20 Things Lucas Got Right

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

I started creating a list of 20 things Lucas got right with the new trilogy...I came up with Ten:

1. Revenge of the Sith, film Title - a good play on Return of the Jedi
2. First 2/3 of Darth Maul fight - Doublesaber, athletic Maul, good fight with awesome music, pacing with shields stopping fight, great setting (that couldn't possibly be where it's supposed to be)
3. Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine/Emperor is always well acted and fun
4. Epic scope and feel of Phantom Menace - despite the catastrophe that it is, the film does have that epic feel
5. Palpatine's plan, having the clones fight for the senate, later becoming the Empire, the Jedi fighting against the seperatist movement, moral confusion
6. Hayden sucks as an actor, but looks evil in III
7. The Pod Race was fun, though too long, and needless
8. Ewan McGregor is a very good actor who plays a good Kenobi
9. Liam Neeson COULD have been a great Jinn if Lucas wasn't such a horrible writer and director (at that point in his career)
10. CGI Wookies kicked some @$$ - ya know, that shot of the Wookie slapping a detonator on that water tank thing? Kewl.

...that's all I could come up with.

[matrixman]

Why did you have to get so ambitious? Nothing wrong with a Top Ten!

1. Revenge of the Sith, film Title - a good play on Return of the Jedi
2. First 2/3 of Darth Maul fight - Doublesaber, athletic Maul, good fight with awesome music, pacing with shields stopping fight, great setting (that couldn't possibly be where it's supposed to be)

Agreed.

4. Epic scope and feel of Phantom Menace - despite the catastrophe that it is, the film does have that epic feel

Yes, though I think that is true of all the Star Wars movies.

5. Palpatine's plan, having the clones fight for the senate, later becoming the Empire, the Jedi fighting against the seperatist movement, moral confusion

He sure made the Jedi leaders look like the Keystone Cops.

6. Hayden sucks as an actor, but looks evil in III

I agree that he did a better job in III than people give him credit for.

7. The Pod Race was fun, though too long, and needless

It was totally fun! I didn't think it was too long. It was the best thing in the film besides the Darth Maul fight. The only thing I disliked was the two-headed commentator. Just dumb.

8. Ewan McGregor is a very good actor who plays a good Kenobi

Yes, I really liked how he incorporated Alec Guinness's mannerisms into his portrayal.

Off the top of my head, things I thought Lucas did right:

1. Padme in Ep. I as a feisty, no-nonsense princess and woman of action
2. Same as #1, with the addition of a seriously sexy white uniform in Ep. II.
3. Daddy Fett's battle with Obi-Wan on that water planet.
4. The multi-armed diner owner that Obi-Wan talks to. I felt that character's "gruff but kind" persona really came through.
5. Having a Maori play Fett - inspired casting.
6. The intense final fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin
7. Jar-Jar kept to a minimum, and no talking part
8. End battle scene in Ep. II - almost made up for what went before. IMO, Lucas is still a master at creating amazing action sequences.
9. Christopher Lee's duel with Hayden in Ep. III - I liked Lee's way of wielding his lightsaber.
10. Seeing those gorgeous white interiors of what would the future Rebel Blockade runner in Ep. IV.

[Lord Mhoram]

The three things that he did right that matter the most are Episodes IV, V and VI.

[SerScot]

"I love you as much as a loving lover can love!!!!"

"Only the Sith in absolutes!" Ummm...?? Anyone think Lucas was attempting to define "Irony" with that particular statement?

[rusmeister]

"I love you as much as a loving lover can love!!!!"

"Only the Sith in absolutes!" Ummm...?? Anyone think Lucas was attempting to define "Irony" with that particular statement?

(insert verb "deal" into the quote)
Lucas is not a terribly deep philosopher. If he got that there can be no relatives without absolutes; that absolutes MUST exist and someone has to deal with them, he wouldn't have put in such a cheesy line. As it is, he makes the Sith look like the only logicians to anyone who thinks about it.
But of course, most won't. It's aimed at bashing fundamentalism, as if only they deal with absolutes. It's intended to make the speaker - and the Jedi - appear high-brow, a dismal failure to anyone with high-enough a brow to see it.

