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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga Unpopular Star Wars opinions!

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by Feelicks, Feb 23, 2013.

  1. Fredrik Vallestrand

    Fredrik Vallestrand Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 15, 2018
    I'm actually the the other way and enjoy the pd racer scenes, i quite enjoy them.
     
  2. Darth_Articulate

    Darth_Articulate Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    For me, it wasn’t that premise which made TPM boring and AOTC muddled, but it’s execution. In fact, personally that premise is what originally made me really excited about the prequels in the first place. Getting to see how young Palpatine manipulated his way from young senator to galactic emperor was a really compelling idea. But the effects of political intrigue are political, rather than personal, and so they work better as the setting rather than as central dramatic stakes. I think the first two episodes aren’t compelling as stories because the intrigue oversteps the setting boundaries and tries to fill up the personal dramatic stakes positions.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2021
    SithOverlord101 likes this.
  3. Reepicheep775

    Reepicheep775 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 27, 2019
    Yeah, the podrace can make me squirm in my seat a bit. I think what makes it harder to sit through for me is because it happens right when the plot is getting interesting - there's the mystery of Anakin's unusually high midichlorian count and Darth Maul has just arrived on Tatooine. The podrace feels a bit like a commercial break, even though it is integral to the plot.
     
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  4. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2012
    The podrace does go on for quite a while, but part of the reason why it's not as exciting as it once was is because of its age--the special effects were spectacular (at the time), and the way speed was conveyed was also unprecedented, but both of those are perhaps a bit dated now. But seeing it in the theater on opening night was riveting.
     
  5. Darth_Articulate

    Darth_Articulate Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    The podrace was also shorter in the original theatrical release. They put the extra lap they filmed back in for the DVD release.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  6. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2012
    Good point—I had almost forgotten that it was extended on digital home video.
     
  7. Lulu Mars

    Lulu Mars Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2005
    The pod race is still a joy to watch - and every bit as impressive now as in 1999, as far as I'm concerned.

    I think that's the more unpopular opinion here, to be honest :)
     
  8. Darth_Articulate

    Darth_Articulate Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Well, yes and no. The upside is that technically, I don’t think many will disagree that it’s *as* impressive as it was in 1999. The downside is that I think a decent subset of that group weren’t terribly impressed in 1999.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2021
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  9. HolyKenobi93

    HolyKenobi93 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2020
    I agree 100%. The Pod Race is one of the best action set pieces in the series. It's a masterpiece of editing, music and cinematography and the special effects still hold up to this day. I don't understand the complaints that it slows the story down. It's THE pivotal point for Anakin's character in TPM. Admittedly, his introduction is more of a b-plot compared to the conflict on Naboo, but its the reason (from a writing perspective) for the whole detour on Tatooine and the pod race is the climax of that section of the film, resolving both Anakin's arc (being freed from slavery) and the central dilemma of obtaining parts for the Queen's ship.

    Like the chariot race from Ben Hur (which inspired it) is resolves some of the plot threads but the film continues for a good while after this because the central conflict has yet to be resolved.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2021
  10. Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are my favorite non force user characters because they don't look or act like SW characters
     
  11. Saga_Symphony

    Saga_Symphony Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2010
    I also like the podrace, both for plot/ character reasons, and also as just something light and fun, and something different that we hadn't really seen in SW before. The alien pilots, the podracer designs, the concept of competitive racing in SW.

    And the podracing let us see firsthand that Anakin was very technically gifted (along with him building Threepio), and had exceptional piloting skills before he blows up the big enemy spaceship in the end. I don't really say that to criticize Luke blowing up the DS, but there was a more "show, don't tell" approach with Anakin's abilities than Luke's.
     
  12. Darth Chuck Norris

    Darth Chuck Norris Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2014
    The pod race scene is a pretty solid part of the movie, even though it does drag on a bit too long. The only issue I really have with it is the Anakin can catch up no problem but cannot pass Sebulba bit done for dramatic effect and tension cliche. After falling so far behind, if Anakin was fast enough to catch up, he should have just blown by Sebulba.
     
  13. Lulu Mars

    Lulu Mars Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2005
    True. I guess he really wanted to mess Sebulba up before crossing the finish line :p
    After all, it was pointed out that "That little human being is out of his mind".
     
