Guy's a badass. The only character that stayed mostly awesome in the prequels (unless you really liked Yoda using a lightsaber).
That's because Ian McDiarmid is a fucking amazing actor. I'm really upset they made him go all ninja in Revenge of the Sith because it totally ruined the mystique of the Emperor.
There are still a bunch of comics that let you get some hot Emperor action.
I think 3, 4, 5 and 6 are all on a range from effin' great to solid. I'm a pretty solid prequel apologist but the first two are still Not Good, though if you cut all the terrible romance out of 2 and restore some deleted scenes (as some internet cuts do), then 2 becomes the pretty enjoyable Obi-Wan: A Detective Story.
What's crazy is that a much better romance between Anakin and Padme was shot, one that focused much more on Padme's interest in this weird loner Jedi kid, which took Anakin's obsession with Padme for granted. It's just all the stuff that was cut out in favour of the amazingly terrible dialog scenes for some reason.
(Similarly, Padme got some great politics and we saw the formation of the Rebel Alliance in RotS... and all that stuff was once again cut out. WTF.)
I'm really hoping we get Special Editions of the prequels that restore those scenes and clean things up. :P
I mean, the simple truth is that the prequels were written incorrectly. We are told a story in the OT about Anakin Skywalker, a heroic character that was turned evil after being seduced by power.
The prequels show an angry, angsty teenager who never was really on the side of good and was an aggressive loner the whole time, caring about power and getting things his way from the beginning. Then he falls in love (somehow), becomes paranoid about the future, turns evil on the very simple hint that the dark side would stop Padme from dying, and is aggressively and violently evil towards everyone he once acted like he cared about.
Fun story about RotJ, it was the first Star Wars movie I ever saw. My dad had taped it off of ABC at some point and as there were only like 20 tapes in the house at the time I of course found it and watched it a million times. One day my brother and I were rewatching it again my came in the room, stopped and said, "you know there's like 2 movies that came before this..."
I think 3, 4, 5 and 6 are all on a range from effin' great to solid. I'm a pretty solid prequel apologist but the first two are still Not Good, though if you cut all the terrible romance out of 2 and restore some deleted scenes (as some internet cuts do), then 2 becomes the pretty enjoyable Obi-Wan: A Detective Story.
What's crazy is that a much better romance between Anakin and Padme was shot, one that focused much more on Padme's interest in this weird loner Jedi kid, which took Anakin's obsession with Padme for granted. It's just all the stuff that was cut out in favour of the amazingly terrible dialog scenes for some reason.
(Similarly, Padme got some great politics and we saw the formation of the Rebel Alliance in RotS... and all that stuff was once again cut out. WTF.)
I'm really hoping we get Special Editions of the prequels that restore those scenes and clean things up. :P
B-Wings Best Wings, for the record. I'm wondering what (if any) of the EU canon they'll keep around - fingers crossed that my boy Wedge gets a bit of screen time. I found the prequels enjoyable because I was young at the time, but I don't think I've seen them since they were in theaters. I wonder how I'd react now.
Replace him. We don't care about Denis Lawson. We care about Wedge Antilles. Only the nerdiest comic book guy will shed a tear if you replace him with someone else.
Replace him. We don't care about Denis Lawson. We care about Wedge Antilles. Only the nerdiest comic book guy will shed a tear if you replace him with someone else.
For what it's worth, I agree with you. Wedge is too awesome to leave out.
I like RotJ a lot. People be all anti-Ewok, but Ep 6 has all the real epic Star Wars shit.
Jabba gettin' choked out, check. Fett in the Saarlac, check. Bonus Yoda time, check. Fully operational battle station, check. It's a trap, check. Speeder bike chase, check. Best space battle, check. Best lightsaber battle, check. Super Star Destroyer, check.
As a kid ROTJ was my favorite by far, A-WINGS AND B-WINGS for the win! Also Wedge is the real VIP.
As an adult, Empire is now my favorite.
Empire became my favorite when I came of age as well.
A New Hope is my second favorite though, for two reasons.
1. The subtle Alec Guinness smile when Luke mentions his father 2. Two suns
Seriously, Alec's acting is subtle, nuanced, and leagues above anyone else in that movie, to the point that it stands out. It's like a study in how a good actor is worth his weight in gold.
