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We never needed to see any character in any story. It's a matter of the writer living up to the potential of the chosen characters. Lucas as a writer was never up to the task.
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Originally Posted by AFtrEFkt
Imagine a Star Wars movie that began with the three-way saber showdown.
Imagine if ROCKY had opened with Balboa going into the ring with Creed. It would be boring because we wouldn't care.
Any fight scene is only exciting as long as you care about those involved. If it is just one guy trying to kill two guys --- even if they have glowy swords --- you might as well be watching a video game, because you have no invested emotions in any of the characters.
No, it isn't. Neeson was the only actor since JEDI who was able to recapture even a hint of the chivalric that Alec Guinness brought to the Jedi. Neeson is great in the movie, even if his role is badly written. The movie LOOKS great. It was the first STAR WARS movie to utilize actual design and color. Yeah, I could have gone without seeing Tatooine again, but we got to see new worlds. And Natalie Portman was still trying to act in the movie, even if her dialogue was apparently written by monkeys. By episodes 2 and 3, she had given up.
I think you give way too much credit to the cinematography. The battle scenes on Naboo or in space are nothing special. Neither is the pod race, which bored me to the bottom of my popcorn bucket.
Neeson and Portman and McGregor did fine with what they were given, which was play their roles in a Star Wars movie. It's the story itself which is lacking. And the dialogue much of the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S.
THE PHANTOM MENACE still has one of the best STAR WARS scores. And by far the best of the prequels.
Chalk it up to not enough coffee causing me to blank out on "Duel of the Fates." Yes, that IS a superb theme. It worked beautifully to underscore the scenes with Darth Maul.
But that's only a brief respite from the bowels of blandness.
Imagine if ROCKY had opened with Balboa going into the ring with Creed. It would be boring because we wouldn't care.
Imagine if the movie opened with Frodo dropping the ring into the lava!
Come on, you're trying too hard. The movie's been soundly ridiculed for 20 years now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S.
Any fight scene is only exciting as long as you care about those involved. If it is just one guy trying to kill two guys --- even if they have glowy swords --- you might as well be watching a video game, because you have no invested emotions in any of the characters.
That's not necessarily true, and many dozens of scenes in Hong Kong MA movies prove that. Heck, look at the modestly budgeted modern Thai classic Ong Bak, Even if you despised Tony Jaa, you cannot not be dazzled by his moves and the fight choreography in that movie. The same goes for the movie he did right after that, The Protector. A lot of MA movies have threadbare plots. You don't watch them for the drama.
The showdown looks good thanks to Ray Park and some decent editing, and also for the fact that, for once, George didn't try to make something look cartoonish.
Chalk it up to not enough coffee causing me to blank out on "Duel of the Fates." Yes, that IS a superb theme. It worked beautifully to underscore the scenes with Darth Maul.
TPM was the first STAR WARS score to use a chorus, not only in "Duel of the Fates" but also in some of the other music. Can't help it. I love a good chorale. But the rest of the score is remarkably good as well.
TPM may not be the best STAR WARS score, but it's the best of the prequels, and one of Williams's best in a long time. Give it a listen:
But that's only a brief respite from the bowels of blandness.
Don't get me wrong. I am not for a moment asserting that THE PHANTOM MENACE is a good movie. It isn't. I am asserting that it is the best of the prequels and does have some good elements amidst the bad. Other than the music and Temuera Morrison, I'm hard-pressed to find anything nice to say about Episodes II and III.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AFtrEFkt
That's not necessarily true, and many dozens of scenes in Hong Kong MA movies prove that. Heck, look at the modestly budgeted modern Thai classic Ong Bak, Even if you despised Tony Jaa, you cannot not be dazzled by his moves and the fight choreography in that movie. The same goes for the movie he did right after that, The Protector. A lot of MA movies have threadbare plots. You don't watch them for the drama.
Apples and oranges. By and large, people watch martial arts movies for the martial arts, not for a moving story. It's ballet for guys. Nothing wrong with that.
I can only speak for myself, but I am not watching STAR WARS movies for the lightsaber duel or space battles.
