Did Yoda's lightsaber battle diminish his credibility?

George15, watch the doco's on the DVD's of TPM and AOTC, watch how much time he spends on SPFX shots and then compare it to how much time he spends on the storywriting and the acting. Listen to a statement he makes about the cost of a CG shot and says that no other moviemakers will be interested in using it until they can do it for cheaper.
Listen to the monotonous DVD commentary by all his FX crew painstakingly telling us about how Lama Su touches his/her leg.
Tell me he's not only concerned in making eye candy that show's how much ILM is capable of.

 

"Tell me he's not only concerned in making eye candy that show's how much ILM is capable of."

He's not only concerned in making eye candy that show's how much ILM is capable of.

 

But when is this evident?

I'm not saying he doesn't enjoy making SW, but he has no limitations to make him creative. Sw could be 1 tenth the quality it is, and plenty of people would still say its amazing, and it would still make $500million.

Meanwhile if the script for aotc had turned up on the net in 2000 it would have been dismissed as a bad fanscript.

 

George15, it takes 1 year to write and film the movie and two years to create the effects. Something doesn't seem right about that.

edit: Rebelscumb is right, I read a leaked script for TPM about a month before it was released and dissmissed it as fanfic. I couldn't believe Lucas would be crazy enough to explain the force by having something living in your blood. It sounded like EU. It still does.

 

"I'm not saying he doesn't enjoy making SW, but he has no limitations to make him creative. Sw could be 1 tenth the quality it is, and plenty of people would still say its amazing, and it would still make $500million."

Your probabley right.I'm not just saying I like(i mean love)the film because it's SW.I truly...deeply....love this film, and before I die I want you to know.Sorry, I'm watching ep2 and that scene just came on.

 

In comparison the model-works on the Vader's Executor and the Medical frigate looks far more realistic. And more importantly, they have a soul and character.

And I loved the interiors as well. Everything looked lived-in and believable. I don't even want to think what some of the beloved environments of the OT would look like with today's CG sets. Would Yoda's hut in ESB retain that same warm charm? I loved the little details like the slithering snake on the tabletop and the assortment of wooden bowls and other utensils. I loved the "messiness" of it all. It was easy to believe Yoda lived there.

I don't like the new "halo" effect one of the FX guys said he integrated into the Coruscant shots. True, there may be halo-ing when you are that up high, but it is overused and makes things look even more artifical. What's wrong with using real lights instead of fancy "CG-enhanced lighting effects."

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Here, they don't even look like they're part of the environment. They look cheaply integrated if you ask me. I kind of expected better with the technology we have these days. I'm not asking GL to build a set like that, but if he is going to go overboard with the CG backdrops (more than any other director alive I bet), it could stand to look a little better. It honestly looks like those Wing Commander CD-ROM games from a few years ago.
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Okay, I'll admit, Yoda looks pretty good here.

 

Yeah I noticed that halo thing to but I thought it was just bad FX. I din't kbow it was intentional.

 

I think we're getting a little off topic here, but just to say, I never had any problems with the SFX.

 

to get back to the topic, I do not think the duel damaged Yoda's credibility. I think through the OT it was well established in his training of Luke that Yoda was very wise and powerful, and I had always thought most likley (before knowing anything about the PT) that he was either the leader of the Jedi or a very important member. he *is* over 800 years old by the time the republic begins to fall. with that knowledge in mind, I dont think the duel (or lack thereof) would have changed My perception of that.. but it was nice to see him in action, and I think it showed that he is not to be underestimated.

 

No, it didn't. Let me tell you that I didn't have a clue about Yoda's role in "Attack of the Clones" and I was suprised when I heard the " Only in your mind , my very young apprentice" line..so when the duel came out it was only natural to show how good Yoda was with lightsaber. It's a pity Anakin never got to witness the "fire-power" of Yoda.

 

Or they could have just omitted the line about yoda being a swordsmen during the chase.

as for the digital pics JW00 posted, I think that the yoda flosting chair scene is terrible for another reason, it serves no point, there isn't a word of dialogue in that scene that isn't already known the audience, anakin is arrogant, the jedi are arrogant, anakin is the chosen one. And personally I think that one of yodas worst looking scenes. I think the one scene where he really looks good is the sente scene. Otherwise Its only when he's not close up that I find him convincing. Actually the first scene in palpatines office isn't bad, excpet the shot where he looks at palpatine suspiciously. my 2cents.

 

Or they could have just omitted the line about yoda being a swordsmen during the chase.

I agree, although I thought he should have said;

Obi-Wan: "If you practiced your Force abilites as you do your wits you'd rival Master Yoda as a Jedi"

It still would've given the notion that even the Chosen One is insignificant next to Yoda, in terms of being attuned to the Force, instead of how well you can handle a lightsaber.

