What I liked about the old fights was that they always seemed like struggles of mind, too. Not some athletic bullshit.
Star Wars: Episode VII: The Nerd Rage Awakens
- Thread starter cooleddie74
- Start date
Didn't Lucas once remark that the only fully-trained light saber duelists in the OT happened to be an old man and a guy in a walking iron lung?
Speaking of old men:
Did you guys realize that the old man Alec Guiness was just as old in 1977 as Mark Hamill is now?
And did you realize that the old man Alec Guiness was 9 years younger than Harrison Ford is now?
Did you guys realize that the old man Alec Guiness was just as old in 1977 as Mark Hamill is now?
And did you realize that the old man Alec Guiness was 9 years younger than Harrison Ford is now?
Return of the Jedi is... not the greatest film. But that scene? Amazing and one of the best moments in the Star Wars franchise. Shows how underrated of an actor Mark Hamill is, too. That whole fight between Luke, Vader, and the Emperor in RotJ is magnificent, but that moment when Luke charges out at Vader is something else.
I often wish we got a better concluding film than RotJ, but if we lost out on the intensity of those moments in the throne room it might not be worth the trade off.
I love Return of the Jedi because the whole throne room stuff is such an intense, satisfying ending to the trilogy. Mark Hamill did a great job there.
The whole scene was pretty much perfect until Lucas added Vader's "Nooooooo" when he picks up the Emperor. Vader's original silence worked so much better. It was more intense and portrayed the inner struggle.
In any case Hamill has always been my star in the old trilogy. Who cares about Han Solo? He's just a sidekick.
The whole scene was pretty much perfect until Lucas added Vader's "Nooooooo" when he picks up the Emperor. Vader's original silence worked so much better. It was more intense and portrayed the inner struggle.
In any case Hamill has always been my star in the old trilogy. Who cares about Han Solo? He's just a sidekick.
I don't really have nerd freinds, but I have seen a lot of people, both old and young complaining about over use of CGI in modern movies.
Explain. Maybe I hang out in the wrong circles, but most of the friends that I have (both online and in real life) prefer real stuff to CGI. There is often a lament in one circle about the overreliance on CGI and they are by no means the "old guys" or "Gen-Xers" (whatever that means. Hate that generation label garbate).
Maybe I was ahead of the curve, but the constant cry I have heard, especially since the PT, is for more practical effects.
I don't mind CGI effects if they are used appropriately, but there are a lot of movies where they aren't. If you can do it with animatronics, make-up, models, or live stunts, please do it that way, but if it isn't then go ahead and use CGI. That does seem to be the approach they're taking here, so I'm pretty happy with it. It's also the approach I would take if I were a filmmaker.
And not just those elements, but the cocky "I just ended the Clone Wars and helped save the galaxy because of my new powers" bullshit he'd convinced himself to believe impeded his judgment, which was never perfect but before his fall to the Dark Side he at least tended to display much more intelligent and cunning tactical maneuvers in combat*.
*His half-baked, ill-planned and emotion-driven attack on Count Dooku in the Geonosis hangar notwithstanding.
The prequels would've been better movies if they'd been about Ahsoka instead of Anakin.
The prequels would've been better movies if Jar Jar and Padme had become a couple.
The prequels would've been better movies if they'd been about Wesley Crusher.
The prequels would've been better movies if Jar Jar and Padme had become a couple.
The prequels would've been better movies if they'd been about Wesley Crusher.
Anakin didn't take any credit for ending the Clone Wars, but he did want to take over the Emprie from Palpatine. Which was the reason why turned before the second act was reshot.
Yelling "I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security to my new Empire" right after massacring the Separatist Council and ending the wars comes mighty close and I'd say it's taking a form of credit. He was flush with the energy of the Dark Side after his murdering sprees on Coruscant and Mustafar and prone to overstatement, and being angry with Obi-Wan's supposed betrayal and his presence didn't help matters.
Killing the leaders didn't end th war, a signal still had to be sent to stop the machines, the novel made that clear. Anakin was Palpatine's right hand man and Palpatine took credit for ending the war.
I think the sword fights in the prequels are much better than people give them credit for. For one thing, they're way more realistic*.
If Jedi are beings who can effortlessly manipulate any object (including themselves) around without any physical restriction with a thought, then seeing them stiffly clank their swords of light together as if they were four-kilo zweihanders seems a bit silly.
And I don't believe any Star Wars fan who can say with a strait face he didn't lurch a bit in orgasmic glee the first time he saw Yoda fling himself across the room.
The problem is George got too caught up in the spectacle and showmanship and completely forgot the art. See: dueling twirl sticks.
Frankly Star Wars has never got it quite right. Empire came close, but the magic in that has more to do with the cinematography. In the end though, it was still just the same Terracotta Warriors clanking away adding the occasional flip just because. And I've always thought Jedi was just a poor copy.
When Liam was first cast, I couldn't help but think of his and Roth's duel with glow sticks. I think Rob Roy is the best cinematic sword fight ever. It's the perfect balance of brutally raw energy, dramatic weight, and acrobatic movement. And it's between two heavies, yet they don't say a word to each other. They let the action do all the talking.
I'd love to see something like that in Star Wars.
Or go the other way and go full-on Kung Fu. But do it right. In fact, I've always wondered why George never brought Yuen in to direct one of the fights, especially since he was really big in Hollywood right around the time of the PT.
If Jedi are beings who can effortlessly manipulate any object (including themselves) around without any physical restriction with a thought, then seeing them stiffly clank their swords of light together as if they were four-kilo zweihanders seems a bit silly.
And I don't believe any Star Wars fan who can say with a strait face he didn't lurch a bit in orgasmic glee the first time he saw Yoda fling himself across the room.
The problem is George got too caught up in the spectacle and showmanship and completely forgot the art. See: dueling twirl sticks.
Frankly Star Wars has never got it quite right. Empire came close, but the magic in that has more to do with the cinematography. In the end though, it was still just the same Terracotta Warriors clanking away adding the occasional flip just because. And I've always thought Jedi was just a poor copy.
When Liam was first cast, I couldn't help but think of his and Roth's duel with glow sticks. I think Rob Roy is the best cinematic sword fight ever. It's the perfect balance of brutally raw energy, dramatic weight, and acrobatic movement. And it's between two heavies, yet they don't say a word to each other. They let the action do all the talking.
I'd love to see something like that in Star Wars.
Or go the other way and go full-on Kung Fu. But do it right. In fact, I've always wondered why George never brought Yuen in to direct one of the fights, especially since he was really big in Hollywood right around the time of the PT.
I loved the prequel lightsaber battles, one of the things I was hoping to see in the prequels were full fledged Jedi in action and we got that in spades. And really given JJ Abrams love of action I do think the lightsaber duels to be closer to the prequels than the sequels.
Probably because Lucas was never willing to surrender total control of the PT to anyone other than a small trusted circle of people. He is supposedly very much a control freak at least post-ESTB.
I didn't.
I cringed when I first saw it because it turns wise, dignified Yoda into a comic book character. I hated it.
He is a comic book character.
Meanwhile, my whole theater cheered.
I hated it too. Still do. But I do believe people when they say they loved it.
Oh, I also do believe it. Tastes vary.
That's why I found Clegg's post a little silly. When people say they didn't like something that you personally liked... chances are they're just telling you the truth.
That's why I found Clegg's post a little silly. When people say they didn't like something that you personally liked... chances are they're just telling you the truth.
