Newest Star Wars Reviews Suprisingly Positive 677
Patchw0rk F0g writes "CBC is reporting on the suprising results of pre-screenings of Lucas' latest (and final) installment of his sci-fi epic. From TFA, "The advance reviews of Revenge of the Sith, the sixth - and final - Star Wars film, have been mostly positive - and in some cases outright effusive." Go figure... maybe Georgie got it right finally."
Trust in the force.... (Score:3, Funny)
I see (Score:4, Funny)
True in so many ways.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I see (Score:5, Informative)
John Podhoretz hated it. (Score:4, Insightful)
Either way, I have never trusted a movie review from anyone but a close friend who I know is reliable. I have yet to find a movie critic whos opinions are consistant with my tastes.
John Podhoretz just posted a warning [nationalreview.com]:
WARNING: He also gives a Jar-Jar spoiler in a later reply.Re:John Podhoretz hated it. (Score:4, Funny)
I personally find comparisons between Star Wars and modern politics to be a bit of a stretch.
With the possible exception of the time that Dick Cheney used the force to choke Colin Powell. That, and Karl Rove's ability to shoot blue lightning out of his fingertips.
final? (Score:3, Interesting)
final? aren't there supposed to be nine when they are all done?
Re:final? (Score:5, Informative)
Things may have changed since then, but that's the last I heard of it.
Re:final? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:final? (Score:5, Funny)
now the series is completed the way he originally intended.
Re:final? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:final? (Score:5, Funny)
(for the humor impaired, yes, I DO get it...)
Top 10 Other Things That Han Shot (Score:3, Funny)
Re:final? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:final? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:final? (Score:4, Informative)
He had originally "planned" nine films - and I put "planned" in quotes because I don't believe he ever actually thought he'd get to make all nine. Then sometime during the filming of the original trilogy, he said "screw it" and condensed the plot of the last four films in the saga into Return of the Jedi. There is no story after Return of the Jedi as Lucas originally envisioned it. (Sure, there are some obvious story continuations you can make, and I'm not a Star Wars geek so I'm just guessing books have been written post-Jedi, but Lucas' original story only extends to the end of that film.)
Of course, the Modern Humorist [modernhumorist.com] has a good take on all this.
Re:final? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Revisionist History (Score:3, Funny)
I said to him, man, relax: your two tense[1].
And so are you.
[1]Thanks Blizz.
Re:final? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:final? (Score:4, Interesting)
[eyeing my set of original VHS tapes] I guess I'm seeing things again.
Re:final? (Score:4, Informative)
Surprising? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Surprising? (Score:5, Funny)
Because this is Lucas.
The man who changes his mind about his grand vision more often than a typical person (not a slashdotter) changes their underwear.
Are we sure that.... (Score:4, Interesting)
We shall overcome (Score:5, Insightful)
I dunno why that is. Maybe we didn't care for some of the darkness in ESB, and New Hope was more fun. Maybe the open-ended conclusion was less thrilling than the destruction of the Death Star. Maybe it's the "freshman effect" that made Clerks better than Mallrats. (Not that ESB is anything like Mallrats. ESB is a great movie. Just less fun than New Hope.)
It's not important why. I just wanted to state out loud that although it's accepted wisdom that Empire was better than New Hope, it's not entirely universal.
But that's why I've said before on Slashdot that I thought that Sith had a good chance to be the best of the prequels: it ties in to what I feel is the best of the originals.
Re:We shall overcome (Score:5, Insightful)
The "Empire is the best of the three" is a relatively recent phenomena. In 1980, almost no one felt this way. All my friends and I came out of the theatre saying "Geezus, what a downer. No where near as good as the first one!" It was hard to find anyone who felt the opposite. And the box office totals showed that most of the general public felt the same, the magic wasn't as strong, fewer people were doing the "I've got to see this 12 times" thing, etc.
In 1983, much of the opinion going into Jedi was "I hope it's better than Empire!" Turns out it wasn't, of course.
