So, what's our opinion about every movie in the Star Wars saga?

[Imperial Monarche]

This thread is for everyone to voice their opinion in a short summary about the five movies so far, even the PT.

TPM-

Not exactly the movie I wanted it to be. I loved the pod racing scene, the lightsaber battle at the end didn't quite fit the Star wars style, but this was a different time so it was excusable for me. I hated Jake Lloyd. The story was good and made sense for Anakin to live on Tatooine. I liked how Palpatine's plans started to roll from the first step. Thought it was paced very fast, though. My least favorite in the saga.

AOTC-

About a flight of stairs up from Ep. I, but had some flaws. Loved the lightsaber battle at the end. I did like Yoda fighting in the end because some have said it didn't go along with his character since he's passive, but he went to stop Dooku and was attacked. What was he suppose to do, stand there? I enjoyed the pacing of this one. Chase scene was good too. I got goosebumps when Anakin talked about killing the Tuskin's and when Palpatine's army was shown in the end to the Imperial march. Favorite of the PT so far.

I'll post the rest for me later. I'm getting sleepy.

[Devo]

Phantom menace:

I will possibly never watch this film ever again with exception of the lightsaber battle - the film's only redeeming feature. I think its a bad film in absolutely every other respect. Though the title has grown on me a lot and the score is good (with the unfortunate handicap of being associated with a crap film). Anakin should never have been shown as a young boy and Qui-gon, though one of the better characters of the film, is superfluous. Having Anakin and Obi-wan closer in age would have been the better option and their 'friendship' should have been demonstrated from the get-go.

Attack of the Clones:

Slightly better than Phantom but as Imperial monarche said it has exactly the same flaws - they simply aren't as magnified in the persona of jar jar binks as they were in episode I. They've been redistributed in lesser concentrations throughout the whole film. Otherwise good actors deliver career-worst performances due to the inherent constraints of working with blue/green screen in absolutely every single shot. Laughable dialogue etc etc you've all heard it. This film should have built more on the Obi-wan/anakin relationship and introduced signs of tension. I think at some point the pair should have met Owen Lars to facilitate what Ben said in ANH 'he didn't hold with your fathers ideals, felt he should have stayed here and not gotten involved' and 'your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough but your uncle wouldn't allow it'. And the so-called friendship between Obi-wan and Anakin has not been carried off with a few contrived exchanges in a turbolift. Episode III can't possibly build on the friendship any further because it has to show them as active enemies to eachother.

Too much has been left to be resolved in ROTS and I can't really see how they'll achieve it. They've already failed at the whole point of the prequels - showing anakins change from good (and ben's "good friend") to the dark side. Because Anakin has not proven likeable in either Phantom or Attack who cares that he turns to the dark side and the negative ramifications it has for other (equally badly written) characters. No sense of tragedy has been achieved.

A New Hope:

I know this film always seems to top the polls but to be honest I think thats because casual voters don't specify which film and just say 'star wars' when many of them really mean Empire or the trilogy as a whole. Whenever I'm watching ANH I always get the feeling that I wish I was watching the next film. Its not that I dislike ANH only that I find it lacking in the drama of the next episodes and the score isn't quite as good overall. And sweet jebus that lightsaber battle is poor.

Empire Strikes Back:

The best film of all time. But amongst the other star wars films it has the best dialogue, best set-pieces, best drama, best score and just about best everything. Its not the best film for toy-collecting as it doesn't have a cantina or jabbas palace sequence but thats OK by me. Besides we all know what happens with films that are tailor made for toy lines. I do think that the special edition sequence in which Vader returns to his star destroyer on the shuttle was the most pointless addition to any of the three films though and it badly botched up the flow of the final chase. Also during this chase when Luke, cradling his arm, enters the falcon cockpit watch Carrie Fisher at the controls - she has no idea what she's doing, fiddling about aimlessly, and this is as the falcon is flying right alongside the executor and being fired at. It slightly detracts from this part of the film for me.

Return of the Jedi:

Shock horror I prefer this to ANH. And contrary to some opinion this film has not been bested by either Phantom or Attack. I've given up hope that that could possibly happen. Yeah the ewoks are a bit dodgy in fairness but ever since Binks and Jake lloyd I've been warming to them. The space battle if I may use a juvenile phrase 'rules all' and for my money proves that models on wires are far preferable to CGI ships.

[JEDIpartner]

"Episode I: The Phantom Menace" - I enjoy this film for what it is. It plants the seeds of where the saga is going to go. Not much really happens in this film, but I like political aspects of it. Of the five films, this ranks at number FOUR.

"Episode II: Attack of the Clones" - I thought this was more of a return to form. The story wasn't as convoluted as the previous film and I really enjoyed Ewan's performance as Obi-Wan. You got the sense of a galaxy-wide war in the making and that was really well done. Of the five films, this ranks at number TWO.

"Episode IV: A New Hope" - I have fond memories of this film and it has a special place in my heart. While a definite groundbreaker, I find this movie to be a bit slow and a bit "small" looking. While I love this film, I must rank this film at number THREE of the five released at this point.

"Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" - This is the be all end all of space fantasy sequels. There will never EVER be another like this one. The story, the humour, the tension and character development were simply amazing. I can watch this one over and over without tiring of it. Of the five films, this comes in at number ONE.

"Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" - Yes, it is true. I didn't like this film very much. I still watch it but is just comes off as a little silly. It's better than most action/adventure films and that is still saying quite a bit. The mood was a little too upbeat, which betrayed the set-up of the denoument and resolution of this film. You kinda knew that Luke wasn't going to die or be turned to the darkside nor did I ever feel Darth Vader wouldn't be "saved". It was a bit of a letdown and, thusly, of the five films, this takes the number FIVE slot.

[Droid]

Episode I: The Phantom Menace: It had some truly great moments and the night I first saw it I had a truly magical experience, just seeing new Star Wars again. But, it was a huge mistake to have Anakin be a child. The age difference between Anakin and Obi-wan prevented them from being the friends Obi-wan talked about in the original trilogy. Qui-Gon was unnecessary and Anakin's relationship (as stated) should have been with Obi-wan. Also, having Anakin be so much younger than his future wife and meet her at such a young age created an odd and strained relationship. The movie accomplished little. I think Episode I should have started with Anakin and Obi-wan meeting, the Clone Wars starting (and then running until Episode III). Jar Jar was a disaster. Best lightsaber duel of all five movies.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones: Better than the Phantom Menace. However, the love story, the only thing that needed to be accomplished was horribly executed. Why does she love him? The Obi-wan stuff was wonderful, but once again they wasted the opportunity to establish this friendship Obi-wan spoke so warmly about in the original trilogy. The arena sequence was great. I would have rather Yoda stayed a source of wisdom rather than seeing him fight.

Episode IV: A New Hope: Although the weakest of the original trilogy in my opinion, I think it is twice as good as either Episode I or II. Of course, Episodes I and II were constrained because they had to (or should have) matched up with the original trilogy, wheras A New Hope could do whatever it wanted without constraints. I think Jabba in a New Hope in the Special Edition was a huge mistake.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Although probably the best written and made film of the series, it is my second favorite. It upset me as a child and so Jedi will likely always be my favorite. But Empire is fantastic. Hoth. Dagobah. Cloud City. There just aren't any missteps. The Luke-Vader sequence on Cloud City has the most dramatic and emotional impact of the Saga.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. I think the Jabba's Palace sequence (non-speical edition Sarlaac) is the best part of the Saga. I have always loved the aliens. The Endor stuff isn't up to snuff with Jabba's the rest of the movie, but it is my favorite of the series. I think it has the best space battle of the Saga.

I love these movies. I wish the prequels had been better, but I still think they're great.

[tagmac]

The Phantom Menace - Didn't really have a big problem with this movie compared to a lot of others. The fact that there was too much Jar Jar and too little Darth Maul bugged me, but otherwise it was alright. Lightsaber fight is still the best (until ROTS). And what many forget is that the origins of Palpatine's rise to power through his own manipulations begins in TPM. Number 5 on my list by default, more than because of actual dislike.

Attack of the Clones - One thing that dissappointed me was the buildup of Aurra Sing not being realized here. Could have had her instead of Zam Wessell. Otherwise, no major complaints. Fot those complaining about the friendship of Anakin/Obi-Wan, if Lucas had spent too much time on it, people would have complained that it was too much of a "buddy" film. The Clone Wars cartoon and novel could have been used for this instead. Tied for number 3 on my list with....

A New Hope - My favorite movie for a long time, but easily surpassed by it's two sequels. Can't really say much else. Tied for 3 on my list.

Empire Strikes Back - My favorite movie of them all, although not until I was a little older and could fully appreciate the movie as a whole. Still has the most drama, and great action (without CGI) sequences. Battle of Hoth is still a major technological advancement, and I pray Lucas never tries to re-do it in CGI. Number 1!

Return of the Jedi - My favorite movie of all time until I was in my late teens. Still love the Skiff Battle, and the final space battle ranks among the best of all time. Never really minded the ewoks, although it bugged me to find out that it should have been wookies. Thankfully, George will make it up to us there in ROTS. Number 2 on my list.

[stillakid]

A New Hope: Easily the best of the saga in terms of best all-around elements. While something like ESB has some better moments scattered here and there, A New Hope is far better as a whole as the vast scope of this universe is expertly established and our desire to see more is whetted. While flashy films will be the flavor of the month (AOTC), A New Hope will undoubtedly prove to be the long lasting influence that it has shown to be thus far.


The Empire Strikes Back: A excellent follow up to a fantastic opening. The characters both remained true to who they were in Episode IV, but also grew in ways that were believable and interesting. The relationships were entirely realistic to Earthbound humans and extremely cool against the backdrop of flying spaceships and fascinating aliens. I found Director Irvin Kershner's classic documentary Canadian style of filmmaking to be a little too removed at times (Hoth battle), the relationships of Han/Leia and Luke/Vader balances out those shortcomings. The serial "cliff-hanger" aspects of this episode are the best we've seen (and will see) bar none.