  14. Dagobahsystem

    Dagobahsystem Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2015
    ESB is the best.

    Pardon me. Wrong thread.
     
  15. DARTH_BELO

    DARTH_BELO Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2003
    Yes! It's like Anakin just wanted to taunt Sebulba, by pulling up next to him and staying neck and neck. I have always been bothered by such moments in movies-there's quite a few. Kind of like in AOTC when the missile is shot at Obi-Wan over Geonosis, it accelerates up to where it's only like 20-30 feet behind him but then...just follows in sync, it just suddenly stops accelerating...although it's still so maneuverable it copies Obi-Wan's every move LOL!

    Ultimately though, I love the podrace-even if it is simply 15 or so minutes of GL just showing off! LOL
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2021
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  16. Whistling Birb

    Whistling Birb Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Dec 8, 2020
    Joonas Suotamo is not a good Chewie. His movements are too human-like for me to suspend my disbelief. Just looks like what it is, a guy in a suit.
     
    Count Yubnub likes this.
  17. rpeugh

    rpeugh Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2002
    Not sure why people think the pod race is too long. The Battle of Yavin is 25% longer than the actual pod race.
     
  18. For some reason i like Stormtroopers better than Clones
     
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  19. Deliveranze

    Deliveranze Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2015
    First 35 minutes of ROTS Anakin is more fun/charismatic than Luke in ROTJ.

    The Ben Solo persona is the worst written character of the saga
     
  20. Reepicheep775

    Reepicheep775 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 27, 2019
    There's a lot more tension in the Battle of Yavin. The consequences of failure during the battle are the death of Luke, Leia, the entire Rebellion, and the galaxy's hope for freedom. The consequences of failure during the podrace are still high - Qui-Gon, Padme et al. need the ship parts to get off Tatooine and tell Coruscant about the plight of Naboo - but it doesn't feel as immediate as Yavin, which is literally life or death. The podrace also distracts from what imo are more interesting things that are happening offscreen, like Maul tracking down the queen and the conflict on Naboo. I'm also just personally a lot more interested in battles than races and sports in general. :p
     
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  21. Guidman

    Guidman Skywalker Saga Mod and Trivia Host star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2016
    I would have preferred if they never gave Grogu a proper name. Just referred to as The Child, The Asset or frog people murderer.
     
  22. Jid123Sheeve

    Jid123Sheeve Guest

    If they ever wanted to remake the Original Trilogy completely, recast Luke Han and Leia etc etc....I would not be opposed to this.
     
  23. darthfettus2015

    darthfettus2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2012
    wow I think you've just won the thread.. close it down now, nothing more to say.. wow that's unpopular if rather poke my own eyeballs out
     
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  24. darkspine10

    darkspine10 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 7, 2014
    Despite the later seasons of The Clone Wars bringing increasing depth and complexity to the show, I actually think that Season 1 of the show is one of the best of the entire run. It experiments with story lengths and styles, not afraid to do random side stories highlighting overlooked Jedi characters. While longer arcs like in the later seasons can be great for giving breathing room, I do appreciate how many stories are packed into Season 1. There's not one single episode I outright dislike.

    Apart from a few rocky eps near the start of production (the R2 droid arc in particular having a lot of rough edges), I still think it holds up in terms of visuals and animation. The show finds its feet remarkably fast. Even the music gets to be the most varied I can imagine, with techno (droid arc), celtic violins (Jar-Jar and Naboo), military brass (the Clones and Tresspass), exotic flutes (Ryloth and the Lurmens), even digeridoo (Ambush).

    This was arguably the most difficult feat of any animated Star Wars project, since it had to build everything from scratch. Every character model, location, set asset, vehicle, it all had to be custom built, and given the sheer breadth of differing locales and focus characters, that's no mean feat. Every single season of an animated SW show since has been able to fall back on a huge library of resources, and all owe TCW Season 1 a massive debt for getting off the ground in the first place. I'd go so far as to deem it the most important single piece of SW media from the last 15 years, setting the course for the style and tone of the franchise's tv identity.

    While Seasons 3 and 4 are better in my mind, Season 1 is no less impressive for what it accomplished, and I will always miss its unique identity.
     
  25. Jaxxon could be a good new Jar Jar in live action