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SW - Star Wars

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ImperialFighter said:
If only Marcia Lucas could have been involved in George's prequels too!

Exactly.  Someone could try to make edits of the prequels with that kind of setting in mind.  Not pulling George’s actual vision down but changing it how Marcia changed the original three.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Canon Editor said:
ImperialFighter said:
If only Marcia Lucas could have been involved in George's prequels too!

Exactly.  Someone could try to make edits of the prequels with that kind of setting in mind.  Not pulling George’s actual vision down but changing it how Marcia changed the original three.

Many have tried, many have failed...
The prequels are akin to what Yoda had to work with in episode V when Luke showed up. He wasn't ready and neither were the prequels.
 

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It wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe the movies would have been slightly more tolerable, but the editing wasn't the only problem. There were so many things working in George's favor for the OT: great actors, technical limitations (that forced them to think outside the box in terms of practical effects), and great help in the form of writing and directing. It's much easier to cut script issues out when you have solid performances and wonderful sets.
 

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So before I watch The Last Jedi in cinemas, I decided to sort of marathon the saga up until Saturday, which is the day I’m seeing it. What I did was watch the films in Machete Order: first the Revisited Editions of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, then I skipped Phantom Menace (I know the film enough already) and watched Attack of the Clones. With those done, I have Revenge of the Sith, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens left to watch and re-analyze. Sith and Jedi will be done by Wednesday or Thursday, and Force Awakens by Friday, then I’m all ready to see The Last motha-luvin Jedi! Oh yeah.

Did not re-analyze IV and V because what I think of these masterpieces have already been said millions of times for forty years, and I have nothing to add to that. They’re phenomenal, and the best two films in the series.

And I know it’s not really a marathon if you don’t watch them immediately after one another, but whatever. I’m calling this a marathon.

So without further ado:

THE PHANTOM MENACE

Yeah, I know I haven’t watched it in this marathon, but I still have things to say about it.

STORY

The story of the Phantom Menace is needlessly convoluted, with all the taxation of trade routes and trade disputes and politics mumbo jumbo. I agree it’s too complicated for a Star Wars movie. However, all you need to know is: “greedy trade federation picking on powerless Naboo government, and an evil Sith Lord is controlling the federation.” Way too much time is given to all the mumbo jumbo, but most of it is made up for in other scenes like the Podrace (even though it drags after a while), the final battle, the duel, etc.

The problem comes from the pacing and the structure of the movie. Its pace isn’t very consistent and goes from balanced most of the time to really slow at times. This is especially apparent in Coruscant where every single line of dialogue is expository and political mumbo jumbo. Coruscant is without a doubt the weakest part of this movie.

CHARACTERS

Most would say the characters in this movie are flat. While I agree they’re not as good as the ones in the original trilogy, I still like them. The main problem is, of course, that the main character isn’t very clear to us.

Qui-Gon is probably the last true Jedi, and what a Jedi should be: He reminds me very much of Ben Kenobi in the original Star Wars. Qui-Gon is a great father figure, both to Obi-Wan and to Anakin. He’s calm, fatherly, humble, kind, wise, a great mentor figure. He puts other people above himself, unlike the lazy Jedi Council of this era, and shows compassion to every creature. I just love Qui-Gon Jinn almost as much as I love Ben Kenobi, and I get sad seeing him die at the end.

Obi-Wan? Well, he’s pretty much wasted here (why did they keep him in the ship?), but I do like his wit, and his relationship with Qui-Gon. He has kind of a mini-arc that carries over to the next two films, in that unlike his master, he’s conservative and holds to the corrupt ideas of the Jedi of this era. He is also reluctant to train Anakin and more than once argues with his master. But at the end of the day, he still respects his master; and despite not being ready, he promises to train Anakin.

