The movie premiered last night and received quite a few raves from people who have seen it.
2 days!!!! Last night with the Hollywood premier, they had the most impressive red carpet I have ever seen. It's all on YouTube, everyone was there. I'll post it later. First reactions are overwhelmingly positive, most saying it is Star Wars, it is like the OT.
So let's continue this with the OT starting with A New Hope. This is the most pure adventure film of the series, it's simple yet beautifully done. It begins with what is still an impressive shot even today, a perfect shot that must have blown the minds of everyone in 77. And just like that you are watching robots in a strange ship being boarded by stormtroopers, laser fire all over. A mysterious princess in another beautiful shot giving a recording to R2. Darth Vader makes his presence known from the start straight choking a man.
Totally fantastic in design yet oddly familiar to all, which is the beauty of this series. Think of every successful movie series how many don't involve earth in any way, I am sure you will only find one, Star Wars. Humans have a hard time to relating to things that don't involve something familiar and somehow Star Wars takes us to entire other Galaxy yet it's instantly recognizable and relatable. When you meet Luke he is every dreamer, every person that wishes their life could be more and then boom he is thrust into an adventure with a space wizard, a space pirate and a princess. So classic, so pure.
The start is filled with exposition, it's kind of necessary to establish the universe but it makes rewatches a bit boring when compared to the next two. Still the characters are so charismatic and instantly likeable that it always feels like going on an adventure with old friends. This movie is not high on drama, it's very light hearted but still manages to hit some high notes. Yes there is a lack of impact when Luke sees his uncle and aunt are dead, it is used more of a plot device than a true emotional moment. Still you get that smack of emotion during the twin sun scene with that majestic score playing and that iconic shot. Speaking of which how did this movie look so incredible, what happened to that director in the prequels.
Once Luke and Ben meet Han the movie really takes off. The action is rather pedestrian today but look at movies from that time, even most of the 80s, there is an energy that few action movies of that time could match. It hits every beat a great adventure movie needs with likeable characters, constant danger, fast moving scenes, and it does all this with the greatest special effects of its time which still look great today. It's funny, the C3PO garbage masher scene is one of my all time favorites. The dialogue is so sharp between Han and Leia.
There is an awful sword battle in the middle of all this, made even worse by how incredible the battes of the prequels were. This is the epic rematch between two best friends, Vader spent years wanting nothing more than to kill obiwan and you get that fight. Speaking of obiwan it's crazy how mcgregor channeled guniess in the prequels, the transition is seamless.
Once again the story avoid the dramatic to keep things light and focused more of the fairy tale aspects. A planet gets blown up and there is very little reaction. A few minutes later Leia is consoling Luke because he lost the old man he just met, yeah it makes no sense. It's not meant to be this deep drama, it's a space epic that revolves around a core group of characters. It's a fantasy world told in a classic storybook way, I love that presentation. Yeah it makes for a rather simple movie on a depth level emotionally but it touches on so many themes that are a part of our lives.
The finale is fantastic with a great space battle. The trench run is still one of the best effects ever put on film. I remember watching this movie in theater in 97, first time seeing it in a theater and the experience was so much better than at home. Out of all the movies this one feels best in a theater, I don't know why, it felt so much more exciting and fast paced in the theater.
It's easy to see even today why this movie took off the way it did. There is such a rich world of character and locations that Lucas created. It's something familiar to us all and hits all the notes needed for that timeless good versus evil story. An all time classic.
They have energy because they are "pedestrian": they try to actually build up to action, rather than cut the whole film to simulate Parkinson's.
You should watch Hidden Fortress, Vader.
Japanese movie that inspired aka Star Wars ripped off. It's interesting to see the parellels.
gamingeek said:You should watch Hidden Fortress, Vader.
Japanese movie that inspired aka Star Wars ripped off. It's interesting to see the parellels.
Yup, that and seven samurai
Does anyone say if the force awakens has a proper ending like A new hope or a sequel ending waiting like Empire?
gamingeek said:Does anyone say if the force awakens has a proper ending like A new hope or a sequel ending waiting like Empire?
Both apparently. Proper ending but sets you up for future movies.
I hear it's similar to ANH and that it does have a proper ending, but that there are also a ton left unanswered.
I watched The Empire Strikes Back last night, the best movie in the series. ANH was simplistic, ESB began to flesh out the universe and characters and added actual stakes to the whole series. This is the movie that really establishes the SW universe as something deep and exciting to explore.
The whole first act is pure brilliance. Right off the bat you get to see how our three leads relationships have developed. Han and Luke are best friends, Han would clearly give his life for him. Han and Leia have maximum levels of sexual tension. The dialogue is so sharp and whitty, it is super easy to know every line of the movie.
