Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

*JAW DROPPING AWESOME*
I saw it at midnight.
No Jar Jar, no Ewoks, no pod racing. Just pure Star Wars goodness. Episode III reminded me why I love the Star Wars universe. EP I was ok, EP II got better but didn't have the right feel I remembered as a kid watching the original 3, but EP III gave me the feeling back.

The acting was better, but no one will win an Emmy. Why do people think Star Wars was ever well written? Star Wars isn't Shakespeare. It never was. Some scenes have been memorable ("Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited" "Sorry sweetheart, I don't have TIME for anything else" *grin*) but could never have been called a master piece of writing OR acting.

George Lucas set out to put the Saturday matinees from his youth (Buck Rogers, etc) onto the big screen. Now I would have liked things done slightly differently (Jar Jar, Ewoks, blech) but in the end, what else is like the universe of Star Wars?

If you're looking for witty dialoge, look elsewhere. I hear that Sideways is a nice "artsy fartsy" film, maybe I'll see it.

But as far as memorable Sci Fi, Star Wars is it. George Lucas has never been real strong on dialog. Should we hate him for it? Who else is there? I, for one, am just going to like Star Wars for what it is and not feel bad that its not Shakespeare.

We knew this story would be dark. I didn't realize just how dark it could be. I thought the reviewers were making a big deal about nothing, until I saw it. George Lucas was one hairs breath away from an R rating imho. Not only was it graphic, but dark, dark, creepy, dark. Bad things happen to good people for 2 hours. Not a feel good movie. I watched Star Wars on Thursday just to wash the taint of the Dark Side off of me.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I didn't know that. Thats interesting. I had read that Corusant was TZ's idea and GL liked it so much that he used it himself.

I might have to go and re-read the TZ novels now that EP III is done.

My wife read the TZ novels too and liked them. Shes a heavy reader, but never reads Sci Fi though she recommended TZ to a couple girlfriends.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Saw the movie last night. I thought it was very good, but if you want to know all that was really going on, you need to read the book (written by Matt Stover). There was so much more detail in the book, specifically character and plot development. You get to see the beginnings of the rebellion in the senate, and discover much more about how Padme and Anakin were going in different political directions and how that helped tear them apart.

Sorry if this is somewhat incoherent, but I have a head cold. If you liked the movie, and especially if you didn't, I highly recommend reading the book.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

SPOILER

I have to be honest, I thought it was one of the best of the six movies. Very dark, kinda depressing, but well thought out with great attention to detail and story. You can tell that Lucas put a lot of thought into this story and it shows. My only major regret is that it was too short, and that it was made last.....

I do like how they left room for doubt about Mace Windo's death, and how they explained how the Emperors lightening kills its victims. How it hurt Yoda, and eventually how it will kill Vader.

I love the shot with Grand Moff Tarkin in it, if you pay attention to the end scenes, he is there with the Emperor and Vader on the bridge of their ship. (Yes it Tarkin, but not the actor Peter Cushing.)

I think Lucas left a lot of room for TV movies, or even a series if he so desires that could take place during the event preceeding Episode IV just after the events in Episode III.

All in all this was a very rewarding moving with a lot more depth and feel too it that reminded me of why I fell in love with the Star Wars in the first place.

The pain of Jar Jar Binks in the first episode, and the horrible dialog in the Episode II can never be forgiven, but parts of those movies played a key role in this one.

The peaces to the puzzle are all in place now, and the master peace that is Star Wars has finally been completed. From the birth of Palpatines desire to become Emperor, and his manipulation that caused the war, then the creation of an army of the republic for which he would have ulitimate control over, to the birth of the Galatic Empire, the story now makes sense.

And yes, Vader is a true villian and he pay's for what he did to the Jedi, a price far more expensive than death alone could toll.

It is as good of movie as Star Wars Empires Strikes Back and A New Hope. Go see it and enjoy it for yourselves.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

SPOILER sort of...

