Star Wars prequels ruined the originals...

[jwyblejr]

I just cringe everytime Hayden opens his mouth, and I just dont get, how the troopers from being in differant colours, squads, levels etc in the prequels, devolved to just being boring white and bland.

There were. You had your AT-AT Drivers,your TIE Pilots,Snow Troopers,Biker Scouts and so on.

[Gorn Captain]

He died late last year...sorry.

Maybe Lucas could contact him through a medium.
Directing tips from the great beyond...

[alex]

I just cringe everytime Hayden opens his mouth, and I just dont get, how the troopers from being in differant colours, squads, levels etc in the prequels, devolved to just being boring white and bland.

[MIB41]

Irving Kershner, please come back!

He died late last year...sorry. He was a great director!

[Gorn Captain]

Just out of intrest, all these people saying they hate this and dislike that, if Lucas made the next film now are you saying you would refuse to see it?

............. and would you stick to that.

Great point.
"I'll go see it, and hate it! And then see it four more times...."

[Gorn Captain]

I just love Star Wars, the complete saga. True, I like some parts better than others. I disliked the new Jabba scene inserted in SW. Why? Because it makes Jabba look like pansy.
I disliked when C-3PO's head was pulled off and then just put on another droid body, and he worked just fine (in Clones).
I wish there would have been less CG in the prequels, yes.
But I can also see some great moments in the prequels. I don't care what anybody says, the scene in the "Opera", where Palpatine seduces Anakin with an explanation of the Dark Side was well-acted and directed, it sent chills up my spine. I thought Sith was a good movie, and only wish that Anakin's turning to the Dark Side had been more of a struggle, it went to easily. Does that make it a bad movie? No.

Let's face it: when we were expecting the prequels, we envisioned it as the second coming of Christ. It was going to be so good...that no movie could have matched that.
True, Lucas made mistakes, the most important being that his directing skills are not as good as was needed. Irving Kershner, please come back!
Lucas is a great creator, but not the best director. His infatuation with CG hurt the series, as most of the actors in the PT will attest to.
He is not the funniest guy around, but likes to believe he knows humor.
He is now to God to his own Universe, and in serious need of a Coach/Mentor/Editor.

I liked 75% of the PT. I loved 95% of the OT.
And there lies the difference.
But I still love Star Wars. All six parts. And some parts of the PT are really, really cool. I wish Darth Maul has lived longer, because his fights were awesome. The first half of Clones was great, IMO. I loved the look at the SW universe in that part of the saga.

And even if you dislike one part, how can that ruin the whole thing?
If you hate Alien 4, do you hate Aliens?
Don't throw away the baby because some of the bath water looks and smells funny....

[Brazoo]

I think that comes from the enigmatic way Guinness played that character. But it's hard to know what all he's thinking, since the sequels reveal that in those scenes he's being either evasive, misleading, or is down right lying - from a certain point of view.

I'm with you and LadyZod, Ben was a bit of a lying creep.



I love "Return of the Jedi" but even as a kid there were some flaws to me. It's well known that Lucas thought Empire was too dark, and he pushed Jedi too much the other way for me.

The Boba Fett battle scene we were all anticipating seemed like it was just about to happen, and then if fizzled out because of that dumb comedy gag of him getting bumped by blind Han and falling into the pit.

Seeing the Emperor was kind of a let down for me after all the build up - he just never looked that interesting to me - and too rubbery.

Han is barely in it - and when he's in it he's not doing much. He kind of stole the show in "Empire" - and again, I think Lucas wanted to move away from that.

A lot of people don't like the Ewoks, I've never minded them too much - but it does feed into the idea that this movie got to kid-friendly.

There's some really sloppy continuity errors in Jedi and the acting just seems looser and less nuanced as it did in "Empire" - which is why I think a lot of the lines get mocked.

The pacing at the end is really drawn out with those scenes of Luke, Vader and the Emperor - they're almost the same scene again and again. It makes it the hardest of the original 3 to get through for me. The snappy pacing in the other two is just so tight - I think it lacks the finesse that Lucas' ex-wife brought to the other two.