[Believer]

i like having the prequel trilogy on as background noise sometimes, as i can ignore the crap and watch the good parts.

i agree with most of the stuff listed. other things i like:

the decapitation at the end of the mace windu vs jango fett fight. how jango just offs that one earlier jedi with a few blaster shots

qui-gon making fun of jar-jar when they first meet.

anakin and palpatine discussing darth plagius and his ability to cheat death during the funky visual opera thing

sidious vs yoda -- i have waited a LONG time for this moment, my little green friend... I LOVE THAT DELIVERY!!!

also, i love how doggone happy sidious is during this fight, in contrast to yoda's lack of joyfulness. if evil is so happy, how can it be wrong?


sadly, overall, the PT is space junk. I agree with the sentiment that ESB is a fluke. SW and ESB show good Lucas ideas that were improved and executed well by others, probably... But when Lucas controls too much it all sinks into mediocrity.

[SantaKlavis]

PostPosted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:25 pm Post subject: 20 Things Lucas Got Right Reply with quote Thank this user for their post
I started creating a list of 20 things Lucas got right with the new trilogy...I came up with Ten:

1. +
2. +
3.+
4. -
5. +
6. -
7. -
8. +
9. -
10. +

[sgt.null]

Lucas makes great bad guys - then kills them off needlessly....

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I almost feel sorry for Darth Maul, the most underused and underrated character in Star Wars. At least he got some screen time and backstory in that animated Clone Wars series.

[aTOMiC]

1. Revenge of the Sith, film Title - a good play on Return of the Jedi

While I agree the title sounds cool its a bit misplaced IMHO. Since Palpatine is mastermind par excellence during the prequels what exactly is the Sith lord avenging? He views the Jedi as ignorant and ineffective so there's really no threat there. They play right into his hands from the beginning so its not clear what "Revenge" is related to. At least not as stated in the films. One can assume that since the Jedi and the Senate are currently in control of the galaxy during Episode I there may have been some specific event that set the wheels in motion for Palpatine's takeover.

2. First 2/3 of Darth Maul fight - Doublesaber, athletic Maul, good fight with awesome music, pacing with shields stopping fight, great setting (that couldn't possibly be where it's supposed to be)

I agree.

3. Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine/Emperor is always well acted and fun

I agree.

4. Epic scope and feel of Phantom Menace - despite the catastrophe that it is, the film does have that epic feel

I agree for the most part. There are moments when Episode I feels epic and then there moments when it feels a bit small and confused.

5. Palpatine's plan, having the clones fight for the senate, later becoming the Empire, the Jedi fighting against the seperatist movement, moral confusion

Palpatine's character and motivations seem to be a real area of focus for Lucas and it was pretty clear to me that he spent most of his time and effort crafting an intricate and interesting plot but didn't spare much energy for the rest of the story.

6. Hayden sucks as an actor, but looks evil in III

I agree that Hayden sucks in this role. I agree that he looks properly evil at times but the Anakin character was poorly fleshed out and acted by wildly inappropriate actors. Episode III is by far the most acceptable performance but still fell far short of the intended goal.

7. The Pod Race was fun, though too long, and needless

Just about all of Jake Lloyd's contribution to the prequels was abysmal. I make no exception for the pod race. I found it somewhat entertaining in spite of the actor and the way he was directed in Episode I. I do appreciate the need for the pod race as a tool to demonstrate Anakin's innate force born talents. I suppose it could have been handled in another way but the race itself, as a bit of nod to Ben Hur, was a decent idea.

8. Ewan McGregor is a very good actor who plays a good Kenobi

I agree. Except that I felt McGregor was VERY good as Kenobi and is arguably the best part of the Trilogy. All three films should have focused on that character's POV. In a different director's hands I believe the POV shift would have occurred as it seems so obvious from a narrative standpoint.

9. Liam Neeson COULD have been a great Jinn if Lucas wasn't such a horrible writer and director (at that point in his career)

I agree although I must admit that Qui-gon was my favorite character from Episode I.

10. CGI Wookies kicked some @$$ - ya know, that shot of the Wookie slapping a detonator on that water tank thing? Kewl.

This scene had no impact on me. Completely CGI versions of characters that are inhabited the rest of the time by real life actors anger me.

