14 replies to this topic

[The Prick vs The DD]

(Possible) Spoilers for those that haven't seen the movie:



Pros:

- Mixed genres of sci-fi, war, drama, action, love, adventure, fantasy, and comedy: all creates a realistic atmosphere;
- The enormously detailed and complex scale of it all, gives us the illusion of galaxies, terrains and places of huge proportions, as one might suspect in this universe;
- CGI has definately improved over previous episode.
- Monsters and creatures more alive, detailed and developed than its predecessor;
- The implementation of several (smaller) storylines in stead of just one linear storyline: Padme and Anakin, Obi-Wan and Jango, Yoda and Mace, Palpatine and Dooku;
- More extreme and unsettling situations, going from romance to hardcore action;
- The extremely important 'underlying current': the subdued explanations of where things are coming from, the cleverness+manipulative and masterfull mind of Palpatine and his foreseeing, the basis for the Stormtroopers, people turning against people;
- The strengthening and enhancing of the classic Trilogy by some of the things happening in this episode and by some of the words spoken: TESB "Look at me, judge me by my size do you?", we now really know why you shouldn't judge Yoda by his size. Other example: It's now explained (likely) why all the stormtroopers are so obedient in the classic trilogy...they have been genetically manipulated to be obedient and just fight. We also now know what one of the reasons were when Darth Vader threw Palpatine of the railing in ROTJ: He blamed himself for not saving his mother especiialy cause he could have done so much sooner, and he promised her he would not fail, again anyway...in ROTJ he could undo what he did wrong all those years ago. He couldn't save his mother, but he certainly could save his son and by that redeem himself.
- We now know why Yoda is a true master;
- The growing and portrayal of the ongoing arrogance of Anakin Skywalker and his tormented soul, the slow destruction of Anakin's goodness after failure and failure, and its dramatic consequences;
- The use of even more different kinds of unique creatures in the plot;
- It's no longer a diplomatic film because of the chaos like its predecessor;
- The paradox of the Clone Troopers: it will destroy the Republic by saving it in the first place;
- The developent of almost all of the main characters...and those of less importance as well.
- The foreshadowing of the Deathstar (and it's likeness to some of the federal ships on Geonosis), among many things;
- The ultimate plot for the entire saga comes out brilliantly in this movie. As a matter of fact, this is the most important episode for that, much is explained and shown. But sometimes you need to pay attention and really think to find out...which is yet another plus.
- Anakin is cast rather well, especially when you realize how difficult it is to play this character on the boundary of good and evil, between good Anakin and bad Anakin. Hayden Christensen shows us a nice mixture of playfulness and anger, of uncertainty and arrogance, a young man that is both friendly and loyal, and vain and naive. Loyal to some, rebellic to others. The actor plays a character that wants to control his emotions, but can not. It's the most difficult character to cast and he does it as well as you can do for someone that is still a bit young to play all of that and in his position, with such expectations from the public to perform at your topbest;
- It's good to see Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio mumbling and bitching about each other again. And their role in this episode was strenghtened which was virtually non-existent in the previous episode;
- The music is way more Star Wars sounding then the previous score (which was more mature then the originals)...perhaps even on purpose, and had some unique and therefore fresh material in there not before heard.

Cons:

- Dialoque? Dialoque? Sure there's dialoque, but it's not always that good. Very corny at times;
- The romance between Anakin and Padme is forced. It's beginning too strong and apparant. It should have been with a slower pace to make it more natural or it should have done so with less cheesy and exagerated lines;
- Also, some of the romantic scenes feel too cheery and playfull, a bit childlike. But this is just a minor point and I have not major problems with it;
- Even though the CGI has greatly improved, Yoda still looks different, cold to the touch, and not part of the scene (not really fully implemented in the atmosphere) in comparison to TESB and ROTJ;
- Even though the ultimate plot (for the entire saga) is brilliant, the plot for just this episode is not. Actually, it's rather chaotic and has not a really satisfying beginning nor end;
- The movie in general is also chaotic, moreso for the last section. Tatooine and Geonosis (in certain situations) looks quite the same and I got a bit confused where I was at times (but only on the first showing);
- Though understandable, the movie doesn't focus too much on Shmi Skywalker (mother of Anakin). And her story and death and Anakin's pain simply goes by to quickly. If it had gotten more attention, it would have been even more powerfull;
- Portman (Padme) to me sometimes could have played a bit more natural, especially when back on Naboo where they talk about keeping it a secret...now that she is no longer a queen, are in places where she no longer needs to be on her guard, and falls in love with Anakin.
- Somehow, I have problems with Jackson. It simply feels to much like Hollywood acting in stead of the more natural acting like Christopher Lee. When I see Mace Windu, I don't see a valiant and wise Jedi Master, I see a macho that desperately wants to show how tough he is ("This party is over!" though funny, I think it does illustrate my point. If you are angry, as he obviously was and have something important to say, you would have looked straight in the eyes of the person you're talking to, and not from a cool looking angle...it's too macho and acted). And that is very wrong for a Jedi master. Can't get away from that feeling. This is okay for Anakin, obviously, but not for the few chosen as council members that represent all of the Jedi.
- The (re-used) music was blasted to tiny bits.


