[Toru-chan]

It's premiered. The LA Time had an article but it was the usual red-carpet story with nothing of substance so I won't bother linking it.

More interesting is the AP Review:

Review: `Clone Wars' is fun though forgettable

George Lucas' prequel trilogy was so overloaded with computer-generated imagery that the digital animation of "Clone Wars" isn't much of a leap. The somber tone of those three movies — chronicling the downfall of Anakin Skywalker from snotty, brooding teen to black-hearted Darth Vader — is gone, replaced with a variation of the campy humor and camaraderie that characterized the original trilogy.

For fans, it serves as a fairly promising introduction to the "Clone Wars" animated series debuting on Cartoon Network this fall. Anakin (voiced by Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan (James Arnold Taylor) start off in the heat of battle, leading a band of the Republic's clone soldiers against the comically inept android troops of a separatist movement led by the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee, reprising his live-action role). To show Anakin's soft, mushy, pre-Vader side, he's given his own Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), a spunky alien girl who quickly forges a wisecracking bond with her usually stoic mentor. The two are assigned to lead a rescue of giant slug crimelord Jabba the Hutt's squishy, squirmy baby Hutt, who has been kidnapped in a conspiracy that gives all our familiar prequel heroes a part to play.

While the movie has a huge body count as ray guns and light sabers flash, "Clone Wars" comes off as rather cute overall. The Shakespearean tragedy of Anakin's transformation into Vader behind him, Lucas turns his gang loose to be merry, even silly. Again, that tone probably will work better in the shorter TV installments. In theaters, it makes for a reasonably fun if generally forgettable story, at least in terms of the grand-opera standards of the live-action "Star Wars" films.

http://ap.google.com...rDqB0gD92G9PS00

The Animation style doesn't look bad; they seem heavily borrowed from Genndy Tartakovsky's Original "Clone Wars" Cartoon Series (Thanks for the tip, V-man). They should have gone the extra mile though and given them real hair. Obi-wans hair and beard for example just looks too weird, like it will turn into Ridley Scott's Alien thing. Animation is supposed to be pretty jerky - "cartoony" if you will.

The 3D CGI thing will probably go down well with kids, but I think Disney+Lucas+Hollywood are confused here. They abandoned 2D animation in droves when Pixar's Toy Story did well and everything Disney did flopped. But Japan churns out heaps of 2D animation which do very well. Sure the 3D was a novelty factor (back then, before everyone did it), but instead of blaming 2D vs 3D, maybe it was because Disney's stuff stank and Pixar's didn't?

The story? Hmmm... Lucas doesn't even give his live-action movies decent stories, so we'd be expecting even less on a cartoon aimed squarely at kids. Baby Jabba the Hut? Well... there's another action figure.

Get to Work, kid. George Lucas and HASBRO are hungry.

[Vesuvius]

Now you see... with this review stating that this movie is more comical, even silly, and the droids are inept and led by the "evil" Count Dooku, this is already looking non-canon from the books and PT films.

First off: Dooku was more of a Dark Jedi, not evil. He just saw how the DS can be employed. What's he fighting Anakin for anyway in this film? They only met once according to EP III, and the second meeting is where Dooku dies.
Second: The droids only became severely inept in EP III for some reason. Their constant one liner retorts and attitude was pointless. In EP I, the "Roger, roger" was more than enough, but not enough to convey ineptitude. They were heteronomic soldiers. Nothing more.
Finally: The silly/comedy aspect of the film is what makes it "forgettable" I'm betting. Seriously, do we chuckle to ouselves when we think of 3PO's monologue when he gets his head swapped with a battle droids body? NO! It wasn't even funny, thus not worth remembering. What sticks out is Anakin's snotty demeanor, random killings, and stuff getting blown up. At least keep it on this track, Lucas.

This post has been edited by Vesuvius: 12 August 2008 - 02:47 PM

[georgelucas4greedo]

How is this the greatest story never told? Wasn't there a cartoon that ran for several seasons before this movie?

This travesty will make millions for Lucas. Unfortunately, this presents a quandry: is the inability to self edit a blessing or a major flaw?

