I know the original trilogy has it's share of bad dialoge and stiff delivery, but it seems much worse in the new trilogy. Maybe such acting is more forgivable when not coming from proven good actors.

I think it's also a case of people being nostalgic for the original trilogy and because of that, they're able to look past corny dialogue.

Minor spoilers down the page, if you're anal about it..

 

 

Honestly, if it were me, here's what I would have done...

 

I wouldn't have used Darth Maul in the first one at all. I would have used Dooku as the main villain for the entirety of the three movies. Taken out General Grievous (who's only purpose was to show that retaining life through machine was possible), and had Dooku serve as the mega villain of death.

 

In the first movie, I would have had Dooku be the one to kill Qui Gonn (since he trained him, this would have been omg wow) and then Obi-Wan in a rage defeat Dooku, only to have Dooku escape by the skin of his teeth. This would establish Obi-Wan as a badass from the get go, and he wouldn't have been so vastly underrated as it pertains to his abilities.

 

Second movie would have seen Dooku defeat Obi-Wan and Anakin, proving that even though he had the upperhand on him the first time, Dooku's still a badass, and Yoda had to come in to clean up.

 

Third movie, I'd just have kept Grievous out and had Anakin kill Dooku off later in the movie. I think the main problem with the villains in this trilogy was the lack of development that wasn't really there in the OT because there were only two villains through out the entirety of the OT.

The one sequence that really stood out to me was the Order 66 portion.  Seeing all of those Jedi perish in such a manner was more emotional to me than the part CJ mentioned earlier.

I was at work today and no way was I going to a 12am showing. I might dip outta here and see it in a small local theater at 10:15pm tonight. Might...we'll see.

 

But to comment on what Bruiser said, I made that comment from reading the screenplay. In written form, all you have to go on is words and Obi-Wan's dialogue there was just heart wrenching to me. As far as visual sequences, obviously I couldn't comment without having seen the movie. I'm sure seeing the actual execution of Order 66 rather than just reading a description of what ensues will have the same effect on me as it did you.

Well, we went at 9:40 AM to the biggest theater in the city and... it was sold out just like I told my uncle it would be (he doubted me). The 10:00 AM showing was sold out as well so we ended up having to go to the next biggest theater (which WAS the biggest theater in the city until Tinseltown came along) and caught the 10:30 AM showing.

 

Wow, wow, wow. I'm not going to even get into full details yet (I'm still taking it all in), but... man. I was like, "There's no way I'm going to shed some tears in a Star Wars movie," even after I heard all the saddening stuff.

 

But... (spoilers)... when Order 66 was put into action I gave me that choked up feeling in my throat... but yet. I held steady. When Yoda tells Obi-Wan not to look into the security cameras -- more choked up... but remained steady. It wasn't until after the end of the duel between Vader and Obi-Wan that tears started to roll down my cheek simply because of these words:

 

"You were the chosen one. You were my brother. I loved you."

 

Just everything about that was just so... saddening. I think my uncle and I described it best as saying when people were leaving the theater, you had an empy feeling in your heart... you were down. I swear it was absolutely SILENT when we left. Hopefully more thoughts to come later.

Just everything about that was just so... saddening. I think my uncle and I described it best as saying when people were leaving the theater, you had an empy feeling in your heart... you were down. I swear it was absolutely SILENT when we left. Hopefully more thoughts to come later.

Yup. There was a round of applause as the credits began to roll, but after that, everyone filed out of the theater quietly. No complete silence, but considering there were nearly 1,000 people there (according to the newspaper), it was a quiet atmosphere.

 

I didn't really get choked up at all during the movie, but like I said before, the Order 66 sequence really stood out. I mean, you knew something had to go down to eliminate most of the Jedi, but when it went into effect, I still couldn't believe it was happening. As stupid as it may sound, I felt myself pulling for the Jedi even though I already knew the end result.

