qui Gonn and obi wan, and in episode 2 and 3 I thought Hayden and ewan carried the movies well. The lightsaber battles were fun to watch, and it was full of interesting characters.
I must admit it lost the puppet/muppet feel the original had.

Why do people hate them so much?

[CyberCubed]

The prequels had some great characters and ideas, they were just poorly executed. Competent writers fleshed out the Clone Wars in the cartoon for example.

Qui Gon is amazing.

[Leo656]

I like the prequels just fine, I agree they were flawed but I'm serious, the venom they've built up since they came out is unreal and a little sad. Not the worst thing I've heard, but just for example, saying "The Clone Wars sure didn't turn out to be what I thought they'd be," is a common problem with even doing the prequels. NOTHING was going to be the way people had imagined them being for 20 years. That's one big criticism I never bought into. Whether anyone loved or hated them, everyone across the board more or less said, "Wow, none of that was exactly what I expected/wanted/thought it'd be," and I'm like, "Yeah, I know, that happens sometimes when *they're* telling *you* the story and not the other way around." None of it was what I expected/wanted, either, but I was fine with most of what I got.

I liked Ep. I a ton when I first saw it, but admittedly, a lot of that was the fact it was the first SW movie I'd ever seen in theaters, there was all the hype, my fandom was like at a peak, so I know I over-enjoyed it a little. A lot of it doesn't hold up. I think they started the prequel timeline a little too early, and that was a fundamental flaw that affected all three on various levels. I know they wanted to show exactly where Anakin's story began, but nobody really ever cared about or begged to see Darth Vader when he was a first grader, as far as I know. The lightsaber duel redeems a ton of the rest of the movie, but I can understand why it doesn't carry the entire thing for some folks. It's one of the best things in the entire film series, for sure, but it stands out even further because the rest of Ep. I was so mediocre. I like it, but it's my least favorite of all.

I'm an oddball, I'm overly-sentimental so I think Jedi's my favorite. The final battle with Luke and Vader and Vader's face turn at the end always gets me. I can agree that "Empire" was a technically superior film on a lot of levels, but it feels a little sterile, to me. It's terrific, but I'm a sucker for that fairy tale ending, sometimes.

Not overly concerned about the EU being "not canon". As others have said, it's only ever been as canon as anyone wants, anyway. You acknowledge it or you don't, it either fits or it's "an alternate timeline". Knights of the Old Republic will always be one of my favorite games and one of my favorite things in the entire Star Wars experience, so nothing Disney/Abrams or the new movies can do will change that. Nothing anyone likes is being erased or invalidated. It's all made-up anyway, c'mon.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I know they are flawed, but still I just can't help it, I like them

[BabyTurtles]

Originally Posted by TheBlueTurtle1

I know they are flawed, but still I just can't help it, I like them

I liked the prequels more........>3>

maybe it's just Anakin...I like him as the hero more than Luke.
(that's probably clones wars (the tv show) fault though)

[Leo656]

I think that's the first time anyone ever spoke the words, "I like Anakin more than (anything, absolutely anything you can think of to list here)."

I mean, opinions, obviously. But that was one of the things I did actively, passionately dislike about those movies, was Hayden's performance. Just the absolute whiniest, most un-likable so-called "hero" a film franchise ever had. It's like they went, "Our audience won't get 'subtlety', or anything too emotional, so let's just have the guy come in as a whiny emo kid, so that when he kills a bunch of children and becomes a sinister robot-man, nobody will feel sorry for him OR be confused about who the bad guy is. It's this guy. Mr. 'I-Hate-Sand' over here, with his hilariously awful, 'Nobody talks that way' speech patterns of his." They could have pulled a Spidey and just had Anakin full-on put five upside Padme's head, and I don't think anyone would blink, because the guy was already such an insufferable jerk.

I mean, again, opinions. My mind's just blown that anyone actually liked the guy. I guess everybody gets one.

Come to think of it, Luke was pretty damn whiny, too. Guess we know where he gets it now. Damn it, Lucas, you didn't need to try and have the prequels explain EVERY thing!

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Originally Posted by BabyTurtles

I liked the prequels more........>3>

maybe it's just Anakin...I like him as the hero more than Luke.
(that's probably clones wars (the tv show) fault though)

I think Hayden was an awesome Anakin, and as an actor is under-rated. Jumber and Vanishing on 7th Street are also great credits to him.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by TheBlueTurtle1

I know they are flawed, but still I just can't help it, I like them

That's not something anyone can argue with, bud. Admitting something you like is flawed/bad doesn't mean you have to dislike it. It just means you have the maturity to think rationally, which is a skill many MANY people lack. Good on you.