[Toru-chan]

A few more links:

Why are so few of the original actors involved?

“When we decided to do the feature, we went back to the actors and said, ‘Look, we’re doing a feature. Would you like to do the voice? Could you come in a month?’”

http://moviesblog.mt...for-clone-wars/

Heh. Yeah, right George. Was Christopher Lee the only one free? "Next Month"? Funny he opens with that excuse and only later mentions actors fees. From SecretHistoryOfStarWars.com we learned during "Empire" what a cheapskate Lucas is. Even when he knows he'll make millions he will skimp on every penny he can.

It was Kurtz and Kershner who made "Empire" the quality film it was, despite Lucas' urging for them to do a cheap-and-nasty. He fired both of them afterwards. I'm thinking for everything after Star Wars, Lucas has been getting too much credit. Hell. Maybe even for Star Wars itself? Much of the wonderful design came from Ralph Macquarie. When I think "Star Wars", it's Macquarie's images that come to my mind. Even Marcia Lucas gets credit for giving his movies soul; he claims he and her came up for the idea to kill Obi-wan both at the same time, but I'm wondering now, maybe she thought it up and he claimed credit? Maybe the magic of the original Raiders was very little Lucas, but more Kasdan and Spielberg. Left to his own devices, we've seen how badly Lucas sucks. Maybe he was never that good. More so, it was the quality of the people who hired him who made these movies great. After Star Wars and Raiders I was expecting Lucas to come up with many epic franchises, but it didn't happen. I wondered why, and the reason may be he was a fraud. Without of the people that made him great, he was a nothing.

So all the bad PT movies. Lucas didn't set out to "rape our childhood". He set out to make "the best movies he can", didn't realize how bad he is. Instead of hiring new visionaries, he mistook himself as a cinema genius (we're to blame - many of us kept telling him how great ge was) and still hasn't got it. It would explain why everything he's came up with since Empire has stunk.

(Caustic aside: Check out that Neck. "I decided I was going to have off the beard one day, and then, as I picked up the razor, the idea of Baby Jabba the Hut came to me. I never did shave the beard. LOL")

Weirdly Scientific American has heavy coverage of "Clone Wars" too (I guess Cancer must have got cured and no one old me), including an interview with the script writer: http://www.sciam.com...w...&print=true

This is AFAIK an all-new production team. Lucas seems to be playing a much bigger role here than he did the original TV Series. The bar is so low, and if the only purpose of this is to sell toys, I think he will clear it. There must be many struggling Indy producers out there who can't make a buck, but Lucas is blessed: No matter how crappy his movies are, they make a profit.

How is this the greatest story never told? Wasn't there a cartoon that ran for several seasons before this movie?

It seems to be a "retelling" of the Clone Wars stories, but with new action figures.

This travesty will make millions for Lucas.

See the other thread about how much Hasbro paid Lucas for the Star Wars toy franchise rights ($505 minimum). They expect their moneys worth, and have punished Lucas in the past ($85M) when he failed to deliver. The timing of sagging toy sales and Lucas announcing the new series is curious.

The droids only became severely inept in EP III for some reason. Their constant one liner retorts and attitude was pointless. In EP I, the "Roger, roger" was more than enough, but not enough to convey ineptitude. They were heteronomic soldiers. Nothing more.

The roger-roger droids are terrible. The Imperial Stormtroopers scared the crap out of me. The roger-roger droids are an unfunny comedy element. How are they supposed to be scary?

Seriously, do we chuckle to ouselves when we think of 3PO's monologue when he gets his head swapped with a battle droids body? NO! It wasn't even funny, thus not worth remembering.

That was seriously unfunny.

Finally: The silly/comedy aspect of the film is what makes it "forgettable" I'm betting. Seriously, do we chuckle to ouselves when we think of 3PO's monologue when he gets his head swapped with a battle droids body? NO! It wasn't even funny, thus not worth remembering.

Add the "campy humor and camaraderie" and the jumpy style of animation, and it sounds to me like Lucas is trying to clone Toy Story.

