Can Star Wars Episode III Redeem the franchise?

[Sandpiper]

I thought of this question last night as I watched Attack of the Clones on DVD and was reminded of what a total suck fest it was.

Episode's I and II have really damaged a lot of good will for the Star Wars series.

So what I'm wondering is, will Episode III salvage the reputation of the "prequels," or will it be the final nail in the Star Wars franchise?

[Fenris]

1. Might be slightly better

But is still guaranteed to suck with Lucas helming it.

[DrWeird]

2. He falls into a fucking volcano.

nt

[democracyindanger]

3. It could

It won't.

[mojavekid]

43. and it should

but it can't..

[democracyindanger]

46. touche'

:D

[7th_Sephiroth]

4. its supposed to get alot darker

and the star wars clone wars miniseries done by that samurai jack guy restored a little faith so maybe

[NewJeffCT]

8. clone war miniseries?

When did that happen?

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. It was an animated serial on Cartoon Network

About two years ago.

[NewJeffCT]

17. oh well, hope they will re-run it

I guess I missed the original

[7th_Sephiroth]

21. cartoon network

2 hours worth of 5 minute animations, thier pretty good

[brainshrub]

5. I don't see how Lucas can mess it up any more than he already has.

If he starts Episode III with Jar-Jar getting into a horrible industrial accident involving acid... there might be a bit of hope for the rest of the movie.

[semillama]

6. Read the Vanity Fair cover article

There may be some hope yet. I won't let my hopes get up TOO much, but I will say I am looking forward to that army of Wookies.

[DrGonzoLives]

7. No

n/t

[MrScorpio]

9. Look, flame me if you like

But I LIKED Attack of the Clones.

And I'm an original Star Wars junkies from waaaaaaaaay back.

I think number three will be just fine.

[alvis]

10. It's written by Lucas

So, no.

[Beware the Beast Man]

11. I don't care whether it sucks or not, I'm seeing it anyway.

From the teaser (which is never a good indicator of a film), it already looks way better than the first two. I think what some folks forget is that the Star Wars saga isn't freakin' Hamlet- it's a cheesy space opera wrapped in mythological archtypes-nothing more, nothing less.

[Sandpiper]

26. I'm going to see it too

Just with lowered expectations.

[CatholicEdHead]

37. Same here

see it once at the theatre, then wait until it is in the discount bin at the rental store and pick it up dirt cheap.

[Worst Username Ever]

12. No

Its too far gone.

[edbermac]

13. Sad to say, Lucas is THE most overrated director in film history...

All style and no substance...

[4_Legs_Good]

25. Actually, no style, no substance

His criminal inability as a director is matched only by his inability as a writer.

Had he got Irvin Kirshner to direct Ep 3 I might have some hope.

david

[RevolutionaryActs]

14. It looks kinda cool from the trailer. Plus I think that fact that we

ACTUALLY get to know how Anakin became Darth is really cool. And in my mind even if its something stupid, at least I'll finally know! :7

*gets hopes up*

[brainshrub]

31. Anakin falls into a volcano.

There, a just saved you $7.

[democracyindanger]

34. Does the volcano spit him out

like in "Joe Versus The Volcano?"

I might see it then.

[brainshrub]

36. Big robot spiders dig him out.

I'd tell you more, but then I'd have to force you to buy a Jar Jar Binks pez dispenser.

[ET Awful]

16. If the jackass they have playing Anakin has learned how to act, then

MAYBE it might be worth watching.

[jpgray]

18. Second that--there were cringe-worthy reads all over Ep II (nt)

[Cush]

22. third that

I was like, bring back the kid from Episode 1!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

24. I wouldn't put too much blame on him

He wasn't bad in Shattered Glass.

I generally enjoy Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman, but they acted awfully in the other prequels.

I think Lucas is just a poor director - of humans, anyway.

This is why Empire was so good. Lucas conceived it, but didn't direct it.

[Sandpiper]

28. Laurence Olivier couldn't have salvaged that script

Star Wars movies have never exactly been known for their brilliant dialogue, but Attack of the Clones was bad even for a Star Wars movie.

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. I'm very excited about it, but I don't hold a lot of hope for it, either

Saw a trailer this weekend - looks cool, and made me excited to see the movie.

But Ep. I was so fucking lame I felt abused. Ep. II slightly redeemed itself - it was at least tolerable, and had some good moments.

