Saga Least Favorite Film of the Saga and Why (Locked-Use New Thread)

AOTC may be the most flawed of the movies but there're some great moments there, too. The screenplay certainly needed another pass. I wonder if Lucas was more hurt by the unreasonable hatred of TPM and his heart wasn't in it (especially since writing in general was never his favorite thing). The other problem is TPM itself: Qui-Gon's death left a void that wasn't really filled until ROTS (by a more mature Obi-Wan), along with a different actor for Anakin and a ten year gap it required the movie to reestablish the characters and political situations on top of everything else that needed to be done. An early adoption of the digital cameras (before the technology became better) hurt the visuals making everything look like CGI even if it wasn't.

For some reason, however, it doesn't bother me all that much. Most of the movie still manages to entertain me and there're some pretty neat symbolism even in the much maligned Naboo scenes. I think AOTC works best as a middle chapter rather than a stand alone movie (if you think about the Prequel Trilogy as one big movie with a beginning, middle and end).

At this point, the least favorite is a toss up between TPM and TESB (and before someone will try to tell me it's wrong because TESB is a much better movie - sure it is, but we're talking about personal preferences here). TPM is a great entry into the last years of the Old Republic that does a great job establishing all the key players and two main locations from the prequels. But it also feels a bit too small and local, the ending lacks tension (other than the duel), the two important characters (Qui-Gon and Jar Jar) disappear or reduced to cameos in the subsequent movies - all of this makes TPM more of a prologue than a proper Episode I. I sometimes feel as if there's a missing Episode between AOTC and ROTS that would show the change the Clone Wars brought on the galaxy and the Jedi (hence the Clone Wars cartoon and later TCW).

As for TESB, It sort of the opposite of AOTC: it spends too much time re-establishing the familiar characters instead of developing them further (the only interesting here is Leia's attraction to Han which mostly happened off-screen anyway). Leia's loss of her family and homeworld is never addressed, and neither is Han's background (he even conveniently forgets to pay back Jabba). Luke and Vader are the only main characters who get any development. The Empire vs. Rebellion storyline is dealt in a very perfunctory manner: the Rebels are still hiding in a remote base in the middle of nowhere and as cool as the battle of Hoth is, it's meaningless in the grand scheme of schemes since most of the Rebels escape and reconvene somewhere else. (What on earth are they even doing here? There's nothing here to protect. Shouldn't they be somewhere in one of the worlds that broke away from the Empire trying to mount some sort of offensive? Where's the fleet?). Even Vader is only cares about finding Luke (unlike ANH, where destruction of Rebellion is just as important to him as a rematch with Obi-Wan). I feel that if you skip everything on Hoth you won't miss much in terms of the larger picture or even character development.

Besides, Hoth is just a boring location. Maybe all this snow seems exotic to a Californian like Lucas but it was a reality for me for half a year where I grew up (still is for a few months, damn you North East).

After leaving Hoth, everything with Luke and Vader is great, but Han and Leia are still shortchanged: they're reduced to being baits (even if they're not protagonists, they still had an important role to play in ANH and Han even had an arc of his own). Lando makes the Cloud City scenes tolerable

For a movie that's so celebrated, it's amazing how little actually happens in the movie and how much is left for ROTJ to resolve. I wonder if TESB owes most of it reputation to a more serious tone along with great visuals and score - allowing adult SW fans to point out to TESB whenever someone implies that SW is essentially for kids.

 

While do like it AOTC has to be my least favorite as I just find it has the most flaws. For starters the romance is terrible and is generally my least favorite part in the film which I usually just skip. Some of the acting and dialog can get pretty bad too (with a few exceptions). Also I found Anakin to be perhaps one the most unlikable characters in the whole film. Some of the cgi hasn't aged well either though there still some decent effects. I still find my self liking the film despite its flaws, but yeah still on the bottom of the pile.

 

Well you ARE Anakin's fan since 1983
AOTC is my sentimental favorite (out of six). There's something touching in its epic sweep (best expressed through imagery and music). It's the best illustration of "old world, long gone" feeling that you get when old Ben is talking about the Jedi and Republic.

 

Hey, I haven't watched any of the Star Wars movies for nearly 6 -7 years until very recently, when I've begun a marathon for The Force Awakens.

 

"Return of the Jedi" is my least favorite. Yes, it had some great moments. But it has always struck me as the least original of the six films. Another Death Star? And a great deal of the acting - with the exception of Hamill, Earl Jones and McDiarmid - seemed very sloppy to me.