Return of the Jedi: Not a bad film, but unfortunately, subtle strains of Lucas's Kiddie entertainment leanings could be seen here. Nearly half the movie is taken up by Han's rescue which I thought was a mistake. While cool, that event is really Expanded Universe material and takes us away from what was established as the main storyline, that being the galactic conflict. Killing off Jabba was more on the lines of personal vendetta whereas Luke's confrontation with Vader and the Emperor had relevant ramifications for the primary plot. The three pronged-attack worked for me at the end. I personally never minded the Ewoks and don't really understand the uprising against them. While kids did find them cute, the Ewok well represented the battle against technology. The end of the film, with Vader's body burning, was extraordinary in it's simplicity and style. A picture is worth a thousand words...unfortunately it's a lesson that George seemed to forget as he sat down to pen the next film in the saga some twenty years later...


The Phantom Menace: Hands down, the worst of the Star Wars saga and vying to be one of the worst movies of all time (even Showgirls had some redeeming value via laughs). If not that, certainly one of the most disappointing films of all time. The story accomplished only two objectives: 1) introduce Anakin Skywalker and 2) establish Palpatine's bid for power. Both objectives were ill conceived in concept and ill executed in almost every way. As for the other 131 minutes, the eye-candy seemed to wow and amaze those in the audience without expectations for quality, but the images were almost up to par with the rest of the saga. Some of the CG just wasn't good enough to put on screen yet and should be replaced with either models/puppets or improved graphics.

(As an aside, I've been working on some "interviews" regarding aspects of the 1990s and Episode I is part of the questionaire...or at least was. The producers haven't been able to find anyone at all who doesn't just pan this film from one end to the other. NOBODY likes it, not even a little bit, outside of this forum and others like it. The Phantom Menace will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the worst films ever.)


Attack of the Clones: Meh. Again, a two hour romp, edited quickly so that the audience wouldn't realize that there wasn't too much substance behind the flashy images. A brand new Anakin personae is introduced in this film which makes little sense throughout. The relationships between characters are poorly written and the actor's seemed to have trouble figuring out how to reconcile that. The politics is what these Prequels needed to be about, but they are lost in a quagmire of Rube Goldbergian machinations as Obi Wan plays the part of detective trying to track down...what exactly? Essentially, Episodes I and II have wasted 276 minutes of precious story time that should have been devoted to illustrating Palpatine's bid for political power and the slow seduction of an unwitting and level-headed Anakin.

If ever there was a need for remakes, the Star Wars Prequels are at the head of the line.

[Devo]

I realise this isn't intended solely as a 'bash the prequels' thread and I apologise that I have been so compelled to now do just that .

Tagmac, I think a capable writer/director could easily have incorporated the anakin/obi friendship into the trilogy with success. No i'm not saying I'd have been the one for the job but Lucas certainly wasn't. Its a pivotal relationship which just hasn't been adequately addressed. Leaving it for a cartoon and a novelist to develop simply isn't acceptable. Besides which I thought Lucas' mindset is that the films alone are canon. If thats the case then pertinent things such as the Obi/Anakin friendship should be higher on his list of priorities than putting in more background CG droids. And thats another thing. Lucas' refusal to acknowledge the EU. AOTC missed a great opportunity to depict these Victory class star destroyers we've heard about. But it seems a cartoon is more worthy canon than say Timothy Zahns trilogy which revived interest in Star wars back in the nineties.

Definitely the most criminal thing about the prequels is their neglect of the characters and key relationships which would have enhanced the films tenfold more than the fart gags, yipees, accidental victories, improbable coincidences and superfluous CG that we instead have. The alleged main character - anakin skywalker - is a complete twat. In neither film has he drawn any reaction from me other than fury. Ideally I should be mourning his turn to the dark side and his betrayal of his onetime good friend obi-wan. But now I couldn't give a sh*t. The prequels, for me, have failed on every level except for one or two good set-pieces (phantoms lightsaber duel, Attacks kamino fight), against the odds the occasional decent character (Dooku mainly delivered exposition and clarified plot but Lee did his best) and some good scoring. But they haven't delivered where it actually mattered. ROTS, no matter how technically cool the lightsaber duel is (emotional resonance can presumably be ruled out), won't make up for the fact that two out of three films of what could have been a great trilogy in the right hands have been totally wasted.

[Pendo]

I can't be arsed writing long opinions, so here's mine quick and easy:

The Phantom Menace - Decent
Attack of the Clones - Crap
A New Hope - Excellent
The Empire Strikes Back - AWSOME!
Return of the Jedi - Very Good

PENDO!

[Kidhuman]

The Phantom Menace - Decent
Attack of the Clones - Better than TPM
A New Hope - Good
The Empire Strikes Back - A Great F'IN Film
Return of the Jedi - Very Good