A New Hope is the introduction, it is literally the textbook example if you want to know how to introduce characters, setting, and plot with minimal exposition and get the most audience engagement. Luke's story is simple, dramatic, hopeful, and you can't beat the soundtrack backing it. Luke's theme is legendary because of this movie and how it resonates with him.
Empire was dark, unexpected, and was nothing like what most sequels were doing at the time. The hero doesn't get the girl (for reasons we didn't know yet), the greatest cinematic reveal of the time occurs, and we don't know if there's even going to be a heroic victory.
Jedi ends the story with a long, hard battle. The heroes win by doing something the bad guys didn't (acknowledging the value of indigenous culture rather than override it with power), and Luke redeeming Vader by being incorruptible is a testament to heroism and is the benchmark for how a true hero should be.
So while ROTJ gets put as "the bad one" a whole lot, it's just that each really does something different in a valuable way.
I'm curious where does Princess Leia rank in everybody list of favorite Star Wars characters? Does she make your top 10? top 20? What her ranking have changed from when your were a kid to an adult?
I like Princess Leia, because as others have stated, she's a total badass. But it's not like she's my favorite character or anything. For that you have to be an awesome alien or robot or something.
Seriously, Alec's acting is subtle, nuanced, and leagues above anyone else in that movie, to the point that it stands out. It's like a study in how a good actor is worth his weight in gold.
You know the only reason Obi-Wan dies is because Alec Guinness hated the movie and didn't want to do anymore of them.
Comments
What's crazy is that a much better romance between Anakin and Padme was shot, one that focused much more on Padme's interest in this weird loner Jedi kid, which took Anakin's obsession with Padme for granted. It's just all the stuff that was cut out in favour of the amazingly terrible dialog scenes for some reason.
(Similarly, Padme got some great politics and we saw the formation of the Rebel Alliance in RotS... and all that stuff was once again cut out. WTF.)
I'm really hoping we get Special Editions of the prequels that restore those scenes and clean things up. :P
The prequels show an angry, angsty teenager who never was really on the side of good and was an aggressive loner the whole time, caring about power and getting things his way from the beginning. Then he falls in love (somehow), becomes paranoid about the future, turns evil on the very simple hint that the dark side would stop Padme from dying, and is aggressively and violently evil towards everyone he once acted like he cared about.
The story just doesn't work.
I'm wondering what (if any) of the EU canon they'll keep around - fingers crossed that my boy Wedge gets a bit of screen time.
I found the prequels enjoyable because I was young at the time, but I don't think I've seen them since they were in theaters. I wonder how I'd react now.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/12/5711780/star-wars-episode-7-wont-feature-wedge-antilles-actor
"It would bore me."
This is just kind of a big middle-finger to character actors and supporting/minor roles everywhere.
Really, he's the last name anyone would think of when someone says "Star Wars."
*put his nerd glasses away*
A New Hope is my second favorite though, for two reasons.
1. The subtle Alec Guinness smile when Luke mentions his father
2. Two suns
Seriously, Alec's acting is subtle, nuanced, and leagues above anyone else in that movie, to the point that it stands out. It's like a study in how a good actor is worth his weight in gold.
A New Hope is the introduction, it is literally the textbook example if you want to know how to introduce characters, setting, and plot with minimal exposition and get the most audience engagement. Luke's story is simple, dramatic, hopeful, and you can't beat the soundtrack backing it. Luke's theme is legendary because of this movie and how it resonates with him.
Empire was dark, unexpected, and was nothing like what most sequels were doing at the time. The hero doesn't get the girl (for reasons we didn't know yet), the greatest cinematic reveal of the time occurs, and we don't know if there's even going to be a heroic victory.
Jedi ends the story with a long, hard battle. The heroes win by doing something the bad guys didn't (acknowledging the value of indigenous culture rather than override it with power), and Luke redeeming Vader by being incorruptible is a testament to heroism and is the benchmark for how a true hero should be.
So while ROTJ gets put as "the bad one" a whole lot, it's just that each really does something different in a valuable way.
Leia is definitely up there. She's a strong female character with snark and doesn't like BS nonsense.