 

From what I understand, Lucas was burned out on Star Wars and his marriage was in trouble before ROTJ. When I watch it, I always get a feeling that everyone involved - with the exception of Hamill, ever reliable John Williams and of course ILM - was tired of the whole undertaking and wanted to wrap things up in the easiest (and laziest) way possible. Leia being Luke sister is the prime example. Originally, it was supposed to be someone else who would be the protagonist in the ST. They decided they didn't have time to introduce a new character in ROTJ that Luke would care about. I question that decision in light of both Tatooine and Endor scenes being overlong. You could easily cut 10 minutes out of each to focus on a Luke's sister. After all, TESB introduced Yoda, Lando and Boba Fett - all new and memorable characters along with expanding Vader's role from a henchman in ANH who was there for 12 minutes or less. ANH introduced the whole galaxy to the viewers. Why not let Leia and Lando with a few Rebel soldiers save Han while Luke and Vader will try to find Luke's sister first - this would actually give Vader something to do instead of looking all dejected for most of the movie.

Even with Leia and Luke being siblings, there were some solid ideas in early scripts like Emperor's throne room being on Coruscant instead of DS2. Or two Death Stars (remember Alien->Aliens - if you want to reuse something, at least multiply it).

The saving grace of the movie is, of course, Luke/Vader/Emperor scenes. I used to agree with Lardsbiscuit that ROTJ is the worst Star Wars movie but upon the latest rewatch I realized these scenes are absolutely my favorite the in the saga. Ironically, it mostly happened because of the prequels: after witnessing Palpatine's rise to power and Anakin's downfall, those scenes are doubly rewarding. It's not just Luke becoming a Jedi, it's about Anakin returning to the Jedi roots and finally doing the right thing.

 

TPM has always been my least favorite of the saga by far. From Jar Jar, to the all-over-the-place tone, to the uneven pacing....it has the most issues out of all of them IMO. There's still several moments in it that I enjoy though.

 

The Clone Wars.

My personal value system is not to pay money to see a film that started out as two tv episodes, where George says, "They look good, stitch 'em together and throw it up on the big screen."

Plus, it looked ****. I have a fairly liberal bull ****-ometer, and one of those six-legged AOTC tank thingys walking up a sheer vertical cliff face, cartoon or no, broke it.

 

I really don't know what on earth Lucas was thinking when he decided to put that 'film' in theatres.

 

The Clone Wars doesn't necessarily count as a Star Wars movie. It's more of a spin-off. In about ten years, I won't be calling Rogue One or the Han Solo anthology film one of my least favorites. It'll be one of the main 9.

 

You have failed me for the last time.

 

Attack of the Clones.

That damn Syfo-Dias plot going nowhere and the Jedi looking like idiots that takes me out of the film.

 

From what I know, this is not correct. Lucas' marriage wasn't in trouble until Jedi was in post (they adopted their daugher in 1981). And from everything we can gather from the Making of ROTJ book, Lucas got burned while making the movie, not before making it. The idea was to finish the trilogy (which was meant to be finished) with the best possible film.

 

I'm sure he didn't deliberately sabotage ROTJ. Some ideas in the early drafts seem more interesting than what actually ended up in the movie. Which makes me wonder about other factors influencing the creative process.

 

I heard he wanted to do the final battle at Coruscant/Had Abbadon (whatever it would have been called), but the technology and/or budget wasn't there to make it happen at the time.

 

It wasn't just the technology or the budget: the problem was to create a logical climatic sequence that could work that would include a persona confrontation, an aerial battle and a ground battle. At one point they had simultaneous battles on Endor, Coruscant, two Death Stars and the Emperor's lair.

 

Two Death Stars would be better than one that gets destroyed the same way but easier.

 

Well, he was on his way out the door when Luke got himself kidnapped by a space yeti, forcing Han to have to save his friends ass (again). After that, well, it's kinda hard to pay off Jabba with a broken hyperdrive, and a fleet of Star Destroyers on your tail.

 

Why couldn't he do it after Yavin?

 

He was.... uh... busy. With.... uh... Rebel stuff. And... bounty hunters.... on Ord Mantell.

 

Sound better on paper, but dramatically two isn't better than one. In which order do you destroy them, do you make each destruction a climax?

And besides, the real focal point of the climax is the duel between Luke and Vader. That's were the tension is. You have to make everything else work AROUND it, that's why the second DS feels easier to destroy (logistically it isn't, since they have to go inside the tunnels and stuff, but it FEELS easier because it happens AFTER the climax of the movie -and therefore feels like a fun and exciting coda).

 

This is why the second Death Star never bothered me or struck me as a rehash. In A New Hope, blowing up the Death Star is the entire point of the climax. In Return of the Jedi, destroying it is the Rebel Alliance's goal, but from a narrative perspective the audience is emotionally invested in what's going on within the Death Star, not without it.

 

TPM!! Jar Jar Binks is the most annoying character is TSWS!!