by Dan East » Feb 15, 2004 @ 3:32am
I didn't find episodes 1 and 2 to be horrible. Yeah, they could have used some improvement, especially episode 1. All in all they were very good movies. I own both, and the more I watch them the more I like them.
In Episode 1 I didn't find JarJar to be that annoying. However I did find Anakin's acting to be very flat (my biggest complaint of that whole movie), and the fact that the Neimoidians mouths didn't remotely match their speech stuck out like a sore thumb (no, I didn't know the names of those creatures off the top of my head, I looked it up).
What Episodes 1 and 2 lack is the personality of the actors. Ewan McGregor does a great job, and presents a very likeable, solid character, but he is no Harrison Ford. Even Mark Hammil wasn't the greatest actor, but at least he had a huge amount of excitement and energy that defined his character. The actual story, cinematography, music, effects, etc, of the first two episodes are not bad. They just didn't have those memorable actors to give it that extra push. Plus it doesn't help that hundreds of Sci Fi movies have built on what made Star Wars fresh and innovative. So it simply takes a heck of a lot more to please us than it would have 25 years ago.
Finally, I think Lucas <i>has</i> done a good job, meaning that he at least <i>remotely</i> kept the success and spirit of the original alive. To see what I'm talking about, take a look at the Matrix. It's hard to believe that anyone could run such a successful franchise into such a poor climax. So in that regard Lucas isn't doing so bad.
Dan East
Star Wars Episode III plot
