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Post by burrunjor on Feb 2, 2022 13:56:34 GMT
There's only really 3 good ones in my opinion. The first three. Of them I'd rank.
A New Hope/ 10/10
Return of the Jedi/ 10/10
The Empire Strikes Back 9/10
I think Empire is a bit overrated to be honest. The reveal is obviously great and admittedly it could never have the same impact on me, as I'd seen it parodied about 1000000000000 times before watching the film. Perhaps if I'd seen it when it was out that would nudge it up a few places.
Still looking back at it now, whilst it's a great film undeniably I think it's a bit slower than the first and Peter Cushing's loss is definitely felt. Shouldn't have killed him off.
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Post by Bernard Marx on Feb 2, 2022 15:01:42 GMT
1) Empire Strikes Back (1980)- 10/10.
2) Star Wars (1977)- 9/10,
3) Return of the Jedi (1983)- 8/10. The sequences with Palpatine and Vader are outstanding, although the Ewok sections definitely aren't...
4) Rogue One (2016)- 7.5/10.
5) Revenge of the Sith (2005)- 7.5/10.
4 and 5 are interchangeable. They both have their flaws, but they have their standout moments too. After this, they're all crap, but Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Force Awakens and Solo probably all occupy the same space.
The bottom of the barrel is undoubtedly The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, both of which make the films I list in the paragraph above look stellar by comparison. Both excruciatingly awful, albeit in different ways. The former is the most smug and self-satisfied in the series, as well as being downright incompetent in its basic tonal consistency, characterisation and narrative flow. Meanwhile, the latter is easily the most appallingly edited and structured in every department possible.
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Post by iank on Feb 3, 2022 20:36:16 GMT
The first 3 are the best, though to be honest I'm not a fan and haven't watched any of them in twenty years...
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Post by burrunjor on Feb 4, 2022 10:19:38 GMT
Sort of related to this post. The fans wanted Lucy Lawless to replace Gina Carano as Cara Dune in The Mandolrian after Carano dared to have opinions. "We love strong women but only when they agree with us. Yes that might sound like a return to Victorian age attitudes, but it's not because we know what's better for women than they do. Duh" Anyway Lucy said no, stating that she did not want to become a political statement rather than an actress. www.cbr.com/star-wars-mandalorian-gina-carano-lucy-lawless-project-killed/Honestly just when I thought I couldn't fancy Lucy Lawless any more than I do. How refreshing to have an actor not be a pandering twit, and best of all its someone who actually did do a lot for LGBT representation back when it wasn't trendy. Do you see that Moffat? You can actually have a spine when it comes to these things. Then again that's why Lucy Lawless was in something that gave us female villains like Alti and Callisto, and you gave us Missy. |
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Post by UncleDeadly on Feb 4, 2022 11:14:48 GMT
1) Star Wars (Episode IV "A New Hope", if you must...) The original, the best and actually works fine as a standalone film. 2) Empire Strikes Back. A good, solid, darker-toned sequel. Possibly slicker than the original but slower paced and, arguably, less memorable. Doesn't work as a standalone for obvious reasons. 3) Return of the Jedi. The third best Star Wars film BUT, with the rebuilding and destruction of a second Death Star as the main focus of the film, we're already into diminishing returns. Leave it here, George... 4) Revenge of the Sith. The best of the prequels, though depicting Palpatine as being disfigured during his battle with Wendu completely ruins the compelling notion of the Emperor as an ancient alien being, kept alive purely by evil. 5) Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones. Pretty much interchangeable. Both films are marred by convoluted plotting, an increased tendency toward dumb comedy and Lucas' awkward direction of actors. Phantom Menace, however, is at least free of Lucas' club-footed attempts at romantic dialogue, chemistry-free romantic leads and Hayden Christenson's complete inability to sell the inner struggle of Anakin Skywalker. What was the point of that fokking Pod Race, though...?
fokk the Disney shit.