[sdp]

My predictions:
There is no way these movies won't be dissected and nitpicked to death by the internet. I see the general reaction to be a little similar to Godzilla now but a lot steeper. People will be very excited and hype will be through the roof, early reviews will declare it as good as the original trilogy but the more time its in the cinema the more negativity the film will have, when all is said and done it'll be considered better than the prequels but a bad movie compared to the originals. Of course the movie will make a sh-tload of money. And by the time the sequel is ready to come out it'll be doing all the right things and people will be hyped as hell and the process will be repeated.

SW's fans are some of the most jaded fanbases around and that's saying a lot and they have a lot of influence, if the prequels are so hated why did they make so much money? People liked them but the influence of the fandom made everyone say that they "suck". The fandom likes to say that it was only kids but that couldn't be further from the truth it was adults who watched the movie and those kids who grew up with the prequels are adults now and they're also bashing the movies because it's the cool thing to do. I always see posts "The kids who grew up with the prequels will love them", but those kids already grew up, the trilogy started when I was 12 and finished almost 10 years ago, those kids have been adults for a while.

George Lucas is a hypocrite who contradicts himself all the time and seems very childish when regards to Star Wars, but the fans act even more childish in their bashing. I was watching "The People vs George Lucas" and man those fans are as childish as George Lucas and complain about the smallest things. I didn't know who I was supposed to root for anymore after I finished the movie. I actually feel pretty bad for all the crap Lucas has to take even if some of his decisions were the cause of it, fans definitely over reacted.

As far as the prequels I personally like them, they're definitely not as good as the OT. There are many things that bother me a lot about the prequels but oddly enough they're not things that people usually complain about. I find many of the decisions in Episode III far more damaging to the lore of SWs as a whole than any of the nitpickity sh-t fans come up with. And yet many consider it the only "ok" prequel.

[electric_sheep]

Originally Posted by BabyTurtles

I liked the prequels more........>3>

maybe it's just Anakin...I like him as the hero more than Luke.
(that's probably clones wars (the tv show) fault though)

Why? he spent two movies doing nothing but whining and slobbering all over Padme..
My favorite Anikin is the one from the first clone wars series, 2D one..

[Leo656]

I've always felt bad for Lucas. It was always pretty obvious to me that he became a different person and a different filmmaker after he became a father. His views and priorities changed, as they usually do. He was always very open about his young son's influence on the prequels, for example, as well as his view that Star Wars has always been children's entertainment first and foremost. A lot of older fans weren't and aren't thrilled about that, so there's always been a rift between what the fans want and feel they deserve, versus what the creator envisions things to be. So I've always been pretty understanding of that.

That said, he is kind of an idiot. Not long ago there was a long article in Game Informer about the guys who used to work for LucasArts, and nobody had anything but awful things to say about working directly with him. His base ideas for things are often tragically awful, and he changes his mind seemingly at random, and insists on pointless, arbitrary changes to things. Specifically, the guys who worked on both Force Unleashed games made it pretty clear that he needs someone to edit his awful ideas into good ones.

[electric_sheep]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I've always felt bad for Lucas. It was always pretty obvious to me that he became a different person and a different filmmaker after he became a father. His views and priorities changed, as they usually do. He was always very open about his young son's influence on the prequels, for example, as well as his view that Star Wars has always been children's entertainment first and foremost. A lot of older fans weren't and aren't thrilled about that, so there's always been a rift between what the fans want and feel they deserve, versus what the creator envisions things to be. So I've always been pretty understanding of that.

That said, he is kind of an idiot. Not long ago there was a long article in Game Informer about the guys who used to work for LucasArts, and nobody had anything but awful things to say about working directly with him. His base ideas for things are often tragically awful, and he changes his mind seemingly at random, and insists on pointless, arbitrary changes to things. Specifically, the guys who worked on both Force Unleashed games made it pretty clear that he needs someone to edit his awful ideas into good ones.

I like Lucas, not as a Director but he seems like a geniunly nice person.
The things that made the prequels bad, in my opinion.
1.Lucas hadn't directed or writen anything in a long time he forgot how...
2.To many bootlickers, nobody had the balls to question him.
3.Lucas wanted to push the special efects when they didn't need pushing.
4.He wanted to please everybody but ended up pissing all the fans off.

[blindturtle02]

Originally Posted by TheBlueTurtle1

I know they are flawed, but still I just can't help it, I like them

I saw Episode I around 4 or so times when it was in the theater during the Summer of 99. I think I saw Sith around 6 or so times, so I like them too. Didn't get to see AOTC in theaters, but really dug that one when it came out on DVD. I've never gone around dissecting the movies I've seen very much. That probably rings the truest with Star Wars. With Star Wars, it's always been about having a blast no matter what form of multimedia it takes. I guess I tend to speculate more than dissect. I love seeing if I can figure out the next twist in-between movies, or trilogies for that matter. It's difficult for me not to get hyped up in situations such as these because Star Wars usually gets that inner child in me yammering until opening day. I wish I could say I spent more time dissecting books, TV show episodes, movies etc, but I guess I always get derailed by speculation in advance. Then in the aftermath,I usually discuss what I wound up appreciating.