I've left out some of the other obvious stuff like the Assassin scene and the likes, but oh well perhaps I'll edit this message later on.
All in all, the pros outweigh the cons, this got mostly to do with the underlying plot and some of the adventure that got back in Star Wars which was lost in TPM. I loved it, and tomorrow will be going for the third but not final time.

Yes yes, it's me, The DD...thought Id change names for a while.

The Prick

[CruciformSword]

I don't get why some people got so annoyed with some of C3P0's jokes towards the end of the movie. I do agree that they were kind of corny, but it still didn't bother me a bit, nor did I feel it take anything away from the movie. But that's just my opinion.

-Jason

[Hlao-roo]

I don't get why some people got so annoyed with some of C3P0's jokes towards the end of the movie. I do agree that they were kind of corny, but it still didn't bother me a bit, nor did I feel it take anything away from the movie. But that's just my opinion.  

-Jason

Again, some felt that the See-Threepio "decapitation sub-plot" sucked the tension out of the battle scenes. Others felt the humor simply sucked.

I need to see the film again, but I believe the first time I quite liked the humor. I don't think it was "detrimental" to the movie or to the character of Threepio. But others did think so...so, as you said, it's just a matter of opinion.

[Director]

I kinda enjoyed Threepio in this film. It was comforting to see Threepio's and Artoo's relationship start to bloom like Laurel and Hardy.

Dan - whose all-time favorite comedians are Laurel and Hardy

"Always and Always" from Stepmom

[The Prick vs The DD]

Dunno whether you're referring to me or not, but I liked Threepio in this movie...he was himself once again. I think the quick changes from humor to action is an appropriate one...different things happening at the same time. I do think he made to many puns, but it was still nice to see him once again under lousy circumstances.
As a matter of fact, I will add this to the pro section.

The Prick (aka The DD)

[Morn]

The humor does suck, but not enough to be detrimental to the film. It's not annoying like jar jar.[/quote]

[Ray Barnsbury]

I liked Threepio too. He was spouting off puns like there was no tomorrow ("What a drag!", "I'm beside myself!"), but I liked it. It was a nice shift toward the humor of the originals rather than Jar Jar's poodoo jokes.

Ray Barnsbury

[Director]

Dan - who wasn't too annoyed with Jar Jar as much as everyone else was

"Jar Jar's Introduction" from Episode I

[The Prick vs The DD]

Just in case...I do agree their humor was so so, but that bitching and moaning about non-trivial stuff really meant that Lucas was back on track with R2-D2 and C-3PO, just like they were in the classic Trilogy. It is for that reason I just now added their interaction to the pro's.

The Prick (aka The DD)

[Director]

I still liked it.

Dan - defeding Artoo and Threepio -- two of his good friends back home

"Wasted Air" from Pay It Forward (T. Newman)

[The Prick vs The DD]

Also, I liked the Coruscant chase scene...suddenly Coruscent got an even bigger feel to it than before: the cars diving for minutes on end, the monstrous amount of different places, advertising, shops, streetwalks and whatevermore really added to the busy atmosphere. :wow:

The Prick (aka The DD)

[Director]

Yes! It seems Coruscant is the equivalent to Hollywood: filled with politicians and party animals.

Wait a second...I guess the same could be said about Washington too.

Hmmm....

Dan - giving himself another second to think of this

[Director]

Oh, and how could I forget? The traffic! Oh, the traffic.

Dan - who wishes to buy a celestial scooter so as to avoid all traffic everywhere

[The Prick vs The DD]

Yeah, those speeders are cool.

I liked the barman btw, that old friend of Obi-Wan.

I have to say that I think Hayden Christensen together with Christopher Lee gave us the best performances.
I loved it when Lee slight bowed his head and rolled his eyes telling Obi-Wan it would be difficult to release him.


:arrow:

[ocelot]

You guys are so different to me. I thought C3PO was the one saving factor of the movie!!!!! Loved him!!!!