STARWARS

[callmeishmael]

Just so I can have the credit of the Starwars thread that I'm sure will eventually exist, I'm starting one now.

Personal opinions: IV-VI = <3, and I is passable.

II is the worst, III is < I.

A lot of people can't stand Episode I, but I saw it as a kid after being raised on starwars action figures and the original trilogy, so it still has a sense of magic.

I can't stand II or III, but III is the lesser of two evils in my opinion. When Anakin goes beserk and starts taking out sandpeople and crying, I completely lost interest in any further character development.

So those are my thoughts. What are yours?

[cyanea]

Star Wars, for me, is the original three movies. I had so many problems with the Prequel Trilogy that I'd just rather admit that in my own personal canon...they don't exist. I don't like any of the characters, I don't like the plot rewrites, I don't like how Jedi are suddenly ninjas, and I just in general don't like the "feel" of the new movies. The original trilogy told much better stories and didn't have to rely on so much CGI.

Oh, and don't get me started in Midichlorians.

The really great stuff in Star Wars comes from the Expanded Universe, personally. The books written by Timothy Zahn, Heir to the Empire trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology are much more entertaining than the movies (probably partly because they're better written and Zahn has a better grasp on the characters than Lucas does and partly because I'm fond of books over movies as a whole).

I'm also rather fond of what Bioware's done in The Old Republic era. I'm champing at the bit for the new Star Wars MMO to come out.

In short: love Star Wars, refuse to acknowledge the existence of the prequels, Expanded Universe > Movies.

[callmeishmael]

I almost went as far to pretend the new trilogy doesn't exist, but I didn't want to exclude them from my thoughts all together. How the jedi are ninjas is sort of explained in the expanded universe, but not really.

I honestly never read and explored everything of the expanded universe although I really wanted to. There's just so much of it. I used to have wookiepedia as my homepage and would random article for hours when I was bored, which was great.
And although Lucas cares about merchandise more than story, I still count the original trilogy as the pinnacle of Starwars, since without the films or Lucas's lust for more merchandising, none of the expanded universe would exist in the first place.

[onlyaworkingtitle]

I... love them all. An unpopular opinion, I know, but I can't help it! I just love them. Though yes, I agree that IV-VI are infinitely superior to the prequel trilogy, there is room in my heart for I-III as well.

[cyanea]

The EU is like a minefield. Some of the things you read are terrible. Zahn's books are generally great and I'm told the X-Wing series is entertaining. The New Jedi Order is largely bad. There are a couple of bright spots, like the whole "There is no Light/Dark Side", which I felt added a lot of interesting aspects to the Force as opposed to the strict "You're either good or evil".

[callmeishmael]

I can't remember the name, or who wrote it, but I read an extremely entertaining book that was a collection of the background stories for all the bounty hunters seen in the films.
Or, I remember it being great.
I loved watching the movies after I read it; knowing WHO the bounty hunters really were, besides that group of people that simply stood there completely out-shined by Boba Fett and the Slave I.

[nathanialjg]

Return of the Jedi is my favorite.

Though there is some kind of rustic charm to Episode 1. I mean, if you view it as a movie completely separated from the Star Wars universe, it's kinda cool. There's even a science fiction racing scene, which kinda can be compared to the chariot scene in Ben-Hur -- long, boring and pointless.

[Mary]

Jun 1, 2011 23:13:10 GMT -5 onlyaworkingtitle said:

I... love them all. An unpopular opinion, I know, but I can't help it! I just love them. Though yes, I agree that IV-VI are infinitely superior to the prequel trilogy, there is room in my heart for I-III as well.

Yes, I completely agree.

While I consider the original trilogy episodes the best (and my favorites), I do love the prequels, especially Episode III. The first Star Wars movie that I saw was Episode I in theaters when I was seven. I first watched the original trilogy at age nine, and later saw episodes II and III in theaters. So, I've grown up with all of them. But for some reason, it wasn't until Episode III that I fell in love with Star Wars, thus explaining my undying love for it.

I do find the prequel scripts incredibly corny at times, and the directing could have been better (I mean, even Natalie Portman was just all right).

I've never read any of the expanded universe, because, as silly as this sounds, I'm afraid that it'll "ruin" Star Wars for me. I think everyone who loves Star Wars seems to have their own image of what the series should be, and thus my "canon" stops at the films (as of now, at least).

Has anyone else seen Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed? It comes on History Channel sometimes. I absolutely love that show. I think because of it, I appreciate the series more. The show surveys Star Wars in relation to the Hero's Journey, religion, history, and so on. I highly recommend it.