major let downs of the new trilogy

[LadyCrimson]

But, but ... "Nooooo" only made me groan and shake my head.

 

"UNLIMTED POWER" made me ROFL.

 

Thus "UNLIMITED POWER" > "Nooooo".

[Omelette]

Okay, okay.

 

But every time that I look at Palpatine, I think of a bloated toad now. I mean, he had like layer upon granny layer of skin on his chin.

 

Story time. I was the only person in the theater that started to laugh hard at the "Noooo" and the "Unlimited Power". I just got these stares from these guys who must have been die-hard fans. I'm sorry, but the movie started to turn into a comedy and I couldn't hold it back. End story time.

[LadyCrimson]

I had my hands over my mouth during the entire Yoda/Palpatine "fight." I was also shaking uncontrollably and slapping my thighs with my fists. I have no idea if others were laughing, since I was too busy laughing myself.

 

When the DVD came out, I replayed that scene a dozen times.

[Omelette]

I had the same thing in Epi II. When Yoda and Dooku started fighting, I lost it. I was, once again, the only person with a perpetual smile on my face and laughing into my fist. Good times.

[astr0creep]

It was preposterous that such a large number of Jedi would get whipped by droids in the arena in AotC.

Then, Jango gets capped and Bobba isn't the one that kills Windu?!

WTF?!!

[Darth Mortis]

Story time. I was the only person in the theater that started to laugh hard at the "Noooo" and the "Unlimited Power". I just got these stares from these guys who must have been die-hard fans. I'm sorry, but the movie started to turn into a comedy and I couldn't hold it back. End story time.

 

I had my hands over my mouth during the entire Yoda/Palpatine "fight." I was also shaking uncontrollably and slapping my thighs with my fists. I have no idea if others were laughing, since I was too busy laughing myself.

 

When I was watching the film and it got to Mace being killed there was a five year old a few seats in front of me who cheered. I kind of missed a whole load of stuff after that since I was to busy trying not to have hysterics.

[astr0creep]

When I was watching the film and it got to Mace being killed there was a five year old a few seats in front of me who cheered. I kind of missed a whole load of stuff after that since I was to busy trying not to have hysterics.

 

Was it George Lucas?

[Lord Mayyn]

if anything, Palpatine was the best. everytime i see him i want to kill any jedi the steps in my way. he was the best damn character in those movies, and i would be proud to serve under him. FOR THE EMPIRE!

 

 

p.s. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" is the worst line in any star wars movie. when i first watched that part, i was discusted. Lucas should have made him destroy the medical center with the force instead. every droid, every item. with a lot of yelling and without the "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!".

Edited April 15, 2007 by Lord Mayyn

[Omelette]

if anything, Palpatine was the best. everytime i see him i want to kill any jedi the steps in my way. he was the best damn character in those movies, and i would be proud to serve under him.

Um...are we talking about the same Palpatine? His acting wasn't that great, but it sure as hell wasn't as bad as Hayden's. I think he destroys every movie that he's in. Shattered Glass, Factory Girl (which wasn't that good to begin with). But I wouldn't say anyone did a spectacular job. Well...maybe Ewan. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I love Ewan.

[Lord Mayyn]

palpatine friggin rocks. i loved the part where hes battling Mace. he was freakin great. powerful in many ways. i go gay for him....

 

i didnt care much for hayden.

Edited April 15, 2007 by Lord Mayyn

[Omelette]

Not many people did care for Hayden. I think he brought the whole movie to a screeching halt.

[Lord Mayyn]

hayden wasnt very good. it says so in the poll. but during the battle between obi-wan, i kinda liked it. with the anger in his "I HATE YOU!!!

but thats about it

[Darth Mortis]

Given the abilities of many of the actors involved I can only conclude that the defects in the films are down to;

 

Poor diologe/scripts; Even the best actors in the world can only do a good job if they have something good to work with. In many cases the scripts just didn't give them enough to work with.

 

Poor direction; The directing seemed to be more interested in making sure scenes looked right, instead of pushing the actors to give there all. Watching some of the scenes again it does seem like many of the actors gave up trying to give their best and where just going through the motions. From what I can tell of GL's way of directing the problem was probably that he didn't want the actors to make the roles their own but just do what he told them to do. If the actors seem like cardboard cutouts its probably because they were expected to be nothing more than that. Consider that the best of the fims is generally considered to be Empire Strikes back, which GL didn't direct and in which the actors were allowed to improvise. (Its also worth noticing that the best acting in the new films comes from Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, both of who were played by actors no one was likley to attempt to push around)

 

Poor chemisty; The characters who seemed to have any kind of chemisty with other actors were Palpitine and Obi-Wan. The Padme/Anakin chemisty just wasn't there, they seemed more like people who would enjoy going out for coffee than getting married and having kids.

[Omelette]

(Its also worth noticing that the best acting in the new films comes from Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, both of who were played by actors no one was likley to attempt to push around)

 

Well, everyone knows that Liam is cinema gold.

[LadyCrimson]

Well, everyone knows that Liam is cinema gold.

He'll always be Darkman and Rob Roy, to me.

 

Re: palpatine - I liked him a lot, myself. I mean, in that hammy hall of fame kind of way. It's not bad acting so much as "hamming it up."