Anakin in this movie... I would say is a misfire. I see where Lucas was going with him, how the roots of his fall comes from his attachment to his mother, and the fear to lose her. They actually got this very well in this movie. Pernilla August is great and heavily underrated as Shmi Skywalker, and she has great chemistry with Jake Lloyd. Unfortunately, Lloyd himself was just terrible. His line delivery is extremely flat. It’s not his fault of course, he did everything Lucas asked him to do, bless him... but the reason this is so frustrating is because, if you look at the behind the scenes documentary a different kid actor auditioning for Anakin, the second one, was much better. I don’t know what Lucas was thinking, but that kid delivers his lines in such depth and believability that Lloyd isn’t even comparable to. Whatever...

Other than the performance, the character of Anakin Skywalker is just... wrong. The person who is going to become Darth Vader, a dark, evil dictator that feeds on fear, anger and hate... was a kind and generous kid with a heart of gold? I’m not saying he should be an asshole of a kid, just some consistency would be nice. There’s even a deleted scene with Anakin beating up Greedo, with a face of such rage for just a teasing like “you cheated in the podrace”. We need that, and more... Some more fear, some roots of arrogance, much more anger... I’m beginning to sound like Palpatine. Anyway, the problem with this is that he isn’t consistent, not only with the originals (duh) but the rest of the Prequels as well. Anakin is not a consistent character, which is the ultimate failure of the Prequels. On it’s own, Anakin is not bad per se, just inconsistent with the rest of the prequels and what Lucas is aiming for... oh, and he’s also quite annoying, but he’s a little kid so whatever.

In theory a fun comic relief character like Jar-Jar isn’t a bad idea, but instead of a realistic character like Han Solo where you can relate to him, like an everyman type of funny character; picture the everyman personality of Finn from the Force Awakens, the wit of Han Solo, and the character arc of Jar Jar in this movie with none of the annoying and unfunny. That’s how Jar-Jar should have been. You can even have him very clumsy, but have this flaw be realistic. At the end of the day, Jar-Jar’s  biggest problem is the most obvious one: He’s very annoying, he’s not funny and WAY to cartoony, ESPECIALLY for the gritty and realistic feel of the originals, which goes straight out of the window for the Prequels (especially the first two with Jar-Jar for Ep. 1 and EVERYTHING for Ep. 2)

Finally, Padme. There isn’t much to her character, but she’s presented to us as a strong female leader. As the Queen of Naboo, she continues to fight for the independence of her people. When the bullshit of politics and bureaucracy make things difficult, she basically says: “Fuck it, I’m taking matters into my own hands. Captain, ready my ship!” My favorite line from her is; “I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!”

Who is the relatable character who goes through a journey in this film? Qui-Gon? While he gets the most focus, he’s the mentor and doesn’t go through a journey. Obi-Wan just sat on a ship for most of the movie and doesn’t get much focus, the only thing given to us is a mini-arc. Anakin comes into the picture very late to be the protagonist, and his arc of losing his mother and his fear doesn’t get much focus, and nothing important happens to him in the third act character-wise, other than Qui-Gon dying.

Padme is probably the most likely candidate for protagonist, because as I explained above, she’s a natural leader and the most relatable among the characters. Unfortunately she doesn’t get as much focus as Qui-Gon.

Unfortunately the problem soon reveals itself: the focus on the characters is very odd. Why are we focusing on the mentor? Why aren’t we focusing on Obi-Wan, the obvious person that should have been the protagonist. And even Padme, who could be the protagonist, loses focus to Qui-Gon. 

There isn’t much to their characters, they’re not as real and relatable as the original trilogy characters, and the focus is a bit messed up... but at least they’re likable and interesting enough for me to root for them and be invested in the movie.

ACTION

The action sequences in this movie are very great. The podrace is exciting (for the first 5 minutes), the four-way final battle is great, albeit unfocused, and the three-way lightsaber duel is one of the best in the saga and very awesome. The excitement and investment comes from the fact that you’re rooting for the characters to win, because you like them (or at least I do). Plus, the mixing of practical and CG-effects is quite well done.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

The soundtrack by John Williams is phenomenal, I absolutely love Duel of the Fates, and Anakin’s Theme is great too.

The cinematography of the movie is very good. There are a lot of well framed shots. Great job.

