All right. I've returned from the theater. I'd like to vent a few issues I have with this prequel film. There will be spoilers, so be prepared.

I've heard all this talk of how General Grievous was supposed to be such a terrifying warrior and how he had killed so many Jedi. Unfortunately, from the viewpoint of this film, you don't get that sense. Throughout his entire airtime, he didn't even kill one Jedi.

He shows off his collection of lightsabers. However, judging by the way he handled Anakin and Obi Wan, I wouldn't be surprised if he had simply taken the weapons off of Jedi that were already dead.

Considering his reputation, I felt that Grievous should have performed better. He was reduced to an uncoordinated spider thing that spoke as though he were a chain smoker. Perhaps that's why he lost so easily. Something was wrong with his health! :lol:

I still cringe every time I see the advanced special affects. It seems awkward to go from all that action, color and grandeur to the more realistic, slow paced original trilogy. The original also seems more down-to-earth. There is character interaction that you simply don’t see in the new trilogy.

In this film, one of the things that I wanted to see was the disbanding of the Clone Troopers. Because it was never mentioned that the Clones would be replaced by real people, or die off because of genetic imperfections, children who go directly from the new trilogy, to the old will assume that the Storm Troopers are still the clones. Unacceptable.

I would have liked to see Bail Organa speak of the future. Of creating a resistance and a new hope. He seemed like a cool guy, and his real importance was poorly managed, in my opinion. It’s possible that that was due to time constraints.

Then there was the appalling scene toward the end of the movie in which the Emperor and Darth Vader oversee the construction of The Death Star. Now, seriously, If it took only two years for the second Death Star to become fully operational in “Return of the Jedi”, why did it take the first Death star 18-20 years of construction before we see it in action?

I think it was a mistake bringing the actual Death Star into the picture so soon. It was enough to show the plans for the Death Star in "Attack of the Clones". But this was too much! I doubt that administration and bureaucracy delayed the completion of the project. Palpitine was the supreme ruler. He wouldn't wait so long to have it complete. Even the construction of the second Death Star was proceeding too slowly for him.

How, I wonder, did the Emperor conceal the construction of such a noticeable battle star from the Rebels for two decades?

As the credits rolled, I was left with an empty feeling, probably due to the shocking Death Star scene. The lights came on, and I saw all these children rise from the seats. This was not a film for children! There was one scene that I strongly feel warranted an R rating! I do not relish this movie from their eyes, I can tell you that!

Despite all my gripes I did enjoy most of the film. I was mostly disappointed and I simply hate continuity errors, especially when it's done under the creator of the franchise's watchful eye. Makes me wonder how Lucas's memory has held up over the years.

I would recommend this film for sci fi fans, and those who want to know how Anakin decended into darkness. That part of the film, at least, I am satisfied with. However, for people who hate to see a series contradict itself, Watch Robots, instead. :wave:

I agree with your points Max.
General Grievous didn't come off as very menacing, more like a supervillian, althought the four arm spinning light saber attack was cool.
I agree that the special effects looked too good for a series of movies that took place before the others, but I think with Episodes 1-3, Lucas wanted to show how grand things used to be in the "Old Republic," with its sleek spaceships and beautiful chromed cities. In 4-6, the action took place far from all the opulant planets we saw in the "prequels." He also wanted to show how adventurous it was to be a Jedi, fighting all kinds of baddies all over the galaxy, lots of shwashbuckling action, etc, because in eps 4-6, the Jedi are just Yoda and Obi-Wan, two guys long past thier prime.

I also disliked the final shot of Palpatine and Vader looking at the under consturcion Death Star. 20 years to complete? Yeah right.

I always thought the Death Star was the Emperor's final declaration that he was in charge.
The senate was still intact at the beginning of Episode 4, and Vader and his boss were trying to silence the rebels before they "gained sympathy from the Senate." Finally the Emporer disbanded the Senate and unveiled his Death Star that would keep all the planets in line of they decided to oppose his rule.

I agree that the special effects looked too good for a series of movies that took place before the others, but I think with Episodes 1-3, Lucas wanted to show how grand things used to be in the "Old Republic," with its sleek spaceships and beautiful chromed cities. In 4-6, the action took place far from all the opulant planets we saw in the "prequels." He also wanted to show how adventurous it was to be a Jedi, fighting all kinds of baddies all over the galaxy, lots of shwashbuckling action, etc, because in eps 4-6, the Jedi are just Yoda and Obi-Wan, two guys long past thier prime.

I always thought the Death Star was the Emperor's final declaration that he was in charge.
The senate was still intact at the beginning of Episode 4, and Vader and his boss were trying to silence the rebels before they "gained sympathy from the Senate." Finally the Emporer disbanded the Senate and unveiled his Death Star that would keep all the planets in line of they decided to oppose his rule.

That was my impression of the Death Star as well.

Now, I can understand him wanting to show how beautiful, glorious and complacent the Old Republic was. That, I like. What I don't like is that these movies are saturated with special affects. One of the things that made the Original Trilogy such a gem was that it consentrated on the people and the flow of story. They didn't have a huge budget, so they focused more on acting and character and plot; yet they made everything they had count. R-2 and 3-P0 didn't perform idiotic stunts, and I liked it that way. The ships were simple and practical.
That's another thing that bugged me. The ships in Episode III were ugly!

