Plain and simple, will ep 2 be better than ep 1?

I think AOTC will be better, but I think that all the movies are part of the same whole. They will all be complementary (sp?) to each other.

I am very excited about the unfolding of the next chapter of an awesome saga!!

 

So the word 'trilogy' only applies if all the films are wrapped up in themselves...? ?
Oh well, whatever. 3 films about the same piece of story is a trilogy to me.

rayrayjay;
We seem to have a problem with the term 'stand-alone movie'. If you mean that if you dislike a movie (as you say it stinks), does that mean it's not a stand-alone? I thought that word applied to the story the movie tells, not whether you thought the acting etc was any good? If you watch TESB as your first SW movie, you won't want to see the others because TESB stunk (something we agree it doesn't) - but you WILL want to see the others in order to fully understand the story. I can't see how TESB doesn't depend on both ANH and RotJ to tell its story.

Anyway, ANH most definitely IS a stand-alone movie. It tells one complete story and begins and ends in itself, without relying on other films to get its story across. The reason for this is that Lucas was making ONE FILM, not a trilogy or a saga. He hoped he could, but if ANH failed commercially (which popular opinion claimed it would) it would have to stand alone. The PT is not made this way. Lucas knew he'd still make EpII and EpIII even if EpI had made 10 dollars at the box office. So there was no need to make the first film a stand-alone movie.

However, I don't get why you think TESB and RotJ are stand-alone movies. Do you really mean that those films DON'T rely on other films to get the story across? If so, I heartily and respectfully disagree with you. Imo, TESB has no set-up. The characters and their relationships aren't divulged properly, the state of the galaxy (the Empire vs the Rebels and the background of civil warfare) is not related to us, and even the concept of the Force is somehow lacking a first-time explanation. And most importantly perhaps - the film has no ending, no conclusion. Sure the film DOES end, but the story is not resolved. And thus it can't possibly be a stand-alone movie. It's a very good movie, yes. Better than TPM, I agree. But that doesn't make it a stand-alone story.

 

I guess for story line ESB and ROTJ may not stand on their own (but in comparison to a trilogy like LOTR they do. And let us remember this whole thing started with the argument that ep1 needed ep 2. I have had people tell me this repeatedly, that ep 2 will make ep 1 better. But according to your argument ep 1 can stand on it's own, it is much like ep 4 ANH to you. In which case I say again that it was a pathetic effort. I know you can draw contrast from ep 1 to OST. This is the reason of my poll.

 

Actually for TPM one would argue that the main character was Qui-Gon. It's because we know everything that's going to happen that we put more emphasis on Anakin.
Anakin and Obi-Wan are really secondary characters for TPM.
I think the whole Saga would be totally entertaining to watch in order.
In TPM we're led to believe that Qu-Gon is the main focus of the story. Certainly he's the constant that we follow with through the journey. He has with him his student, Obi-Wan wo is basically just a yes master, no master kind of person who has a quip here and there to make the audience look at him. Along the way Qui-Gon meets all sorts of people, an exile, a Queen on the run, and a mysterious young child.
We also get to see Qui-Gon's temple and his leaders.
An unkowing first timer might be rather shocked then, that Qui-Gon dies. Even more shocked that a second wing character of Obi-Wan takes center stage. But it's interesting that the student takes stage with the boy that Qui-Gon had intended to train. Very neat way to do things.
In TPM we're introduced to everybody and we're done so via Qui-Gon Jinn and his final adventure.
It actually reminds me in a way about Bilbo Baggins and The Hobbit.

 

Actually for TPM one would argue that the main character was Qui-Gon.

Keep in mind, GL said he tells different pieces of the saga with different POV's. In EP1, its the jedi. Qui Gon and Obi Wan. In EP2, its Anakin i think. In EP4, its the droids, in EP5 its Vader. Im not sure about 6 but you get the picture.

 

I loved Episode I but the "Clone War" trailer was a lot better. I can't wait until I get to see the finished product and listen to what everybody liked and disliked. Only 44 day left!

 

I agree that Qui-Gon is the main character in TPM, but I also think he is one of the only characters to be fully developed in the movie.

