ANH stands on it's own, and is the film that introduced this franchise to us. ESB isn't really a story on it's own. It has no real beginning or ending, but that's fine because it's the middle chapter of a bigger story.
There was a comic a few years ago, can't remember the issue number for the life of me. Anyway, it was about the Stormtroopers on Endor, and how they were freaking out because every morning they would wake up and one or two of their number would be gone, having just disappeared in the night. Then they started talking about hearing weird sounds in the bush, and rumours about vicious animals that have been hunting troopers ever since they arrived on the moon.
It was utterly brilliant, painting them as bogeymen like that.
Well, Marvel is making the comics now, and I've heard they've been pretty good.
__________________ "Your mother was a venereal disease-ridden prostitute who was raped by the father you never knew and killed herself when she saw what an autistic phaggot you are.
So what about my comments made your ass so sore? Was it me calling you a phaggot? I think not." - Nemebro
The tendency with Marvel is they tend to invest in Long term storylines, so you get a bit of filler/tons of repeats of killing fodder characters. But when a series reaches it apex/conclusion they deliver with great scenes/panels. The main Star wars comic is incredibly well done, and the Vader series has had its moments, the Shattered Empire series was good as well
__________________ "Happiness is a lie. Life is horror. The light is always dying all across the universe. The last star will flicker out someday, when it does, all that remains is shadow. And I will be its king!"'-Amahl Farouk
Luke - ROTJ: Sported black and green light sabre. Beat Vader. Nuff said
Han - ESB: Leia "I love you" Han " I know"
Obi-Wan Kenobi - RoTS: Beats friend in emotional battle, awesome fight.
Vader - ROTJ: We got to see him slowly come back to the light. Saved his son...such a great arc for the character.
Emperor - ROTJ: Not over the top like the prequels, but brooding and uncomfortably evil. Just badass.
Leia - ANH: She was at her most sassy and defiant in this. I really liked that.
Yoda - ESB: His first appearance still his best.
__________________ "Your mother was a venereal disease-ridden prostitute who was raped by the father you never knew and killed herself when she saw what an autistic phaggot you are.
So what about my comments made your ass so sore? Was it me calling you a phaggot? I think not." - Nemebro
Return of the Jedi: Some redundancy in the plot with the return of the 2nd Death star, potential issues with Ewoks for some viewers, and the subjugation of the Stormtroopers to comic relief. The scenes with Luke and Vader are some of my favorites in cinema, and the tension, dialogue, and moments from the duel to Luke holding Vader in his arms are more dramatic than their duel on Cloud City. Luke has trained his entirety for their final duel, so their is much more to lose and even a greater potential for failure as the Empire has geared up for one final battle. The costumes, further exploration of Tattooine, and meeting the Ewoks on Endor also added more depth to the lore for met at least. The scenes between Father and Son just make the film superior to the others, even if there are elements that are probably inferior to Empire Strikes back.
The Empire strikes back:
In terms of plot, variety of scenes, acting, and pacing its probably better than ROTJ as a film overall. The fight on Hoth is better than the Death star run in ANH, and far better designed than the Battle on Endor. My favorite moments being the first duel on Bespin, and Yoda's teaching of Luke and Luke facing himself in the Darkside cave. Han's and Leia's romance comes off as cheesy to me, but the best scenes outweigh some of the cheesy moments. Not to mention some of the most iconic moments of the film are here, with the infamous "I am your father" scene, and Han being placed in carbonite.
A New Hope:
Probably the weakest of the OT and easily the weakest in terms of dialogue between the main cast. I always thought Leia suffered the most with stiff acting, and that weird accent she had. The best moments for me are Luke and Ben's interactions, Luke learning his first lessons of the force, and the duel on the Death Star rand they make up the most memorable aspects of the film.
The Prequels:
Revenge of the Sith:
Definitely the strongest of the PT in terms of acting, story, plot, and depth. I always enjoyed even the few fleeting glimpses of Anakin's/Kenobi's banter, and Ewan's performance as Obi Wan makes up for Hayden's wooden acting. He was able to perform well as Obi wan from Yoda revealing Anakin's fall to Vader, to the pain he showed on his face when Anakin was becoming Vader on Mustafar. With the curtain closing we see the best of Yoda as he strives to take down Sidious, Anakin's transformation into Vader, the Order 66 scene saw the fall of the Jedi, and overall all of the duels at least had some sort of meaning. There are flaws like the underutilizing of Grievous, the weak romance plot between Anakin/Padme, and it probably goes a little too fast at times. But in comparison with the other two, its on another level as a film and Lucas's best in the PT.
Attack of the Clones:
One of the worst films in the franchise mainly due to badly aged CGI, poor acting on Hayden's part, badly choreographed duels, and somewhat of a nonsensical plot. I don't really have much positive to say about it other than I thought that Jango being the clone temple was interesting, Christopher Lee's acting was excellent (and the subplot involving his interest in Kenobi was interesting), but Yoda always came across as inept and the fight scenes weren't interesting to me.
The Phantom Menace:
I am always struck in this film by how uninterested everyone seems in acting. Everyone from Liam, to Padme, to Obi all have this flat and uninterested tone in their scenes together. Also Jar Jar's shoehorning just seems as desperate and unneeded like when they're in Watto's shop and they just have to have him doing some ZANY antics, the child actor portraying Anakin is horrible as well. There is a level of disbelief I have involving the destruction of Trade federation ships, the Gungan fight scenes, and the blockade of Naboo as well. Just so much makes zero sense and isn't explained in the film, that I was surprised it even got some positive reviews at the time. I always thought Qui Gon was poorly utilized, we don't know his motivations for bringing Anakin to the temple until much later in the film, his scenes with Obi seem dispassionate, and we just don't see too much into his character other than his stubbornness. I wanted to like his as a character but Lucas screwed it up. Other than Nostalgia (I was a child when it came out), its a weak film and other than viewing for references to the latter films is the 2nd weakest in the franchise
__________________ "Happiness is a lie. Life is horror. The light is always dying all across the universe. The last star will flicker out someday, when it does, all that remains is shadow. And I will be its king!"'-Amahl Farouk
TPM- Darth Maul: Total badass, arguably best lightsaber fight in the whole series.
ATOC- Yoda: seeing that little ****er take it to Dooku was the absolute highlight of the film.
ROTS- Darth Sidious: The Emperor really shines in this one with Ian McDiarmids A+ acting and the fall of the Jedi masterfully orchestrated by this fearsome Sith Lord, plus I love the battle cry when he leaps at Mace Windu and company.
ANH- Han Solo: the cocky pilot who shot first and didn't take shit from anybody, he was at his best here.
ESB- Darth Vader: At his most evil, killing anyone who disappointed him. This is why he's remembered as one of the best villains in cinema.
ROTJ- Luke Skywalker: Dude finally becomes a badass and takes care of business, favourite depiction of Luke so far...
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Dec 16th, 2015 02:26 PM
