My son is 3... seems like your kids are older than that? Maybe some of it (not appealing to kids equally as did the trilogy to us -which I agree it does not) is due to more entertainment available. When I was a kid and the trilogy came out. I could not go in my room and play the movie out on a dvd based gaming system and "solve it, set it aside, and move on"... if I wanted to play the movie I had to get with friends and imagine it. Remember, high tech toys back then had light bulbs and made noise... now they interact and beat you in turn. Imagination has been replaced with the physically tangible, and conquerable. Nowadays, kids would rather go outside to skate than play StarWars "you be Boba Fett, I'll be Solo"... they do that on the same screen they saw the movie on with X-Box or PS2's. The whole innocence of a simpler time is what I meant, not actual events and memories... our society gives children and pre-teens way more to involve themself in now.
But that whole idea that it's just the times being different would imply that they didn't like other movies more. There are many movies my kids like (some that I don't understand why they like them, and some that I wonder whether liking that movie makes me kids weird. For example, my younger son's all-time favorite movie is Mars Attacks!) and watch over and over again. That has always been the case (and their tastes change as they get older). They do prefer the original trilogy to the new movies. And they do prefer other movies to any Star Wars movie. The new Star Wars movies were just forgettable to them. They watched them, didn't hate them, but don't care if they ever see them again. There are other movies that they do seek out to watch more than once. That says to me that the new Star Wars movies simply aren't really that good, even for many kids. Yes, there is more to do these days, but kids still do like certain things. Not everything is disposible to them. These Star Wars movies are disposible. Other movies stand out and do stay with my kids. That tells me that these new Star Wars movies are simply not good enough to stand out. Some movies do, even though there are more options available to entertain kids these days than there was in 1980 when I was 9 or 1984 when I was 13 (9 and 13 being the ages of my kids right now). On sort of a different topic, I watched a movie yesterday that came out the year I was 3 years-old. I guarantee I wouldn't have liked it when I was 3, but I really enjoyed it yesterday (at age 31).
The first 3 are superior in almost every way to these last 2. And no, it's not just because I was a "kid" when I watched the first 3 and I have jaded eyes now. It's just amazing that Lucas has so much more to work with now yet creates vastly inferior movies. they could make them good movies w/o kids hating it btw.
Below are the revenues not adjusted for inflation. Clearly a lot of people are watching these movies. I am a huge fan of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back and will watch any episode in the series based on the strength of the the first two. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/ All Time Top 20 Movies by Global Box Office Released Film Name Total Box Office 1 1997 Titanic $1,835,400,000 2 2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $967,100,000 3 1999 Star Wars: Phantom Menace $925,600,000 4 1993 Jurassic Park $920,100,000 5 2001 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $860,300,000 6 1996 Independence Day $813,200,000 7 1977 Star Wars $797,900,000 8 2002 Spider-Man $796,100,000 9 1982 ET: The Extra-Terrestrial $772,000,000 10 1994 Lion King, The $767,700,000 11 1994 Forrest Gump $679,400,000 12 1999 Sixth Sense, The $672,800,000 13 2002 Star Wars: Attack of the Clones $617,600,000 14 1997 Lost World: Jurassic Park $614,300,000 15 1997 Men in Black $587,800,000 16 1983 Return of the Jedi $572,700,000 17 2000 Mission: Impossible 2 $565,400,000 18 1998 Armageddon $554,600,000 19 1980 The Empire Strikes Back $534,200,000 20 1990 Home Alone $533,700,000
I agree they could be better (I & II), I just can't see them being terribly worse than 4-6... I guess the original trilogy will always be able to stand on their own, either way, because Lucas never new the first would take off like it did... so he probably, if he were completely honest (and it seems obvious), tried harder to make those three more cohesive and entertaining. I wonder if he's now toying with Episodes 7-9 again? Either way, I know it's all just an interesting discussion that may never fully be understood... What's even more wild is that so many claim to dislike it, yet we may all own it or may all end up owning it (or them)... and multiply that by how many people there are out there that will never express their thoughts on a BBS... It's amazing to fathom how deep Lucas' pockets are and that he has to really and truthfully answer to no one but himself, because as much as we dislike it all, we show we really love it by paying $7.50 a seat to see it in theatres, and $19+ to own a copy... I wonder how many of us liked a certain soft drink more the first time we drank it, than we really do now, but we keep drinking it hoping for that first time feeling again? I truly feel like the nostalgia of it all is why cling to the past... and even why the younger viewers cling to the past. We've all been indoctrinated that those were the "good old days" and that the world is "headed to the dumper." It's a love / hate relationship. I think the trilogy is by far better, in the long run... but still I was an impressionable youth without the multimedia world we live in now when I first saw it. Who was gonna compete with StarWars? 2001: A Space Odessy? Battlestar Galactica? Star Trek? Sure I like those too, but nothing truly compares to the best... and you never get a second chance to be the first, cutting edge, sci-fi, serial, novel based, action, comedy, drama, kid flick. Maybe something's simply wrong with society. After all, we all have time to type these unsolicited movie reviews.
