Just got back from the opening night showing of Episode III.
Well, I'm a little too exhausted right now to write about the movie at great length so just some general observations.
Episode III:
-is (arguably) the best movie of the prequel trilogy.
-visually overwhelming.
-overdoes it quite a bit visually sometimes - less would have been more IMO.
-is the darkest of all Star Wars episodes.
Highlights:
The scene in which Darth Sidious is revealed is brilliant! Has a good built-up, an intense climax and a resolve pushing the plot further. Even though the acting is just slightly above average in the whole movie, in moments like this it shines.
The birth of Darth Vader is - gruesome! Far more intense than I had anticipated. Even though the fateful duel during which it happens is one of the moments in which things get overdone visually, Lucas turns it down in terms of effects just in time to deliver a transformation that is painful to watch. Plus, it's interwoven very, very nicely with another climatic incident - I felt a little lump in my throat.
The Emperor kicks ass mightily! Great job, McDiarmid! Yoda gets really nasty, too, and has the best one-liner in the movie. (Still, his character is vastly superior in the old trilogy.)
Downs:
Well, as mentioned above, plus, I feel a little sorry for Christopher Lee's part in it. He unfairly got cut out of the theatrical version of Return Of The King and he only fares little better in Episode III. The guy who replaces him as a villain - well, that is a subplot I didn't like at all. A totally unnecessary flexing of CG muscle. I feel that since now everything is possible in movies not everything has to be possible ...
Play twenty questions with Darth Vader.
http://www.sithsense.com/flash.htm
Hey everyone. I saw Star Wars last night. I thought it was ok. I would have liked to see more aliens. Some of the dialogue was cheesy, especially the things that were said by Anakin(sp?). Obi Wan's lizzard was cool although there were a few moments where I questioned it's believability. I really liked the droid who kidnapped the senator, (I dont remember his name). I think the movie should have been longer...
After seeing all six films I think my favorite is Episode I. Unlike most people, I like Jar Jar. His design and the design of his people are great. I also like Sebulba(sp?) and the flying blue guy who owned Anakin.
I think I'd give Episode III a 9 out of 10. I love watching Yoda fight. :D
"Animation isn't about how well you draw, but how much to believe." -Glen Keane
I have to agree with MightyMew I liked JarJar too. Haven't seen number two. So can't comment there. Saw all the rest of them in the theatre. But I'll wait to see the last two at my friend's on satelite. I look forward to seeing Yoda take a more active role. He was always one of my favorites. I still like the Ewok characters, although I think that episode is probably one of the weakest. So that probably tells you alot about my geek factor.
Pat
Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.
Now I am actually started reading the books of it :rolleyes:
But! What I did like...
The opening sequence-just beautiful.
And...
A-And...
Those snow elephants.
And the fight between Vader and Luke in the Cloud City.
And--
Oh! I'm sorry. That was from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!
Still the best of all the Star Wars movies.
...and episode IV too.
I'm not opposed to Jar Jar, either. Before Gollum came along he was one of the most advanced CG actors after all. What I wasn't so fond of in terms of his animation was his somewhat stiff facial anatomy owing to his long skull which seemed to be lacking flesh and muscles, and his duckbill mouth: whenever Jar Jar grinned widely or did extreme takes (once or twice even his eyestalks would protrude to make it look cartoonier) his expressions seemed to somehow pop out of his face. Boss Nass was better in terms of facial animation in my opinion because he had a flatter, fleshier face, more human and better suited for squashing and stretching.
It was a bit of a pity, too, they didn't individualise the Gungan tribe more. I think the only individual models were Jar Jar, Boss Nass and Cpt. Tarpals. All other Gungan citizens, officials and soldiers were anatomical variations of the Jar Jar model.
Jar Jar.....you miss Jar Jar?
He is the dumbest character ever in a movie - why, because he doesn't THINK. As an audience, we like to have even our stupid characters thnk. George Lucas got you all on that one!