Still waiting for the other 10 items.

[Cagliostro]

I hear over and over again Jake Lloyd being blamed for the crap of the first movie. Certainly not without sharing some of the blame, but I'd say since it is first film and even the great actors throughout the saga struggled a lot with the dialogue and direction and such. I say we cut Jake some slack. Especially since he looks these days like he'll paint a swastika on his head and go on a shooting spree.

Similar to another thread, so I'm going to steal my comments from that thread:

Wars - The cantina. These days, it's pretty much nothing to see weird looking creatures in spacy shows. The cantina scene is why. Very exciting to me as a kid. Nowadays, it looks a little rubber-masky, but hey...still a classic.

Wars - Dogfight scene when they are escaping the Death Star. Set up for many videogames to come.

Wars - taking a few moments here and there on Tatooine to slow down and show a desert planet. Something very cool in those shots, from C3PO standing by some big long skeleton of some giant snake thingy, to Luke looking up at the twin suns.

Empire - Bounty Hunter scene. Alright, not a pivotal part of the story, but an introduction to some of the coolest in the series. Amazing that about a minute scene could spark off a whole line of books.

Empire - Luke's training - I really wanted more scenes, and was very excited about what was shown. Always wanted more of this, and Lucas never delivered. Especially the scary tree.

Empire - Subtle peek under Darth Vader's helmet. Didn't jump up and down about it. Just a very subtle, blink and you miss it moment.

Empire - Sad ending. Everything went to hell, and I wasn't expecting that at all. Han in the carbonite was just such a creepy image.

Jedi - the music. Williams, building off what he did before really outdid himself during the climatic lightsaber sequence.

Jedi - Death Star Mark 2. Unlike the Roadrunner cartoons, Wyle E. Coyote went back with something that worked before, and tried to make it better. In it's half-built stage, it was quite a sight. Still got blowed up though.

Jedi - Leia in the slave outfit. Best thing of the whole movie. Topped Leia in the Bespin outfit that pulled me through puberty.

Menace - opening scene - Seeing Jedi's in their heyday, you see why they were certainly a force to be reckoned with at the height of their kick-assery.

Menace - the battle droids - the main skinny little droids were so much fun to watch fall apart. I can't explain why, but it really was a joy to see them knocked over.

Menace - Darth Maul duel. Amazing bit of casting for Darth Maul, despite how dippy he looked. Brought the world of lightsabers beyond old men swinging sticks at each other.

Menace - The surprise I felt when Qui-Gon didn't disappear after being struck down. A total WTF moment. And again, very subtle.
Menace: The unfolding rack of robot warrior dudes. For me it had echoes of some kind of clothing store assembly line gone horribly horribly wrong. Just eerie.

Clones - Detective work plot - I liked the film noir-ish feel of Kenobi's side plot of hunting down the bounty hunter. It didn't last all that long before it returned to your regular Star Wars, but it was a nice new feel to the familiar.

Clones - Origin of Boba Fett. Didn't expect that at all. Caught me off guard and made it pretty interesting.

Clones - "Guitar bomb". Y'know, in the asteroid field where a bomb goes off, not making a sound for a bit, and then it sounds like a twanging guitar. One of the coolest audio experiences in a movie theater. Second only to the opening of Fellowship when Sauron blows up.

Clones - Yoda kicking ass.

Clones - Padme's ripped white outfit. What can I say? It turned me on.

Sith - Code 69 or whatever it was. Clones suddenly turning against the Jedi was awfully sad. And kind of disturbing.

Sith - Palpatine talking about the Sith. A dangerous and kind of scary moment, making the Sith sound a bit more attractive than JUST having goth contact lenses.

Sith - Annie walking into the Jedi temple, and some kid asks what is going on, and the lightsaber ignites. Ugly, gruesome and disturbing. Like Vader choking the dude at the beginning of Ep. 4.

Sith - the final shots. Finally, a shot on Alderaan. We'd heard about it for, what...30 years? Then finally we see it. And then it ending on the familiar twin suns. Beautiful.