What is wrong with taking a movie that cost $150 million dollars to make seriously? The cast members took it seriously (I hope). The crew took the movie seriously. Lucas took it seriously. The media took it seriously. Why can't I? Maybe it is hard to compare these movies to your typical Hollywood blockbuster, but at the very least, I can certainly compare it to the movies that formed the foundation of the series and came first in the pecking order, Episodes IV-VI. I was born the same month Star Wars premiered, and I basically grew up with the movies and toys. So what? I was also eager and excited to see The Phantom Menace opening night. The result? The new movies just aren't that good. Period. If they weren't part of the Star Wars series, they'd probably gross around $125 million (based on the amazing effects alone) and be completely forgotten in 2 year's time. But since they're Star Wars movies, they instantly get the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how mediocre they are. On the other hand, they're also held to a very high standard and subject to mass amounts of abuse. It's a double-edged sword. Don't think I get all hopping over a movie just because it happens to have the words "Star Wars" in the title. If I don't think a movie is decent (ANY movie), I feel I have the right to say so (ahem... Mars Attacks and Wild Wild West, I'm gunning for you...). So I'm picky and act like a total fanboy sometimes (even though I'm far from being one). If critiquing a supposed "kids movie" is a crime, then book me, toss me in jail, and throw away the key... On a related topic, if Peter Jackson screws up even a tiny part of LOTR: TTT, you'll definitely hear it from me.
Wow... the fact that LOTR made it that high is impressive, considering it was 3 hours long, and thus wasn't played as often as those others... Anyway, as far as I know, when adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind still blows everything out of the water.
Titanic kicked ass. I'd have to say that might be my favorite movie. It put you in place you couldn't have been. It deserves to be number one. As for Harry Potter. I think that is atrributable to the books, which have obviously struck a universal chord. What chord I don't know. But it did.
I found these while digging through some old issues of Wizard and thought you guys might like them: Top 10 Reasons Star Trek Kicks Ass Over Star Wars 10. Nobody open-mouth kisses their sister on the Enterprise. 9. Wedge gets slapped around every movie, but lives. When a red-shirt dies, he stays dead, dammit! 8. Kirk and crew have saved planets; Luke and pals have escaped garbage bins. 7. With the exception of like three Klingons, all the "Trek" aliens speak English. 6. No %#@*ing Ewoks! 5. No one can say "Salt-N-Pepa" like Patrick Stewart. 4. Two things: Yeoman Rand. 3. Star Trek ensigns much tougher to kill then Stormtroopers (even that little wimpy kid from Return to Space Mountain in The Wrath of Khan). 2. Guinan can solve your problems and get you drunk; R2-D2 can show Viewmaster slides. 1. What would you rather hear: "Threepio! Where can he beeee?" or "You've got Genesis, Khan--but you don't have me. If you want me, you're going to have to come down here. You're going to HAVE . . . TO COME . . . DOWN HERE!!"? and to be fair: Top 10 Reasons Star Wars Kicks Ass Over Star Trek 10. In Star Wars, every planet they go to looks cool and has neat aliens. In Star Trek, every planet looks like a blue-screened backlot and all the aliens are extras Gene Roddenberry slept with. 9. No lame-ass "Prime Directive" stopping you from whipping ass. 8. When ships get hit in Star Wars, everyone rolls in the same direction. 7. Stormtroopers may not be able to hit the broadside of a barn, but they're still a lot more threatening than a space-faring Abraham Lincoln. 6. In Star Wars, all chicks are fair game. Heck, even your sister. 5. Han Solo never had to degrade himself by shooting a baggy-suited reptilian alien with a hollow log and some charcoal. 4. You can safely wear a red shirt in Star Wars. 3. Luke Skywalker could kick Wesley Crusher's ass with one hand tied behind his back. Hell, Luke's cut-off hand could kick Wesley's ass with itself tied behind it's back. 2. Kirk would have just used the Force to get some. 1. Roddenberry = dead. Lucas = genius.