 

Having seen Episode III, I feel that rewatching the original trilogy is in order.

Damn Flyboy... alot of what you said held true... eerie silence at the end. Tears welling up. However, the hardest part for me was seeing Luke and Leia being born at the same time Vader was being reborn.

 

 

A few gripes...

Padme was pregnant, yet she is wearing a skimpy outfit and fully pregnant... and comes running out of the spaceship to greet Anakin. CJ, and any other guy here who has had a pregnant wife can tell you, that bitch ain't running to shit. She is waddling and bitching about how uncomfortable it is. The fact that she is having twins made it even more unbelievable. Maybe I am just bitter because my wife is 8 months pregnant and incredibly moody right now.

 

Grievous's death. He went out like a punk. In the script, it sounded pretty good but on screen it came off flat.

 

The Jedis who were with Mace when he encountered Palpatine. They went out like punks. they didn't even put up a 15 second fight. They just went down and out.

 

Padme telling Anakin "Hold Me". This was the worst, uncomfortable, un-manly-man lines Lucas could have swiped from the first trilogy and he relived it. I cringed when hearing it 22 years ago from Princess Leia. I can't believe she said that. I cringed again as if the worst part of my ROTJ past came back to haunt me.

 

 

 

Definite Thumbs Up....

 

The way Mace Windu was taken out... damn. It was a highlight. Anakin turning at that point was more than I expected. You could feel the conflict within yourself, whispering "Don't do it, Don't do it".

 

Flyboy touched on some of the more heart-wrenching moments of the movie that made for great tragedy.

 

The acting wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Seriously, after three weeks of shitting on the diologue and bad actors, I wasn't phased by any of it.

 

The duel between Vader and Obi-Wan including the finale... WOW. One of the best fights in the Star Wars movie. the ending is way cooler than any other duel including the Darth Maul v. Jedi&Padawan from Episode 1. A truly fitting end to this epic.

 

 

Differences from the script...

 

-The scenes on the Wookie planet were much abbreviated from the script. I have a feeling you will see the deleted scenes in the DVD.

 

-The killing of the Jedi also seemed like it was in fast-forward. It was a great part of the movie and they could have milked more drama from those scenes.

 

-Yoda does not land on Dagobah and look around in the movie, like he does in the script.

 

-They mention the ability to talk with the deceased ie Qui-Gon but I got the feeling from the script that Liam Neeson was going to make an appearance and they explain the power of the Whills. I was really looking forward to this part of the movie and it never came. I think it would have given Obi-Wan's line "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine" much more weight.

 

 

Once again, awesome movie experience.

Padme was pregnant, yet she is wearing a skimpy outfit and fully pregnant... and comes running out of the spaceship to greet Anakin. CJ, and any other guy here who has had a pregnant wife can tell you, that bitch ain't running to shit. She is waddling and bitching about how uncomfortable it is. The fact that she is having twins made it even more unbelievable. Maybe I am just bitter because my wife is 8 months pregnant and incredibly moody right now.

You know, as much as I adore Portman and as crucial to the complete story as she is, I really disliked most of the scenes she was a part of. Her role in the film came across more as a cameo, which was fine with me since the two have zero chemistry together.

 

Grievous's death. He went out like a punk. In the script, it sounded pretty good but on screen it came off flat.

I didn't think it was that bad. Him busting out FOUR lightsabers got a huge reaction from the crowd, though.

 

The Jedis who were with Mace when he encountered Palpatine. They went out like punks. they didn't even put up a 15 second fight. They just went down and out.

This bothered me, too. You figure they'll be able to put up a good fight. Maybe not as strong as Kenobi or Anakin, but damn, they ARE Jedi. They went down like Stormtroopers.

 

The way Mace Windu was taken out... damn. It was a highlight. Anakin turning at that point was more than I expected. You could feel the conflict within yourself, whispering "Don't do it, Don't do it".