Then you meet the empire and they finally get an epic theme song. Imperial March is just one of the incredibly memorable songs in this movie which I hold as the best soundtrack in movie history. What's best about the villains in this movie is having Vader in charge cementing himself as the greatest movie villain ever. He is a force of nature, he is unstoppable, and he delivers the biggest shocker in movie history. Oh and Vader choking imperial admirals is an excellent running gag. They manage to make the empire seem powerful but still have that they are kind of dumb quality about them, that's part of the fun of rooting against them.
I like that this movie starts with the major battle at the start, it kicks things off with a bang. The battle of hoth is spectacular in nearly every way. In terms of visuals, in action, in music, in imagination. Imagine watching this for the first time in 80, this is the first ground battle you see in the series and out comes this crazy giant legged at-at which is so different visually. It Isabel unstoppable tank of death but here comes these small fighters and they start tying rope around the legs, it's so creative and those are the kinds of things that get the mind racing with imagination. It's one of those moments where you think woah did I really just see that on screen. It also makes for great video game levels.
The next act has the groups split in two with Han and Leia doing awesome stuff while Luke trains with Yoda. The training scenes always bored me, it's why this isn't my favorite Star Wars. Don't get me wrong the training of the hero is a vital part of the hero's journey and Yoda is awesome but once you know every line of the movie this becomes boring. At least it's intercut with the excellent millennium falcon scenes. This is a romance done right, great lines, great chemistry, all while keeping the action going. I have to mention how great C3PO is in this, the perfect comic relief.
Once we hit cloud city the movie really hits its stride because things get real. ANH remained light with the danger not being that real even though there was this planet blowing up thing. In ESB the stakes were raised, the danger of the universe was made real, our heroes aren't just going to get through this unscathed. This is why ESB is considered the best movie, cause the drama was real and hit in many levels that wasn't just the standard good versus evil.
Lando is a great addition to the crew, a morally grey character, for once someone was not good or bad, he was somewhere in the middle, for a few minutes at least. Han delivers one of the best lines ever before being frozen and then Luke arrives for the fight of the trilogy. Luke versus Vader 1 is everything a fan could hope for. Vader is so badass, one handed toying with Luke. Showcasing his supremacy of the force, of swordsmanship, of poise. He has Luke beat in every way, especially mentally. It's nice to have a movie where the villains power level is accurately portrayed without some cheap out so the hero wins. Luke was a newbie, he stood no chance against the ultimate Jedi killer and this movie shows that.
Then it throws the epic twist to end all twists, he's his father. At that moment the mythology of the serie hit a new level. Now we are touching on themes of the father versus the son, of a family divided, a tradition from so many fables android tales. I don't think Star Wars works without this family dynamic.
Empire Strikes Back is a great Star Wars movie and a great well made movie period. It's the best directed, best written, best acted and has the most drama of the series. It's the most important movie of the series. Still it's not my favorite because I like the large scale epic moments more. ESB is a very personal film, after the start you stay very close to the heroes and little else. I like it more when the heroes are leading armies and the entire world/galaxy hangs in the balance, those are my favorite kinds of moments in movies. And thus it's why ESB is my second favorite and the next movie is my favorite.
Return of the Jedi is done, what a finale! If anything Jedi does the final battle thing so well even if it loses a lot of the personal drama from ESB. ESB was the setup, this was the payoff. Jedi is the most exciting and action packed movie of the series and has the best scene of the entire saga for me.
ESB scaled back the fantastic elements of the universe considerably, basically focusing only on the three leads. Jedi brings back that wonder of living in this entire different Galaxy with all sorts of strange creatures, societies, technology. Jabba's Palace is full of so much crazy eye candy. I love seeing the more shady elements of the Star Wars universe, it's always felt dangerous and exotic; Jabbas palace shows that better than any location.
Outside of a horrific musical number (which I didn't mind in the OT but got stupid in the SE) the entire sequence is perfect. You get to see the mains show up in different ways to infiltrate the compound. We finally see Luke be a close to Jedi knight, one year later, so much more powerful in the force (guess he self trained or had Jedi online classes). This is Luke's movie all the way, he finally takes command of his destiny and he is badass. The whole action sequence is silly at time but man is it cool to see Jedi action for the first time, great way to start a film.