Sound is great as usual, to be expected from Star Wars.

Finally, the visual effects. The CGI still holds up well enough for a ‘99 movie. Unfortunately they look a bit dated today, but they aren’t too bad and they’re well integrated.

FINAL VERDICT

I know this movie is notorious for being bad, but despite the obvious flaws and considering all the good things I pointed out, I find it difficult to call it a bad movie. Is it good? Not really. But I think it’s okay, passable, decent enough, and entertaining. I give it a 6/10.

ATTACK OF THE CLONES

STORY

The premise of Attack of the Clones is fairly understandable, but the plot is very convoluted. A bunch of star systems are leaving the Republic, these separatists are led by former Jedi Master Count Dooku, and the Senate is debating a vote for creating an army of the Republic, which Senator Padme Amidala is strongly voting against. Meanwhile, an assassination attempt is made against Padme, and Anakin Skywalker is assigned to protect her while his master Obi-Wan is assigned to investigate the assassination attempt. During the investigation, Obi-Wan finds a Clone Army ready, created for the Republic for almost ten years, by an unauthorized person. In the end it is revealed that this was all a plot by Darth Sidious
(who controls both sides and is the Sith Master to Count Dooku) in order to plunge the galaxy into war.

I mean, the premise is interesting, but the plot isn’t executed well. All this comes with political mumbo-jumbo dialogue and I just don’t care. The difference from the Phantom Menace here comes from a lack of a basic conflict and a serious lack of interesting characters.

CHARACTERS

The main character of the movie is Anakin Skywalker, who is vastly different from when we last saw him ten years ago. He is no longer a kind, generous young boy who joyfully yells “yipee”. What he becomes here isn’t consistent at all. Nevertheless, he is now presented to us as a conflicted, aggressive, arrogant young man, which is more consistent with what he will later become in the originals. His arrogance is amplified with Palpatine’s constant praises to him. However, once again its execution is questionable to say the least.

His moments of anger and arrogance comes off more like whining than anything. He is waaay too creepy to Padme, and their relationship has got to be the one of the worst written romance I’ve seen in a movie.

However, the story about his mother is one of the highlights of this movie. One of the things I liked in Phantom Menace was the relationship between Anakin and his mother, Shmi. His relationship with her was great there, and it carries over to here as well. I truly get emotional when she dies. Pernilla August is really under appreciated, her chemistry with both Lloyd and Christensen is great.

Obi-Wan, ten years since his master died, is struggling between treating Anakin as a friend and as a teacher. He’s still conservative and following the corrupt code (though this isn’t made clear very much). Obi-Wan wasn’t ready to train Anakin, and he’s failing him. Beyond this, there isn’t much to his character.

Padme continues to fight against the military creation act... she’s still a strong leader... I dunno, she’s quite thinly written in this movie.

The main problem with this movie is how one dimensional the characters are. There are only a few traits attributed to the characters and not much depth. The most depth come from Anakin and Obi-Wan, which again, is either not much or not well written.

Don’t even get me started on the dialogue. George, what have you done? And do I even have to say anything about the romance sub-plot? One of the worst if not the worst romance ever put on screen.

ACTION

It’s cool I guess. But who cares? If you can’t invest in the characters then you can’t invest in the action either. I realize this is the first time we saw Jedi in such a large scale battle, but it’s all mindless flashy and explosive action and I don’t give a shit. Seriously, I found myself skipping the whole third act on Geonosis, which never happens in any other SW movie. Besides, the movie completely demystifies the lightsaber both in the arena battle (whatever happened to the majesty, the magnificence and grandeur of the lightsaber?)

I HATE Yoda with a lightsaber. Yoda is opposed to brute force, tells Luke he does not need his weapons before he enters the cave, says “luminous beings are we, not this crude matter”, and especially “wars don’t make one great”. He should NOT have lightsaber, nor be the greatest swordsman in the Jedi. That COMPLETELY destroys what the character originally stood for.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Some positives: the music by John Williams is once again phenomenal. He always outdoes himself. The sound effects by Ben Burtt are especially great in the movie (seriously just listen to the Coruscant chase scene). The cinematography is okay, but nothing special, and certainly a downgrade from the previous film.