A little sad really. Ok. We know he's chasing kids, but this CGI tech gives Lucas a cost-effective way to produce stories that appeal to grown ups too. But a half-a-billion dollar check from Hasbro tells me where his priorities are. Like I said in the "Robot Love" thread, he's a spent force. Make your own.

This post has been edited by Toru-chan: 12 August 2008 - 08:55 PM

[Toru-chan]

Still more links...

The Phantom Menace got a bad name for Lucas' use of mocking racial stereotypes. This time he introduces Jabba the Huts' Gay Uncle: http://moviesblog.mt...r-wars-history/

I am not making this up.

Meanwhile here are other reviews.

"It’s all decently told in the manner of a movie aimed at tweeners, though the jokes are so broad they’re flat and writer Henry Gilroy doesn’t seem to know that laying on action scene after action scene diminishes, rather than enhances, the thrill of that action." - Ken Lowery, PopSyndicate

“This isn't the "Star Wars" we've always known and at least sometimes loved. Young kids will constitute the biggest audience for this Warner Bros. release” - Todd McCarthy, Variety

“This feels more like great television writ large than a movie in its own right.” - James Dyer, Empire

“A fairly simplistic plot, which is mostly just a clothesline to string together effective action sequences, eventually runs out of gas and the momentary recapturing of the old thrill fades away.” - Tim Grierson, EmanuelLevy.com

“Anakin’s a real mannequin in this stiffly-executed CG feature.” - Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

“A worthy addition to the original six-film cycle, staying true to the spirit of the series while overhauling it in a number of important ways.” - Jurgen Fauth, About.com

“Very young kids, Star Wars completists and Lucas apologists may find themselves compelled to attend; anyone else would have a better time going to the Toshi Station to pick up power converters.” - Alonso Duralde, MSNBC

“Once I accepted that this film was unapologetically a little kids movie and I moved beyond my rage about that annoying fact.” - John Campea, The Movie Blog

“Stylish and slick, it greatly heightens expectations for the TV series.” - Staff Writer?, PinkNews.com

http://www.cinemable...views-9807.html

This post has been edited by Toru-chan: 12 August 2008 - 10:25 PM

[Vesuvius]

(Caustic aside: Check out that Neck. "I decided I was going to have off the beard one day, and then, as I picked up the razor, the idea of Baby Jabba the Hut came to me. I never did shave the beard. LOL")

Add the "campy humor and camaraderie" and the jumpy style of animation, and it sounds to me like Lucas is trying to clone Toy Story.

Oh man! The smug look on the pic.

Clone Toy Story?! Why sure! Next Clone Wars movie will be Clone Action Figures rumaging around a boys house, not getting along with the other toys. They'll sell millions! All CGI and not even Temuera Morrison does the voice for any of them! Way to cut costs.

Oh, and I read about Jabba's homosexual uncle. Really, did this have to be done? I was laughing hard about this but, seriously now, c'mon, a number of SW characters in the PT already show stereotypes, but did Lucas have to jump on alternate lifestyles?

I mean, yeah, a slug and some snails are male in the front and female in the back, but what's to say that Hutts are molusks. I thought they were more reptillian... or something.

[Toru-chan]

Ha ha. It turns out LucasFilm have shown the movie to critics, but put an embargo on it. Embargoes are the standard operating procedure when a studio is worried it has a stinker on its hands. People who posted reviews like Harry at http://AintItCool.com have been forced to take them down. I didn't have a problem with Harry's review. Did you?

AintItCool. Harry hated THE CLONE WARS!

I’ve never hated a STAR WARS film before. I have weathered Jar Jar and any number of Ewoks. I survived Hayden and a wooden Portman. I even accepted Jake Lloyd. I handled all that because it felt like STAR WARS.

I can accept all of Lucas’ flaws, so long as at its heart it felt like Star Wars. I can deal with politics in Star Wars. I can deal with trade skirmishes in Star Wars. I can deal with musical numbers, breathing in the vacuum of space. Basically – so long as it feels like STAR WARS – I can watch any of it.