And this part is from a magazine or other that kicked off the thread:

1. WARS - The Laser Blasts Heard 'Round the World
When that Star Destroyer crawled across the top of the screen in hot pursuit of the Rebel Blockade runner, it changed all the sci-fi rules in a single shot. But you already know that, so let's move on.

2. WARS - "If this is a consular ship..."
The Dark Lord at his evil best, crunching the esophagus of some poor Rebel lackey and belting his lifeless body into a bulkhead.

3. WARS - An Introduction to Hyperspace
The Falcon's first jump to light speed is one of those scenes that needs to be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated. One wonders how many shocked people dropped their Jujubees back in 1977.

4. WARS - Death Star, We Hardly Knew Ya
All of the visuals, sounds and music building to the Death Star's explosive end are forever stamped on our brains: the moan of the laser powering up. "Stand by. Stand by." Cut to Grand Moff Tarkin. BOOM.

5. EMPIRE - Rebels Without A Chance
There's a definite moment when the Hoth battle becomes hopeless for the Rebels. The shots that follow, in which screaming ground troops retreat past burning laser cannons and are randomly picked off by AT-AT fire, encapsulate the ominous feel of the movie as a whole.

6. EMPIRE - Smoochus Interruptus
Han and Leia's awkward but intense first kiss is handled with so much dramatic poignancy and detail, it's easy to forget they're sci-fi icons on a spaceship and surrounded by robots. That is, until that bastard Threepio barges in, ruining the moment.

7. EMPIRE - "Size Matters Not"
The greatest testament to both Yoda's wisdom AND the power of the Force is when the little runt makes Luke look stupid by raising the X-Wing out of the swamp. More of John Williams's best insures the scene will always induce goosebumps.

8. EMPIRE - Family Ties
When the Bespin lightsaber duel between Luke and Vader makes its way out onto the gantry, we're witness to the very core of the Trilogy. Vader is unbelievably convincing as he crinkles his glove and speaks of the power of the Dark Side. And when he voices the "I am your father" line, well, forget it -- we're in nerd nirvana.

9. JEDI - Luke Finally Snaps
Vader gets Luke to show himself by threatening to turn Leia to the Dark Side, but his plan backfires as the eerie chorus swells and Luke just plain goes nuts, beating his old man into submission with all the ferocity of a cornered gundark. It's an awesome moment, and the one time in the Trilogy when Luke actually comes across as a warrior.

10. JEDI - Vader Gives Palpatine the Shaft
When Vader tosses the Emperor to his doom, it's an undeniably epic and needed payoff. We'll probably go to our graves without ever again witnessing an entire theater audience rising to its feet and screaming in unison at the screen. But it happened in '83, and the chant was something along the lines of, "Throw him in! Throw him in!"

[aTOMiC]

I hear over and over again Jake Lloyd being blamed for the crap of the first movie. Certainly not without sharing some of the blame, but I'd say since it is first film and even the great actors throughout the saga struggled a lot with the dialogue and direction and such. I say we cut Jake some slack. Especially since he looks these days like he'll paint a swastika on his head and go on a shooting spree.

Unfortunately Jake Lloyd's career began before TPM. I annually endure his sub par acting in the Schwarzenegger Christmas themed "Jingle All The Way". Look I don't have anything really against Jake Lloyd per se I've just seen younger, more talented actors, tackle roles far more demanding than young Anakin Skywalker and deliver genuinely believable performances, real authenticity. Its just my opinion but JL didn't deliver a single believable line in either of the two films I've mentioned except maybe "That's my Dad!" in Jingle All The Way. Reading cue cards comes to mind.
The problem is that I felt Lucas should have been casting the very best actors possible for his billion dollar film and I don't understand how he arrived at his decision here. Jake Lloyd would have been a serviceable actor for The Sand Lot or a Rug Rats live action feature but he seems (to me at least) like he's just incompetent in TPM. Just to be clear it has been proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that George Lucas' direction of actors in the prequels created some truly regrettable scenes that were really no fault of the people being directed. They are giving Lucas exactly what he's asking for. Jake Lloyd is no exception.

And Cags...

All really terrific comments. I enjoyed them all and quite agree for the most part.