Unfortunately, the visual effects are overall... bad. This movie has not aged well at all. The green-screen/blue-screen effects and insertion into the miniatures or CG-environments look horribly fake (well at least Naboo and Tatooine are at times real). The CGI looks awful. They may have been acceptable back in ‘02 but now most of them look horribly dated.

FINAL VERDICT

Attack of the Clones is undoubtedly the worst Star Wars film and gets a 3/10 grade from me.
 

Moe_Syzlak

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Is there a prequel edit that brings just Episodes 2 and 3 together in something under two hours? That seems to me what would work for most of us for a machete order. Frankly, I think I’m simply done with them. But a lean edit of those two, particularly one that elimates Greivous (Dooku is the only apprentice prior to Anakin) could work in a Wizard and Glass sort of way.
 

Masirimso17

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Moe_Syzlak said:
Is there a prequel edit that brings just Episodes 2 and 3 together in something under two hours? That seems to me what would work for most of us for a machete order. Frankly, I think I’m simply done with them. But a lean edit of those two, particularly one that elimates Greivous (Dooku is the only apprentice prior to Anakin) could work in a Wizard and Glass sort of way.

I think The Empire Begins is what you’re looking for. It’s not below 2 hours, in fact it’s 2 hours and 40 minutes. But it’s the closest to what you’re looking for in the IFDB. There are several fan edits that do the same thing like many on YouTube, or the Topher Grace edit that no one can see...
 

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avatar_4445.png
+ prequels = 
Heart.jpeg
 

Moe_Syzlak

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Okay so I got drawn back in (cue Al Pacino). I’m watching The Empire Begins, but I’m doing so on my laptop in iMovie. I’ve already cut another half hour and I’m not halfway through the edit. My idea would require a new crawl. Isn’t there a crawl generator out there’s somewhere? Does it do it with music and all? I’m no editor, but perhaps this could serve as a storyboard of sorts, with Darth Awesome’s permission of course. Either way I’ll probably keep my rough edit for the rare moments I feel the need for the prequel story.

Edit/Update:

So I did the whole thing. Disclaimer: I know it’s easy to make jarring, rough cuts. I don’t pretend to think that these—my ideal—edits would necessarily work seamlessly given the source material. But who knows. Getting rid of what I consider extraneous stuff, some big like any Yoda with lightsaber, and some small, my rough edit clocks in at 1:52 without credits or a crawl.
 

Masirimso17

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ssj said:
avatar_4445.png
+ prequels = 
Heart.jpeg

Hahahah no :D I know you’re teasing but no love for the Prequels. I just kinda like Phantom Menace, but I pretty much hate Attack of the Clones. I have many conflicting views and thoughts on Revenge of the Sith, mostly sourcing to the debate I had with the community about Anakin’s fall, but a lot of my thoughts have changed even though I said they wouldn’t :) so we’ll see what I truly think of it by tonight or tomorrow.
 

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Never cared too much about this language from ROTJ, but a crazily amazing, detailed and geeky breakdown of Ubese:

 

TV's Frink

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Moe_Syzlak said:
Okay so I got drawn back in (cue Al Pacino). I’m watching The Empire Begins, but I’m doing so on my laptop in iMovie. I’ve already cut another half hour and I’m not halfway through the edit. My idea would require a new crawl. Isn’t there a crawl generator out there’s somewhere? Does it do it with music and all? I’m no editor, but perhaps this could serve as a storyboard of sorts, with Darth Awesome’s permission of course. Either way I’ll probably keep my rough edit for the rare moments I feel the need for the prequel story.

Edit/Update:

So I did the whole thing. Disclaimer: I know it’s easy to make jarring, rough cuts. I don’t pretend to think that these—my ideal—edits would necessarily work seamlessly given the source material. But who knows. Getting rid of what I consider extraneous stuff, some big like any Yoda with lightsaber, and some small, my rough edit clocks in at 1:52 without credits or a crawl.