What I love about epIII is how they tied some many threads together and answered little questions (Like why is Darth Vader is taller than Aniken Skywalker. Or, how the emperor got to be so ugly, etc.)
--
TAZ

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I give it three thumbs up.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Well, the emporer's evil - Of course he's ugly!

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I had trouble with the Emperor's appearance. It seems to me the make up was better 20 years ago when he was younger than his appearance now. I mean I am a devoted Star Wars fan and I liked the movie but the Emperor didn't look right and I thought Anakin was too quick to give in.

Edit: oh and Narf I must ask, as we do on Games Workshop forums when someone makes your mistake, who's the Emporer, some bloke who sells things http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

The emperor is seen in all 6 movies, Emperor Palpatine was also known as Senator Palpatine, as well as the leader of the Old Republic, which I don't remember what was called http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif Obi-wan was seen in all of the movies, as a ghost in the last two however. Anakin/Darth Vader was seen in all the movies. Those two droids were seen in all of the movies. Yoda WAS seen in all 6 movies, he was shown in the last one as a ghost http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif And that's about all for people who's been there for the whole movie.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I think the reason Lucas's skipped the rest of the nine films he announced he'd make simply because of the immense quantity of newly-created information (the Expanded Universe, as in books and so forth) that either he'd have to
1. Stick exactly to the story in the (massive amount of) books, which would essentially be retelling an already told story, or
2. Contradict events/etc. from the books, which would make many SW addicts very P.O.'d.

On top of that, all the old vehicles wouldn't look the same anymore, because I don't think Lucas is going to use stop-motion animation and bluescreen models anymore, and all the vehicles would simply be "touched up" if they were digitally animated. I mean, just compare the EpII/III Yoda animation with the EpI/IV/V/VI Yoda puppet.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

The Emperor is mentioned in passing but never actually makes an appearance in IV, and his appearance(s) in V are all holographic. Yoda isn't even mentioned in IV, except possibly as an off-hand reference by Obi-wan to his master without saying his name.

Obi-wan appears in all 6, though only as a ghost in the last 2. Anakin/Darth Vader is a major character in all 6. R2D2 and C3PO at least make token appearances in all 6. Other than those 4, almost no one appears in both trilogies, and all of those but Yoda and Palpatine have only a brief appearance in III for their total coverage in the prequel trilogy - Luke and Leia as babies, Tarkin as background in a star destroyer bridge scene near the end, and Chewbacca might have been among the wookies with Yoda on Kashyyyk. Oh, I almost forgot, Jabba makes an appearance officiating at the pod race in I, and Boba Fett has a very minor role as a kid in II.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

And now compare Yoda's lightsabre duel in epII with Kermit the Frog's swordfighting sequence in "Muppet Treasure Island."

And now ask yourself "Which was the better film?"

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I had to struggle to keep from laughing out loud watching the Yoda saber duels. And not in a good "that's humourous" way. It's an "Oh this is so bad it's funny" way. It's just ridiculous. It almost ruined ep II for me. It didn't seem so bad in EpIII, but maybe that's because I had finally succeeded in beating down the little voice in my head screaming about how bad all three of these movies sucked.

By the the one hour mark of epIII I had finally choked off the little voice and resigned myself to just ignoring the pathetic dialog and contrived or nonexsistant story and end up just watching all the pretty pictures. In the end it was like fireworks. Lot's of ooo and ahhhh, but when it was over I was left with nothing but a ringing in my ears.

EDIT: And yes, Muppet Tresure Island was way better. But that's because it was based on a classic piece of literature. That is something Star Wars has never been mistaken for.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Ohhh yes. Star Wars is very likely based on Frank Herbert's Dune books. The first Dune motion picture was planned for release earlier than SW: A New Hope, but eventually was released later. Otherwise, SW would probably never have been so big and we'd have a large Dune mod for SEIV and perhaps a small, rarely used SW mod.

At least seventeen close similarities were noticed between SW and Dune by Frank Herbert himself IIRC.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Star Wars may have similarites to Dune, in the same way that all stories share many common plot themes and character types. Especially two stories that are both from teh same genera of sci0fi the way Dune and SW are. Star Wars is no more like Dune in that respect then Dune was like whatever stories that came before it that inspired Herbert though.

