Curious - did you watch them in the order they were made (IV, V, VI, I, II, III) or the universe chronological order (starting from I)?

I tried this order of viewing as an experiment:
IV, V, I, II, III, VI - following an introduction to the SW universe in IV to the reveal in V, you stop at the cliff-hanger and go to a flashback of an origin story and transformation in I, II - going from III to VI gives it a redemptive finish.

Re: the spoiler - I've never thought about it that way - so its fascinating that you have to view the character in a new light. But shouldn't Jar Jar Binks share the blame for his role in granting emergency powers in II?

The prequels get too much bashing - I have to give standing ovation to John Williams for rising up to create a beautiful score to complement George Lucas' lackluster scripting and mis-casting (exception to Frank Oz, Christopher Lee, Ewan McG, Liam Neeson). Does anyone not get goosebumps when the love theme from 'clones' plays at the end of II? Its actually a minor key variation of the original star wars theme - simple and meaningful. So this kind of blinds me to faults of the prequels a bit.

This post has been edited by lyn_grayskale: Oct 20 2015, 05:46 PM

http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/1...-viewing-order/

Because back then, for audiences in 1980 who watched II (Empire Strikes Back) for the first time, the revelation of Vader was a big thing.
So to preserve the surprise factor, this alternate viewing order is proposed for new viewers.

A quote from the website:
"The prequel back­story comes at the perfect time, because Empire Strikes Back ends on a huge cliffhanger. Han is in car­bonite, V is L's xxxxx, and the Empire has hit the re­bel­lion hard. De­lay­ing the res­o­lu­tion of this cliffhanger makes it all the more sat­is­fy­ing when Return of the Jedi is watched."

Just wanna say - I try very very hard to leave my brain at the door when approaching the I,II,III - and your analysis DOES NOT help hahaha

This post has been edited by lyn_grayskale: Oct 23 2015, 10:21 AM

Yup - the only high resolution images you get is from the Imax countdown intro shown before the feature.

The layout of these mini-Imax halls really could benefit from some distancing away from the screen and increasing the height between rows - my view ALWAYS encounter some obstruction from the audience's head in front of me (the taller/long-necked/big haried ones).

So my criteria for the price they charge is - like yours - further away from the screen, sequences filmed with Imax cameras, 3D.

As for Star wars in 3d - you don't know REALLY bad 3d conversion until you've seen 'phantom menace 3d'... the most pointless conversion ever..

No one has mentioned John Williams --
Haven't seen the movie nor heard the music until now -- listening to 'Rey's theme' on streaming and i got goosebumps - John Williams' creativity and genius knows no bounds ...

if the plot is derivative of EP4/5 as i've read it - so be it - hopefully the music elevates the presumably mediocre screenplay and story as it has for the prequels for me - JW's music helps to make watching the prequels a pleasant experience.

You see a few in EP2-Attack of the Clones in the battle scenes - and one who gets killed in an ambush in EP3-Revenge of the Sith.

The 3d conversion was very good here - just about one of the few things great about TLJ..
quite a few deal breakers (for me) the way some things are handled sprinkled across the movie.

Some stuff from TFA had no followup here - the way the story is going - its probably to ensure a neverending stream of movies to be made.

Grew up along with the original trilogy (1st exposure to SW - saw EP5-ESB in 1982 when I was 8) I feel the same. The unfortunate thing is Lucas could have rounded up most of the OT cast around the time he made the prequels - probably with stories that didn't have to revolve their children and the consequences of their bad parenting.

But he didn't and time flew by - and with the current age of the trinity of actors - this is what they have to do by wiping the slate and prepare a springboard for a new non-skywalker trilogy and even more stories.

Looking back I always assumed (as a 10 year old - after having watched ROTJ) everything would better (evil is defeated etc) - if you look at Star Wars from an escapism fantasy point of view.
These new developments totally trash all of that - and it bugs me quite a bit. Lets see, after EP 6 ROTJ - Han & Leia are bad parents who toss off their son to his uncle Luke. Luke contemplates the murder of his nephew - because "Minority Report"/baby-Hitler conundrum - hes going to be BAAAD.

Sure its dramatic and makes for new motivations - but these extensions feel so odd - almost like they want some essence of "George R Martin song of ice and fire" into the mix.

And Rey - ignoring Kylo's bit about having nobody-parents - "Who are you" / "Who ARE you?" (Mark Hamill's delivery of these lines are superb - very sly and telling). The tease continues - i suspect a resolution may not be offered in EP9 - if anything, it can be milked for another set of multimedia coming your way (comics, spin-off movies, games, etc). Or maybe shes just like Anakin - birthed via force and midichlorians?

For all the accusations that JJ Abrams gets for lack of originality in TFA, at least it was better made (another poster mentioned it was more cohesive - which I agree). TLJ feels too much like a 'star wars story' kind of movie to earn an episode number in a SW trilogy.

A few parts of TLJ was enjoyable but I'm scratching my had at all the praise for this... it doesn't compare at all to Empire Strikes back - which was very much the result of having the right people at the right time - they struck magic with that combination of people behind the scenes.

Even though lacking enthusiasm for EP9 - I'm curious how JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio will tie it all together.

But still, the porgs were great and will go well with mash potatoes and a salad.

Sure there are good and cool stuff here - the veteran actors shine, especially Carrie Fisher getting more screen time and Adam Driver gives a compelling Kylo Ren. Its the horrendous choices they make (all in the name of being different - 'see you around kid' - this got into a StarWars movie WTF?, killing Snoke, demoting Maz Kanata into a Skype conversation) that really disappoint.

Oh wow that jump cut edit stood out for me - good catch - thought local censors made that cut - (apart from censoring Finn's cursing near the end at poor Tarth Phasma of Brienne).

Yup - the story was probably written around a checklist from the Disney Star Wars "brain" trust.

Rey - character development.. was very excited about her in TFA - here she pales to Kylo Ren and even General Hux - these two get the better scenes - an improvement from TFA.
Rey's scenes are mirroring Lukes training with Yoda in ESB - it tries very hard avoid being similar - and her time on Ach-to wasn't very fruitful - so any hope for development should be dropped.

JJ Abrams REALLY has his work cut out for him - not sure if he's laughing or crying over what Rian has done here.
I speculate this could almost explain Colin Treverrow's departure from EP9.

This post has been edited by lyn_grayskale: Dec 16 2017, 02:36 AM