Was this meant for a different thread?
 

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I've decided to copy Masi and watch the machete order for the first time.

Star Wars: Episode Star Wars - The Star Wars

I'm watching Adywan's Revisited version. Whilst there's bits I don't like (No Storm Trooper head *donk*? C'Maaan), there's a lot of changes I do. I love the new cut of the Obi Wan scene, for example.

[It was at this point I discovered 20 minutes of my video file was missing sound effects and dialogue... Weird.]

As for the film itself. I have a very rose coloured view of it. In my opinion, it is the worst of the three purely because it has aged the worst. So Adywan's graphical enhancements almost allow me to experience the film like I did for the first time. Regardless of Lucas' annoying CGI oddities.
I think if I were to introduce people to Star Wars in future, this is what I'd use. I find most people find the visual effects in the despecialised edition of this to be a bit quaint. The lightsabers in particular are much better in this version..

Something I love about this film is that at no point does it feel like the plot stops. It could be considered a slow start, but as the plot continuously progresses you don't get bored of being stuck on Tatooine like Luke has.
The editing of Star Wars is absolutely magical.

As is John Williams' score. Holy shit. Not only is it one of the most memorable of all time, but in the moments between those memorable motifs, the score reacts to the action with lightning precision. Every single note has purpose.

[The audio is generally inconsistent, I definitley need a fresh source]

The new score for Adywan's Obi Wan/Vader fight is perfect. It really helps to reduce the feel of "an old guy awkwardly hitting a big guy with a stick", even if there are a couple strange moments ot zero choreography present. This fight really has the exact opposite problem of the fights in the prequels.

The makeup in the film is... Noticeable. (Usually stuff shot on set, rather than on location) Especially when enhanced. They seem to be absolutely caked in the stuff. Carrie Fischer easily had it the worst. It sets the people, with their perfect monochromatic faces, apart from their dirty, grungey environment. The following films don't have this problem, thankfully.

The final act is thrilling as ever, now with enhanced graphics ::D

I really appreciate the holograms and screens in particular being brought more into step with the rest or the series.

But the space battle is just... Wow. That pov shot of the x-wing swooping into the trench remains one of my favourite dynamic shots of all time.

[What the fuck does Leia say to Han after the battle? " Arauaufbrmorenuoojthamoneeeeh"?]

The ending as cheesey as hell, but it's the 70s still so, that gets a pass. Plus Chewie gets a medal in this version!

Star Wars is incredible. It is a triumph of film making, and editing especially. Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew deserve every ounce of the Oscars they received. Williams' score is the perfect complement and instantly stays with you. Parts of it haven't aged well, and parts are a little cheesey. But the heart and the emotional investment in well developed characters bring it back around to being one of the greatest films ever made.

9/10

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

From the 1st second we're thrown right back into the plot. Can't keep up? Fuck you.

This film showed us someone using the force for the first time. It prepares us for the true power of the force we are about to see unfold over the coming films. In a moment of desperation, Luke reaches for his lighstaber with more than just his own hands.

[Oh look! Princess Leia looks like a human being and not a porcelain doll!]

Emotion penetrates every facet of this film. We become so invested in the interaction of these characters, that a closing hangar door can become an incredibly heartbreaking moment. Chewbacca, a character that can't speak a language outside of grunts and growls, can express and illicit as much emotion from the audience as the normal people. That is good characterisation.

Vader takes the central villain role. No longer shackled by Tarkin's leash, he can be much more openly menacing, executing officers left and right without mercy. It's also the first time we see his vulnerabilities with his breathing pod.

Adywan's enhancements make for an incredible battle of hoth. We get a sense of there being a much larger ground assault force than just a few AT-ATs.
Wedge's return gives us some nice character continuity outside of the A-team.

Justwith the Wompa sequence before it, the action here serves a purpose. Luke is becoming more skilled with the force and the lightsaber, as his character has been matured by the heat of war.