Was I looking forward to STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (2008)?

******** A!

I was dying. After Genndy’s CLONE WARS – I felt that perhaps Lucas “got it” – and that this new animated series was taking a lead from Tartakovsky’s brilliant assembly of pieces. Genndy’s CLONE WARS got STAR WARS better than anyone has got it since Lawrence Kasdan and Irvin Kershner. Genndy took designs and characters that folks were dissatisfied with and made them cool. He did this by using and adapting the themes created by John Williams, the wholly perfect entity involved with Star Wars along with… the sound effects of Ben Burtt. He understood speed and motion – not just with action, but in editing. He understood classic film composition and iconography. And he knows what BADASS is.

The folks behind this STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS movie… you could tell, they looked at what Genndy did – but they didn’t understand any of it. There’s a ****load of battles and ***** going boom. There’s noise everywhere – fury everywhere… but none of it is directed. The music by Kevin Kiner is criminally bad. Why they didn’t employ Paul Dinletir and James Venable is beyond me. No, no – let’s hire the composer of WALKER, TEXAS RANGER. Ahem.

Now – I made excuses for this film as I was watching it. I don’t think you understand how much I love STAR WARS. Maybe you do, maybe you do too.

Before the movie started I was firing myself up to go out after the film and buy that new $200 Hasbro Millenium Falcon. I really wanted to go buy it, and I wanted this movie to empower my brain to go through with that. Instead, I found myself at home – putting on Genndy’s THE CLONE WARS – to try and rebuild my passion – so I can go get that new Falcon.

Instead – I’m thinking I’ll just be here at home enjoying this and that’ll be all I need.

Anyway – as I was watching the film, I was excusing the sloppy shots, the sloppy use of the Clone Troopers and Droids – undoing all the awesome work that Genndy had done – and the droids are silly again. The Clone Troopers are limp. And the Jedi – they’re at 25% power from the mind of Genndy. But I was accepting that. I figured that was Lucas dialing back so that the animated series wouldn’t overpower his features.

Then they introduced Baby Jabba aka Rotta the Huttlet aka Stinky. At the point of this character’s introduction – it officially became, the worst character in the history of STAR WARS. If you hate George Lucas cutsiepoo bull**** – oooooooh boy. You’re gonna have a field day of venting and hatred directed at this unbelievably ****ing awful little ****.

Oh – but wait… Little Stinky the Hutt isn’t the worst character in the history of STAR WARS… because Stinky got introduced earlier in the film. As much as I hated lil Stinky… I was weathering Stinky. I seriously was. But later there was a character of such immense **** – offensively bad. The character was so bad, so incredibly awful – that it was a slap to the face. It woke me out of my ****-accepting stupor and made me angry. SUDDENLY my “inner fanboy rage” was awoken.

As I watched this terrifyingly awful character named Ziro the Hutt. A seemingly female Hutt – with tattoos and make-up that sounds like a racist take on a Black New Orleans Crack-Dealing Whore. Because this Hutt speaks ENGLISH – and it is many times worse than I’m actually describing. This character was actually too much for me. So bad that every flaw I was looking past, was now a road sign to inadequacy and mediocrity. All of a sudden my brain realized that Asajj Ventress’ voice no longer was acceptable – and sure enough – the amazing Grey DeLisle, who originally voiced the character back in 2003 – had been replaced by a Nika Futterman – and that voice was missed. The character didn’t have that snarling menace anymore.

I realized that nothing in this animated film felt right. I felt time expanding. It seemed that the film was dragging – nevermind that lots of **** was firing all over the place – and stuff was going boom and things were being revealed. I just didn’t care because this wasn’t what I wanted.

I hated the score, the animation, the shots, the characters and most of all the retarded ******** idiot story.

I hated the film. HATED IT. REALLY HATED IT.

Does this mean the whole Star Wars Animated Series is doomed? No – but it isn’t a good sign. So much of this is awful because of the Hutt plotlines and character. I also feel that Dave Filoni must be a hack. His work here is sloppy – and depending on writers and directing talent – individual episodes may be better. This film was several episodes all strung together – my prayer is that the individual episodes will be both great and awful – and we’ll discover which talents are responsible for each.