The suits at Disney are not asking the right questions:
Quote:
"We have a lot of work to do in trying to understand this," says Hollis. "We are all over it and will spend a lot of time digging into why things happened the way they did in various markets. We have a year and a half before Episode IX comes out."
Their critics are:
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"Until the Star Wars universe is firing on all cylinders like the Marvel universe, I think it would behoove them to ease their foot off the pedal in terms of spinoffs," says box-office analyst Jeff Bock, who is with Exhibitor Relations. "Marvel [likewise owned by Disney] has proven time and time again you can release movies year-in-and-year-out, but they are dealing with a cast of all-new characters for the most part, while sprinkling in old favorites here and there. That’s a model that would also benefit Star Wars going forward."
Bock also questions whether Solo suffered from a bad release date — or an underlying "content" problem. "If you have an above-quality product, the release date is a secondary concern," says Bock. "I think that's true for any film — it matters more if you're trying to pull a fast one on audiences."
The suits at Disney are not asking the right questions:
Their critics are:
Will they listen?
I think Solo would have been a streaming hit. Disney should have saved it for their streaming service.
Apparently they've got half an idea for a Qi'ra spinoff. Notice that they've already released a Forces of Destiny short with Qi'ra as a solo working agent of Crimson Dawn. If so, that needs to go direct to stream.
They might have a hundred good ideas for stories, and 99 of them should go direct to stream. The Forces of Destiny short is a good idea, although they need to do some about some males sometimes and not just females.
I think Solo would have been a streaming hit. Disney should have saved it for their streaming service.
I agree.
Oh, yeah, I did go and see it last night. I surprised myself (like MarkuS) by going to see it opening weekend, instead of taking in another showing of Infinity War.
Not a bad movie at all. Quite enjoyable. The opening on Corellia was just okay, but things got a bit more interesting afterward. In fact, the action was downright righteous at times. The visuals were on point. The warm blues, greens and reds in the darkened Falcon cockpit floated my dinghy. The glow of the Falcon's thrusters wading in the darkness of the Maelstrom was sweet.
I thought Alden did alright. Looks-wise, he's not a pretty boy, so that makes him a better hire than the zillion other young dudes who refuse to jettison their Twilight hairstyles.
Glover seemed to rush many of his lines. Just not a convincing Lando.
As to those excessive bits of fan service:
Spoiler
That should not have been THE 'Kessell Run.' Han Solo should have several years' worth of runs during which that could take place. The events of the film do not and need not exist concurrently with the events of Rogue One.
Darth Maul. Really? The only point of that would be an excuse to show him fighting with the double-saber again. But still, how'd he survive getting cleaved in half at the waist and plunging down a chasm? Don't say "The Force!"
Honestly, I think Disney planned this from the beginning. Kennedy is doing exactly what Disney wants her to do. From the moment Disney got a hold of the franchise they have been dismantling it. The threw out Lucas's ideas from episodes 7 to 9, they cut funding to Battlefront 3, they cancelled The Clone Wars cartoon. They took away the right for Star Wars comics from Dark Horse Comics and gave them to Marvel Comics and they erased the EU from canon....all this before production even started on The Force Awakens. They gave us excuses....but their excuses....they wanted to burn down Star Wars and build Disney Star Wars on top of its foundation. Sad...
That should not have been THE 'Kessell Run.' Han Solo should have several years' worth of runs during which that could take place. The events of the film do not and need not exist concurrently with the events of Rogue One.
Darth Maul. Really? The only point of that would be an excuse to show him fighting with the double-saber again. But still, how'd he survive getting cleaved in half at the waist and plunging down a chasm? Don't say "The Force!"
I think they did something smart with that.
Spoiler
Fans of Clone Wars and Rebels know exactly how and why Darth Maul should show up there because we've seen his arc, and it's a pretty good one. His droid legs tells us at what point in the arc we're seeing him--and it's a clue that Han is yet to spend a number of years in Jabba's service before he meets Obi Wan and Luke.
So this is a tie-in with the Disney television productions, which should have happened with TLJ.
Darth Maul. Really? The only point of that would be an excuse to show him fighting with the double-saber again. But still, how'd he survive getting cleaved in half at the waist and plunging down a chasm? Don't say "The Force!"
This is apparently answered in one of the cartoons that I can't force myself to watch.
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