Regarding Empire or ROTS being darker, if you take each film on its own, obviously ROTS is the darker film. But we know everything ends on a happy note in ROTJ, so it's easier to take in. Whereas Empire at the time of its release had such a bleak conclusion and people had no idea where the story would go in 3 years. Also, I gave a crap about the characters in Empire. I felt bad when Han got betrayed by Lando(and I'm not the only one since people still give Billy Dee Williams crap about it to this day). It was sad seeing Chewie and Leia not getting to Slave 1 in time to save him. It's tough seeing Luke get his ass handed to him by Darth Vader, with Vader rubbing salt in the wound by revealing he's Luke's father. Hell, I even felt bad about 3PO getting blown into pieces by the Stormtrooper. In ROTS, the only person I felt truly sorry for was Obi-Wan. He was just blindsided by what happened. The guy's literally gone for like a week and his entire surrogate family(save for Yoda and Anakin) is killed and if that wasn't bad enough, he finds out his apprentice and "brother" is the one mostly responsible. I didn't care about Padme's death since Natalie sucked in Episodes I & II and had little to do in this movie. Yoda was cool, but he's become a cartoon character at this point and not the dignified Jedi he was in Empire. Anakin's turn didn't work for me, so I didn't care about him. Mace was poorly written, so no real regret there when he's killed. The Order 66 scene was well-edited, but do we really give a damn about any of those Jedi? See, Empire is a tragic movie because we loved those characters after ANH. ROTS's tragic 3rd act is cool to watch, but it does little for me emotionally since Lucas failed to make most of these people engaging or interesting in the first 2 films. And frankly, Obi-Wan and Palpatine work in spite of Lucas' lazy writing and directing. Ewan and Ian are just that damn good.
I dunno I actually like and cared about these characters...true the actors could have done a better job w/ them at times, they could have been written better and some given more to do...but that didn't stop me from becoming emotionally involved. I saw Natalie Portman improve w/ each film and even though she has done a lot better work in other films, I still loved her in this and was sad to see her final fate (but maybe I'm slightly biased since she's on my "list" ). Ewan, he gave the best performance in the trilogy (him and palpatine), plus all his lines at the end of ROTS, well enough said there. Mace, didn't have too much depth and came off as kind of a punk because he never trusted Anakin. But still when he died, it saddened me. And Anakin, Jake Lloyd and Hayden turned in uneven but not bad performances. They did enough to care about the character. PLus to see the torment he goes through in ROTS is enough alone to become emotionally invested. ANd the Order 66 scene. Yeah I don't really know any of these jedis, yet I was still saddened to see them die...to see their whole freakin Order get annihilated because of one corrupt, evil, punk ass, power hungry, piece of crap Sith Lord. And it was just because they died but also because they didn't even see it coming. But I guess I cared about these character because I actually liked Eps I and II (and III). Shoot I don't even hate Jar Jar all that much. Aside from some painfully obvious, kiddie targeted humor, he's ok in my book.
bottom line... Darth Maul would have wooped Vader's azz Yoda is still cool cause he is supposed to be the most powerful jedi even though he is only like 12 inches tall. count dooku was NOT intimidating at all. anakin was a weak, gutless, p***y whipped biotch who betrayed his family and let himself be duped into going to the dark side. is Yoda the only one that can take out his lightsaber witout using his hands, like he did in AOTC? how come the stormtroopers are shown as super soldiers in the prequels and yet they are nothing but idiots in episodes 4,5, and 6?
A friend of mine told me this but I think he might be lying- tends to make up things that sound right. He said that the Clones get weaker over time or something, and that Kamino didn't supply their next batch of them and so they weren't as powerful - or something. I can't quite remember but he told me something along those lines. I have NO idea whether this is true but maybe someone knows more?
Anyone remember what Sam Jackson said to Lucas when Lucas wanted to cast him? "I know I'm going to die; I just don't want to go out like some punk." I'd say he got his wish! Mace was never more of a badass than he was in this movie. I had no idea he was so powerful. Also, I think Obi-Wan/Ewan McGregor stole the last 2 films. In my opinion, the biggest difference between the prequels and Episodes iv-vi is the lack of a Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher to bring some spark to the stilted dialogue. Ewan came close, but he's no Harrison Ford. Everyone else was too calm or jedi-like in their delivery -- we were sorely missing a Han Solo character. (Think about it -- some of Han and Leia's best lines are totally cheesy but only classic because they're delivered by charismatic actors.) I agree Darth Maul should've lived beyond Ep i. He could've been one of the great Star Wars villians. As for Dooku, it's Lucas' fault. Why cast an 80-year old to be one of your main villians? You could see the freaking liver spots in the close-ups. Also, I've been in the "start the prequels with Episode ii" camp for a while now. There was no need to see Anakin as a 9 year old. Lucas clearly had to pack in way to much in ROTS; stretching it into 2 movies would've been awesome. For example, we could've seen the the premonition about Padme's death in Ep ii with a cliffhanger of Palpatine trying to recruit Anakin.
