Star Wars Episode IV

Man, what a long, slow, slog of a movie.

I convinced someone I know who'd never seen anything Star Wars to watch it with me last week, and we were both so. fucking. bored. for like 80% of it.

-There's so much setup before anything interesting happens.
-Obi-Wan commits for no apparent reason. (More powerful than you can imagine=disembodied voice)
-Darth Vader isn't so much a badass so much as he's your creepy religious coworker that dresses like a weirdo.
-C3PO is insufferable.
-Han has a change of heart at the end for no apparent reason, then hangs around for a medal ceremony instead of repaying his debt?


Ugh.

Is it just worse in hindsight because I know all the story beats now?

And dont forget, nobody bothers to give Chewie his medal!

How old are you, @14thDoctor ?

The most remarkable thing about ANH, for me, is that the Rebellion's cause spends practically the whole movie on the edge of total, irrecoverable disaster in one way or another. I'm not sure I've ever seen that accomplished in any other work of fiction.

Not true.

There is plenty of foreshadowing of Han Solo's deciding to come to the aid of the rebel forces at the end.

1) Han & Chewbacca attend the briefing for the rebel pilots on attacking the Death Star which shows that they knew exactly when and where to swoop in and save Luke at the end.

2) Han obviously thinks highly of Luke because he invites him to come along with him before he leaves

"Why don't you come with us? You're pretty good in a fight. I could use you".

3) Han remarks to Luke as he leaves "Hey Luke. May the Force be with you" despite his earlier statements about not believing in it.

4) After Luke leaves Chewbacca speaks to Han. We don't understand what he is saying of course but Han appears defensive in his reply saying "I know what I'm doing".

One can easily infer that Chewie is urging Solo assist the rebels in their attack.

He was waiting to get paid.

2) Han obviously thinks highly of Luke because he invites him to come along with him before he leaves

"Why don't you come with us? You're pretty good in a fight. I could use you".[/quote]

I'll give you that.

And we've seen other characters use the same phrase, it's like saying "Good Luck" in the Star Wars universe.

One can, but at that point Han is still thinking about himself. Plenty of EU and non EU sources say that he had a change of mind right before going into hyperspace.

Kids today.

Bummer.

Yep, sucks to be him.

*slow build up... slow build up... slow build up... slow build up... TENSION... CLIMAX-- sweet sweet release*

Just like what @T.R said: Kids these days, all wham bam yes ma'am

I've had this issue as well. Tried to show the original Star Wars movies to adults that had never see any of these films before and none of them got into it.

I guess it's just one of those things you had to grow up with or see back when it first came out. If you are comparing it to most sci fi action films now of course it doesn't compare... but none of those other films would be around without Star Wars.

And yes the beginning is pretty slow, from the moment the droids leave the ship to when they reach Luke's home. I don't mind it at all but I can see how others would get impatient. Especially if you don't know what it's leading up to.

The funny thing is if they think Ep IV is slow, they'd hate Dune (either David Lynch or John Harrison), and yet Dune is important to a lot of sci-fi. The spice must flow!

Wasn't the entire idea of the "summer blockbuster" new at the time the original Star Wars came out?

Sure they had "Jaws" just a couple of years earlier but the concept of effects heavy thrillers in 1977 was still new.

No, what's worse now is the existence of the internet, which gives every joyless cunt douchebag with a keyboard the ability to broadcast his malcontent.

Of course I'm speaking in general terms. I would never dream of calling you a joyless cunt douchebag.

As a 7 y/o who had seen only a handful of movies up to that point, Star Wars was life-altering. I didn't care about picking apart the logic of the story, I just accepted it as a grand adventure that I wanted to experience again and again.

Nothing interesting happens in the first part of the movie? Bullshit. Movies back then weren't made with Generation ADHD in mind. You want mindless action and enough shaky-cam jump-cut edits to cause nausea, watch Transformers: BayGasm on Wheels.

Obi-Wan knew the moment he stepped foot on the Death Star that he would have to face Vader. He also knew he couldn't defeat Vader. He chose to sacrifice himself because:
1. He saw it was hopeless to escape Vader and make it through dozens of Stormtroopers to reach the Falcon. Maybe in his prime he could have done it, but he's an old man in New Hope.
2. He knew that as a Force Ghost he could continue to counsel Luke and guide him to the Light Side.

Darth Vader isn't a badass? He lifts a guy with one arm and crushes his throat with one hand. He force chokes another guy out of annoyance. He tortures Leia with the creepy probe droid with the needle. He's a better fighter pilot than any of the rebels.

