Death Star VS Droid Control Ship

When I recently watched The Phantom Menace after having watched A New Hope, I immediately noticed the differences in the great space battle at the end of the movies. Story-wise, they are very similar: the good guys have to destroy the space station in order to survive, and it is ultimately the actions of a single person (more specifically, a Skywalker) that make the good guys win.

However, in a cinematic sense, I feel they are very different. When Red Squadron attacked the Death Star in A New Hope, a thorough briefing by Jan Dodonna before the battle gave the audience a clear understanding of what the Rebels were attempting to do, and there wasn't much on the surface of the Death Star that distracted the viewers from seeing the trench running through the Death Star's equator.

In contrast, the droid control ship that Bravo Squadron attacked toward the end of The Phantom Menace looked a lot more complicated in its design. I can't remember if there was some kind of briefing before the space battle against the droid control ship, but I do remember sitting there going, "What are they supposed to shoot at?" I remembered the battle against the Death Star that I had watched a few weeks earlier, and came to the conclusion that the droid control ship had a way too complicated design to make a good space battle in a Star Wars movie. The fact that Anakin Skywalker only accidentally landed inside the chamber of the droid control ship where the ship's core was located didn't exactly make the battle more easily understandable.

Of course, it might just be that the "trench run" is so cherished by science fiction and movie fans all over the world that I understand the objective of Red Squadron in A New Hope but not that of Bravo Squadron in The Phantom Menace. After all, I wasn't around to see A New Hope when it was first shown on cinema, and I only vaguely remember the times I saw it as a smaller child, so maybe the trench run makes a lot more sense to me because the events in the original trilogy have been seen and talked about by so many?

Regardless, I would like to hear your opinions on this. Is the battle against the droid control ship better in some way and worse in others? Is it cooler, or much more boring? Or maybe just quicker, easier, more seductive...?

Note: This thread is not meant to bash the prequel trilogy, only to discuss the two space battles seen in A New Hope and The Phantom Menace.

 

Padme tells Qui Gonn how any freed pilots will attack the Droid Control Ships. Qui Gonn says something about how he hopes the fighters will be able to penetrate the ships shields. This all takes place in the scene before the assault on the palace.

 

For the last time, Anakin slipped into the control ship at the same time the entrance shield was deactivated to allow droid fighters to go out of it. Why? IT'S THE FORCE!

And having played Battle of Naboo for Nintendo 64, I'll add this: in the final mission, the Naboo starfighters had to destroy something(I don't remember) at the center of the Control Ship , but I don't know how it affected it, since after the thing was destroyed, it cut to the Control Ship blowing up thanks to Anakin's ship.

 

By the way, the game "Star Wars Starfighter" gives some intresting insights on the attack on the Droid Control Ship. The only question is whether this was justan invention for the game, or was actually somehow connected to the movie ... I don't think I could decide, but I rather tend to the first point.

Anyway, it's quite interesting to fly (in the game) a Naboo fighter against the Droid Control Ship while taking out the sensor dishes and meanwhile trying to fight the ship of a very heavy mercenary. Later you even fly into the ship (a little bit like Anakin did), but you also take off inside turrets and droids and tanks.

Anyhow I don't quite remember how I finished this inside the ship, but in the end it was destroyed (after a difficult fight against that mercenary).

Another point is, that I don't know whether it is *the* Droid Control Ship which also Anakin blows up, or *just another* Droid Control Ship (DCS).

Alrik.

 

I think these battles are thematically different actually. In my opinion, the battle in ANH is by far the most exciting space battle ever put on film, and I don't expect it to be surpassed by ROTS. But the focus was on the team, their objectives, and how they were all supposed to work together - and that's why it's so satisfying to watch, I think.

The battle in TPM is far more focused on one character. In fact, you could argue that it's only really about Anakin. Therefore the confusion and slightly detached feeling could be intentional (although I can see how that might sound like I'm being an apologist for a battle that simply isn't as exciting). But there certainly isn't any focus on the intricacies of what the mission involves, or the other pilots' roles in it. In fact, the film barely shows any of the battle before Anakin arrives!

As a further contrast, the space battle in ROTJ is focusing on the strategic level, and the role of the capital ships and vast numbers of starfighters. The actual flight through the Death Star infrastructure is very short really, especially when you compare it to the time spent in the trench at the end of ANH. This is why, while it's visually very impressive, it's not quite as engaging, and that is again because the roles of the individual pilots are not explained or shown in any great detail.

I'm not sure what my overall point is here... perhaps just some thoughts... hmmm...

 

i dont think you can really compare the two even though there are many threads on the parallels between the two trilogies.

death star - fate of the entire rebel force and overall control of the galaxy. the main objective is to buy enough time for the trench runners to hit the exhaust port.

droid control ship - fate of the gunguns at stake and only ONE facet of the final battle. the main objective was to capture the viceroy back on naboo. this is why there was not much shown on the space battle or why the audience feels like it is not as intense as something like the attack on the death star.

 

The space battle in TPM is terrible. You have a bunch of pilots you don't care for with ships and explosions going on everywhere. It's a mess. Then lil Ani blows the droid control ship up by mistake. Talk about lacking tension.

 

well i do agree i think TPM space battle was the worst because it seamed no one knew what they where doing

 

I agree with much of what has been said here. I find the space battle in TPM to be kind of...there. It looks good visually, but the interest is lacking. The battle in ANH had a clear, easy-to-understand objective for the heroes. The battle in TPM is just a bunch of fighters and explosions.

For some reason, Biggs, Wedge, Porkins, Red Leader, Gold Leader, Pops, Tiree, John D, and the gang in ANH are much more engaging to watch than the pilots in TPM. Maybe it's that we at least had a little time to get to know the pilots in ANH. They were easy archetypes to understand...the cool-headed leader with the southern accent, Luke's childhood buddy, the young guy, the fat guy, the other fat guy, the handsome guy, the cool-headed leader with no southern accent. Heck, I find most of them to be more interesting than Ric Olie in TPM!

Plus, Luke destroys the Death Star at the last possible second, after a last possible minute rescue by Han Solo...the whole scene leading up to that, with the excellent music score pumping up the mood, is INTENSE. And Luke saves the day by exercising his natural skills and taking Obi-Wan's advice. We can be happy for the kid.

But...Anakin? He destroys the control ship in TPM by pure luck, apparently. I liked that the Terry Brooks novelization at least attempted to show Anakin using some rudimentary Force abilities that told him when and where to fire once he was inside the ship. The movie version does not even refer to that happening, so it makes Anakin look more like a little kid who got extremely lucky, rather than a kid with a lot of potential in the Force.