So, who knows - Ep. III might be almost mediocre, which would be a good step forward.

[edbermac]

44. Trailers mean nothing...

I once saw a trailer for Howard The Duck, which was executive produced by Lucas and it looked like it would be wickedly funny, but when it came out it was the worst goddamn unfunny movie ever made...there were more laughs in Schindler's List...everyone and I mean EVERYONE hated it...even Lucas tried to disown it...

[Rabrrrrrr]

48. Agreed on all counts - trailers don't mean anything,

and Howard the Duck - except for "We are closed now!" - was crap. Which is too bad, because it was a great comic book.

[seemunkee]

20. WOOKIE ARMY!!!

[4_Legs_Good]

23. NO!

Phantom Menace was the biggest disappointment EVER and Attack of the Clones was only a tiny bit better.

It is impossible for Lucas to repair what he has done. Best case scenario: Ep 3 will stand on its own.

david

[Sandpiper]

27. I'd be happy if Episode III took the Highlander III route

And just pretended that the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones never actually happened.

[4_Legs_Good]

29. Good idea!!! (n/t)

[Dookus]

30. No

it'll be a steaming pile of Sith.

[Deja Q]

32. One word and two pictures prove it all:

NO

At least it's a nail.

I saw the poster. Lord Vader's helmet makes him look like the Spaceballs character of Dark Helmet...




If the pics don't come up, right-click on the 'broken image' box and left-click on "view image"

[Catshrink]

33. See the trailer for Episode III

Click the link, scroll to the bottom, link to trailer on the right. Looks good!

http://www.starwars.com

[MrSlayer]

35. It has the potential to be the best of the lot.

This is THE story everyone wants to see. How Darth Vader became Darth Vader. If it is done correctly it could be even better than ESB. If it is done poorly it will be a huge disappointment. It could go either way.

[Sandpiper]

38. It also has the potential to be the most monumental failure

One of the biggest problems with Phantom and Clones was that they were too juvenile to be seriously enjoyed by anyone over the age of 10.

If Episode III isn't a lot darker, and a lot more grown up, it's going to suck abysmally. However, if George makes it in the same spirit as Empire Strikes Back, it has the potential to be classic.

I just wonder if Lucas has another Empire Strikes Back in him. When he made Empire, he hadn't been surrounded by yes-men and sycophants for 20+ years.

There's no creative give and take at Lucasfilm anymore. Just a lot of kiss-ass assistants saying things like "Jar Jar Binks is a brilliant idea Mr. Lucas, audiences will love him."

[Plaid Adder]

39. Depends. Is George Lucas writing?

Because if the answer is yes, then we're looking at the final nail.

If you want my howl of rage about the badness of Ep II, you can find it here:

http://www.plaidder.com/aotc.htm

What offended me most was the abysmal quality of the writing. The writing in TPM was pretty bad, but AOTC was a lot worse. Lucas thinks he can write dialogue, but he's wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.

With another writer, the story for Ep III could turn out to be pretty compelling. With Lucas, though, we're just going to lurch from bad to worse to oh my God, hand me a hot poker so I can put my eyes out before I have to watch another second of this.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Sandpiper]

40. "I don't like sand"

"It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and gets everywhere--not like you."

You mean writing like that?

[Plaid Adder]

41. I don't even remember where that line comes from

but you coudl certainly find worse ones in AOTC if your stomach could stand it. It was the writing for the Anakin/Amidala 'romance' that blew the biggest chunks, IHMO. Shudder. Shudder.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Deja Q]

42. Most of it was the acting. Hayden Christensen can't act to save his life &

he took Natalie Portman down in that movie too. Eh, in terms of acting ability...

[Wat_Tyler]

45. Hopefully the rise of Peter Jackson has forced Lucas to up his game.

I was watching the original Star Wars last night - so many great little cutaways and establishing shots, fades and neat directing tricks. Compare that to the digital sameness of AOTC.
Hopefully, now that Jackson and WETA have stolen Lucas and ILM's crown, George may be motivated to try and win it back.

[jpgray]

47. I hope LOTR will prove to David Lynch what a mess he made of Dune

I mean, as quasi-philological lengthy epics go, LOTR is at least as difficult to transfer to film. The model work in Dune looked like a shitty student film, and Lynch had about the worst possible script imaginable for someone who hasn't read the book to enjoy the movie.