C3PO - fussy, but has a heart of gold.

Han's change of heart - simple, he discovered he had a conscience and didn't want to see people he knew were honorable be killed. He found a higher purpose than running back to Jabba and continuing his smuggling ways.

Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw. Period. Saw it at a Drive In theatre with my oldest sister and her friends.

And to this day the movie impresses me every time I see it.

To this day I have no idea how George Lucas financed it on less money than Harrison Ford probably spends on his aviation hobby.

Empire was much better.

But having watched Kill Bill before this, the lightsaber fights are especially pathetic. I get that George Lucas wasn't technically making a martial arts movie, but come on...

Geez....I can only imagine what you think of the Godfather. No death until an hour into the movie.

I liked one and only one scene of the two Kill Bill movies.

And that was "Bill's" monologue near the end when he responded to the Brides reaction to his explanation for slaughtering the wedding party at her wedding and nearly killing her.

"I am a murdering son of a bitch. Was my reaction really that unexpected?"

Yeah, but as I'm sure you're aware from all the nerd discussion on Star Wars, swinging lightsabers like beads at Mardi Gras is kinda besides the point.... especially in "Empire," where Yoda is teaching Luke to use the Force in other ways.

Neat as it was to see Yoda pull a baby saber out in episode 2 (the only scene I wasn't borderline sleeping through), that he needs one at all goes counter to everything he was trying to teach Luke.

I always felt the light sabers were as much symbols of force skill rather than a routine "weapon of war". Sure, they could cut through nearly anything and reflect blaster bolts, but I felt the ability to wield one was more of a "barometer" of ones skill in using the force.

by the way, in the ability to reflect energy weapon bolts

Just how great does that power extend? For example, could a Jedi get out on the hull of a blockade runner under attack by a star destroyer and reflect the shots of the destroyers main battery back at them?

They were literally touching dicks. Slowly.

"I see your Schwartz is as big as mine!"

The Godfather was excellent.

Jedi was much better, since the plot kicks off right away and Leia actually gets to contribute meaningfully.

We both agree Awakens is better than the original trilogy. Rey is likeable and self-sufficient, as opposed to whiny Luke. BB8 thankfully doesn't have a constantly bitching protocol droid tagging along with him. Kylo Ren has a motivation beyond "Bwaa haa haa EVIL!!" which Darth Vader lacked in the Hope.

Were also both in love with Rey.

Kylo Reno? Is that a porn star?

Am I the only one who thought that Mark Hamill was the weakest part of Star Wars? I know he has turned into a good actor but as Luke Skywalker he seemed awfully whiny and annoying.

Not to mention rather inconsistently written. In the early part of the movie he can't wait for a chance to leave Tatooine and seek adventure.

Yet, after encountering Obi Wan Kenobi (but before he knows his aunt and uncle have been murdered) he suddenly seems extremely reluctant to leave. Even though Kenobi is directly requesting his help and its obviously for a good cause.

One final question:

Who is the Rebel pilot (in the extended version of the movie) who asks Luke if he can handle the X-Wing before Biggs assures him of Luke's skills and the rebel pilot says "you'll do fine"? He doesn't look like either Red Leader or Gold Leader yet given his inquiry and mannerisms he seems like someone in authority.

He wants to go to the academy in the beginning of the movie because his friends are all going. The only thing I never caught was if this was actually the Imperial academy or if there was somehow an academy for the rebel forces he wanted to go to.

Later, he is reluctant to leave, because that would mean getting actively involved in the war, and while he is a whiny brat, he apparently has enough sense not to just run off and start fighting in the war. It then takes his parents being killed by the empire to simultaneously take away any reason he has to stay while also giving him some motivation of his own to join the rebellion aside from a hologram of an attractive woman asking for help.

Between Luke and C3PO, and the whining and complaining is exhausting. Maybe it's just lazy writing, but Leia lost her adoptive family and all of her friends on Alderaan and managed to keep her shit together just fine. Nor did she ever appear to be tempted towards the dark side like her father, brother or son.

Luke is torn between his personal ambitions and the duty he feels toward his family. It's a very human reaction. If he just ran off and left his aunt and uncle without the help they need for the harvest, in fact, he'd come off as selfish or at least thoughtless.

It's also very human that, when one spends a long time yearning for a big change in one's life and suddenly that change is offered, one feels hesitant. Having, after all, is not always so fulfilling as wanting.