This was one of those moments during the film where I found myself hoping for results other than the ones I knew had to occur. The movie wasn't all that engaging until that scene, truth be told. After that, I was locked in.

 

-Yoda does not land on Dagobah and look around in the movie, like he does in the script.

This was odd. They show everyone else getting settled into their new environment, but Yoda is nowhere to be found. We know where he goes, but it would've been a nice touch to actually see it.

I didn't think it was that bad. Him busting out FOUR lightsabers got a huge reaction from the crowd, though.

 

No no no.... I actually liked the fight. I hated the way it ended with the Blaster to the gut.

 

This was one of those moments during the film where I found myself hoping for results other than the ones I knew had to occur. The movie wasn't all that engaging until that scene, truth be told. After that, I was locked in.

I don't know, man. I was pretty engaged from the get-go. Dooku getting taken out off the bat, Anakin getting scolded by the counsel, the tension between Anakin and Windu... I was down with it all.

 

This was odd. They show everyone else getting settled into their new environment, but Yoda is nowhere to be found. We know where he goes, but it would've been a nice touch to actually see it.

Agreed. The exile line was the only hint of us knowing what would happen.

 

 

 

Oh, I forgot to add something...

 

I loved the ending with Owen and Beru in Tattooine. It brought me back to Owen calling Obi-Wan a crazy old wizard in A New Hope. Obi-Wan looked like a crazy wizard when he handed the baby over.

I don't know, man. I was pretty engaged from the get-go. Dooku getting taken out off the bat, Anakin getting scolded by the counsel, the tension between Anakin and Windu... I was down with it all.

I probably should've phrased that better. Up until that scene, the movie would grasp my attention and then slowly loosen the grip (mainly during the extended action scenes, which I've never been a fan of). When Anakin made his choice, I became engrossed. One gripe I have about the scene was how quickly Anakin went from remorse to unconditional obedience. He was practically questioning what he had done and telling Palpatine he would obey him in the same breath.

 

I loved the ending with Owen and Beru in Tattooine. It brought me back to Owen calling Obi-Wan a crazy old wizard in A New Hope. Obi-Wan looked like a crazy wizard when he handed the baby over.

Definitely. The whole sequence of everyone in their new places was a captivating one. After that, I was like, "okay, I'm ready to see Episode IV." It's funny because I've always thought Lucas was full of shit when he'd go on about how the trilogies could now been seen the way he envisioned them. But the ending tied everything up so nicely that it's completely logical to view them in that order now.

http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html

Now to take a look how Ep. III stacks up in the overall scheme of things. Where would you rank it among the other five films? Do you think it sets up the original trilogy well? I've got a friend who didn't really like it because of some of the things that didn't make the movie (that I guess were in the graphic novel). An example would be the set-up to the Dooku death scene, where he and Palpatine were going over their plan in regard to Anakin and Kenobi.

Behind Empire and New Hope... and above the other three.

At the risk of coming off as a bigger geek, I'm gonna try and expose my girlfriend to the trilogies. I'm thinking of starting with Ep. III and just going from there, perhaps setting up the minor things she missed from the first two installments. I don't think they offer much in terms of explanation to the saga. I would tend to agree with you, GH, about your rankings. Although, I do wanna give the first two episodes a peep again even though I didn't really care for them the only times I saw them.

With the first two prequels, I think they are perfectly acceptable as part of the big picture...

 

--In Episode 1, it has already been mentioned, but the trade federation was used as pawns in Palpatine's game. You get the meeting of Padme and Anakin (as week as it was) and You see Obi-Wan come of age. In reality, the first two are not so much about Anakin as they are about Palpatine and his manipulation.

 

--Also, the one thing I love about Episode 1 is the way Qui Gon Jinn dies. He is killed by a Sith and his apprentice (Obi-Wan) sees him die in battle and avenges his death. This is a direct parallel wih Obi-Wan and Vader in A New Hope. Obi-Wan knew that Luke would want to avenge his death. I never thought about the similarities until right before seeing Episode 3.

