Star Wars vs Modern Films

simon_partridge

I happened to watch The Empire Strikes Back, and that Bruce Willis/Matthew Perry film The Whole Nine Yards yesterday, and I have to say I found the latter a more entertaining watch. Does that make me an abnormal person?

I found the whole choreography of the StarWars film horribly dated and Harrison Ford's deadpan corny one-liners to Princess Leia almost forced me to turn off.

lamda

Yes it does make you horribly abnormal!!!
( i want you to be taking the piss i really do!!)

Never mind the (brilliant) Star Wars for now..... the fact that you found The Whole Nine Yards in any way entertaining is very very worrying.....

slave1

in a word yes,

SW broke ground and brought people back to the movies

Yes we are all a bit older now so 'corny' may creep in but SW is very deep in its undertones.
People keep jumping on the bandwagon to slate TPM and AOTC, but keep in mind these movies need to be enjoyed by a wide audience, Episode 3 will tie things up a degree and reveal many deep darknesses people just didn't pick up from the first 5 films

It will be a dark day indeed when part 3 is out, nothing to look forward to ......

Kalina

Star Wars is a great movie and was ground-breaking when it was made, as Slave says. Maybe the special effects are a bit dated by now but if you look at recent movies, while there is some fantastic special effects, ie Lord of the Rings, Spider Man etc, in many cases the movie is tripe and even the effects can't carry it- just think of Jurassic Park 3!! The other elements of Star Wars, such as a great cast, a great story, deadly battle/fight/space scenes, Darth Vader and comedy more than make up for its ageing special effects! Imo, the trilogy made in the 70s are far better movies than Episode 1 and 2.

(I thought Harrison Ford was great as Han, he was my favourite character in the entire trilogy, much tougher than Luke!! )

slave1

oh yeah
what would Toy Story 2 be like without all the SW references

Easy to jump on the "slate TPM, AOTC" bandwagon
TPM suffered because if was sooooo anticipated
We all saw EP 4-6 before 1, but Lucas wrote it as if it was the first SW movie to be viewed, and left it in a simple child friendly manner.
People knock Jar Jar, remember the fukcing Ewoks!!!!!

SW is deep and would alienate soo many of the younger audience by keeping to the dark side

AOTC is IMO at least better than ROTJ
Anakin's throwaway statement in AOTC " someday I'll stop people dying" is a crux to the entire 6 movies.

Personally I hope Lucas keeps its simple and leaves the deep stuff outside the movies i.e. disappearing jedi



:ninja:

ixoy

Well I can't say "The Whole Nine Yards" is better than the SW saga. However, I'm still baffled at the popularity of the Star Wars movies.

Don't get me wrong, they're quite enjoyable but sheesh I've enjoyed other movie series a lot more. You can talk about it being ground-breaking till the pneumatic drill comes home, but it still looks dated now. I mean "Citizen Kane" is far more ground-breaking but, technical adeptness aside, I didn't go "Oh WOW!" when I saw it.

The series was never original in terms of storyline, just in terms of committing a vision to celluloid. I find "Lord of the Rings" series far superior, in terms of... well everything. It's certainly based on a richer mythos, considering Tolkein's background rather than the oft-mentioned roots of many of Lucas' bits.

In short, I praise you for having the guts to say, "What's all the fuss about nowadays?" Yes, they're quite fun and did something in their day, but nowadays there's many a movie I'd rather watch....

sceptre

Originally posted by lamda
the fact that you found The Whole Nine Yards in any way entertaining is very very worrying.....

Boo. It's got both Natasha Henstridge and Amanda Peet in it. That alone will be enough for me to see The Whole Ten yards when it comes out.

Mac daddy

Originally posted by sceptre
Boo. It's got both Natasha Henstridge and Amanda Peet in it. That alone will be enough for me to see The Whole Ten yards when it comes out.

that is the only good thing about the whole film.
I would pick starwars anyday over any film :rolleyes:

WhiteWashMan

Star wars was a seminal film.
Its not just a film anymore, nor is it a series of films, its bigger than that.

im not entirely sure why people feel the need to compare movies either. especially when they arent even in the same catagory.
star wars is a space opera, 9 yards is a comedy set in canada or something.

what are you going to compare?both have their merits. both have their down sides. both have entertained.

if someone is going to put down star wars, then i would suggest they at least use a more worthy film that 9 yards though. i mean, come on. mathew perry in friends, we say yes!
mathew perry in anything other athn friends, crowd says no!

BKtje

Im a space and sci-fi nut.
I'll watch anything to do with space or anything sci-fi and usually enjoy it.
That said i find the Star Wars films disappointing for all the hype. I didn't see them till about 5 years ago (4-6) and while i enjoyed them i didnt see what the fuss was about. Same goes with the new films (1+2). I went to seem them both the first day they were released but didn't expect (or receive) anything that i'd be overly impressed with.

Maybe its cos i didnt grow up in the Star Wars generation but it just doesnt do it for me. Lord on the Rings the other hand does

bizmark

Stargate is the next big Sci fi

Star war,s new movies are crap
Star trek needs a major rework

slave1

bizmark
B-K-DzR

I think your missing a point
Without SW you would quite simply not have any of your fav. sci fi programs/films like you mentioned
Simple as that
Even star trek made a comeback after Star Wars

You need to expand yourselves past the movies into the deeper star wars meanings before passing comment

Trust me, if you're blown away by a groundbreaking movie, it stays with you forever
What blowing you away today is all due to Star Wars

Pigman II

Originally posted by slave1
Even star trek made a comeback after Star Wars

He has a point. All those Star Trek dorks had been lobbying for more eps of their favorite show ever since it was axed in 1969(?). It was only when Star Wars came out that the people with opinions THAT ACTUALLY MATTERED decided to set the ball rolling on that particular franchise again.

But back on subject I've tried introducing a few people who 'missed the boat' regarding Star Wars to the movies and none of them took to it. This leads me to believe that nostalgia has a large part to play in the opinions of people who still herald this movie as a classic. As such, find me a person who saw Star Wars for the first time as an adult and actually loved it and I'll find you 10 who didn't.

The simple fact is that for all it's nostaligic glory Star Wars just doesn't hold up today as a classic movie (either in the technological or (more importantly) storyline stakes).

Now don't get me wrong, I still love the original 3 movies but I can readily see why first time viewers of today might think they're less than mind-blowing experiences (as was the case of our threadstarter who prefered TheWhole9yds).

Star Gate is far better than Star Wars. Its got a better acting, effects, plot, ect, ect.

I've said it before and I'll say it again the problem with the last two Star Wars films has been: Written and Directed by George Lucas.

ObeyGiant

Originally posted by Darko
I've said it before and I'll say it again the problem with the last two Star Wars films has been: Written and Directed by George Lucas.

Sure, the new Star Wars films cannot be fully defended with the now-overused "the audience has become too sophisticated to appreciate the Star Wars prequels" line (although this goes some way to explaining the problem), but it's a little harsh to completely dismiss Lucas as both a writer and director.

Lucas has written all of the films so far, leaving the screenplay duty to Lawrence Kasdan on Empire and Jedi. This worked out fine, and Kasdan is wonderful at adapting screenplays. Even still, some of the most iconic stuff in those two movies (such as the "I love you", "I know" line) was never put down on paper.. they came from having actors at the top of their game.

Another thing worth noting is the fact that Empire and Jedi were effectively directed by proxy. Lucas passed his instructions for how he wanted the film through Kershner and Marquand, who would then have to put up with all the day-to-day problems of directing.

Both of these odd practices are explained (in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls) by the nightmarish time Lucas had directing Star Wars. I'm not going to go into details of this here (apart from mentioning Harrison Ford's critique of Lucas' screenwriting "You can write this shit but you can't say it") but suffice to say, Lucas vowed never to directly direct a film again. Some people will scoff at this, maybe even murmur "cop out", but for another example of this, take a look at post-Apocolypse Now Coppola.

Anyway.. my point. It's a little harsh (and naive) to say that the new films aren't as good/well-received (depending on your opinion of the new films) because Lucas is writing and directing them, since he's basically never stopped. There are much deeper reasons than that.

Karl Hungus

Originally posted by ObeyGiant
Post-Apocolypse Now

Man, that would be a class film title!

simon_partridge

Originally posted by slave1
It will be a dark day indeed when part 3 is out, nothing to look forward to ......

Might there not be an episode 7, and so on from there? I heard a rumour a while back that there are storylines postulated where Luke Skywalker goes over to the darkside in the same manner as his father... that would be a rum thing, and upset the 'happily ever after' feel at the end of RotJ...

Spacedog

Starwars is a CHILDRENS film, I was dissapointed while comparing Pokemon 2000 to Citizen Kane, compared to the crap/toy ad films kids have to watch these days Starwars isn't so bad, now if you don't mind I'm off to e-bay to buy some second hand starwars figurse for 100 times their origonal cost!

.ak

I have to say, the old Star Wars movies, in my opinion, have much better cinematography then modern movies, including the new Star Wars movies.

Take ESB for example.. Stunning shots at the begining of the movie accompanied by John William's powerfull score introducing the earth-crushing AT-ATs. That got me going.

Or near the end when Luke wanders into the freezing chamber. Only the orange light between black metal can be seen, and only the deep electronic-aided breath of Darth Vader can be heard. Then the snap-hiss of lightsabers igniting. Very, very cleverly done.

-DA-

simon_partridge

I have a question about Empire Strikes Back - how come Han Solo is able to use Luke's light sabre to get inside that animal in the snow - I thought only jedi knights and agents of the force were able to power a light sabre?

C

mooman_00

Originally posted by simon_partridge
Might there not be an episode 7, and so on from there? I heard a rumour a while back that there are storylines postulated where Luke Skywalker goes over to the darkside in the same manner as his father... that would be a rum thing, and upset the 'happily ever after' feel at the end of RotJ...

appearently there is a load more to the story its just a case of whether gorge lucas wants to turn them into production or not which means we might yet get to see episode 7+ (him being a money grabbing whore) .



STARS WARS EPISODE SEVEN - THIS TIME ITS FOR MONEY

BKtje

I think your missing a point
Without SW you would quite simply not have any of your fav. sci fi programs/films like you mentione

I think your missing the point. I never said Star Wars didnt effect films/shows that came after it, I just said that i didn't enjoy it as much as people claim you should.

StarScream

im not sure whether anyone else mentioned this but star wars also breathed new life into special effects movies (mostly due to creation of ILM) which had been dead since the mid 60's.
stuff like terminator 2 and juassic park may have come a lot later

to answer your question simon the big huge buttons on the front of lightsabers turn them on. whether ur any good with it is irrelevent

and the whole 9 yards SUCKS. if u wanna see amanda peet lokkin nice watch evil woman

Pugsley

Might there not be an episode 7, and so on from there? I heard a rumour a while back that there are storylines postulated where Luke Skywalker goes over to the darkside in the same manner as his father... that would be a rum thing, and upset the 'happily ever after' feel at the end of RotJ...

If there is another 3 movies, it will not be Luke turning to the darkside, the next 3 films (if their made) will be all about Luke starting a Jedi Academy and 'ressurecting' the Jedi order, and bring Jedi back into the galaxy, or something like that

I have a question about Empire Strikes Back - how come Han Solo is able to use Luke's light sabre to get inside that animal in the snow - I thought only jedi knights and agents of the force were able to power a light sabre?

Anyone can wield a lightsabre (as starscream said, its just a big button), its just their very hard to get (they require a power supply which is a stone found in a Krayte Dragons stomach, a Krayte Dragon is about 50 foot tall, about 150 foot long, and takes a similar form to a Komodo Dragon).

ixoy

Originally posted by B-K-DzR
I think your missing the point. I never said Star Wars didnt effect films/shows that came after it, I just said that i didn't enjoy it as much as people claim you should.

It seems you're not allowed diss the Star Wars movies online! I've tried before, pointing out that I don't think they're as great as they're made out to be... doesn't work. They may have paved the way for lots of movies I have enjoyed since, but a movie's legacy is completely different thing to how much I enjoy said movie. Ditto for "Citizen Kane" - did a lot for movie technique, but doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy it immensely (I enjoyed it just fine, as it happens).

slave1

Pugsley

I agree with previous comments, anyone can use a light sabre, just takes years of training to master.
Remember in A New Hope, Luke starts his up straight away

As for your Krayte explanations, I presume you're having a laugh here, but in case anyone gets misled on the origination of Light Sabre crystals....

Concealed within the caverns of a frigid world of Ilum are precious crystals that form the heart of the Jedi lightsaber. From the most ancient days of the Jedi order, initiates have journeyed to Ilum to find the crucial components for their weapons.

Among the endless icy mountains is Ilum's Crystal Cave. The Force permeates this grotto, and visions of possible futures often come to the Jedi that venture into the darkness. Ancient intaglios depicting the history of the Jedi order are carved in the cavern walls.

Ilum crystals, also known as Adegan crystals, were the natural minerals used most often in the oldest lightsabers. These crystals spontaneously emit powerful bursts of light and energy when resonant frequencies are run through them.