That said – the audience did have light applause. My father liked it. My sister felt too much was going on. Me nephew really liked it. That said – Yoko was complaining right along with me. She thought it was **** too. I know Moriarty liked it. Wonder what Quint and Massawyrm thought.

****. I hated a STAR WARS. That ****ing sucks.”

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37885
http://valleywag.com...one-wars-review

Hmmm... Seemed like a fair review to me. Stop Whining, George.

[Vesuvius]

Ha ha haaaa! I liked this review! That guy is some sort of "super fanboy" and even he hated it. Welcome, my young apprentice.

It's a shame that Genndy's work was totally trashed for this swill. They didn't even bring back Grey DeLisle for the voice of Asajj... if you don't know who she is, she did the voice for Handmaiden in KotOR II and a number of voices for characters in Samurai Jack.

All I can say is stick with Genndy's Clone Wars. It makes sense where the PT doesn't, is actually very compelling to watch, and gives fans what they want: Action with meaning and a solid story. Seriously, you can watch EP II, the original CW cartoon, and EP III, and feel that you've missed absolutely nothing in between. (Oh and check out Windu's fighting without a lightsaber in this too!)

Hey, I'd even go so far to seeing Genndy make a "Shadows of the Empire" cartoon, and I know it would be true to the book and friggin' awesome!

This post has been edited by Vesuvius: 13 August 2008 - 12:05 PM

[Toru-chan]

"Lemon Wars" someone called it. I don't think this is Critical Schadenfreude, though we all hoped Lucas might somehow redeem himself. Instead he's created a the bastard child of Darth Vader meets Nickelodeon. The whole piece is even directed by Nickelodeon "Talent" Filoni who is proud of his work.

I guess what has finally got through our bone-thick heads is that Lucas never was a great film maker. The original films were a team effort, a success he shared with Marcia, Kasdan, Kershner, Kurtz, Macquarie. Lucas confused his financial success with the team's artistic success. He didn't realise how important they are. For example, he had the hide to actually fire Kershner and Kurtz after "Empire". I too labored under the misapprehension that Lucas was a massive creative force. But after the umpteenth failure of the Star Wars franchise, I see now that Lucas was only ever a good producer.


“Zero, Jabba’s GAY UNCLE, originally spoke in Hutt-ese, like Jabba and then he had a different sluggish voice just like Jabba, and then George one day was watching it and said ‘I want him to sound like Truman Capote.’ He actually said that and we were like ‘Wow!’”
http://lotu2.blogspo...ut-jar-jar.html

Other factoids:
* Sassy Tween Ahsoka Tano calls her master "Sky Guy"
* Jabba The Hutt's Son is nicknamed "Stinky"
* The music sounds like "Toy Story", right down to the sexy saxophone piece!
* The music isn't composed by John Williams, but by the guy who did "Walker, Texas Ranger".

"The theatrical movie is pretty obviously just three one-dimensional television episodes strung together, with wall-to-wall battle sequences, little context, and no emotional point of entry whatsoever. Like an overly sweet breakfast cereal that beckons kids but not grownups, Star Wars: The Clone Wars beckons only young viewers already steeped in the Star Wars mythology. This lame effort is unlikely to motivate newcomers to investigate further or seek out the six-pack of movies."
http://www.allheadli...cles/7011932229

"He may go down in history as American cinema's master mythmaker, but George Lucas still can't tell a story."
http://www.washingto...=sec-artsliving

Lucas: "This is bigger, and we get to go more places," Lucas says from his ranch in Northern California. "We're allowed to go and do stories about clones. We get to know them and find out what they do for recreation and what Jabba the Hut's family is all about, do all kinds of things that don't have anything to do with the main character."
http://au.eonline.co...ould_watch.html

"Worse than Jar Jar - Jabba the Hutt Has a Gay Southern Uncle!"
http://www.portlandm...tent?oid=868668