 

Re: Obiwan - I thought poor Ewan was shafted ... he was so excited, in interviews, to be picked to be in the films, but then ... watching him in the movies, it felt like he knew how riddiculous the lines he was speaking were and was wincing inside as he said them.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Personnally, I think the direction just failed to make a satisfying movie with any decent text.

[darthjardon]

Hayden Christensen wasn't bad in these movies, he was just average, he played the part how Lucas wanted it played and got hammered for it. Even so, despite a few of the scenes that were just horrible the relationship with Obi Wan was believable and he worked well as a Jedi, Sam Jackson did a worse job then Christensen, not saying he's not the better actor of the two but.....during the scene when Windu is about to kill Palpatine and there going back and forth with "aaaarggh....HE IS THE TRADER!!", thats when you realize how bad dialogue can handicap and actor.

 

I can actually picture them in trailers before takes trying to find away to spit out some of these stupid lines and make them sound reasonable, Portman got the worst, 80% of the cringe worthy moments had her on screen. Dialogue had some garbage moments, but thats still just some head shaking in a trilogy that I liked a lot.

 

Ewan McGregor was good, Christopher Lloyd and McDiarmid were also good throughout, and I liked the special effects because it created a really good look at what the universe is really like, you get something closer to the full scope of it. The cornyness of the props and stuff like that in the OT is great, but despite that you have to feel like something was lost in transition from what Lucas had in his mind to the atmosphere that came out on screen.

[Omelette]

Re: Obiwan - I thought poor Ewan was shafted ... he was so excited, in interviews, to be picked to be in the films, but then ... watching him in the movies, it felt like he knew how riddiculous the lines he was speaking were and was wincing inside as he said them.

Same feelings here. I mean, I love him as an actor, but to see him in these movies was almost a bit...odd. I mean, he could have done so much more if he had the right script and maybe some freedom to kind of improvise or maybe bring this story to life. But with the story and script that GL gave all the actors, it just fell flat and the lines were so basic and not even what most people would say.

 

The joy about SW IV through VI is that it's realistic and has people that you'd meet on the street. Han Solo; everyone knows that guy. Everyone knows a Leia and a Luke. That's what kind of was lacking in the prequels. They looked good, sounded good, and the CG was top notch, but the script and the writing was just poor.

 

And, by the way, I do prefer some cheesy animation once in a a while, or a man in a suit. Instead of seeing all this animated stuff on the screen, I'd rather see something real. It just stared hurting my eyes after a while.

[Darth Mortis]

I'll start by saying that I do like GL, he is the one who created the Starwars universe after all. However I'm wondering if the problem with the prequel films is that he had too much control. GL seems to be very good at ideas and images, but far from great when it comes to direction and diologe. I wonder if it might not have been better for the finished project if GL had stepped back and let someone else handle the direction of the films.

 

It is interesting to note that when you ask people which of the films they like best they normally always say Empire Strikes Back-which is the film GL had the least control over. It can be hard to create something and then let go and allow others to run with it, polishing the rough edges over to give something that has the best of everything. Seems George, from what I can tell, just can't-or won't-allow this to happen. Its understandable, but I can't help but feel that it wasn't the best direction to go with the prequels. Maybe, just maybe, GL will relax slightly with future SW projects and we'll get the best of his ideas and images while someone else handles direction and script.

 

It is (or might be to some people) interesting to note that GL isn't the only person to fall into this trap. Gene Roddenberry, the creater of StarTrek, fell into the same trap which lead to the first StarTrek film. The difference was that GR could be (And was) pushed to one side by the studio, so while he had creative input he wasn't the one making the films/TV shows. The 'immediate' effect of this was Wrath of Khan, probably the best of the ST films, followed by four TV series which I doubt would have been as popular if GR alone had been control.

 

Can you blame the actors in the prequel films for the short-comings? Well not really, even the best actors can only be as good as the script, and they can only rise above that with good directing. Add to this that most actors really don't do it for the money (Which for 95% of actors is dire) but because acting is something they enjoy. If you have a bad script, a director that doesn't allow the actors any leeway in how they act and deliver lines and which takes the fun out of the whole thing for the actors then you can understand why the standard of acting wasn't close to what the actors were and are capable of.

 

Does the problem fall on the shoulders of GL? Yes, I'd have to say it does. He was, in my opinion, too controlling of too many things. He was so caught up with the overall picture and what he wanted to convey that he missed the small things, such as appaling diologe and the fact that the actors seemed to be getting board sensless by the whole thing. The problems of the films are GL's problems, and could have been avoided had he been able and willing to hand some measure of control over to others.

 

Still, he did create Starwars and for all his faults you have to love him for that........

Edited April 22, 2007 by Darth Mortis

[Lord Mayyn]

i think the biggest let down of the new trilogy was George Lucas being part of it.

[LadyCrimson]

Didn't George release some control after Phantom Menace, after all the critical remarks? Seems like I heard about him having other people do some writing or editing of dialogue or something?

 

I have nothing against Hayden C - for all I know if given a great script and looser direction he'd shine. But he certainly didn't in the SW prequels - nor did anyone, really. And most of them are well-known for being able to act very well when given a chance. George definitely has too many control/regret/grass is greener issues - I imagine it all keeps him obsessively awake at night. And I'd agree that there are some people who are much better at creating the ideas than the implementation. Or the other way around.