[Brazoo]

I didn't see the last two installments in the theater. They were rentals. And for anyone who does love this series, I would certainly not debate the point, because everyone is certainly entitled. I completely understand the "fun" people see in the series. And those reasons are just as valid. For myself, I just don't take it as interesting or effective story telling anymore. It's a tired concept.

Yeah - I had planed on checking the DVDs out - but then I never got around to it. It doesn't keep me up at night.

[Brazoo]

Just out of intrest, all these people saying they hate this and dislike that, if Lucas made the next film now are you saying you would refuse to see it?

............. and would you stick to that.

Well, I didn't see episodes 2 and 3 because I saw the first one and didn't like it, and didn't think I would like the other two. I'm not boycotting them - or wishing bad things about Lucas or anything - just not my cup of tea. I still love the original movies.

If he made new Star Wars movies - good or bad - I'd probably be more curious about what he did with the story.

[MIB41]

I didn't see the last two installments in the theater. They were rentals. And for anyone who does love this series, I would certainly not debate the point, because everyone is certainly entitled. I completely understand the "fun" people see in the series. And those reasons are just as valid. For myself, I just don't take it as interesting or effective story telling anymore. It's a tired concept.

[wolfie]

Just out of intrest, all these people saying they hate this and dislike that, if Lucas made the next film now are you saying you would refuse to see it?

............. and would you stick to that.

[MIB41]

The one thing I have come to learn and appreciate about George Lucas is his ability to market his ideas effectively. THAT is his genius. The first film was a phenomenon that will forever be coveted by those of us who grew up in that period. We understand it's significance and the revolutionary contribution it brought to the science fiction and film industry. It was an historical event. And like generations that have come after us, it is impossible to fully explain how important that first film was. Just like generations before us, who grew up watching Frankenstein have a hard time explaining what an event that film was.

But what Lucas did that forever kept this license viable, was by selling the "IDEA" that this story was only one of many, like a 50's serial. And that they were somehow all CONNECTED. That it was all part of his "GRAND STORY" and they should tune in for much more. That was the hook and people bought into it. It became a sci-fi soap opera with him as grand story teller. But what it really was, was simply a marketing ploy to keep the license selling. Fans could argue plot points, buy the toys, while he figured out what he would do next. And to this day people still buy into it. And you can see that in the very content of this thread. Some people want to live the fantasy of thinking this was all planned and the "GRAND STORY" is unfolding. While many of us see it as a simple marketing ploy that is no longer believable.

For myself, I laughed off the "chapter" nonsense after Jedi. And by the time the 'prequels' came around, I simply saw it as Star Wars IV, V, and VI. And the quality of story, acting, and artistic achievement bare that out. To me , "Revenge of the Sith" is as relevant to the original Star Wars of 1977, as "Jaws the Revenge" is to Jaws of 1975. If you didn't have any character references, there would be virtually no relevant comparison between the two by any standard. The only difference is how it was marketed to the public. And to this day Lucas keeps the license selling with tons of toys, a cartoon series, and promises of more product. THAT is what he does well these days.

[Mikey]

Something nobody ever mentions ... maybe it's just me but I really hate the battle robots in the prequels.

They don't look at all functional and plainly were designed to show the audience there isn't an actor inside.

It's little things like that that gnaw at me as much as the bigger things.

One of the biggest (if not the biggest) thing I hated was Darthboy in the fighter at the end of Phantom.

IMO, that set the tone for the rest of the prequels --- and cried to me --- nothing to see here

m

[ctc]

>including Jedi which I don't understand all this hate for.

I've always figured so many fans didn't like it because it was the end, and in wrapping things up was making the overall story smaller, whereas the other two were always expanding the setting and the story. I think the fact that most of the fans were older added to it. Not only were their tastes and perspectives changing, but for 6 years we'd been pummelled with Star Wars. Fatigue was setting in.

Don C.

[Hector]

what prequels?

Exactly...