Kevin's Watch

where in the Star Wars ranking do you think the new Star Wars film is going to be? I think it has a chance of being the best.

If there are no major issues with the film like the political boredom of EP1 or the wooden acting in EP2, EP3 might very well become Lucas' masterpiece. I wouldn't bet my paycheck on it but there is a chance.

Please let the acting be better...please let the acting be better...please let the acting be better...

I'm with you on that, Duchess

It cannot be worse can it, however the best, hmmmm... I have my doubts. Will there be Ewoks?

Best of the prequels? Perhaps.


Best of the 6 movies? Not a nerfherder's chance in hell.

I think you all are dreaming on this one.

How can it be the best? By definition, we know what's going to happen, so the suspense is gone. By definition, it has to end on a major downer - Anakin becomes Darth Vader and is instrumental in the downfall of the Republic.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Lucas made a significant tactical blunder doing the first three movies instead of the last three. The last three could have kept us surprised and also it would have made sense, given the state-of-the-art production values and special effects that are available now. The futuristic ships in the first three films make the so-called later ships of the middle films look ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are the train-wrecks so many fans do. But there's no way in my wildest imagination that I can believe this final film will be better than any of the middle three.

hear hear
I was really disappointed by Phantom and Clones though. I almost don't know if I can summon up the enthusiasm for the third one. When is it released?

The magic date is most likely Wednesday, May 25, 2005. By custom, George Lucas has released every Star Wars film midweek preceding the U.S. Memorial weekend.

What makes next summer interesting is that Indiana Jones 4 (produced by Lucas, directed by Spielberg) will also be released, most likely the week after Star Wars. So it could well be a record-setting summer at the box office next year.

Of course, the quality of the films is another question entirely.

It can't get any worse... that much is certain. Lucas has forgotten that simplicity is the key. He is an excessive dullard these days, IMO.

That would be a very unwise business decision to release Star Wars and Indiana Jones a week apart. They would hurt each other's box office. I think a month or even two months apart is more likely.

What has always seemed pretty clear to me from the moment I watched the Phantom Menace the first time was that I realized that the Star Wars I had grown to love was lost forever. What I mean by that was that there was something missing in the new film that was apparently an irreplaceable component. Similar to the titanic trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy of Star Trek, Star Wars had three truly dynamic personalities that really sold Star Wars as something beyond just a typical space opera. Luke, Leia and Han were the glue that kept the first three movies from being torn apart by their own stories. Anakin, Padme and Obi-wan are a very poor substitute for the previous characters. If Lucas had been able to re capture the kind of fun, bickering heroes that populated the earlier films, I think we would have far less to complain about regarding the new films. I don’t begrudge Lucas for wanting to make the best film (in his opinion) he can possibly make. The trouble is that most of the rest of us happen to disagree with his opinion. If you could give me back Luke, Leia and Han and combine them with killer settings and special effects, I think I’d have been in fan boy heaven these past few years instead of wondering just how crappy the final film in the series might be.

Tom, I agree - the character rapport of Luke, Leia and Han is the glaringly missing ingredient in the new films.

And Gunslinger, quit straddling the fence regarding your opinion of Lucas's later works, and tell us how you really feel.

Roland of Gilead wrote:Tom, I agree - the character rapport of Luke, Leia and Han is the glaringly missing ingredient in the new films.

And Gunslinger, quit straddling the fence regarding your opinion of Lucas's later works, and tell us how you really feel.

HAW!

Roland of Gilead wrote:I've said it before and I'll say it again. Lucas made a significant tactical blunder doing the first three movies instead of the last three. The last three could have kept us surprised and also it would have made sense, given the state-of-the-art production values and special effects that are available now. The futuristic ships in the first three films make the so-called later ships of the middle films look ridiculous.

Very true. His other major blunder was making the story so dull. I expected more from Anakin's descent to eeeevil. Having said that, I didn't find either Phantom Menace or Clones as bad as most people make out. I quite enjoyed both, they just could - and should - have been so much more.

TOM C wrote:there was something missing in the new film that was apparently an irreplaceable component. Similar to the titanic trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy of Star Trek, Star Wars had three truly dynamic personalities that really sold Star Wars as something beyond just a typical space opera. Luke, Leia and Han were the glue that kept the first three movies from being torn apart by their own stories.

Also true. The interaction between the leads in the new films is so forced it's almost laughable. Whereas Luke, Han and Leia seemed like people. Not to mention the overblown pseudo-political meanderings of the dialogue.


(The first half of this post mysteriously disappeared during posting, so I now present the original, unabridged version)

TOM C wrote: I don’t begrudge Lucas for wanting to make the best film (in his opinion) he can possibly make. The trouble is that most of the rest of us happen to disagree with his opinion.

Yes, I think that is at the heart of what I deem the "schism" within Star Wars. A wide gulf exists between the Star Wars that fans envision in their minds and the Star Wars that George Lucas envisions in his. Many fans clearly detest the direction Lucas has taken with the films. Many long-time fans would probably agree that the rift began with Return of the Jedi and those darned Ewoks. They knew then that something was rotten in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars has never really recovered since. The rotten smell just continued, and it wasn't coming only from Jar-Jar.

I still look forward to Episode III, because, dammit, I'm loyal to Star Wars and what it means to me. But could it have a chance to be the best SW movie ever? Let's have Threepio try to calculate the odds of that happening. His circuits would burst into flame.

edinburghemma wrote:It cannot be worse can it, however the best, hmmmm... I have my doubts. Will there be Ewoks?

please no ewoks, please no ewoks, please no ewoks...

AND KILL JAR JAR DAMMIT!

Tom C wrote: I don’t begrudge Lucas for wanting to make the best film (in his opinion) he can possibly make.

Yeah well, see... that's the problem right there. Those WERE the best that he could make (now-a-days). My other posts/rants can be found scattered throughout this forum so I'll umm not go on and repeat myself, repeat myself.

duchess of malfi wrote: Please let the acting be better...please let the acting be better...please let the acting be better...
Covenant Jr replied: I'm with you on that, Duchess

To wit I respond with... DITTO!

I still look forward to Episode III, because, dammit, I'm loyal to Star Wars and what it means to me.

I agree - I enjoyed the first 2 movies because they tell the story that I've wanted to hear for over 20 years. Yeah, some of the acting is bad and all that - but it's still a great story.