The action all serves to motivate the plot. With John Williams' score complementing and enhancing it.

We truly get a sense of the size of the Star Wars universe in this film. We jump from icey Hoth, to a swamp planet and a sky city, with plenty of spacey stuff in between.

This film's screenplay is incredible. Unlike its predecessor's, which although tight in a plot sense, was still occasionally subject to Lucas' awkward dialogue choices.
Each line of dialogue in this gives us some insight into the character that says it. We get to know our characters purely through how they react to situations and play off one other.

It is incredible how they managed to put a Muppet in the film, have it quote Buddhist philosophy, and it still feel like a completely natural part of the film.
It is here that it first injects the idea of not allowing one's emotions to rule them, it is easier to mindlessly feel. One is better off taking the harder path, that of self control.

Luke is reckless, quick to anger. He gives up too easily. He is never mindful of himself. He could easily become Vader. We could all easily become Vader.

Then we have the lighstaber duel. The best lighstaber fight in the history of Star Wars. The main reason being, that this lightsaber fight is something Vader has been planning for the entire film. Whereas most every other lightsaber fight happens as a result of a plot reaction.

I don't need to talk about the reveal, everybody knows.

It ends on one of the biggest down notes in cinematic history. With the exception of Jabba the Hutt, nobody really got what they wanted. Everybody is worse off at the end of this film.

It doesn't need to be discussed. This film forever changed how people viewed sequels, giving us a product that far surpasses the original. It it beautiful, a piece of art. It was the first film that really got me into sci-fi, without it, I don't know where I'd be today. It offers lessons all of us should learn, featuring developing characters whom we all love and unlike its predecessor and many successors, I can't think of many faults. Even in the special editions, the additions are improvements on the original product and don't distract from it like Star Wars.

Empire Strikes Back will stand the test of time as a piece of sci fi, fantasy and cinema. It is everything a filmmaker should aspire to do with a big budget picture. Taking big risks that pay off in big ways.

10/10

Star Wars: Episode II - Rise of the Dawn of the War of the Attack of the Clones

I'm watching HAL_9000'S edit, so the film is largely improved simply by Anakin not being a whiney, genocidal, rapey creeper anymore. This makes way for a fairly cute romance between Anakin and Padme. But we don't know either of them at all as characters, so it's basically a blank slate falling for a blank slate.

The plot construction is still a bit off. The Tatooine subplot, while moving, has nothing to do with the overall plot of the film. It feels like a divergence, a side mission. It literally came up out of nowhere.

Things seem to just happen. There's no real sense of direction to it. I'm reminded of Matt and Trey's lecture on the "But/therefore" writing style compared to the "and then" writing style. The prequels feel like the latter.

The good parts are still legitimately good. The arena scene (before the Jedi arrive), devoid of non diegetic music. The bombs that go aheufjsmsodhdb that Kiwi Jango shoots.

This works nicely in between empire and jedi, so we can see how the peaceful republic fell into a militaristic empire, and how Anakin fell from an impatient jedi padawan into Vader. We get immediate reinforcement of the idea of emotions controlling you, with Palpatine encouraging Anakin to allow his feelings to do so. Also the scene between Anakin and Obi Wan when pursuing Dooku was pretty cool for Anakin's character development.

The action is ultimately lacklustre as they never took the time to develop any of these characters, so I don't care. I don't know why any of this is actually happening. Why do people want to seperate from the republic? Simply because Dooku wants to? We're never shown what is so broken about the republic that could lead extremist despots to rally so many against it. Anakin loses an arm during a fight and I felt nothing.

Dooku is bad because we're told he's bad, until he takes out his lightsaber. Then he's bad because he had a red lightsaber. Dooku is a terrible villain for the film, and I really like his character.

The unfortunate part of the machete order is that the first time we ever see force lightning, it's lame Dooku lightning that easily gets blocked by Obi Wan. It kinda makes the emperor seem weaker than he's portrayed to be when we get to Jedi.