Once the trilogy was complete, and on video etc, that's when the tide started to turn towards Empire. As a part of the whole, fans grew to appreciate it more. But as a standalone film? Can't touch Star Wars.
Isn't that how you do character development? (Score:5, Interesting)
The characters are dropped into situations and they react. Like when Han shot a bounty hunter sitting across from him.
Lucas' problem isn't character development. His problem is back-story. Vader had more character development in ep 4 & 5 than any other bad guy has had in ep 1-3.
Lucas just doesn't know how to write a story that will result in the character he has already developed. Which is why he falls back on fan-boy tricks of re-introducing the previously created characters and such (the droids, Boba's daddy, Tatoonie, etc).
Vader has character.
Annie is just put through some badly written situations and dialog so we can get to the Vader suit.
Re:Isn't that how you do character development? (Score:3, Insightful)
Vader grew between 4 & 5. But it seemed that it was because Lucas decided to change the course of the picture. I think some say that Lucas had the entire 9 movie series planned out before starting ep. 4. I don't believe it. Vader was the leader in ep. 5, second only to the Emperor. That's not true in ep. 4, where Tarkin seemed to be the leader.
That is why there seems to be growth in Vader between 4 & 5--t
Re:Isn't that how you do character development? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Surprising? (Score:5, Insightful)
The changelog for Episode 3 should read: "resolved issue with bad direct^H^H^H^H^H^Hacting"
Re:Surprising? (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem is that a script is supposed to be a just a guideline. A script by itself is nothing.. it takes a lot to bring it to life
Don't forget that he also wrote Empire, Jedi and the Indiana Jones trilogy. As long as someone else directs his movies are usually a success.
In fact, the only movie that he directed that was a huge success on it's own merit* was A New Hope.. and even Lucas himself admitted it was a near disaster.. and that he had brought in some brilliant editors (Paul Hirsch and Richard Chew) that saved the movie.
* You can consider the prequels a financial success
Re:Surprising? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Surprising? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Surprising? (Score:3, Informative)
You are forgetting about American Graffiti. That said, this perspective is interesting because I once heard Spielberg say that Lucas was a genius editor (a position arguably supported by THX1138) and that in fact he had helped Spielberg out a lot
And American Graffiti (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe he just sucks at making Star Wars films.
Re:Surprising? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Surprising? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Surprising? (Score:4, Funny)
This is Slashdot man! Quick, take it all back! We have to bash Lucas somehow! Uhh, how about you say that he ruined your childhood and I make a joke about how he uses $100 bills for silly things like paper airplanes! If we hurry we can save your karma!
Maybe if Episode III is good we can get rid of one of the seminal sources of Slashdotter rage.
Re:Surprising? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Surprising? (Score:3, Informative)
Irvin Kershner [imdb.com] What's your point?
Re:Surprising? (Score:3, Funny)
Randal Graves: Which did you like better? Jedi or The Empire Strikes Back?
Dante Hicks: Empire.
Randal Graves: Blasphemy!
Dante Hicks: Empire had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down endings. All Jedi had was a bunch of Muppets.
Re:Surprising? (Score:3, Funny)
Dante Hicks: "Empire".
Randal Graves: Blasphemy!
Dante Hicks: "Empire" had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down endings. All "Jedi" had was a bunch of Muppets.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Generally Speaking (Score:3, Funny)
Probably not (Score:5, Funny)
Also they cry themselves to sleep at night holding their pillows moaning "Han shoots first!"
Re:Generally Speaking (Score:5, Insightful)
-truth
Re:Generally Speaking (Score:5, Funny)
"It all began 500 years ago on the planet Zeist..."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Obligatory (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Generally Speaking (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Generally Speaking (Score:3, Insightful)
Movie reviews, like political commentary, are aimed at the fence sitters and those who haven't heard of the movie yet.
A review won't easily change one's mind if they've already decided whether to watch a movie or not. Often they'll convince those who haven't made up their mind even if the reader doesn't know the reviewer well.
The number of fence sitters and those who haven't heard of the movie or haven't decided often
Re:*raises hand* (Score:5, Informative)
Bingo. That's the whole thing.
