Last night I had nothing to do and couldn't be bothered to put on a blu ray so I tuned I to the last half of a TV screening of Episode III! which I hadn't watched in years. And boy had I forgotten what a stinker it was.
Here are just some of the things that really stood out as being clunky film making:
Pretty much all the fight scenes are slowed ridiculously down while the characters pause to exchange dreadful clichéd dialogue.
The final battle between Obi Wan and Mannequin Skywalker just looks like something out of a platform game especially the ridiculous bit at the end where they are both balancing on droids as they go down the river of lava. Seriously, all you need add is a couple of magic mushrooms and it would be Super Mario Bros with light sabres.
The "birth" of Darth Vader. What should have been an iconic moment in Star Wars history was reduced to something out of Pinky and The Brain.
Padme's death - just giving up the will to live? Pathetic. It would have been far better if she actually had died from wounds inflicted by Darth Wooden.
Sadly, watching this movie just reminded me why the only two films from the Star Wars saga I really like are Episodes IV and V.
Well the fact that the prequels are a complete pile of steaming crap is hardly hold the front page stuff. And for me, life is too short to sit through the first three as well.
I happened to have stumbled on this clip earlier today:
I hate the Star Wars prequels, they were crap when they got released, they are still crap today; only crap with now outdated CGI effects. I guess you have to have been a child to have enjoyed them or like to see that cast at work but for me it just didn't work. The only thing remotely "Star Wars" about them was John Williams' music but let's be honest, the original trilogy for the win again.
I do have faith in JJ's take on it as it possibly can't be any worse than what Lucas did with those blue screen atrocities.
I hate the Star Wars prequels, they were crap when they got released, they are still crap today; only crap with now outdated CGI effects. I guess you have to have been a child to have enjoyed them or like to see that cast at work but for me it just didn't work. The only thing remotely "Star Wars" about them was John Williams' music but let's be honest, the original trilogy for the win again.
I do have faith in JJ's take on it as it possibly can't be any worse than what Lucas did with those blue screen atrocities.
I basically concur with Francis' estimate. I got my licks in back in 2005:
I used to be a huge Star Wars fan but haven't watched any of them since ROTS. I've been toying with the idea of giving them another go but can't seem to muster any enthusiasm. Maybe the inevitable hype next year for the new one will inspire me.
The saddest aspect is the unrealized potential. The opportunities missed.
Lucas should have written the prequels for adults. Then they would have some lasting resonance. He wrote down to kids, not realizing that most kids are not that dumb.
When you start in the stratosphere, the only way is down. I have a feeling the makers will slam the door on us because they did everything they could, one way or another, to provide the gravitas. It didn't all work, but I think that scene where Sidious is 'deformed' and the bond is made between he and Darth Father was not done badly at all. Ian McDiarmid's reveal is better than average, all things considered. The voice . . . the look of the face . . . the placing of the hood. There's even more revelation there because in imagining the Sith as darkly robed monks, it's clear there is a reference to the controlling nature of religion in history. The Sith strike me as being somewhat akin to grand inquisitors who are the perpetators of the very crimes pinned on their scapegoats so as to maintain unbridled power. In a way, it gave McDiarmid a chance to perform the role loosely veiled in the Shakesperean mould. I think it is more his film than anyone elses. Whether Palpatine's cunning plan makes overall sense to you as an onlooker is based on how comfortable you are in this deep end of the trilogy.
I agree the emergence of DV and eclipse of Padme are ill thought-out and implemented fudges.
The "birth" of Darth Vader. What should have been an iconic moment in Star Wars history was reduced to something out of Pinky and The Brain.
Eh, the prequels all have their levels of suckage but I found some good in all of them. But yep, Vader's "birth" starts out as a great moment, but then he Herman Munsters himself to his feet and wails "noooooooooooooooooo" in the most hilariously bad way... a great example of how the prequels usually end up getting it wrong
Ewan McGregor made a fine Obi Wan however, and he finally had a chance to act a bit at the climax of Sith. They should give him a stand alone Obi Wan adventure when they plan all these new franchise films.
Agreed. The "NOOOOOOoooooo" moment was an elephantine mistake. The scene of Anakin burning does work. As his hair burns off and his face blackens there is an imprint in Hayden's face of the Vader mask done ever so cleverly. But then he says, "I hate you," to old Ben. No words were required. The situation spoke for itself. When Ewan says his lines, the risk of inviting a mis-step was there. But no, he got them out with the right emphasis.
What is even more amazing is the staying power of the original trilogy. They made not one but three new Star Wars movies and not one of those gets referenced in pop culture, it's always the original trilogy.
It's interesting that usually on FSM therre are very polarised views when someone comes out with a hugely pro or hugely negative comment about a film - James Bond, Crystal Skull etc.
But here not one person seems to have a single good thing to say about the prequels.
It's interesting that usually on FSM therre are very polarised views when someone comes out with a hugely pro or hugely negative comment about a film - James Bond, Crystal Skull etc.
But here not one person seems to have a single good thing to say about the prequels.
Well, Sith with all it's faults is the only prequel I can sit and watch a second time.
I tried to Watch Episode III a second time but could'nt get passed the first 10 minutes with all the various droids saying Ouch everytime they got hit with a lightsaber or goin into the walls. + all the droids goin "Roger Roger" everytime they recieved a order from above.
The closest any Movie has gotten the Original Trilogy is SPACEBALLS...
Hell even Rick Moranis' Lord Helmet was more menacing than Hayden's Vader.
I remember a line from Raiders in which Belloq likens Indy to himself, by suggesting only a small nudge would be necessary to push him over to Belloq's way of doing things. This seemed to be an oblique reference to the Star Wars concept of the Force, with it's negative and positve energy being separated by a knife edge. In other words, Belloq is Sith with Indy as Jedi.
In Temple Of Doom, Indy does temporarily go over to the Dark Side, however, his padawan learner brings him back from the brink out of a sense of love/devotion.