 

...as hard as i try i cant help but think that their are so many main characters that there actually arent any main characters...

 

rayrayjay;

I'm slightly confused by how you say that according to my argument TPM can stand on its own...I've been arguing that it can't...And I've been arguing that TESB and RotJ can't, and that ANH is the only movie of the series which is actually a stand-alone film...I really don't know what you mean... ?

Well, if you mean that according to my description of a stand-alone the story does begin and end within the movie, hmmm, I don't really think it does. The blockade of Naboo is stopped, but that's it. There's something fishy going on in the Senate that is not resolved (we sure think this Palpatine-guy is up to something), the Sith have indeed returned and one of them is still on the loose, Anakin is about to begin training despite Yoda's protests. Basically a lot is left hanging. I guess you can say the same for how Vader escapes in ANH and we never get to see the Emperor being defeated, but I still think ANH is a much better stand-alone than TPM is. Which is because Lucas tried to make ANH a stand-alone, but I don't think he tried to make TPM one.

 

If GL had known how successful ANH would be, it would be less stand alone, that it feels less apart of the aga then the other films is why it is the weakest.

If GL had had more money he would of made ANH more like TPM, his original drafts for SW are more like TPM then ANH.

 

It couldn't be any worse.

When I walked out of the theater the after seeing TPM the first time I was very disappointed. Mainly every scene Jar Jar was in, I had a hard time concentrating on anything else (because he was so darn annoying). I thought the Jedi fight scenes and the overall SFX were great, but I was just very disappointed. The second time was a little better. I already knew what Jar Jar was going to do so he wasn?t quit the distraction, but it was still a sub-par Star Wars film. After I read the book was probably the best in theater experience I had with TPM and I can say I enjoyed it?..That was after 4 viewings and the book. If this had not of been a Star Wars movie I would have never given it this much of a chance. And yes I did buy the video- just not the DVD.

Now I am very much looking forward to AOTC. I can forgive GL for one movie.

Saturday at Blade II they showed Clone wars. I closed my eyes, plugged my ears, and hummed to myself. I guy next to us must of thought I was crazy. My wife watched it, though. She was already excited about the up coming release, but now she is absolutely stoked! She wants so badly to talk to me about it. Then again her being stoked about it might not be a good thing for me, because she thought TPM was the second best SW next to ESB.

-Coal

 

I wish I would have read your response earlier Coal. I haven't seenthis thread in a bout a week, and I have to say your opinion of ep 1 and optimism of ep 2 is way closer to mine than anyone in on the boards...I think. Ep 1 actually put me up cheering the first time I saw it and kinda dropped off after that, but I still like it. I watch it all the time, I just expect more from a SW film. And your wife got a treat with that trailor. Pray the movie is as good as it is. Also, I downloaded a CLIP, not trailor but clip from the movie that was here on TFN, and I was jumping up and down. I think we might have a winner again!

 

First off:
Lord of the Rings is a trilogy. Even if its one book cut into three, its still THREE, (thats 3, three, t-h-r-e-e) seperate stories that work together as a whole
That statement couldn't be more wrong. LOTR is actually 6 different stories. There are two books in each of the 3 volumes.

Can AOTC be compared to TPM? Yes
Will it be better? Probably

 

Plain and simply...not attainable...The star wars saga are all connected..in my point of view..they are all equal because they all deliver the might grand story of star wars..But if you split the movies in 2 parts and just say they arnt connected to same story...then Episode 2 would be better for its more mature theme (for kids prolly episode 1)

 

Jerm, were you talkin to me or Walz, I think Walz was the one driving that point home harder than me. I don't know as much about LOTR as him. The way I understood was that LOTR was ONE story, damn near chopped in mid-sentence from story to story. I haven't read it, but the movie holds true to that. All of the SW stories have their own speciffic ending. I like to compare it to math. SW is 6 line segments that are grouped together to make a line. While LOTR is a line that makes a...well...line.

 

Rayrayjay, sorry about the confusion.
I was actually responding to kornknealious who had posted on page 2. And LOTR was 6 separate books, but none of them really stood on their own.