I knew that Anakin was gonna turn to the dark side ever since the original trilogy. I didn't know how or why.
After playing the video game, I know exactly how and why. And, while trying not to go into any explicit spoilers, let's say it was a bit... not what I expected, and it puts Episodes 4 to 6 in a very different light too.
So trust me, when I say the video game gives away the story, I don't mean just "it tells you that Anakin falls to the dark side, falls in the lava and gets a cool black suit." It gives away a helluva lot more.
Star Wars reviews (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Star Wars reviews (Score:5, Funny)
Around here, one frequently leads to the other.
I'll be watching (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I'll be watching (Score:3, Insightful)
George Lucas will get my cash so he's not going to be overly bothered. I'll probably wait for the DVD, though.
Torrent? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Torrent? (Score:3, Funny)
Saxton: "I don't want to download the torrent"
Obi-wan: *waves hand* "You want to go home and re-think your life"
Saxton: "I want to go home and re-think me life"
Re:Torrent? (Score:3, Funny)
* I will give you all my money and then jump into this pit *
* Yes, let's jump in the pit, we'll be down faster *
Kinda pathetic when even a crappy computer game is funnier than the movies it's based on
Yeah, It's a real shocker... (Score:5, Funny)
Alexandra Dupont (Score:5, Informative)
To quote:
Q. Give us a four-word review.
A. Bloody hell! It's good!
Something to complain about (Score:3, Informative)
Watched it on sunday (Score:3, Interesting)
I wont tell you how it ends...
How the begining of the Saga Ending begins: (Score:5, Funny)
Obi-Wan walks into a room full of toys and video games. Anakin is playing Super Mario Brothers.
Obi: "Where did you get all this stuff!"
Ana: "I've been using the force like you taught me."
Obi: "You stole all this stuff?!"
Ana: "Of course not."
Obi: "Then what did you do?"
Ana: "I used the force to see into the future..."
Obi: "And....?"
Ana: (Looking down at the floor. Knowing he's in trouble) "...and....and...I used it to find the winning numbers in the Naboo Lottery...."
Obi: "Anakin!"
Then.. (Score:3, Funny)
Wait I'm confused.
Will Lucas remake eps 4, 5 and 6? (Score:3, Insightful)
Add to that the fact that Lucas clearly changed his mind a few times about where the story was going, with Leia suddenly becoming Luke's sister (and I'm not even convinced that Obi wan's lie about Darth Vader killing Luke's father was originally meant to be a lie), it would make some sort of sense.
And then the guy can stop fiddling with the original trilogy, and "tell the story he originally wanted to tell".
Re:Will Lucas remake eps 4, 5 and 6? (Score:3, Interesting)
Previews (Score:4, Funny)
Nothing but content (Score:3, Informative)
There is a version of the article [www.cbc.ca] with just the content, no snazzy graphics.
Content is king.
BBC (Score:3, Informative)
It's all about the Vader (Score:4, Insightful)
Now that Vader is finally coming back onto the screen he has everybody fawning again. I have a sinking suspicion that the dialogue and acting is going to be similar to that of these last two movies (essentially what makes them 'horrible' in many people's eyes), but its got Lord Vader... so it's AAAAALLLLLL good. My $0.02.
Cough, but I beg to differ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Finally got it right? So it somehow seems that George messed up some critical point in the original three? I think an obssessed legion of fanatical Lucas zealots and Star Wars freaks would beg to differ with that statement. Aside from that, yeah the Phantom Menace wasn't so great. Jar Jar Binks was incredibly annoying (can they please, PLEASE KILL HIM this movie? I'd love to see Jar Jar's fricking head get lopped off with a lightsaber; hell I'd pay money just to see that one scene by itself) and was far to prominent in the movie, but Attack of the Clones was pretty good. Particularly the end battle scene in the arena, and Yoda stepping up to the plate againest Count Dooku were particularly good. Personal opinion: take your opinion and shove it pal. With the exception of Phantom Menace I've liked all the movies, and I don't doubt Revenge of the Sith will be great as well.
