Do you really like Star Wars?

[David Howery]

I was a teenager when Star Wars came out, and I can still remember the impressions I had of it back then. Basically, it reminded me of a lot of old movies.. in a good way. Finally, there was a nice simple action movie with good guys (who were simply good guys and not suffering from great emotional angst or murky ethics) and bad guys (who were reaaaally bad guys, not just misunderstood), and a ton of (at the time) absolutely astounding special effects. It was a simple story of heroes and villains... no great sociological debates, no wrenching emotional drama, nothing too cerebral or wordy. It had been a long time since I had seen a movie so simple and fun to watch....

 

[LightPhoenix]

I like the original trilogy, and I can even see where Lucas was going with the Ewoks, though it would have meant a lot more if it had been the Wookies, I think. Still, RotJ is a bit of a let down, and you can see where Lucas started to pander as opposed to tell a story (Lando's un-death, Ewoks, and so on).

I think the new trilogy has some great moments... I love the depiction of the Jedi, and you can really see why they fell. Hell, even midichlorians ties into that... in a society of science, the Jedi Counsel refuses to believe in the power of the human spirit. The Jedi are robots at this point, having sacrified their humanity to the Force. It's why it's Luke that can defeat the Sith when they take out the Old Order. He still has his humanity, and it's his strength.

While I do blame the director for wooden performances, I think Lucas and whoever his casting director is made some terrible choices. And the writing for much of II is atrocious. At least the original trilogy managed a certain degree of hokey charm, but in this ultra-sanitary method of film-making it just falls flat.

Still, when all is said and done, I feel the same about the new trilogy as I do about Matrix: Reloaded... great action movie, if you ignore the pretentious crap.

Zahn's books are great, and while I never expect it to happen, I would love to see them be made into Episodes 7-9. I pretty much consider them as much anyway. I've only read a little of the rest of the stuff, but I wasn't too impressed with it.

 

[WizarDru]

I like the original trilogy, and I can even see where Lucas was going with the Ewoks, though it would have meant a lot more if it had been the Wookies, I think. Still, RotJ is a bit of a let down, and you can see where Lucas started to pander as opposed to tell a story (Lando's un-death, Ewoks, and so on).

Interesting, about the Lando thing...apparently some people believe it, and others think its the SW equivalent of an urban myth.

 

[mojo1701]

According to IMDb's Trivia Page about Return of the Jedi:

- It was originally intended for the Millennium Falcon to not make it out of the exploding Death Star. While this was eventually dropped, a fragment of the idea remains when Han says, "I just got a funny feeling, like I'm not gonna see her again."

- The primitive warrior tribe at the end of this film was originally supposed to be a tribe of Wookiees. In pre-production, though, the decision was made to go to short creatures with short fur rather than very tall creatures with longer fur and, hence, the Ewoks were created (Ewok may very well have been created by rearranging the sounds in the word "Wookiee").

- Harrison Ford suggested that Han Solo die by sacrificing his life to save one of his friends to give the film more dramatic weight, but George Lucas disagreed with him.

- The word "Ewok" is never used in the film.

And something for the guys:

- The dancer that Jabba drops into the Rancor pit loses her top as she falls in.

 

[ragboy]

I think awful fits really well. There were a few that I liked but some of the Star Wars books become the first that I wouldn't even finsih reading. And that was when I was much younger, I'm sure if I read them I'd have evena lower opinion of them now.

I'd go with 'God Awful.' I just got burned again with the 'Bounty Hunter Series.' I just happen to pick up the first one from a garage sale or something, and thought 'This will be exciting...Boba, Dengar, Bossk, etc.' It was crap! 3/4 of the way into the book not a single pulp action thing had happened. It was all bounty hunters plotting and scheming and doing not a thing. So, I'm not a fan of the books.

The problem I have with the new movies is that they aren't Star Wars movies so much as super hero movies. All the main characters are icons of their age, for the most part, and you never really consider them in danger, with a few exceptions (the Maul lightsaber battle was the best of the entire series, bar none). The original trilogy had menace and fear and danger. The battle on Hoth, running through the Death Star with stormtroopers on your tail, Jabba's palace and the pirate adventure in the desert...even the ewok battle had elements of humor, danger, surprise, etc. The new series is flat. When the main character can jump out of an air car in the middle of a busy Coruscant airway and land on the exact car he wishes....how can you really get a sense of wonder from that?