I think by time 4,5, and 6 came along .. they were regular humans Conscripted into the military they talk and act more human Rocket River
Oh, looked something up online and apparently Lucas was quoted as saying that by then clones were sometimes made of important people - such as the son or cousin of a politician. So therefore you might get unlikely candidates becoming clones.
Yep. Lucas confirmed as much in a recent interview (forgot where.) Oh, and this is kinda funny. If the Storm Troopers really ARE all clones, does that mean that in Empire Strikes Back, when Boba Fett is chillin' with Vader in the carbon freeze chamber, could he have taken off the helmet of any of the stormtroopers standing next to him and seen his dad? In that same interview Lucas was asked that question, and he was kinda like, "Um, yeah. That's possible. Some humans have been recruited, but there are still some clones. Maybe a 50% chance."
re: Han Solo - amen. Very little grips you with the prequel characters. Portman mailed it in, all the Jedi were channeling Spock, and Hayden simply showed the world he was way too green for the part. As far as Maul and Dooku, keep in mind the parts they were playing. Every villain was included to foreshadow the aspects of Vader: Maul the raw power and aggression, Dooku the chilling/frightening calm and unshakable side, and Grievous.....well that's obvious enough. Lee was a perfect choice because of his horror/thriller background. Unfortunately, it takes us back to Lucas' inept directing. If he had emphasized Lee as more along those lines, the role would have been excellent. -->moral of the story: even the most amazing effects can't replace the story or characters. Evan
Ok, did anyone else think this was funny???? When Anakin returns w/ Palpatine and has his little talk with Amidala, it went something like this (I'm paraphrasing, saw it for first time last night) Anakin: "It seems like we've been apart for a lifetime....I've been away fighting at the Outer Rim planets...It's so good to see you again" Amidala: "Ani, I'm pregnant" Huh? So is he NOT Luke's father??!?!?!??!
LOL! Good point! Then who is?! I mean she must have been impatient at times, when all alone with her man out fighing for months and months at a time.
Hmmmm.....So do you think that's why Lucas created JarJar Binks??? He did seem awfully sad at the funeral. "Luke, meesa your REAL fada"
Maybe you should go hang out with a certain coworker of yours at lunch, then go check it out. I'll agree to an extent, but seeing Anakin as a child really opens the story. We get to see him as a young, innocent, yet very confident boy who is basically told how great he is. I think we could have done without the trip through the core of Naboo which could have been utilized to delve deeper into the plot or develop some of the characters better.
Guys, Is it too much to ask to have a movie that has a good story and plot, or have we all lowered our standards so much that it is simply ok to have lots of cool effects and ignore gaping holes in plot and story? I was SOOOOO hopeful after reading some reviews, and yes, it is better than those first 2 terds he put out, but a polished terd still smells like crap. The storyline was horrible, there was no epic moment that caused him to flip to the darkside, it was simply "Hey dude, they lied, I love you, come to my party instead" What a crock !!! The movie sucked, it is horrible, and a slap at the intelligence of the movie going public....... DD
Anakin: "Uh, you know, I've been away for, like, MONTHS....WHERE THE #$%@ IS OBI-WAN! I'M GONNA KILL HIM! HE'S HOLDING ME BACK!" Amidala: "It wasn't Obi-Wan (sobs) It was Yoda!! (sobs)" Yoda (walking in wearing only terrycloth towel) "Come back to bed you will, Padme. Get lost you will, ANakin."
Geez, DD...if you want superb acting and great dialog, you should have gone and seen Monster-In-Law...this is STAR WARS!
At least in the first 3 or rather 4-6 there was decent acting and characters you cared about...... Sure the dialogue was cheesy but good actors can pull it off.....Ewan had crappy lines but they were bearable because he can act. Hayden, well he should be asking if you want fries with that burger at the local Carl's Jr. DD