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Post by Bernard Marx on Feb 4, 2022 12:03:18 GMT
4) Revenge of the Sith. The best of the prequels, though depicting Palpatine as being disfigured during his battle with Wendu completely ruins the compelling notion of the Emperor as an ancient alien being, kept alive purely by evil. Yep. The odd thing about this cock-up is that the film even covertly affirms the Emperor as a figure kept alive for years by the force earlier on, with his sly account of Darth Plagueis during the Opera House scene (one of the best scenes in the prequels, and one of the few with consistently good dialogue too) strongly implying that Palpatine came to harness Plagueis' power to regulate death within the force. I initially assumed that Palpatine would have used this to disguise his true appearance, with Sith having been documented in other Star Wars media (including Knights of the Old Republic) as having been corrupted by the aura of the Dark Side with their inner decay slowly coming to physical fruition, with Palpatine having used Plagueis' influence to disguise that decay in the Prequels and make himself look younger. It's not explicitly stated, but the implications of that earlier scene are fairly obvious. What would be preferable, and more thematically apt, would be the mask slipping of the Emperor's own accord, rather than having been scarred by Windu. It's a shame, because Palpatine's Machiavellian presence is a massive benefit to the film during its first half. What was the point of that fokking Pod Race, though...? Yeah, it's basically a Ben-Hur chariot race rip off, albeit with CGI overload instead of practical stunts. I think the Phantom Menace benefits somewhat from having an incredible score (infinitely better than any of the Disney films) and a memorable final confrontation, as well as having superior world-building to the sequels (not that this takes much), but broadly speaking, the acting, dialogue, direction and all-around execution is spectacularly disappointing. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2022 14:10:30 GMT
1) Star Wars (Episode IV "A New Hope", if you must...) The original, the best and actually works fine as a standalone film. 2) Empire Strikes Back. A good, solid, darker-toned sequel. Possibly slicker than the original but slower paced and, arguably, less memorable. Doesn't work as a standalone for obvious reasons. 3) Return of the Jedi. The third best Star Wars film BUT, with the rebuilding and destruction of a second Death Star as the main focus of the film, we're already into diminishing returns. Leave it here, George... 4) Revenge of the Sith. The best of the prequels, though depicting Palpatine as being disfigured during his battle with Wendu completely ruins the compelling notion of the Emperor as an ancient alien being, kept alive purely by evil. 5) Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones. Pretty much interchangeable. Both films are marred by convoluted plotting, an increased tendency toward dumb comedy and Lucas' awkward direction of actors. Phantom Menace, however, is at least free of Lucas' club-footed attempts at romantic dialogue, chemistry-free romantic leads and Hayden Christenson's complete inability to sell the inner struggle of Anakin Skywalker. What was the point of that fokking Pod Race, though...?
fokk the Disney shit.
Return of the Jedi isn't too bad. I think the movie looks a bit cheap at times. Some of the matte paintings stick out like a sore thumb and the sub par cinematography during the Jubba's palace segment make it inferior to the first two. It does have a lot going for it including an amazing score by John Williams, my favourite Lightsaber battle, an emotional climax and Hamill's best performance as Luke. Ford seems to be phoning it in although Carrie is as lovely as ever. The battle on Endor is also pretty cool too and I must admit that I get upset when one of the Eworks dies and his friend sobs. I have nice childhood memories of it like I do with all of the original trilogy films. |
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Post by UncleDeadly on Feb 4, 2022 14:44:54 GMT
I must admit that I get upset when one of the Eworks dies and his friend sobs. I have to confess i've always found that bit hilarious...  |
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Post by Bernard Marx on Feb 4, 2022 14:52:13 GMT
I must admit that I get upset when one of the Eworks dies and his friend sobs. I have to confess i've always found that bit hilarious... There is a bit of tonal incongruity during that section of the film. Mainly in that the Ewoks are portrayed as "cute and cuddly" (I know- the expression is painful) and are supposed to be the selling point for kids, only for that very selling point to be counteracted by Vader being amputated, Luke being tortured for five minutes by the Emperor, and an Ewok being gunned down followed by a surprising 30 seconds of mourning which seem to come out of nowhere. So I can see why you'd laugh at it. |
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Post by Bernard Marx on Feb 4, 2022 14:54:43 GMT
I have nice childhood memories of it like I do with all of the original trilogy films. Yeah, me too. There's at least an inherent charm to it. I have some affection for elements of the Prequels too for similar childhood related reasons, even if it's mostly for the expanded material rather than the films themselves, which I recognise aren't very good. That's probably why I can't abide The Last Jedi. It's not just disastrously written, but it also feels fundamentally charmless, mainly because it's a 152 minute ego stroke for its director above all else. |
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Post by UncleDeadly on Feb 4, 2022 15:09:38 GMT
I have some affection for elements of the Prequels too for similar childhood related reasons, even if it's mostly for the expanded material rather than the films themselves, which I recognise aren't very good.  |
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Post by Bernard Marx on Feb 4, 2022 15:18:04 GMT
God, Lucas' strong point was NOT dialogue... This comment here is spot-on, of course: |
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Post by UncleDeadly on Feb 4, 2022 15:25:29 GMT
Is it at all possible that George has issues with social cues...?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2022 15:26:15 GMT
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Post by Bernard Marx on Feb 4, 2022 15:31:28 GMT
Is it at all possible that George has issues with social cues...?
Undoubtedly. Still, this comment seems to think otherwise. Eh? |
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