"Much of the film is dedicated to establishing a hate-hate relationship between experienced-but-reckless Anakin and sassy-mouthed Ahsoka. Neither of them really act like Jedis, who are not supposed to know anger, nor hatred, nor love, nor sassy catchphrases. But whatever; I guess getting the tween breakout character in was more important than consistency with the existing stories."
http://www.tucsonwee...?oid=oid:114115

"Described as a simplistic treatment, plagued with cheesy dialog, flat jokes, mediocre CGI and over the top layers of action – critics have destroyed the latest installation, calling it a culmination of the worst aspects of the Star Wars prequel series. The Clone Wars precedes the live action Star Wars TV series created by Lucasfilm – Lucas himself will write and produce the first series, before handing the reigns over to other producers."
http://livenews.com....red_by_critics_

Lucas: "I have the advantage of being able to come up with an idea and say 'this is a good idea' and 'gosh this turned out so great, why don't we move it over here and do this'....it's kind of ad-hoc movie-making."
http://news.bbc.co.u...ent/7542451.stm

Fresh from Nikelodeon we have Director Filoni: "I wanted this to have the banter. I wanted this to be funny."
Eckstein: "She definitely brings a fun side out of Anakin. I think they have such a great relationship. Ahsoka is very eager to prove herself, and I don't think she would allow Anakin not to accept her."
http://www.nzherald....c...5610&pnum=0

""Star Wars" cartoon a misfire"
http://www.reuters.c...051169020080811

"Every time I read a new interview with Lucas, my heart sinks. Once a bold, experimental filmmaker overflowing with great ideas, he's been transformed into your wheezy great uncle, boring you with the same dreary old yarns about his youthful exploits."
http://latimesblogs....e-lucas-re.html

After all this, has Lucas got the message? Sadly, I don't think so...
I take no joy at all out of this. It's just really, really sad.

Recommended Reading for Star Wars Refugees: http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com

This post has been edited by Toru-chan: 13 August 2008 - 11:24 PM

[Vesuvius]

Other factoids:
* Sassy Tween Ahsoka Tano calls her master "Sky Guy"
* Jabba The Hutt's Son is nicknamed "Stinky"
* The music sounds like "Toy Story", right down to the sexy saxophone piece!
* The music isn't composed by John Williams, but by the guy who did "Walker, Texas Ranger".

"Sky Guy" huh, sounds pretty lame. The kids'll love it. It's trendy. ....pshhh

Hmmm, nicknamed "Stinky," huh. Why didn't they just go a step further and nickname him, uh, I dunno, "Rancor." Oh, right, we've seen the word plays that die out quickly.

Music sounds like "Toy Story." Very interesting because years ago, MadTv had skit where the next SW prequel film would have Randy Newman doing the music! I kid you not! Did MadTv know this was going to happen, or did Lucas actually take an idea from someone picking on him?!

"Walker, Texas Ranger" wasn't a bad show and I never gave the music much thought. However, I do have a better choice for music and that is Joel McNeely. This guy actually worked with John Williams only for the intro of the "Shadow's of the Empire" CD soundtrack. The rest he did himself and although it didn't sound trully theatrical, it sounded good. If you've played SotE for the N64, his music was edited for time and placed in the Tattooine Chase, Imperial Sewers, Xizor's Palace, and the Skyhook dogfight (last level). I don't think it would have hurt to bring this guy back to SW.

This post has been edited by Vesuvius: 14 August 2008 - 02:45 AM

[HK 47]

I was absolutely 100% certain this movie would suck balls. The story is awful in a PT kind of way, the little dialogue I heard is horrible, the animation mediocre etc etc. And this from just seeing a few clips. An animated Star Wars should be Pixar quality, at least from an OT perspective. I simply didn't realize just how bad it could get. I haven't seen or heard "Capote the Hutt" yet, but disregarding the very real possibility of permanent retinal detachment, I like watching epic failures, like Uwe Boll films. Not paying a cent for it, mind you.

This cutesy, "funny" kiddie Star Wars is yet another testament to Lucas complete incompetence.
It's almost funny come to think of it. We all know Anakin will decapitate his cute little teen apprentice later in life...