Oh, well. Though not a gem, I do not regret spending the money(though it certainly may sound like it).

I really think you are mistaken on one thing, I do believe the Storm Troopers are clones. I remember reading that somewhere that through out the constant cloning, these once great warriors became a bit clumsy. Look that up because I am almost positive.

As far as your other comments go, these last three movies certainly raised the bar for special effects. After watching 'Sith', I watched A New Hope and realized how Bush league it looks to the prequels. I can't blame Lucas though, because he now has the technology so why not use it?

The Death Star scene was kind of ridiculous.

I also brought this up in another thread, but in Empire Strikes Back, Obi Wan Kenobi said that Luke was their last hope and Yoda replied, "No, there is another." (meaning Leia) Shouldn't have Obi Wan known that considering he was in the room when the twins were born in 'Sith'?

I really think you are mistaken on one thing, I do believe the Storm Troopers are clones. I remember reading that somewhere that through out the constant cloning, these once great warriors became a bit clumsy. Look that up because I am almost positive.

As far as your other comments go, these last three movies certainly raised the bar for special effects. After watching 'Sith', I watched A New Hope and realized how Bush league it looks to the prequels. I can't blame Lucas though, because he now has the technology so why not use it?

The Death Star scene was kind of ridiculous.

I also brought this up in another thread, but in Empire Strikes Back, Obi Wan Kenobi said that Luke was their last hope and Yoda replied, "No, there is another." (meaning Leia) Shouldn't have Obi Wan known that considering he was in the room when the twins were born in 'Sith'?
He must have been getting senile in his old age. :lol:

I really think you are mistaken on one thing, I do believe the Storm Troopers are clones. I remember reading that somewhere that through out the constant cloning, these once great warriors became a bit clumsy. Look that up because I am almost positive.

As far as your other comments go, these last three movies certainly raised the bar for special effects. After watching 'Sith', I watched A New Hope and realized how Bush league it looks to the prequels. I can't blame Lucas though, because he now has the technology so why not use it?

The Death Star scene was kind of ridiculous.

I also brought this up in another thread, but in Empire Strikes Back, Obi Wan Kenobi said that Luke was their last hope and Yoda replied, "No, there is another." (meaning Leia) Shouldn't have Obi Wan known that considering he was in the room when the twins were born in 'Sith'?

That's a good point about Obi Wan not knowing about Leia. Mmmm...

If the storm troopers were clones, that would be absolutely devestating to my perseption of the Star Wars universe. I like the troopers because they didn't seem like bad people. Simply brainwashed. It doesn't have the same effect if they are clones bred to serve the Emperor with no past or childhood of their own. I'll look it up.

I don't have a problem with Lucas using the technology at his disposal. I just wish it were more smooth. I think he could have gotten away with using more of the tried and true old school techneques he used in the original. It would have helped them all tie in with one another.

I saw the movie today and it was great. I love the part where two babies were born and Anakin's wife died after giving birth to Luke and Leia. There was also a scene where Anakin becomes Darth Vader. James Earl Jones (as you may know as a spokesperson for Verizon) played a small part in the movie. There is also a scene where Darth Vader was seeing the building of Death Star in which the saga continues in the forth one, Chewbaca was also in it and of course Obi Wan was also in it. The story continues in "A New Hope". As you may know know it, this movie goes all the way back to 1977. I would rather have a Delorean to go back in time, just like Michael J. Fox did it in the "Back to the Future" movies. I would like to watch "A New Hope" because I have the continuation of 4 and 6 of the "Star Wars" saga called "The Star Wars Trilogy" on both the original and special editions on three VHS's. As a matter of fact, if the DVD comes out soon. I would have all three movies to complete from 1-3 along with 4-6. Now, I would have the whole set. As of right now, the "Star Wars" trilogy is going to be gone. A lot of people who were saying or probably in those old commercials that you've saw on VHS and DVD, they don't themselves "trilogy" anymore. But now is "saga". If you want to compare the 1977 movie which is "A New Hope" that was episode 4 right towards the start of episode 1 in 1999 called "The Phantom Menace". If the DVD comes out soon, your "Star Wars" saga is going to be complete. By the way, if you want to see the picture the original "Star Wars" movie "A New Hope" that it usually released on a Super 8 film, here it is.

http://i6.ebayimg.com/02/i/04/29/fd/ab_1_b.JPG

I remember back when I was a kid, my dad used to have a "Star Wars" super 8 movie in his collection but now it's gone.http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/frown.gif I remember my parents used to have a Sanko Super 8 projector back when I was born. but not anymore. In addition to that, here's the picture of the cover of the original VHS version of "Star Wars: A New Hope"

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/6/6309/a1126.jpg

If you have any questions, please post. Thanks!

wasn't leia supposed to be born before luke? like by a few minutes.

The movies never said anything, but the books written afterwards hinted at the fact Luke was born first.

It was due to that speculation that most people believed Obi Wan was not present for Leia's birth as he had already left with Luke. Well, there goes THAT theory.