 

Lucas used the OT the same was as the PT. The effects for ANH weren't that good by the time he got done filming it and freaked at all that was done at that point. So he busted his butt to get what was out in 77, just to show that he could do it. Same with financing it in ESB and ROTJ.

There was nothing wrong with it. It shows the potential all Jedi have to reach, especially Anakin. The fact that he was beaten by Dooku and then saved by Yoda, drives him further to become even better than before. That's what it adds to it.

 

"Lucas used the OT the same was as the PT. The effects for ANH weren't that good by the time he got done filming it and freaked at all that was done at that point. So he busted his butt to get what was out in 77, just to show that he could do it. Same with financing it in ESB and ROTJ."

Huh?

 

I really liked the Yoda fighting scene. This was something fans have wanted to see since Yoda first appeared on ESB; and it had to be something extra special.

Some people say Yoda using a lightsaber takes away from the mystical element of his character (of which he's considered a master); but his incredible skill with the jumping, twirling, as well as swordsmanship prove that he is truly in tune with the Force.

YO-DA MAN!!!

 

"This was something fans have wanted to see since Yoda first appeared on ESB"

who? I don't recall ever hearing the words Yoda and fight in the same sentence before it was announced for aotc. Are you honestly saying people saw ESB int he 80s and then said, "yoda is cool, I can't wait to see him fight"

 

Yoda looked much wiser and powerful when you saw him on Dagobah.

That little frog speaking backwards was respected by Luke, OB1, the audience all over the world, ... everyone.
He was a wise being in world turned dark and violent, a world ruled by a Sith dictator and a black knight who reigned by fear, torture and destruction.

I was a kid by then. Like all kids I loved scary super vilains and fighting heroes.
However, never did I get the impression that anyone could compare to Yoda nor would dare come face to face with him. Sure, he hadn't the power and health to free the galaxy, but he had authority. See how Luke and OB respected him.

At the end of the Dagobah scenes, I was sure of one thing : No one can beat Yoda. In fact, it was not even an option. And many thought like me. We never knew what powers he had nor how he would deal with an adversary. We didn't even have to imagine.

In AOTC, Yoda fights with a lightsaber. He jumps around quite a bit, and proves to be a tough adversary for Dooku. However, he doesn't really defeat him. Dooku escapes. There is no evidence as to who the winner would be.
Yoda has become one jedi among others.
Dooku is not afraid to confront him. And, although he choses to escape, he doesn't seem really affected by his fight with the little master.

We now know that against an experienced Sith apprentice, yoda cannot win by any other way than violence (lightsaber that is), and even then, he has to waste much energy just to defend himself and keep his adversary at bay ... and ultimately let him escape.


Tell me, which Yoda is the more powerful.
What did Lucas prove exactly ??

 

All I know is that it was really cool to see Yoda fight.
You usualy just see him using his force tricks and such, but to be able to see him whip out his saber and fight against a man as powerful as he is was pretty exciting.
I (SAW) Yoda as a dude who always tought padawans..but this was pretty cool.
I wish he won though

 

"All I know is that it was really cool to see Yoda fight."

Unfortunately this is what is killing SW. SW never use to be about, 'this looks cool' 'that was cool' 'wouldn't it be cool if'
it was a good solid story about intersting, relatable, likeable characters. A simple story told on an epic scale.

And I agree about yoda being mroe powerful when left to the imagination, this is true of a lot of the problems in SW, to much has been revealed, the audience need not create anything in their minds, excpet excuses for the shabby script.

 

I loved the "messiness" of it all. It was easy to believe Yoda lived there.

You're right, it looked more muddy more earthy.

And those scenes you included, they do look like cutscenes from any video game.

If you're going to use CG or any other state-of-the-art special effects (and believe me their much more advanced now than the OT) at least make it look realistic.

 

That "halo" is called light-wrap. Trust me, it would look fake without it.

 

Lucas was always trying to push the envelope with ILM since ANH. ESB didn't have to be bigger than the previous film, nor did ROTJ. He really didn't need all those effects. Did we really need to see all those useless aliens in ANH? What about the garbage compactor? What did that add? Did we really need the space slug?

As to the Yoda fighting issue, there's more to it than you know. Lucas had planned it way back while writing ESB. He had it in mind then, but didn't as the technology wasn't up to it yet. So he kept it in the back of his head all this time and used it for AOTC.

 

Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, but when did GL say that he planned to have Yoda fight in ESB? Even if he wanted to, it wouldn't make sense. Who would he fight? There were only two bad guys, and Luke needed to beat Vader, and Palpy was in space. I don't think Yoda knew how to fly an X-Wing.

 

Don't underestimate the wise one.

as has been shown anything is possible.

I wouldn't be surprised if the wise one has a mini-jedi starfighter tucked away somewhere in Dagobah.

 

"What about the garbage compactor? What did that add?"

Suspense, fun, excitement. More importantly it doesn't take anything away.