The best you can get with this film is below average. It's nice to look at but ultimately little else. The film never spends enough time focusing on any one element to develop on it. Things just happen, then we move on. It's still better than TPM at its best, which isn't just devoid of plot structure, but devoid of plot. The characters are as 2 dimensional as their cardboard cutouts.

4/10

The edit with my sith review got discarded :/ I gave it a 6/10 It looks like I may only be able to see Jedi/Force before having to attend the midnight screening. Ah well.

The Phantom Menace: 3/10
Revenge of the Sith: 6/10
Return of the Jedi: 8/10
The Force Awakens: 8/10
 

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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

From the 1st second we're thrown right back into the plot. Can't keep up? Fuck you.

This film showed us someone using the force for the first time. It prepares us for the true power of the force we are about to see unfold over the coming films. In a moment of desperation, Luke reaches for his lighstaber with more than just his own hands.

[Oh look! Princess Leia looks like a human being and not a porcelain doll!]

Emotion penetrates every facet of this film. We become so invested in the interaction of these characters, that a closing hangar door can become an incredibly heartbreaking moment. Chewbacca, a character that can't speak a language outside of grunts and growls, can express and illicit as much emotion from the audience as the normal people. That is good characterisation.

Vader takes the central villain role. No longer shackled by Tarkin's leash, he can be much more openly menacing, executing officers left and right without mercy. It's also the first time we see his vulnerabilities with his breathing pod.

Adywan's enhancements make for an incredible battle of hoth. We get a sense of there being a much larger ground assault force than just a few AT-ATs.
Wedge's return gives us some nice character continuity outside of the A-team.

Justwith the Wompa sequence before it, the action here serves a purpose. Luke is becoming more skilled with the force and the lightsaber, as his character has been matured by the heat of war.

The action all serves to motivate the plot. With John Williams' score complementing and enhancing it.

We truly get a sense of the size of the Star Wars universe in this film. We jump from icey Hoth, to a swamp planet and a sky city, with plenty of spacey stuff in between.

This film's screenplay is incredible. Unlike its predecessor's, which although tight in a plot sense, was still occasionally subject to Lucas' awkward dialogue choices.
Each line of dialogue in this gives us some insight into the character that says it. We get to know our characters purely through how they react to situations and play off one other.

It is incredible how they managed to put a Muppet in the film, have it quote Buddhist philosophy, and it still feel like a completely natural part of the film.
It is here that it first injects the idea of not allowing one's emotions to rule them, it is easier to mindlessly feel. One is better off taking the harder path, that of self control.

Luke is reckless, quick to anger. He gives up too easily. He is never mindful of himself. He could easily become Vader. We could all easily become Vader.

Then we have the lighstaber duel. The best lighstaber fight in the history of Star Wars. The main reason being, that this lightsaber fight is something Vader has been planning for the entire film. Whereas most every other lightsaber fight happens as a result of a plot reaction.

I don't need to talk about the reveal, everybody knows.

It ends on one of the biggest down notes in cinematic history. With the exception of Jabba the Hutt, nobody really got what they wanted. Everybody is worse off at the end of this film.

It doesn't need to be discussed. This film forever changed how people viewed sequels, giving us a product that far surpasses the original. It it beautiful, a piece of art. It was the first film that really got me into sci-fi, without it, I don't know where I'd be today. It offers lessons all of us should learn, featuring developing characters whom we all love and unlike its predecessor and many successors, I can't think of many faults. Even in the special editions, the additions are improvements on the original product and don't distract from it like Star Wars.

Empire Strikes Back will stand the test of time as a piece of sci fi, fantasy and cinema. It is everything a filmmaker should aspire to do with a big budget picture. Taking big risks that pay off in big ways.

10/10

Next Up: Rise of the Dawn of the War of the Attack of the Clones
 

TV's Frink

You Catch On Pretty Quick
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Pretty sure I've posted a version of this before...but this seems to be a much longer version.

 

Zamros

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I'm partial to a bit of Bad Lip Reading

EDIT: They just released a new one! :eek:
[Video=youtube]
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Interesting video. Sorry if it has already been posted.

 
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