Optimistic Crackpot Theory (Score:5, Funny)
if( in_array( 'Darth Vader', $movie ) ){
return awesome;
}else{
return poop;
}
Re:Optimistic Crackpot Theory (Score:4, Funny)
if ( in_array ( 'JarJar', $movie )) {
if ( implode ( $movie ) ){
unset ( $movie );
return destroyed;
}
die();
}
Foregone conclusion (Score:5, Insightful)
Contrast that with Episodes I and II, where Lucas had very little in terms of pre-ordained plot development - the result was obvious, Jar Jar Binks et al.
Not to mention of course that since Episodes I and II were poorly received (62% [rottentomatoes.com] and 65% [rottentomatoes.com] respectively), reviews of this film were (and are already) bound to draw comparisons and as such favour it accordingly anyway.
For me one of the worst things about the previous two films in the franchise is that because they were continuations (albeit prequels) of what had already become legendary - no one had to try very hard. As a result the acting is wooden, the dialogue stunted and insincere, etc. Reminds me of the cringeworthy Matrix sequels.
Anyway, I personally believe that if the film didn't happen to include the words "Star Wars" in the title, that we would be seeing completely different reviews. And I consider myself to be an avid Star Wars fan to boot.
Re:Foregone conclusion (Score:3, Insightful)
Just seen a preview (Score:4, Funny)
Nothing would be good enough (Score:5, Insightful)
Nothing will be good enough for the Slashdot crowd. He could film it in super douper total emersion 3D-o-vision with the best script & acting on the planet and there will still be compaints from many of the Slashdot crowd. He could choose to be totally divorced from the bloody thing and people will still hark back to how it isn't quite as good as the one they saw while in their nappy 25 years ago, and George has spoiled.
Hindsight is invariably 20-20 and rose tinted. People seem to forget that the originals had their very dodgy moments too. What people remember is not just the movie, it is the whole experience that they had when sitting there many moons ago, before the got old and embittered by age and by supporting Windows boxes (coz supporting Unix doesn't embitter one as much does it). It was going with their parents, getting popcorn, sitting surrounded in awe by peers, with their parents or older siblings. Playing with X Wing fighters for weeks afterward. It was getting all the mags & figures & watching the cheesy kids shows jump on the bandwagon. It was the fact that this was totally new, nothing else came close.
I watched the rest, I await the next as does everyone else here, even those that refuse to admit it.
Oh and just to piss off the remaining readers I haven't offended yet, I love my TiVo.
"Spielberg weeps at Star Wars screening" (Score:3, Funny)
My easy to digest review (Score:5, Funny)
Acting by by the grits woman: 1/10
Acting by Ewan MacGregor: 2/10
Overall story: 6/10
Nostalgia value as we see the things we recognise from Episode IV: 8/10
Effects: 8/10
Pleasure from hearing Princess Leia's theme again: 8/10
Enjoyment value for those with a fetish for hand amputation: 9/10
Intelligence of characters who don't notice how Padme became pregnant: 0/10
Entertainment value of Yoda's big fight: 6/10
Entertainment value Yoda's big fight would have had if we hadn't seen it before: 10/10
General Grievous's homage to Harryhausen's Kali: 9/10
Amount of sense General Grievous subplot made after editors removed vital explanations from movie: 3/10
Did I mention Annakin's acting?: 0/10
Quality compared to Episodes I and II: 10/10
Quality compared to Episodes IV and V: 5/10
Overall: 7/10
Ex-Star Wars fans need to check this out (Score:3, Interesting)
Kinda disappointing.. kinda. (Score:3, Insightful)
It'd be nice to see more of Vader himself going ape shit, but you only end up seeing that in the last few minutes when he awakens after being operated on and learning about what had happened. I mean, you'd expect some scenes containing mass genocide or some form of magnificent display of "Hey, I'm the most powerful being in the known galaxy, watch me as I fuck you up big time."