:D :D :D
Larry
web site
http://tooninst[URL=http://tooninstitute.awn.com]itute.awn.com
[/URL]blog:
[U]http://www.awm.com/blogs/always-animated
[/U] email:
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But JarJar saved the day in a way. So he wasn't the brightest candle in the chandelier. But he tried.
Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.
Oh yeah, Hitchhiker's! I'm really, really looking forward to that one, especially since I just finished Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Opens in Germany on June 9th. And a week before that we finally get Kung Fu Hustle, plus, and OV showing of Episode III this Sunday. Nerds get all the fun!
I don't miss him, I don't mind him, is all, and since Jar Jar bashing seems to be every Star Wars oldbie's favourite pastime that's saying something.
<-------how exactly is"kung fu hustle"??
Dunno, it opened today and I haven't seen it yet.
As for seeing the Star Wars episodes in numerical order, that really doesn't make any sense in terms of drama. The first time watching order should be IV, V, VI, then I, II, III.
I, II, III, IV, V, VI is for geeks having a Star Wars Saturday.
that's sad :( I was really looking forward to see it................
He also voted the Emperor into office... Nice one. :rolleyes:
First of all, I'll say that I'm totally bias because I'm a Star Wars FREAK!!
I saw it a couple days ago and was blown away! The level of live action and CG integration was staggering. The chase scene between Grevious and Obi-won was some of the most exciting movie-making since... well, since the pod races in Ep.I . The work ILM did on Yoda was top notch. He reached an even deeper level of realism and emotion... And his fight scene with Palpatine was BONKERS!
It was definitely the best out of the prequels and ranks pretty high even among the old-school joints. I will now go see it about 6 more times. WOOoo! :eek:
KA-POW!!
I don't know. I like Yoda a lot but his character in Episodes II and III, to me, is a little much in terms of CG. They said they wanted to make him all CG in Episode II because of his duel. Fine - but I don't think it would have mattered that much if they'd stuck to a puppet except for those few scenes. Most of them were wide shots after all, and his animation was a blur. They said they wanted to go for a continuous look but it doesn't really have got to be that perfect for me. Besides, when he's not jumping around like Kermit the Frog strapped to a fizzling firecracker, most of what he does is sit and brood. Nothing a puppet couldn't do.
The CG close-ups didn't convince me, either, and I'm not alone in thinking so. Something about his texture and animation bothered me although this is where I speak for myself: I thought he looked a little too rubbery and moved like he was stuck in treacle.
Because of its' Great length", and the spectacular "emotional scenes"...
Saw it last night. It was indeed the best since the original trilogoy. It was like watching Shakespeare. I thought it tied most things up well.
Was it really necessary to have Chewbacca specifically? Yoda doesn't acknowledge a previous freindship in V and VI. "It never came up."....I know...I know....
Anakin/Darth should have some acknowledegment of the droids C3P0 and R2D2 , with whom he fought alongside, in the original 3. Darth didn't lose his memory.
The Frankenstien-like breaking from the "slab" of Darth Vader and "Nooooooo" were corny. George, please fix :)
Thought they did a wonderful job on Yoda BTW.
Well, it didn't ruin either the movie or the character for me. (Given that Yoda is more of an action hero in the prequel trilogy anyway.) To me it simply shows when something is CG'ed - when the focus is on it.
But to have scenes like in Episode VI where they made a rubber puppet die and it was touching or make him frown in disappointment and you got the message - kind of missed that. Sometimes, I think old-fashioned FX show more of the work involved because of those little imperfections which can be observed. I find that quite charming.
Here's my two cents to the movie:
Visually stunning--but that is all.
When one takes it and the previous two films into consideration, its the biggest, most expensive cinematic patch-job is movie............nay, storytelling history.
And it doesn't make sense.
All that money, all that time, all those resources........and the RotS absolutely SHREDS The Emipre Strikes back.
The pivotal scene, where Vader reveals that he's Luke's father is hashed now. Zero dramatic weight--its been rendered totally null. Originally, it had build-up, a deliberate orchestration of events and a good pay-off--it has shock value.
Now, the moment is nothing--its like giving away the punch line before you tell the joke. Watching the Star Wars movies in numerical order renders the last two meaningless now--only a imbecile would not see the Vader/Luke scene coming, or be surprised by it.
