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[article on MSN] How to save Star Wars.
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Erekose
Eternal Champion
I think the best defence I've read for Lucas was from the man himself. I can't remember the exact words but it was something like . . .
"I made the original trilogy for myself and I'm glad that it was well received. I'm writing the new trilogy for myself and it's for a new generation. If the old fans don't like it that's too bad."
It has been argued that he does have a responsibility to the "old fans" but does he really?
However, as an "old fan" myself I can't see the new films as anything less than a missed opportunity.
"I made the original trilogy for myself and I'm glad that it was well received. I'm writing the new trilogy for myself and it's for a new generation. If the old fans don't like it that's too bad."
It has been argued that he does have a responsibility to the "old fans" but does he really?
However, as an "old fan" myself I can't see the new films as anything less than a missed opportunity.
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Henry
Autoexreginated
Tar me and feather me with Ewoks if you will, but I don't think they were bad movies - just not awe-inspiring. Anyone who calls them "bad" is really missing economies of scale, here - it's like calling the Millenium Falcon and the Death Star "big ships."
The most hurtful thing in both is the lack of passion in the characters, or in some cases, misplaced passion. (Strange that I should comment on this when the story is about JEDI, who aren't exactly passion-fonts.
) Hayden Christensen trying to speak in Obi-wan's stilted style is part of the problem, and makes him sound pretentious, when the character is supposed to be anything but. Just as Ewan Macgregor and Liam Neeson had their style differences, and Marc Hamill and Sir Alec Guiness had "old world" and "new world" going on, The fact that even when in anguish Hayden parrots Ewan's style doesn't do him well. I'm hoping what we will see is expression using Christensen's own experience - he's from British Columbia, so I'm not quite sure how that should sound...
The storyline in both were not horrible on the surface, but for some reason just didn't make me CARE. While it had its moments, it was generally hurt by STARTING on Coruscant and dwelling there for a long time. If they wanted to tell Anakin's / Padme's story, they needed to begin on Naboo, and move from there - the fact that it was as whirlwind yet passionless as it was did not make it believeable to me.
Phantom Menace I had far fewer problems with. The biggest upset was the lack of meaning in the battle on Naboo, and the length of dwelling time spent on Padracing that could have been used to dwell on Anakin's training. In the end, I liked the imagery, but the pacing was off to me.
Oh, well. Star Wars rants will come and go, but We'll see next year if Lucas has hit the money. He's done some good work in the past, and it's not like HAN SHOOTS FIRST, or anything...
The most hurtful thing in both is the lack of passion in the characters, or in some cases, misplaced passion. (Strange that I should comment on this when the story is about JEDI, who aren't exactly passion-fonts.
) Hayden Christensen trying to speak in Obi-wan's stilted style is part of the problem, and makes him sound pretentious, when the character is supposed to be anything but. Just as Ewan Macgregor and Liam Neeson had their style differences, and Marc Hamill and Sir Alec Guiness had "old world" and "new world" going on, The fact that even when in anguish Hayden parrots Ewan's style doesn't do him well. I'm hoping what we will see is expression using Christensen's own experience - he's from British Columbia, so I'm not quite sure how that should sound... The storyline in both were not horrible on the surface, but for some reason just didn't make me CARE. While it had its moments, it was generally hurt by STARTING on Coruscant and dwelling there for a long time. If they wanted to tell Anakin's / Padme's story, they needed to begin on Naboo, and move from there - the fact that it was as whirlwind yet passionless as it was did not make it believeable to me.
Phantom Menace I had far fewer problems with. The biggest upset was the lack of meaning in the battle on Naboo, and the length of dwelling time spent on Padracing that could have been used to dwell on Anakin's training. In the end, I liked the imagery, but the pacing was off to me.
Oh, well. Star Wars rants will come and go, but We'll see next year if Lucas has hit the money. He's done some good work in the past, and it's not like HAN SHOOTS FIRST, or anything...
D+1
First Post
Star Wars started downhill with RotJ. Phantom was just the final proof that Lucas had lost (if he ever had it at all) the ability to take the epic tale he'd started with and continue to go somewhere useful with it. SW lost me as a REAL fan (I saw EpIv in the theater nearly 200 times...) with Phantom. I tried, I really tried to like it but the whole thing about Naboo and the Trade Federation didn't fit. It was just a hack excuse to stage large battles. I could have come up with better background that would lead to Ep.IV (and have). And the pacing sucked. And so did JarJar. And midichlorians - ESPECIALLY midichlorians.
Oh, I've seen the movies (Phantom I saw at least twice in theaters) and own the DVD's but I'm sorta glad that Episode III is finally gonna put an end to the downhill slide one way or another. Menace at least stopped it from descending into complete degradation. I'll be able to say I've seen them all and then rant forevermore that like Highlander there can be only one, or like Alien there can be only two. For SW there can be only three (and I'm not ecstatic about the third).
Unless someone DOES convince Lucas that he's his own worst enemy and does Episodes VII-IX.
Oh, I've seen the movies (Phantom I saw at least twice in theaters) and own the DVD's but I'm sorta glad that Episode III is finally gonna put an end to the downhill slide one way or another. Menace at least stopped it from descending into complete degradation. I'll be able to say I've seen them all and then rant forevermore that like Highlander there can be only one, or like Alien there can be only two. For SW there can be only three (and I'm not ecstatic about the third).
Unless someone DOES convince Lucas that he's his own worst enemy and does Episodes VII-IX.
EricNoah
Adventurer
What we can hope for is after the final movie is done, Lucas would "license out" Star Wars to others to make movies with. Maybe specify that they have to be post-RotJ or something, maybe set up a continuity council, maybe even approve storylines, etc. But that would allow his remarkable universe to live on in some better films.
Remus Lupin
Adventurer
I recently re-watched TPM and ATC, as well as ANH. Truth is, I really liked TPM, with the exception of Jar-Jar. ATC bored me to tears. I just wanted to skip ahead to the colloseum scene and have done with all of the Anikan and Padme swooning.
ATC is by far the weakest of the films, but I think TPM holds its own.
ATC is by far the weakest of the films, but I think TPM holds its own.
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