You see all these amazing movies that the human Vader has that the mechanical Vader never uses in the later movies. It would just be nice to see mechanical Vader utilize all these swift "magical" moves that apparently have deteriorated over time.
duh (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only one that liked the first two? (Score:5, Funny)
Yes.
Re:Am I the only one that liked the first two? (Score:5, Insightful)
The first two weren't THAT bad! Yes, Jar-Jar got on a lot of peoples' nerves, and the puppy-love scenes in EP2 might have been a little overdone. But overall, I thought they were generally very enjoyable!
But let's face it; most people here weren't old enough to be movie critics when the original trilogy came out, so they don't really have much perspective. Now that it's fashionable to be jaded, they just can't bring themselves to admit that they actually liked TPM and AotC.
I for one look forward to seeing RotS, and won't be here sounding off about how George Lucas robbed my life of several hours.
Re:Am I the only one that liked the first two? (Score:3, Insightful)
The second wasn't that bad. The acting was terrible, and a few other things could have been better, but basically it was still a proper Star Wars movie.
The first was a huge, embarrassing, computer-animated steaming turd from beginning to end (although that last expression is a bit misleading, as it might be construed to imply there was some sense of direction in it), and anyone who doesn't see that is just... just..., well just plain wrong. So there. Glad we cleared that
You just have to realize... (Score:5, Funny)
Their sad devotion to that ancient trilogy has not helped them conjure up DVDs of the original films, or given them clairvoyance enough to find something better to do with their time.
Re:Maybe he got it right... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Maybe he got it right... (Score:3, Insightful)
It looks like the movie manages to touch on whatever it was that made people stand up and take notice of 4 and 5. It has relatively simple characters (just like all of the rest) and some really cliche moments (just like all of the rest), but gets back into the spirit of what SW had lost.
My personal take on this is the same as the rev
Re:Maybe he got it right... (Score:3, Insightful)
Call in a favour from your friend Spielberg, give Kevin Smith (who has made only one good movie) a free preview, give umpteenth number of 'exclusive' interviews, release $50 press kits to whoever asks...
This movie ~might~ be good, it ~might~ be better than the first two of the prequel trilogy
Re:and... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you oversimplify to the degree that you did Episode III, you can make anything look stupid. Romea and Juliet is just two lovey-dovey people with a fatal misunderstanding. Indiana Jones is just some archaeologist who beats up Nazis. Episode III is just some saber fights. I mean come on; you know it's more than that.
Re:and... (Score:3, Interesting)
1) Anakin grew up on the planet his son later hides on, yeh. So, maybe those Storm Troopers are retards and kill the people raising his son, but even turned to the dark side he feels so little that he doesn't shred the troopers who killed them into hamburger? They're his own relatives, for crying out loud. All GL had to do, was put this on another planet, it's a big unive
You have to look at it from his point of view. (Score:3, Insightful)
Besides, you left out the part about hoping that Vader would NEVER have any desire to visit family members. But that's probably okay because Annie didn't even bother to save his mom.
2. It was meant to remind people of the movies they liked. They remember the droids from ep 4 and they liked ep 4. (and it saved Lucas from ha
Ah, the irony (Score:3, Insightful)
You know, I must be one of the very few total nerds who nevertheless haven't even seen Episode 4 until a few months ago. You know what? I can't see what people saw in that either.
The acting isn't really any good. The story really does justice to the "Episode 3"
Re:and... (Score:4, Informative)
I would not be shocked to find out that some sets / CG for this film were built before 2 was even done post-production.
The screenplay for this film is crucial, but don't assume that it was or even should have been the starting point.
Re:and... that makes no sense. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:lucas lost his chance (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:What is the intended order? (Score:3, Informative)
Which is not uncommon. [msn.com]
Re:What we know (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:A few minor inconsistencies... (Score:5, Funny)
A: Bacta. Lots of Bacta.
Q: . .
A: More Bacta.
Re:PG-13: what arrogance!!! (Score:3, Insightful)
Not that I plan to see the film, but at least that will be one less brat ruining it for everyone else in the theater.