This post has been edited by HK 47: 14 August 2008 - 10:11 AM

[Toru-chan]

Google is listing 930+ reviews for the film, and 99.6% of those are negative. The bulk of the criticism is reserved for the story, the characters, dialog and the direction. For example, one reviewer notes a scene where a Clonetrooper is shot in the chest at close range, and a few shots later we have roger-roger droids doing slapstick comedy. Interspersing Decapitations with cute nicknames like "Sky Guy" and "Snips" just doesn't work. Of the Ahsoka Tano "Disney Brat" Jedi said one reviewer (sorry, I can't remember which) "She is so cute I want to hug her... tighter and tighter until she can't breathe" :-)

Some reviewers didn't mind the animation, but the response was mostly negative. Personally I can't fault them for trying to adapt Tartakovsky's designs and do something different, though I agree the result aren't pleasing to the eye. All I've seen is the trailer where the characters bounce around. In the PR Lucas and friends claim they were trying to imitate "Thunderbirds" style of marionettes, but it doesn't seem to work. Today the short, choppy animation looks cheap and nasty. Yeah, the toys did it in Toy Story, but they were Toys. Going by the trailer, the graphics didn't look much up on the Battlefront PC game!

What's Lucas' obsession with the Clone Wars? AOTC had a decent battle at the end (tactically silly but spectacular), but sounds like it's going to be replayed over and over again throughout this series. Clones versus robots doesn't really give you anyone to root for ("Oh no! A Clone died!"), and we've still got the prequel curse that we know who lives and who dies.

Out of those 930+ reviews, I found only a couple that liked it, but one fanatically enraptured one at http://Wired.com by some guy called "John Scott Lewinski" who empathizes for Lucas and condems his critics as ungrateful "snooty nerds". I figured Lewinski was a huge fanboy, but a bit of Googling turns out he's a self-declared screenwriter. By which I mean he's posted a lot of self-promotional material about screenwriting, but the only "credits" I found to his name on imdb.com is contributing "dialog" on two video games. Good luck with your blatant suck-up piece, Lewinski. And a tip to save you time in case Lucas doesn't phone: Wired does not make movies.
http://blog.wired.co...-wars-revi.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1969126/

The other 927+ reviews panned it. Yeah, the reviwers almost universally point out Lucas supposedly is "going after kids", but I was a kid when I saw the original Star Wars. I'm not sure I would have liked this more... So what's he trying to do here? (besides living up to his half-a-billion dollar contract with Hasbro to help them sell more toys?)

I'd like to get my hands on Dale Pollock's "Skywalking." It was written during ROTJ before Lucas' shields went up. Sounds like interesting reading:

Q: If Lucas has so little interest in directing, as you've said several times, then why didn't he have someone else do the job in the prequels? Other people did episodes 5 and 6, so why not the same for a prequel (or two or three)?

Dale Pollock: Because he was so angry at how he felt Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand ruined his vision with EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI, respectively. He felt he could not entrust the prequels to any outside director, and that he would make the "sacrifice" of directing them himself to keep the purity of his intentions. ... Both Kershner and Marquand resented Lucas' interference with their methods, and Lucas resented their resentment. Kershner still feels he directed the best STAR WARS film with EMPIRE, and personally, I agree with him. I also think very few established directors would have wanted to direct EPISODES I, II or III, given Lucas' reputation for creative control of this franchise.

http://www.washingto...5050600821.html

Wow. So whle we all credit Lucas for the whole Star Wars franchise, if he hadn't stepped back on Empire (even though he now appears to regret having let others make it) the second Star Wars film could have been a stinker that killed the franchise there and then. Can you imagine what 'Empire' would have looked like, produced, written and directed all by Lucas?

BTW I was just reacquainting myself with SecretHistoryOfStarWars.com's latest edition. I laughed at this passage in the appendix: "Star Wars Episode III: first draft April 10, 2003: 110 pages long first draft removes child Han Solo." Holy crap. I made a joke about this. I'm amazed he actually considered it! (Was he going to throw sand in the face of Baby Greedo?) Wow...