Being a kid's movie is not an excuse for crappy dialogue. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are kid's movies, animated kid's movies at that, and the dialogue is genious in those. I'm not sure Star Wars is for kids anyways...I think its for whole families, not specifically for kids.
you should have told lucas that back in the mid 70's then! the dialogue to episodes 4, 5 & 6 are awful...i still cringe when i hear luke whining in the beginning of episode 4...but it doesn't diminish the movie. agreed...toy story's dialogue is far superior to any star wars movie...yet i'd much rather watch a star wars movie... as for whether or not star wars is a kids' movie...ask lucas, himself...
Like everything else in this consumer driven material world, the new Star Wars movies were bent on making money both with gross sales and cheap toys. The first three were not meant for kids look at the freaking lighing in the scenes for god sakes! Very dark, even in the desert scenes. The new movies were very light and cartoony looking. Lighting can really make the difference in the feel of the movie. Look at the first 2 Batman movies. Great stuff, good dialogue, good characters, great movies. DARK LIGHTING!!! Even in daytime Gotham city seemed sinister. Those last two schlocks were cartoony and just bent on selling their product to a younger audience. That's exactly what the new Star Wars movies are doing. They know that older people who grew up with the movies are going to want to see the new ones so we can learn about the origins of some of our favorite characters. They're trying to encompass a larger audience so they throw in Jar-Jar Binks in and goofify the whole damn movie! There are so many bad parts to the new movies so I'll just highlight some that haven't been brought up yet. The part where C-3PO first meets R2-D2, is it me or was there like a second or two pause where everyone could go like "oh yeah, so that's where they meet up?" CORNY!!! Yoda looked horrible in part two and his dialogue, ugh, everything had to be purposefully said in his backwards language. "Around the survivors, a perimeter set." NO NO NO! It should have been "Around the survivors, set a perimeter." It's still backwards but flows a lot better. The next movie is apt to be incredibly depressing, I'm sure it will be pg-13 because everyone is going to die! Mace Windu, dead, Amidala, toast, Jar-Jar Binks, bug jelly. They could release that part on it's own DVD. Hopefully it'll be a lot darker and more dramatic than the previous two.
I know it's only a damn movie...but I saw part II for the first time over the weekend. It was okay is about all I have to say about it. Some of the action sequences, like the whole flying car race where people are falling from the sky and the robot factory assembly line, we're totally gay. I guess it would be enjoyable if I were 7 years old. Even at that age, I would still prefer the original Star Wars without all the total and complete corniness. Two things really ruined the film for me. I think the person who plays Anakin did a terrible job delivering his lines and he didn't seem believable to me. His performance didn't seem natural nor did it envelop the viewer. I also thought the same about the character playing Obi Won. I liked him much more in the first one. I guess bad dialogue has an impact on the actor although it seemed to fit more into the bad acting category IMHO. The chemistry between Anakin and Obi Won was forced and absolutely horrible. We're they talking to each other cause it didn't feel that way? I know they are setting up the big break-up between the two but, still, those were rather difficult to watch because they lacked any kind of spark or cohesion. That said...I liked the war sequences, the light saber sequences, and Yoda's fight sequence(albeit it was way too short). The movie, however, didn't give me that feeling a SW film should give. I'm not all to sure why that was the case. I almost like the Episode I better and that isn't saying much. Surf
I really liked Episode II better than VI and about the same as IV. VI was just as corny with the damn Ewoks killing all the stormtroopers, and the effects weren't as good. A New Hope just seemed to drag a lot. Not much happens in the first half of the movie. I would probably rank them: 1 - The Empire Strikes Back 2 - Attack of the Clones (horrible name BTW) 3 - A New Hope 4 - The Phantom Menace 5 - The Return of the Jedi (Teddy Bears, killing the Emperors crack troops, are you serious.)
Okay, so I have a chance to go see Episode II: Attack of the Choads, or whatever, on a big-ass IMAX screen. I have not yet seen it in any format. Should I go for it? Will all the CGI be easier to digest on a huge screen or will it be just more cartoony and obnoxious?