That's not at all the same thing as Muppet Tresure Island being based on Tresure Island. That's a case where the muppet movie is a complete retelling of the story. It's the same story begining to end, just with some minor adjustments and character tweaks.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I agree and disagree. I think the two films are sufficiently different to say that SW owes little or nothing to Dune. On the other hand, it's quite conceivable that the whole "young man of noble birth on a desert world destined to restore a usurped power" is perhaps, umm, shall we say 'inspired' by Dune.

I would disagree here. Dune is scifi. SW is sinbad-genre swashbuckling dressed up as scifi. Or, to quote the great Tim Bisley, Star Wars (or at least, EP1) is nothing but a "jumped-up firework display of a toy advert".

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Perhaps. My point wasn't that he couldn't have used Dune as one of many inspirations. To the contrary I was trying to point out that all stories are derivative to a degree. You could say Dune and Star Wars were both inspired by the King Arthur legend or the story of Moses. There are many other stories I'm sure that would fit the outline. None of this means, as Herbert seemed to be claiming at one point (though I think he's backed off of it the last few years) , that Lucas was ripping off his ideas.

EDIT: Er, I guess Herbert's been dead for a few years now. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif That could explain his lack of further objections? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Honestly though, it would be difficult to write a sci-fi story in the 70's and 80's without having been inspired by Dune. It was the watershed moment for the genera.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Dune was boring. Clarke and Asimov were writing long before Dune.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Dogscoff, that's unfair, It's like comparing Indiana Jones to the Tomb Raider Movies. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Muppet Treasure Island is by far the superior film http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Corrections:
The Emperor/Palpatine/Sidious was in I, II, III, V, and VI, but never made an appearance in IV, A New Hope, he was only mentioned by Vader and the Moffs (re: disbanding the Senate)
Yoda, also was in I, II, III, V, and VI, but did not appear in IV, and did not even get a mention until Empire Strikes Back.
But Anakin/Vader, Obi-wan/Ben, C-3P0, and R2-D2 do make appearances in all six.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I finally saw it today. Hayden Christensen's performance was as abysmal as I expected it to be, but some of the other actors appeared to struggle with the matierals given them as well. I can only attribute this to Lucas himself.

I was rather disappointed with the movie, and the more I think about it, the more disappointed I become.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I would rate the six Star Wars movies in the following order, from best to worst:
ESB, ANH, AotC, RotS, RotJ, TPM.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I'm going to watch this movie today at 5:00 PM EST. Wish me luck... Btw, if you don't like star wars, you're not going to like the movie, just a warning http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I finally saw it today.

It was better than I was told. But I don't really understand most of the negative comments about the franchise anyway. I was never bothered by Ewoks or JarJar. They were just new characters to me. Anakin watches too many soap opera holovids but I can ignore that, Jedi tend to be overly dramatic. He turned quickly but he was pretty gullible to begin with. He really needed his mommy. Padme got wimpier as time went on but oh well, sappy things happen. I was irked by the changed battledroid voices. They sound silly. However, EP3 makes me love Artoo more than ever. "Super" Battle Droids flee from the mighty R2D2!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Overall I have liked each movie for what it was, I had no prior expectations so I was never dissapointed. I knew they would each tell an important story in the SW universe and I'm glad to have seen them.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I don't remember the droids being so talkative... Those droids talked a whole lot http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Well I took my two 8 year old nephews to see the movie and they were not impressed. The battle and light saber fights kept their attention, but otherwise they did not comprehend the movie. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif After spending some quality time with them I have been left with the distinct impression that they may not be normal 8 year olds. They act and seem much younger. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif I am so horribly depressed.

Oh well, the movie was just as good and even more so now that I could spend some time looking at the details in the back ground between pop corn fights, and bored tempor tantrum throughing 8 year olds. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Which droids? General Grievous? Or were it the other, combat droids? If so, which ones? Battle Droids? Super Battle Droids?