Its the Achilles heel of the franchise--a slapped-together story with awful dialogue and pretty visual. Sure that's critical, but its pretty much the truth too--it takes nothing away from the visuals though. They remain spectacular--I just wish the heart of the thing--the story--followed suit.
"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)
Madagascar is the same, good looks over a poor story.
I agree. A well written and acted story can transcends any "limitations" in technology. Likewise we've seen technology not save a movie.
I did wonder what if they kept the puppet of yoda and used CG for long shots and fights. But as it was I thought his performance was amazingly subtle and beleivable...as was the puppetry in EMpire and Return of the Jedi. I bet dollars to doughnuts many regular folk still thinking it's a puppet....an amazinhg puppet at that but just a puppet.
I just saw AoTS today.
General Grievous rocks hard. I became a fan of Grievous because of the cartoon on CN and I thought it was cool to see him make a 2d to 3d transition. They even kept his four lightsaber style. I also think it was a creative idea to have him have a slight cough.
all and all, sitting through the entire movie just made me want to see the original star wars again. It was like a 2 and a half hour commercial.
http://ben-reynolds.com
Animation and Design
oh, and don't get me started on all the wipes. I hate wipes! Why were there so many wipes!?
http://ben-reynolds.com
Animation and Design
Heh, you're probably right about people thinking Yoda's a puppet in all Episodes. Many not of the craft think all kinds of animation, even classical, come straight out of computers these days with hardly any work by carbon-based lifeforms involved.
The thought of using a puppet of Yoda for close-up acting and a computer model for wide shots and action scenes is an interesting one. They briefly did it in Episode I when Yoda paced up and down before Obi-Wan before gruffly agreeing to grant him the title of Jedi Knight. In the establishing long shot where he can be seen walking in full, he was CG'ed. I noticed the difference in the hook-up a little, though, because Frank Oz exaggerated Yoda's hobble. I think it's something that comes with the craft of puppeteering - guess you have to exaggerate the acting of a puppet more than that of a CG model because there's an even stronger focus on body language.
Any puppeteers at this board?
http://pixaranimation.blogspot.com/
Jeff Kleiser shot some fantastically crap-o digital home video at George Lucas' ranch, after the first screening of Episode III for 40 of Mr. Lucas' friends. Kleiser was seated at a dinner table with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton of Pixar, among others." Lasseter and Stanton clown around, pretending their forks are light sabers.
http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index900.html
hehe
www.devilsgarage.com
I wanted episode III to do well. BUT! I thought it sucked.
The transition to Vader was unbelievable(Anikan is one gullible fella), some of the CG of humans looked like that jerky move of Han moving over the tail of Jabba in the reworked episode IV, and overall, the preqs aren't that interesting because we all know where the story is going. I'd love to see episodes VII, VIII, and IX bring in some new energy and keep us guessing as to what happens next.
Because there is so much SH!T
I can't wait for the pre-prequelles about Yoda's training as a Jedi! Whooo Hoooo! :rolleyes:
Aloha,
the sad Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Well said Jabber. I believe that whole heartedly about the whole movie. I just saw Sith, and it was alright. I still think the Imax edited version of Clones has been the best of the new trilogy coming in just behind Jedi in rank. There were some good parts to this one, but over all I think the movie lacked flow till about the last 45 minutes. I'll see it again on Imax, and hopefully they'll edit it down to two hours like they did with Clones.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
It was visual masturbation. A nerd fest that was two hours too long. George Lucas is a mechanic that thinks is a director. The only part of the movie that was worth seeing (or needed to be filmed) was the making of Vader. Oh, and the Emperor's electric discharge and evilness. Otherwise, garbage like the first two.
I went to see the Star Wars movie and I have to say it was better than epsiode one and two but only by a little. After hearing how one could rave about this movie, I went to see it a theater that lets you dinne while you watch the show. It keep me from walking out more than once.
Like I told Phacker in another thread, if you want to go see a good space-themed movie, hit up Hitchhiker's Guide. I saw it last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.