This post has been edited by Toru-chan: 15 August 2008 - 07:21 AM

[Vesuvius]

What's Lucas' obsession with the Clone Wars? AOTC had a decent battle at the end (tactically silly but spectacular), but sounds like it's going to be replayed over and over again throughout this series. Clones versus robots doesn't really give you anyone to root for ("Oh no! A Clone died!"), and we've still got the prequel curse that we know who lives and who dies.

This is awesome that it's so awefull! I new it was going to be bad. Hopefully this crap will rival the "Holiday Special," and maybe Lucas will take a hint. I think that if Lucas was to do a Clone War series, leave it all to Genndy T (GT) or follow a story like that of Republic Commando (Xbox). Seeing just another number die is nothing spectacular, what is though is a certain squad of clones with an objective that are assigned directly to Anakin or Obi-wan, and they're out in various hostile territory, facing problems that we can relate to without it being funny. SW Battlefront II had a pretty good story concerning this sort of thing. Lucas could have pushed this further and caught everyone up to speed on these things that are limited only to videogames.

Wow. So whle we all credit Lucas for the whole Star Wars franchise, if he hadn't stepped back on Empire (even though he now appears to regret having let others make it) the second Star Wars film could have been a stinker that killed the franchise there and then. Can you imagine what 'Empire' would have looked like, produced, written and directed all by Lucas?

Yeah, just the thought is bad. There would have been no tension at all at the point when Solo is frozen in carbonite, or even betrayed by Lando. The whole "I am your father" scene would have been there, but no where near as effective. Thing is, Lucas' direction in EP IV was fine, a little drawn out, but fine, but there wasn't much emotion after Obi-wan died, it jumped into action! Empire would have been like this a lot. Anytime something serious happen, some action takes place and makes us forget about the problem at hand.

It's like finding out your best friend dies in a car accident, at the same time you lose your house to a fire, and on top of that, you've failed all your classes pertaining to your major, all the while a syringe of heroine is already in your arm! Your brain never even had the chance to ponder "what's next?," let alone be worried about any of these events. Just a quick shot to make it all go away. Nothing at all has been remotely dealt with.

This is the Problem with the PT! It's not "fast paced directing," it's unconventional mashing and gluing of events that no one in their right mind can comprehend so quickly. And the characters don't seem to be affected by this, but the audience takes it full force.

If Lucas makes another film and doesnt' learn from this atrocity, the next title may very well be:

STAR WARS

EPISODE VII:

EAT THIS SH*T, B*TCHES!!!1!!

This post has been edited by Vesuvius: 15 August 2008 - 12:49 PM

[georgelucas4greedo]

I read a review today about the lack of character development, how action was just thrust upon the audience in every minute. It made me think of ANH and just how slow it actually was at times. Like most people, I enjoyed the slow pace, because the development
(both character and universe) was the intriguing part. That is what sucked us in. That is what made us imagine the expansiveness of the galaxy far far away. That is what made us willing to wait and support a PT. The action is great, but at the end of the day, kids and adults do not want to replay or reimagine the same battle they saw in the film, they want enough interesting characters and an endless canvass on which to project the expansive creative nature of the mind.

[Vesuvius]

The action is great, but at the end of the day, kids and adults do not want to replay or reimagine the same battle they saw in the film, they want enough interesting characters and an endless canvass on which to project the expansive creative nature of the mind.

Heh, and thus, toys were made.

But in all seriousness, I couldn't agree with you more. This is the same thing that had me watching and rewatching EP IV-VI on the weekends of my teen years. SW made me want more great story telling, more Force mysticism, and more characters that I can't get tired of.

PT gave us STD's... er, midichlorians, crappy Yoda, stiff-as-a-board acting, shoving-the-envelope characters, and dry-as-sand story telling. I don't like sand. It's rough and coarse, and it get's everywhere... Unlike with the OT, where everything is smooth.

This post has been edited by Vesuvius: 15 August 2008 - 06:23 PM