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Well AT, I've got a couple of 8 year old relatives, and I think that every 8 year old acts younger than they are. Then suddenly, at around 10 or 12 they start acting their age, and at 14-16 they become human. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Grievous didn't talk that much. It was mostly the battle droids and super battle droids. You never heard the droids say 'ow' so much in your life...

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

No, but Grievous did *cough*. Why does a droid *cough*?!? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

And why does a droid have an organic heart and eyes? This was never explained in the movie.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

General Grevious was a warrior, but his ship had a bomb in it. Droid engineers placed what was left of him in a new body. His lungs also survived, I think.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

well i was beaten to it, i haven't seen the movie or followed it on the net and i knew about that.
after wacthing the first movie of the latest 3 i already knew how it would play out, movies these days are so predictable ( i read alot as a kid and do mean alot, everything is now a variation on a theme, even B5 was predictable)

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

My bro in law said General Grevious was a character in that clone wars animated series. Apparently he was in a fight with Mace Windoo at one point and that's how his lungs got damaged.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Hey you can watch that very episode along with four others at the cartoon networks web sight. I watched them last night and they are quite good.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Evidently he was a living being at one point. He was nearly killed in some battle and the doids built a robotic body for him.

The Clone Wars - micro series - on the cartoon network and that damn abomination, hyperspace over on starwars.com, give a lot of back ground info that kind of explains things in the moive. Not that I have seen anything about Grevious origins in the ones that I have seen. You at least get to see how the Emperor was captured.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Well as for predictable, by defenition these films were predictable. They had to get from Episode I to IV, certain things had to happen.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I never saw it coming.... Anikin turning into Darth Vader!

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

no I was surprised also.
really thought he would kill the emperor together with mace.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Surprises in Episode III
1. I never saw it coming.. Anikin turning into Darth Vader!
2. The emperor WAS the Sith Lord! OMG!
3. The Clones turning on the Jedi!
4. They had light saber fights!
5. I was totally cought off gaurd that Padme was Luke and Liea's mother!

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Genuine surprises:

1. Minimal JarJar
2. Decent(ish) CGI
3. Less rubbish dialogue

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I love this movie. I still think #4 is the best of them, but now we know how Anakin becomes Darth Vader. My only gripe comes from Padme dying at the end. How could Leia remember her mother in episode 6 if she died in child birth? The only thing I can think of is that was a force inpsired memory. Other than that, it's a great movie. Definitely worth waiting 28 years for. At least we now know the place where Vader last felt Obi-Wan's presence: Mustafar.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

It is said that some children, even more so for those with force powers, can actually feel their mothers love while they are in the womb. This is the basis for that mothering instict. It is a paradox that I am sure Lucas did not consider.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I saw the movie for the second time today. It's a wonderful movie, I'm sure I'll go see it even more times while it's still in the theaters. This time there was no lineup at all to get in, but the pLace was still full.

I want to be a Jedi!

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I've seen it twice so far. I hope to see it a time or two more before it comes out on dvd. I wonder how long before the super duper collector's set with all 6 movies, plus who knows how many more disks, comes out? Not that I'll be able to afford it, but it sure would be nice to have.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

I want to be a Sith.

Or a Clone Stormtrooper, that's also nice.



Going to see the movie today, am impatient with anticipation.....

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Being a Sith you would get the classier powers and no limits on what you can do when in a fight. Jedis have to not show emotion or kill too many civies that sort of thing. Or so I understand it from the films.

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

As long as you don't have to buy for everyone in your family on their birthday... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: OT - Star Wars Ep III
 

Well I saw it 3 times in its first 4 days. Still totally awesome.

After "Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" I was really jealous. There were people out there who said that EP I and II were as good as the originals and they LOVED EP I and II. Me, not so much. Decent SciFi, but they didn't FEEL like Star Wars.

EP III Totally FEELS like Star Wars to me. It makes me want to join the rebellion, build Star Wars models and tell people "May the force be with you"! I am so sorry for anyone who didn't get this feeling back after EP III. But I really got it back and I'm going to go with it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif