Footage From Star Wars: Episode III

An anonymous reader writes "Leaked footage of Star Wars: Episode III is now online! Included in the 2-minute and 37-second clip are shots of the Australian set, George Lucas behind the camera, Chewbacca looking cooler than ever, and even a quick peek at Hayden Christensen (in Vader get-up!) and Ewan McGregor duking it out, all being played to AC/DC's 'Back in Black.' I've downloaded it, but am undecided as if I should watch it or not, lest it spoil something (here's hoping that it's good)."

Comments

No real spoilers in the clip.

[Patik]

There really aren't any spoilers in the clip. Most of it is just people fighting in front of a green screen; no produced shots at all, just actors dancing around in a studio, usually not even in costume. It barely even shows Chewy. If you're looking for a reason not to watch this, do so because the video is choppy and low quality (camcorder pointed at a monitor) and hard to watch.

Re:No real spoilers in the clip.

[Otter]

Most of it is just people fighting in front of a green screen; no produced shots at all, just actors dancing around in a studio, usually not even in costume.

Is Darth Vader a chubby, nerdy kid making whooshing noises? I could swear I saw this new "leaked footage" over a year ago! Of course, I'm a really, really 1337 w4r3z g0d.

Re:No real spoilers in the clip.

[orthogonal]

There really aren't any spoilers in the clip.

I have a spoiler for you: you will die alone!

(With apologies to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Robert Smigel.)

Re:No real spoilers in the clip.

[macshit]

Um, you're a bit confused about the timeline -- Tron came quite a bit after Star-Wars, and indeed was generally thought of as having great special effects, even compared with SW. Tron's sfx lacked a sort of gritty and realistic quality compared to those in SW, but they were very cool. [Story-wise, of course, Tron was pretty damn stupid...]

PTS vs. PTR...

[danielrm26]

Remember, it's only a spoiler if the movie is actually *good*. This one has a huge PTS (potential to suck) rating, with only a moderate PTR (potential to rock). Given those facts, I can afford a peek at what amounts to some backstage stuff usually included on the DVD.

Re:PTS vs. PTR...

[telstar]

Yeah, but pretty much everybody is supposed to die by the end, so that's got some redeeming value.

Use the force, George

[corebreech]

Given the rumors of Episodes VII, VIII & IX, I think there's a good chance that Lucas has been slapped out of whatever doldrums that produced I & II and that he understands that III has to be put out of the park.

In other words, if Episode III is the Star Wars equivalent of Star Trek: Nemesis, then he loses the franchise.

Re:Use the force, George

[shaitand]

Yes but a Star Wars Movie COSTS buckets of money to make. It hurts MORE not less when it's your own pocket, even if your pockets are deep.

You think dealing with a boss if tough, try being one.

Re:Use the force, George

[interiot]

It didn't do THAT badly, did it? Wikipedia notes that it was the first time in the series that a Star Wars movie wasn't the highest-grossing of the year. It may have been a let down for Lucas and perhaps not worthy of spending so much money on production of future films, but it was still a commercial success, no?

Re:Use the force, George

[meta-monkey]

Have you not been paying attention? There is no correlation between the quality of the film and the profits made. Episodes I & II may have cost buckets of cash, but they also MADE buckets of cash. Not counting all the merchandising, the toys and t-shirts and video games and jar-jar toothbrushes. Lucas has no incentive to make a good movie, because no matter how bad the movie is, you know 92% of geeks will still go see it, just so they can bitch about it on /.

Re:Use the force, George

[patternjuggler]

I think a year ago people were trumpeting LOTR and the Matrix films as the new genre movies of choice, and not thinking of Ep III at all. Then the Matrix sequels came out and were underwhelming, so maybe there's a chance fans will look to Star Wars again for that inspirational spark or whatever the first trilogy had in spades.

I'm going to keep my expectations low, but see it in the theaters anyhow.

I'd rather someone would come out with a new science fiction franchise to take the reins from Star Wars- something fresh, with mind-blowing imagery in every frame. Maybe a live-action Ghost in the Shell?

Re:Use the force, George

[Mulletproof]

Whoa, slow down there Quick-draw. What do you think another flop is going to do to his consumer base? I don't care if he produces the movies himself or not, like the man said-- If this a repeat performace of one and two, quite a few people are going to assume the magic is gone and simply won't have faith in his future projects. Oh sure, he'll have the die-hard fans who'll die loyally at his feet, but like Star Trek, you can only screw with the franchise so much before your fans start taking a negative outlook on your movie before it's released (ie, half the threads in this topic).

Feel free to put down the idiot gun, because Corebreech is absolutely right... If he keeps screwing up, he's lost the franchise. Maybe not the rights, just his loyal following, which is nearly, if not more important than a license you can't do shit with because you've lost touch with reality.

Re:Use the force, George

[fenix down]

You've got $2 billion, you have a house, a ranch, a stained glass window worth more than most people's lives, and your own naval base. What the hell else are you going to spend it on besides wrapping extras in green plastic and paying Samuel L. Jackson to beat them mercilessly with a purple broomstick?

Re:Use the force, George

[MsGeek]

Maybe not a live-action Ghost in the Shell, but there *is* a live-action Neon Genesis Evangelion movie in the works. WETA Workshop, the folks who went a long way towards helping the definite non-sucky LOTR trilogy not suck, is going to do the FX.

Hopefully Gainax, WETA, and ADV Films and the unnamed but Very Major American Movie Studio(s) will be able to make this work.

If it's done right, this Eva movie will blow the Star Wars prequels and The Matrix trilogy out of the water. Big time.

If it's done wrong, it's going to be the American-financed Godzilla movie all over again. Here lizard, lizard, lizard....

Re:Use the force, George

[Durandal64]

It was a shoddily-written piece of shit that shamelessly copied from other, better Trek films. The plot made absolutely no sense. Go here for a nice, pictorial plot analysis.

hate it.

[OwlofCreamCheese]

we all hate it. no matter WHAT happens we will all hate it, no matter how great it is, or how bad it is we will say how awful it is. we don't even need to see the movie, we all have our opinions already. although it will probobly be right in the end after all.

what?

[arcadia]

You can't spoil it, we already now the ending, eps 4-5-6. Can you really spoil a middle?

Re:what?

[edwdig]

Everyone knows what happens in Episode 3, but what we don't know is how it happens.

How does Anakin become Vader?
Where does the name Darth Vader come from?
How come he doesn't know about that Padme has twins?
How does Palpatine gain total control?
How do all the Jedi die?
What Jedi survive other than Yoda and Obiwan?
Will there be an answer to why Obiwan and Yoda fade away when they die, but the Jedi we've seen die in Episodes 1 & 2 don't?

The biggest question I have is in Episode 3, will we see Anakin become Darth Vader, or will we see Anakin "die" and then Darth Vader first appear soon after?

Re:what?

[double-oh three]

Actually, a few of these questions have been answered in the books.

Anakin really becomes Vader-Vader after falling in a Lava pit while fighting a worm not unlike the sandworms of Arrakis. He survives, but needs the black suit to survive.

Padme goes into hiding after seeing that Anakin goes over to the dark side. She never tells him that she had kids.

Palpatine has a military coup, the final bit of which is seen in eps 4 with the dissolving of the senate.

The Jedi are hunted down by bounty hunters like Fett, along with Darth Vader and some other force-users that the books allude to.

A few Jedi survive in out of the way places, some of them turn up in the books. (One teaches Kip Durron a bit in the mines of Kessel, another guards a cache of lightsabers on an old library planet that's name eludes me.)

The longer it's been since the Jedi has died, the harder it is to come back. Even Obiwan stops appearing to Luke after a decade or two.

Re:what?

[Wumpus]

How does Anakin become Vader?

I'm glad you asked. It was a horrible garbage disposer accident. Remember to always turn off the garbage disposer when reaching in to retrieve your light saber, kids!

Where does the name Darth Vader come from?

From the Akkadian root for "wooden performance".

How come he doesn't know about that Padme has twins?

For the same reason that Homer Simpson failed his fatherhood quiz.

How does Palpatine gain total control?

That one's easy.

How do all the Jedi die?

They hold their breath for a very long time and go to doggy heaven.

What Jedi survive other than Yoda and Obiwan?

The ones who don't hold their breath when Palpatine asks them.

Will there be an answer to why Obiwan and Yoda fade away when they die, but the Jedi we've seen die in Episodes 1 & 2 don't?

No, but they'll finally explain why Klingons had ridged forheads, then lost them, then got them back. I bet you can't wait to find out!

Re:what?

[MarsCtrl]

With apologies to The Brunching Shuttlecocks: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Foreshadowing

Can't get enough foreshadowing? Feel cheated because there wasn't a scene in Attack of the Clones where someone says "You're a pretty good Moff, Tarkin, but you're not quite a grand Moff"? Well, you're going to be ass-clenchingly happy with Episode III, because our sources inform us that there's going to be plenty more of the awkward, forced foreshadowing that filled the first two prequels! Check out this preview:

"Golly, no one will ever make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs!"

"If I ever have a son, I'd like him to have my lightsaber when he's old enough. But not to use against me!"

"In local news, Mos Eisley has moved up to second-most wretched hive of scum and villany."

"Okay, me and the rest of the Bothans will be back soon with the information! Don't worry, we won't die!"

"Call me Ben. Obi-Wan is a name I hope not to hear again in a long time. A long time."

"These new 'Scout Walkers' can handle anything you throw at them. Except wood of course."

"Your voice is kind of whiny and reedy for a Sith Lord, Anakin. Can't you get a voice coach or something?"

"Jedi Master Windu's bravery and wisdom will be remembered for, oh, 27 years, tops."

"Aren't the Skywalker twins cute? And such sexual tension between them!"

"Let's remove R2's jet rockets and put in some sort of teddy bear zapping device instead."

"Well, that's it. There's no hope."

heh

[ruprechtjones]

Some enterprising souls have already jammed this thing into After Effects and applied their own lightsabre effects and lava-planet backgrounds. Pretty cool. There are some great discussions of this over at www.theforce.net.

Spoiler Alert!

[ackthpt]

Anakin Skywalker becomes 'Darth Vader'!!!

You heard it here first! (c=

Not much spoilage

[elvesRgay]

If it gets slashdotted and you are really wondering if you have missed something don't worry about it.
Somebody put a small video camera in front of a TV showing some video of the film development from about 4-8 feet away. I wonder if they where worried someone would come in and catch them doing it.
There definitely doesn't seem to be any spoilage. Everything that could be given away in this (very poor quality) video clip is given away buy the description of this story!

Re:Bittorrent

[Anonymous Coward]

"Bad Data from Tracker" Your shit sux dewd.

Characters

[Anonymous Coward]

"The set, George Lucas, Chewbacca, Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor..." blah blah BLAH
The important question is... how much Natalie Portman does it show?

The only spoiler I want to know...

[Dukeofshadows]

...is how Jar-Jar dies.

Re:The only spoiler I want to know...

[GoRK]

Don't you mean Darth Darth Binks?

All Yousa Peoples Gonna Die!!!

Is it just me...

[goMac2500]

...or does it look like there is a dual with the Blue Man Group?

BitTorrent Mirror

[Anonymous Coward]

http://66.79.177.160/~suprnova//torrents/1032/epii i-leaked-avi.torrent

seems to be working

Re:Bittorrent

[Anonymous Coward]

try http://66.79.177.160/~suprnova//torrents/1032/epii i-leaked-avi.torrent

Skeptical

[DarkHelmet]

I admit...

The lightsaber fights do end up looking good, even in these green screen clips.

Then I remember Star Wars: Episode 1. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul / Obiwan was very very good, but the movie overall wasn't. I realize that from these scenes, that what's shown amounts to roughly 5-10 minutes of the movie that *might* actually be good.

Call me what you will, but there was nothing in Episode 1 that was truly memorable. There were no lines that are worthy of geeks repeating. There was nothing that truly captured me when I watched it, and made me want to see it again. Just because it's Star Wars, doesn't make it automatically fantastic.

I hope to god Episode 3 makes up for the other two. But I'm not holding my breath.

Re:Skeptical

[nacturation]

The lightsaber fights do end up looking good, even in these green screen clips.

Then I remember Star Wars: Episode 1. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul / Obiwan was very very good...

Sure, if your definition of "good" is having the fighters flip around maniacally in all sorts of improbable positions, doing spins and twirls which would make it easy for any capable swordsman to kill them. What I'd really like to see is for the lightsabre fights to employ traditional swordsmanship techniques. After all, what's the point of doing any kind of spin or wind-up movement... to build up more momentum which doesn't even affect an energy beam?

I know, people probably expect to see lots of crazy acrobatics so that they can get their action fix rather than having a lightsabre duel be an actual plot device, used in the context of telling a great story.

Re:Skeptical

[nacturation]

I'm not going to get into how it's ridiculous to compare the fighting styles of saber-wielding, force-using Jedi to normal men using metal swords...

Actually, I wish you would. Regardless of any supernatural powers they're supposed to possess, it still boils down to two people with weapons, each trying to win. Then again, maybe in Jedi school they teach students to spin around and turn their backs on opponents because it looks better to someone who may be watching.

... but how in the hell would the style of the fighting change the context of the duel with regards to the plot? As long as the general flow of the fight stays the same, that is all that matters for the plot.

You're right -- I worded my post poorly. The point I tried to make here wasn't whether or not the style of fighting affects the plot but that the fighting should be realistic and fight scenes, when used, shouldn't be merely for filler. It's a side point to the fight quality, but still important I feel.

In the meantime, why not have the Jedi and Sith doing some bitchin' acrobatics and saber work to please the 99.9% of us who realize that it's not real, it's a movie.

In movies, one of the goals is to have a suspension of disbelief and, to achieve that, scenes should be reasonably believable. When things go so over the top that it's difficult to take seriously, it affects the movie experience in my opinion. Imagine they took a Bruce Lee movie and changed around the fight scenes, enhancing them with computer graphics so that Bruce can defy gravity and kick 20 people in a row with a continually spinning roundhouse. Would you say that would result in a better movie for 99.9% of people? Or is the original better, where the main focus of the fighting is an awesome exhibition of incredible raw kung fu talent, with only minimal effects to enhance it?

Re:bittorrent not working manually or any other wa

[double-oh three]

Manually? I told you that connecting a Cat-5 cable to your brain wasn't gonna work.

Not worth the download...

[smkndrkn]

...a grainy video set to AC/DC back in black without any real interesting footage...of a movie that we already know will suck hehe

and now on a positive note....

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[nacturation]

He let us down with ROTK.

So that was Yoda saying "my precious..." all the time? Yeah, it's a lousy rending of Yoda there -- I can see how you'd be disappointed.

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[geekoid]

ROTK?

You may hate the movies, but they make money.

Plus Lucas owns them, and backs them himself, so he can keep making movies as long as he can bank roll them.

Any film that makes money is a good business venture. Hollywood is there to make money, not please you.

I was displeased with TPM.
I was more pleased with AOTC. If the Jedi had not been so angry when they fight, and if yoda was calm and collective, and not a freaking superball, it would have been a pretty good credit to the series. Clearly Lucas listened.

Now, the 2 bits I din't like could be OK if they turn out to be part of the plot(why is the force weakening?), which I suspect.
I have more hope for this movie then the last two.

always remeber, Lucas could do it in sock puppets, and still make 100Million.

Working Torrent...

[Saeger]

And here's a working torrent of the clip.

I've seen it, and it's not a spoiler, or a leaked workprint clip as you might be led to believe. Rather, it's just a bad cam of one of those Behind The Scenes things they show on E! and whatnot.

--

Re:Uh...

[Quobobo]

Whoa, such insight into the plot as "Chewbacca looking cooler than ever" completely spoils the third movie for you too?

OK

[geekoid]

Old Age.

see, you really didn't want that spoiler, did you?

You could at least give the movie url!

[Anonymous Coward]

The quicktime video is at http://www.movieweb.com/media/news/01_04/e3low.mov .

I'm getting 4kBytes/sec with wget.

Hayden

[Coneasfast]

anyone else find Hayden Christensen was not right for the role of Anakin? it was kind of irritating, i found his acting to be quite poor in star wars and would have preferred someone else in his place; not sure who though.

just my C$0.02

Spoiler

[jdifool]

Yoda is a woman. Regards, George.

Re:Oh, gay

[Deraj DeZine]

Please tell me Old Age was wielding a baseball bat and aiming for Jar Jar's crotch...

Download Mirror

[Sumocide]

Get it here.

How to tell if a Star Wars movie will suck or rock

[i_am_syco]

Here's Syco's do-all formula for figuring out if a Star Wars movie will suck or rock.

If the name rocks, the film will suck.
If the name sucks, the film will rock.

Examples:
A New Hope: Name sucks, movie rocks.
Empire Strikes Back: Name sucks, movie rocks.
Return of the Jedi: Name sucks, movie sort-of rocks.
Phantom Menace: Name rocks, movie sucks.
Attack of the Clones; Name sucks, movie sucks (hey, it was an exception)

Revenge of the Sith: Name rocks, movie will probably suck.

See Episode III the second day

[mattdm]

Ok, we've all been screwed over by the first two movies. They sucked. And there's nothing we can do about it: we have to go see the third one too.

But here's my feeble little geek protest: don't go opening night. Go the second night. Wouldn't it be cool if the first day, *no one* showed up?

Solo's opinion about the leaked video

[QEDog]

Fan: What a piece of junk!
George Solo: it may not look like much but is's got it where it counts, kid. Will make a lot of special CG modifications myself.

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[BoneFlower]

I think the Jedi showing anger was likely a show of the rise of the Dark Side and its subtle influences, and along with the calm, contemplative Yoda thowing down and fighting on the front lines, showing just how desperate things are becoming.

When Yoda is commanding troops in battle, making split second decisions, and drawing his saber, you know that things are coming quickly to a head.

Yup.

[Cyno01]

Yeah, i heard on some rumor site that anakin and obi-wan both eat it at the end of ep3, i'm waiting to watch eps 4-6 after III is released. I hope eps 3-6 are at least better than one and two...

Impending sense of doom

[use_compress]

I know I'm getting for a head of myself but I think that the main reason that we'll all be disappointed in this movie is that we're no longer five to eight years old-- the age range Lucas says he's targeting. What looked exciting and heroic when you were five looks cheesy and predictable when you're 25.

What I'm really trying to say is that even if this next Star Wars is as good as the first three, no one posting on Slashdot will be able to connect with this movie the same way we did with the first three. I think that we still view them though the eyes of an eight year old and will never be able to recreate that outlook towards another movie of this genre again.

The Footage Looks Like It Was Leaked From Lucas

[SPYDER Web]

With every game and movie being leaked now adays and getting tons of press, I bet Lucas leaked this footage (especially since Entertainment Tonight gets more indepth than that) just to start getting more hype... I mean I could give a rat's butt about star wars now a days but I downloaded it because I saw the words leaked footage. Just something to think about.

Re: MOD PARENT UP

[Black Parrot]

> This is SO true. I wouldn't put it past Lucas to try to pump out a storyline for the "final" trilogy in the Star Wars world.

VII : Star Wars - A New Action Figure

VIII : The Action Figures Strike Back

IX : The Return of the Action Figure

Last scene spoiler

[nnnneedles]

I like the last scene..

where the camera holder gets stabbed in the back of the head by Lucas security goons.

Not true, not true at all

[freeweed]

My parents were well over 8 years old when the original Star Wars' came out. More like 38 (+6 for Jedi). They still loved them.

Most people that never saw the first trilogy (yes, they exist) who have seen the new ones as adults don't think they're all that great. My folks can't stand them.

It has dick all to do with childhood memories, really, contrary to what every karma whore has posted to every single Star Wars story on Slashdot for the past 4 years. Kids will eat anything up and call it candy, that is correct. But Star Wars (ep 4-6) stood the test of time because more than just pre-pubescents thought it was good. Same can't be said for the new stuff, sorry.

If you're going after the historical angle, at least point out the fact that in 1977 no one had even attempted the special affects Lucas did, whereas the new ones could really have been made by anyone. That at least is an acceptable excuse. Star Wars WAS something special, for all ages seeing it. Ep 1/2 might as well have been Matrix sequels, really.

Spoiler

[jhylkema]

1. Anakin grows up.
2. Anakin bangs Queen Amidala.
3. Queen Amidala begat Luke Skywalker and Leia.

The end.

direct download link

[mrpuffypants]

For those that don't want to bother with bittorrent here's a link to my server.

Do your fucking worst!

Here it is

share with your friends, whatever. I've got 1TB xfer/month and January's almost over!

TFN Episode III "Review from the future"!

[TheMysteriousFuture]

The Force.Net's Review of Episode III is interesting. TFN Editor Joshua Griffin wrote a review from the point of view of a month from now. Apparently Lucasfilm let a select (him included..wonder if they knew he wrote for TFN) few screen Episode III and give their feedback.

"I'm just returning from something Lucasfilm has never done before and quite frankly something I never thought they would do. Although there is still a month before the release of the film worldwide, they showed a select group of people the movie. [snip] But even in it's nearly finished form you can see the soul of Star Wars in this one."

"You won't want to miss today's new editorial where TFN Editor Joshua Griffin posts a "review from the future" - an article that takes a hypothetical look at a finished film that is actually no where near complete. There are many points of discussion written within the editorial itself which will be expounded on in regular articles, the point is not to show a predetermined bias to loving the unseen final film but to simply believe that Star Wars can be great again.

• click here

for the editorial"

Re:TFN Episode III "Review from the future"!

[TheMysteriousFuture]

And here's the text

TFN's Episode 3 Review

A fictional work by Joshua Griffin
would be dated April 2005

Finally there's a prequel to be proud of. Not that the others have been all that bad - they just haven't been able to cast the same spell over fans that the originals had back in the 70s. We argued that Episode 1 was misunderstood, that Episode 2 was a step in the right direction and prayed for Episode 3 to deliver.

And man does it deliver.

I'm just returning from something Lucasfilm has never done before and quite frankly something I never thought they would do. Although there is still a month before the release of the film worldwide, they showed a select group of people the movie. It wasn't finished, mind you - as always Lucas tinkers until the end. There was one minor scene still incomplete with bluescreen he filmed just the week before our showing. But even in it's nearly finished form you can see the soul of Star Wars in this one.

There are plenty of special effects in this movie - I think at last count they were approaching 2,200. But the driving force of the story captivates like the classics. For the first time we see Anakin's fall from glory to become the evil Darth Vader. You can hardly believe what he'll do even to those he loves after his Dark Side embrace. Any momentum from the prequels and anticipation from the classics lives out on screen here aggressively.

Returning cast for the final theatrical Star Wars movie include Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Natalie Portman (Padme Skywalker), Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Robert Coleman/Frank Oz (Yoda), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), and Christopher Lee (Count Dooku). Joining the prequel veterans in the last installment are notables Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), ILM (General Grievous) Wayne Pygram (Tarkin).

The movie starts with a bang - we're in the middle of a giant space battle - the climax of the Clone Wars. When I was a kid I imagined how this would play out, and this exceeds even those expectations. There's the epic capital ship battles moving in side by side like pirate vessels maneuvering for strategic position on each other, while intimate skirmishes that will define the outcome of the war take place nearby. As these huge ships rip apart you see clones being sucked out into space to their doom.

Palpatine is shackled to a solitary chair inside one of these weapons of war, a fully ironic and iconic image since it is he that has orchestrated these very events frozen in the starfield behind him. You can tell from these early moments several key elements are at last coming together. Lucas' Episode I introduction of characters and Episode 2 development of the plot are mere footnotes to the script and acting of this final film. We are on a whole new level of Star Wars here.

I remember the first time I watched Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Episode II. I felt he was a bit stiff and wooden like the others, but after watching Episode III I think I understand it better. He is cocky - full of pride as Yoda predicted - and it would eventually be his downfall. You can see it as he slices through separatist forces or flies his Starfighter and it peaks as he's saving a huge cruiser from destruction over Corusant. Even as they hang on for dear life as the ship careens in circles you can see him slipping deeper and deeper into pure evil.

Portman returns to the film a bit later than expected, and this time also delivers her best performance of the prequels. Yoda is amazing yet again - you'll see him do more than you ever imagined again this time, and Ewan McGregor still shines as the venerable and protective Obi-Wan. There's a new and temporary villain named General Grievous, another disposable bad guy in the prequel tradition of Maul and Dooku. But he's a fantastic character with lots of lightsabers and exciting moments. Another part of his defense is that he is central to the plot of the film - think of him as

Re:TFN Episode III "Review from the future"!

[Udo Schmitz]

We've always wanted to see Kashyyyk - the long described planet of the Wookiees.

I've seen it in the 1978 StarWars TV Christmas Special. BTW: You should watch that if you think the prequels suck ...

Re:TFN Episode III "Review from the future"!

[CGP314]

TFN's Episode 3 Review

A fictional work by Joshua Griffin would be dated April 2005

You didn't need to tell us it was fiction. The 5 stars at the end gave it away.

--
In London? Need a Physics Tutor?

American Weblog in London

three strikes, no balls

[Herr_Nightingale]

you're wrong, there are spoilers. looks like George Lucas himself spoiled it.
on a scale of 'phantom plot' to 'a new hope' expect another zero.

Re:three strikes, no balls

[Blondie-Wan]

People always forget that Lucas produced Howard the Duck in 1986 as his next major scifi work.

Actually, more people remember that than remember that it wasn't exactly his movie; unlike Star Wars, Indiana Jones, American Graffiti, THX 1138 and Willow, which were all his creations, Howard the Duck was based on a Marvel Comics character, and it was both written and directed by other people (longtime Lucas associates Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, to be specific; Huyck directed, Katz produced, and they co-wrote it together, so the couple - they're married - are pretty much responsible for Howard as a film. Lucas was incidental).

I personally think Lucas' creativity took a turn for the worse around 1993. His works prior to that were mostly fine, with several excellent works; his worst works (of his own creation, as opposed to the various movies he executive-produced for other filmmakers) from before the early '90s are probably Willow and the made-for-TV Ewok movies, and even those were Ok for what they were meant to be. After 1993, though, he brought us Radioland Murders and the Star Wars prequels and special editions. I think most of us would agree all those efforts are at least fairly flawed, and perhaps worse. I'm personally inclined to attribute the fact there may be anything worthwhile in any of them to all of them having been at least "on the drawing board" since before '93 or so, when he was still having good ideas.

In other words, yeah, I'm afraid he's not quite what he was (and I hate to say it; I grew up a pretty serious Lucasfilm geek), but I wouldn't pin his decline as far back as '86 just because of Howard. That was just one movie out of a bunch he served as executive producer on, usually for friends or other filmmakers he admired or wanted to help out, and many of those other movies are quite worthwhile (Kagemusha, Body Heat, Twice Upon a Time, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Latino, Labyrinth, Tucker: The Man and His Dream), and include movies made concurrently with or following Howard the Duck.

Re:Not Worth It

[NanoGator]

"Any bets that this'll be worse than the others?"

Too easy. How about whether or not it'll be worse than Revolutions?

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[JabberWokky]

Bull. You say that, but you know you're going to see it, eventually.

I haven't seen Ep. II. And I am a hardcore SF geek, catching just about every SF and Fantasy movie as it is released. We did a expanded edition marathon of LotR before we went and saw Return on opening night. I stood in line for three days with a friend and bought 24 tickets for Phantom Menace. We were on the national NBC feed... he was singing "Luke be a Jedi tonight", I was next to him with the digeredoo (sp?).

But I haven't seen Episode II. And unless I hear good things about Episode III, I won't see that either (although if Ep. III gets rave reviews, I'll likely watch II and then see III in the theater).

Lucas lost me. When Rohan rode into battle to answer Gondor's call during RotK, I turned to my SO and said "Suck it Lucas, suck it long, suck it hard". That moment had thrill, which Lucas (at least in Phantom Menace) had utterly lost. Pretty much sums it up. I don't think any movie that Lucas has had full control over turned out well. He's a good producer, and has been a fairly capable director, especially when it comes to visuals. He really broke ground with the original trilogy, assembling an excellent team. As a writer, he sucks. And his ego won't let him see that.

I'm not adverse to seeing it... I just don't care enough to go. And I went to see Paycheck at the Metreon because it was SF... my standards are pretty low when it comes to giving a flick a chance.

--
Evan

Re:Chewbacca is a spoiler

[cparisi]

If you watch Ep IV again, you might notice that Chewie and Obi-Wan seem to know each other. Maybe Ep III is where they meet...