 

---In Attack of the Clones, we see the build-up of the Stormtroopers, more deception from Palpatine, Boba Fett and the plans for the Death Star. Also, Clones was absolutely necessary in order for Episode 3 to make any sense.

Obi-Wan knew that Luke would want to avenge his death.

Huh?

 

Luke had only met "Old Ben" Kenobi earlier that day.

 

Obi-Wan sacrificed himself to become a part of the Living Force, making him more powerful (he even tells Vader so) and able to help Luke without the burden of his old physical body.

It seemed to me that Luke had met him before... although under the name Ben.

 

I see where you are coming from though... but I still think it is a nice parallel where Obi Wan is struck down in front of his apprentice the same way Qui Gon was.

Saw the movie today, caught a 1 pm showing. Things didn't start off well, as there was a group of teenagers behind us being annoying in that ADD sort of way where you don't think they could help it but we still had to move before my girlfriend beat the shit out of them.

 

Once the movie started, everything else just ceased to exist for me. Lucas definately hit one out of the park, I'd put it as a solid #2 after Empire. I'm tempted to put it higher but I want to wait till the first-viewing buzz wears off and I can think about it more objectively.

 

One thing that impressed me, that I've never seen happen in a theater before, is when they put the Vader mask together and seal it EVERYONE was silent as a ghost (even the ADD kids behind us). Say what you will about Lucas, but he had motherfuckers absolutely transfixed right there.

 

It's funny, as much as Hayden gets bashed for poor acting, I felt it was Natalie who was mailing it in here. In fact the only part that made me wince is her Kevin Nash sell job to being Force choked. I mean she's being strangled by her husband and the father of her children, and she sold it like she needed a throat lozenge.

 

In all, my review would pretty much mirror the one Kevin Smith wrote on his site. Especially the part where Organa, Yoda, and Obi Wan were on the ship that was like something out of the original movie. As soon as I saw it I was like, "whoa, shit... 1977".

 

I guess the only question left now is how long before the six volume deluxe DVD set?

Also, am I alone in this or was one of the most unexpectedly sad moments seeing Jar Jar as a pallbearer at Padme's funeral? There was just such a look of sadness on the face of someone they took pains in portraying as a happy go lucky goofball, it kinda caught me off guard.

Okay, finally caught a 4:40pm show today that just let out an hour or so ago 'round 7pm. Not only did I see the flick, I got no less than three phone numbers from some fine asian babes at the mall and found myself an "underground" connection for some kicks this summer.

 

Like Ice Cube said, "Today was a good day."

 

After I collect myself from all this excitement, I'll go in-depth. I'm also reviewing that pirated version that's been floating around the 'net as I type. I will say this first: Hayden has been given a bum rap (by myself included) as a bad actor. He did just fine here FINALLY but Lucas' dialogue is enough to make even the best actors look bad. Jackson, McGregor, Portman...it takes a little bit of luck and skill to rise above the crap on the page.

 

I am, however, proud to report: NO TEARS. The actors performances simply weren't strong enough to bring those out.

Anyone else think Portman look HIT in the movie? I was thinking how dull her performance was, but catching some of AoTC last night on Fox, I realized just how bad she looked in RoTS.

She definitely took a dip acting-wise in ROTS, but I think a lot of her "looks" were some of the horrid outfits she wore in the film.

NO man, her makeup jobs were death. In fact, when she smiled at Anakin, I cringed because she looked strung out.

Didn't she film the majority of her SW scenes while splitting time at Harvard?

NO man, her makeup jobs were death. In fact, when she smiled at Anakin, I cringed because she looked strung out.

Well, maybe that was the point... I mean she was carrying twins as well as being in a crapload of stress with Anakin, Senator for Naboo -- maybe Lucas wanted her to look extremely stress, I don't know...