The biggest complaints you can level at Jedi outside the ewoks is the acting which drops noticeably from ESB. Carrie Fisher seems to not even want to be there. Han is very subdued though that can go along with him having a near death experience. Still despite that it's nice to see those two finally cement their relationship and still be badass while doing it. But as I said before this one is about Luke. I like the sister twist, it makes sense in the context of the force that it would bring them together, it adds another layer to the family dynamic that I wish got explored more, that has to hit Leia hard that her father is someone she has hated her whole life.
I love Endor as a planet, beutiful location. The bike chase is a great special effects heavy action sequence, iconic really. Yeah it has ewoks, yes the design is stupid. But try to forget the look, think of what they are in the context of the story. These are man eating savages! They murder and eat humans with ease, they are crazy brave warriors that laugh in the face of danger. They rather die than let their home be taken by stormtroopers. The problem is they look like teddy bears, if they were wookies no one would have an issue. Anyway the point is all the technology doesn't help against will and determination, another classic trope.
I love everything about the battle of endor, it's Star Wars at its purest form. Star Wars is action and adventure with heart and deep themes. ESB went very far in the dramatic side and it made for the most well made movie but I miss the adventure and scale that makes Star Wars so exciting. When giant walking tanks are firing on our heroes, there are thousands of spaceships battling with lasers flying everywhere and our hero is engaged in a lightsaber duel with his father with the fate of Galaxy in the balance; that is Star Wars! And no series does that better.
Now let's get to the best part of the movie, Luke, Vader and the emperor. In Empire Vader is the top dog, he is unleashed, he feels unstoppable cause he is the man in charge. The second the emperor enters the picture Vader shrinks, he becomes the ultimate yes man, he is powerless around him. Vader hates the emperor, after everything he did to him, especially now knowing he lied about padme me, Vader definitely wants the emperor dead but he can't do it. He MUST obey his master, that is why his offer to Luke in the last movie was so strong, he needs his sons help to turn on the emperor. The scene between Luke and Vader in the shuttle hallway is such a great natural father son moment, no longer is there fear or animosity, it's Luke fully accepting who is father is and wanting to help, but Vader can't stop being the servant.
As usual McDiarmind is fantastic as the emperor, he basically plays the devil here. The entire scene plays out like the temptation of the devil, every word he says is a dagger to Luke's heart. He knows exactly how to turn Luke, focus on his friends, focus on the failures of his family. And he gets to Luke, but Luke is still in control, he's on the edge but in control. What a switch in dynamics from the ESB fight to Jedi, LUke is now the confident one, the powerful one, Vader is the one with the self doubt.
Still Vader hits on the one thing that drives Luke mad, his sister being used as a tool of the emperor. Then the best scene in the saga happens, as Luke gives in to anger, goes full stop on Vader. That incredible music playing, that incredible camera shot of them moving across the room. Luke just beats the shit out of Vader, he is one step away from turning to the dark side and becoming his father and he stops, looks at his metallic hand, looks at his father and realizes he can't make that same mistake. And at that moment, when he throws away his lightsaber, Luke becomes a Jedi Knight, like his father before him. Goosebumps every time.
That scene has everything I want in a heroes journey story, it's perfect. Then comes the cream on top, the emperors arrogance in thinking Vader could never be turned even if he kills his son in front of him. But Vader must have felt the amazing power Luke had to not give in, that love for his father finally freed Vader from the dark side and he was able to turn on the emperor. "You were right about me" another beautiful moment which ends the saga of anakin skywalker, his fall and redemption, return of the Jedi is not just Luke but Anakin as well.
I understand all the issues this movie has. It has dumb silly elements which are what took the prequels over. The direction is not nearly as good as ESB, you see it in the choreography and the acting. Still I love everything about the story and adventure of this movie, it's the ultimate finale, it hits every emotional beat I want to see in a movie.
And so it ends with an ewok party (where they eat stormtroopers flesh, the monsters) and all our friends together in one shot for the final time. Except it's no longer the final time. There is one more movie now... That is insanity. There is a sequel to ROTJ, our heroes, our friends are back.
Jedi is so incredible. Empire edges it out as my personal favorite because it dared to be so different, but you've gotta love the finale of Jedi. My favorite moment is the ACTUAL return of the Jedi. You know the moment. Our heroes look like they're about to die with a half trained Luke going first. But what a swerve! Luke had the wool pulled over everyone's eyes. And what a dramatic flip with the Star Wars theme swelling and the lightsaber flying in the air to meet him.
I've heard all of the criticisms about the Ewoks and I get it, but think about why the were made small and cute looking. They are not supposed to be menacing to the Empire. Why would the Empire set up shop in a planet with Wookies, aliens who are seven to eight feet tall and pull the arms out of people's sockets. Yes, they sell toys but wouldn't cool ass Wookies sell them too?
Yeah this.