Also, I haven't seen it mentioned, but I really enjoy the stories that are coming out of Dark Horse Comics' various series right now. The Republic series has more emotion in a handful of panels than EP1 and 2 combined. The Empire series I'm still warming up to. And Tales has some great non-sequiter stories set in the SW universe.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I kind of liked TPM when it first came out. MacGregor and Neeson tried really hard, and their friendship rings true. And Portman worked for me -- I see a queen in her performance, though maybe it's just those freaky costumes she's wearing. Those rocked. But on repeat viewings, the creakiness of the plot and the lack of any emotional cost to the heroes make it worthless.

For myself, Portman's queen performce was good because of her vocal control. This is similar to Liv Tyler in LotR. Both have somewhat distinctive voices, and did good jobs in the early filming of controlling their voices for the role, making them different and fitting the role.
As both series continued though, the actresses became more "comfortable" and just sound like themselves. Portman doesn't act in Ep2, she just stands there reciting lines.

 

[Laurel]

So what is it about Star Wars you like? Why?

I really like the original trilogy and I really like the books by Timothy Zahn.
Other then that I just kinda like some more of the books and the other movies.
Not a huge fan of the TV special, cartoon and some of the expanded universe strangeness.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Liam Neeson

I don't think that Neeson, as fine an actor as he is, really was ever all that "hot" the way the young Eddie Murphy was.

Jack Nicholson

A parody of himself.

Bill Murray

Your first good point. The other route entertainers can take as they age is to reinvent themselves entirely, which Murray has done.

Sean Connery

Hmm . . . a less obvious decline, but I don't know how you can look at King Arthur, The Avengers, Entrapment and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and deny that he's not the figure he once was.

Clint Eastwood

If he hadn't successfully reinvented himself as a director we'd be left with his joke of an acting career. The Bridges of Madison County? Absolute Power?

Mel Gibson

On the way down. Note What Women Want and that he's revisiting the scene of his hot young self's success with another Mad Max sequel.

James Cromwell

See Liam Neeson. I mean, are you just picking old actors and directors? That wasn't my argument.

Martin Scorsese, Milos Forman, Donald Sutherland, Peter O'Toole, Al Pacino and William Friedkin holding on line one, for you. Diane Wiest, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close, CCH Pounder and Monica Bellucci on line two.

You must just be picking people over forty.

Not what I was arguing.

Crazy, groundbreaking, outrageous, innovative - Murphy and Lucas were these things when they were young. Even true legends like Scorcese, Pacino, and the like never broke the mold like Star Wars did. Consistent mounting greatness such as theirs is different. I acknowledge that I phrased myself poorly, however.

 

[ddvmor]

I like the relatively light hearted banter in the original trilogy. The new movies are far too serious. I mean how can you beat 'I'd rather kiss a Wookie'?

That said - I liked the two new ones and am really looking forward to ROTS.

 

[WizarDru]

See Liam Neeson. I mean, are you just picking old actors and directors? That wasn't my argument.

You must just be picking people over forty.

Not what I was arguing.

Crazy, groundbreaking, outrageous, innovative - Murphy and Lucas were these things when they were young. Even true legends like Scorcese, Pacino, and the like never broke the mold like Star Wars did. Consistent mounting greatness such as theirs is different. I acknowledge that I phrased myself poorly, however.

Well, I was responding directly to your quote that it was a well-known fact that stars grow 'pussified' as they get older. And my point was that many stars choose challenging or adult work as they grow older. On that list you'll find plenty of people who are still making very mature films, some that are very cutting edge. Is Nicholson a parody of himself? He's certainly played a parody of himself on occasion. But I would say that the man who's made "About Schmidt" and "The Crossing Guard" has suddenly shied away from making challenging fare. Sean Connery has always done some pretty questionable movies, for that matter. For every "The Offense" there was a "Zardoz"...I mean, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"? Hello?

Personally, I wonder how much of the perceived 'pussification' of said actors is more to do with Hollywood and movie-going preference than on the part of the actor. Folks like Richard Harris and Micheal Caine certainly aren't examples of going out quietly, for example.

Star Wars was a synthesis, I think, of stuff. No one thought it was ground-breaking in story...but it was Epic on a grand scale, a DeMille scale, and its groundbreaking use of tech and sound drove it home. It just hit all the right notes, at just the right time.