Indeed. Palpatine should be presented as possibly the most dangerous man in the galaxy. You notice the lightsaber use is limited. Rips apart the two other Jedi Masters and then promptly goes right back to playing the master manipulator.
Star Wars: Episode VII: The Nerd Rage Awakens
- Thread starter cooleddie74
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I thought that the idea that Palpatine would be superior to most Jedi with a lightsaber was a nice touch. I think it's clear that he couldn't beat Mace, one on one, even with Force lightning. His victory over Mace required his master manipulation skills in turning Anakin.
For me the most absurd duel in the PT is Obi-Wan vs. Grievous. I'm unwilling to suspend disbelief that Obi-Wan could handle Grievous when he had all four lightsabers. It was beyond ridiculous, not to mention that Obi-Wan jumping down alone to face off with Grievous plus all those battle droids was totally dumb in the first place.
For me the most absurd duel in the PT is Obi-Wan vs. Grievous. I'm unwilling to suspend disbelief that Obi-Wan could handle Grievous when he had all four lightsabers. It was beyond ridiculous, not to mention that Obi-Wan jumping down alone to face off with Grievous plus all those battle droids was totally dumb in the first place.
I always felt that he could take down Mace Windu without breaking a sweat. But that he NEEDED Anakin to do it, to begin his downfall. After Anakin cuts of his arm, the amount of power he releases on Windu overpowers him straight away.
Yes, it stands to reason that Mace Windu reeling in pain from having lost both his hands wouldn't be able to do much without his lightsaber.
One hand. And yes, I still think that Palpatine was trolling. He needed Anakin. It's not that much of a stretch to reason that he knew Ani was coming, so he stretched out the fight, to make sure young Skywalker was there to help the only person that could save Padme.
My bad. No clue why I remembered it differently. Probably, I conflated it with what happened to Dooku.
The Yoda-Dooku fight was the best part of AOTC, although the Kenobi-Fett fight was a close second. Jango Fett was the original BA.
Yoda-Palpatine? Meh. That whole sequence had already been ruined by Papa Ahpah Palpatine slicing and dicing his way through a half dozen masters who all stand perfectly still and let him cut them, then Anakin being a giant dweeb and slicing up Mace, etc. The final confrontation between Palapatine and the Jedi should have taken place in the Senate Chambers, with Palpy knocking off the Masters one by one, finishing with Mace/the conversion of Anakin, observed by a late arriving Yoda, who chases off Anakin and then spends some serious time wrecking the Senate in his final duel with the Emperor. It would have been interesting to see Palpatine and Yoda verbally competing for Anakin's loyalty.
Yoda-Palpatine? Meh. That whole sequence had already been ruined by Papa Ahpah Palpatine slicing and dicing his way through a half dozen masters who all stand perfectly still and let him cut them, then Anakin being a giant dweeb and slicing up Mace, etc. The final confrontation between Palapatine and the Jedi should have taken place in the Senate Chambers, with Palpy knocking off the Masters one by one, finishing with Mace/the conversion of Anakin, observed by a late arriving Yoda, who chases off Anakin and then spends some serious time wrecking the Senate in his final duel with the Emperor. It would have been interesting to see Palpatine and Yoda verbally competing for Anakin's loyalty.
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Exactly. I thought it was pretty obvious that Palpatine was playing possum with Windu, right down to the cliche "Oh no! Save me, Anakin!". The smile on his face when Anakin finally acts was not for being saved. He then made absurdly quick work of Windu (which I thought was the best part of the film -- good riddance to a dumb character).
That was one of George's best creative choices with the Prequels: making Palpatine the ultimate badass and so powerful that even the strongest and most experienced members of the Jedi Council couldn't defeat him in combat. Yet he knows that to achieve his ultimate goals he can't simply strike down Mace Windu and needs Anakin to make the final, decisive blow that at last brings him over to the Dark Side and converts him to a Sith.
Palpatine was such a powerful Sith Master that he pulled the wool over the eyes of the wisest and most attuned Jedi Knights in the galaxy and shielded his true identity from them until the very end of the Clone Wars. He did things in slow, measured, Machiavellian steps that allowed him to seize complete control at just the right moment, demonstrating just how cunning and dangerous he always was.
They did, and it was pretty good
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUzkp8xfaU0[/yt]
I don't really have nerd freinds, but I have seen a lot of people, both old and young complaining about over use of CGI in modern movies.
Explain. Maybe I hang out in the wrong circles, but most of the friends that I have (both online and in real life) prefer real stuff to CGI. There is often a lament in one circle about the overreliance on CGI and they are by no means the "old guys" or "Gen-Xers" (whatever that means. Hate that generation label garbate).
Maybe I was ahead of the curve, but the constant cry I have heard, especially since the PT, is for more practical effects.
I don't mind CGI effects if they are used appropriately, but there are a lot of movies where they aren't. If you can do it with animatronics, make-up, models, or live stunts, please do it that way, but if it isn't then go ahead and use CGI. That does seem to be the approach they're taking here, so I'm pretty happy with it. It's also the approach I would take if I were a filmmaker.
I agree and so do many people I know. Heck, one good friend of mine, who is a VFX artist and photographer, constantly laments the overuse of CGI in recent film work. He and I disagree about the Hobbits films quite a bit
VFX, be it practical or CGI, should always be in the service to the story. Always. They should also have one foot put squarely in reality, be it through imagining if something was a puppet and not a CG character, or what environments would be like if built for real.
I love the late Phil Tippett's attitude, and one that he communicated on Starship Troopers regarding the Bugs, which where all CGI. Tippett's attitude was that computers will screw you if you rely too much on them in effects. So, the bugs are treated like live bugs on a set, not in a practical world. Some bugs will miss their marks, or overrun the set. Every take will not be the same, and that has to be accounted for.
I love all the real, practical stuff that Abrams is doing, but I also know it comes with a price tag. So, if using CGI, keep the core attitude of "do it for real" even in the computer.
Well, there's my nightmare fuel
Nope, did not like it at all. I'm sure the audience in my theater clapped and the like, but it was just pointless, to me.
The better moment, and more Yoda moment (in my opinion) was him tossing the two Red Guards across Palpatine's office in ROTS.
I laughed out loud then.
That was a great moment. The ideal demonstration of a diminutive Jedi Knight's enormous powers without resorting to acrobatic lightsaber combat (at least not immediately).
Even the lightsaber battle inside the Senate chamber was a lot better and less silly than the one in the Geonosis hangar.
Even the lightsaber battle inside the Senate chamber was a lot better and less silly than the one in the Geonosis hangar.
Yeah, same here. That was great.
The novelization of RotS goes into interesting details about Obi-Wan being able to confidently face an army of battle droids alone, and fighting General Grievous with one lightsaber vs four mechanically driven ones. Rather I should say: interesting background.
Mace and Kenobi have a conversation (in flashback narration) before Kenobi confronts Grievous. Mace has Kenobi take greater stock in his own self-confidence by speaking of why Windu chose the fighting style of Vaapaad, which is a monstrously aggressive lightsaber style, and why Yoda's fighting style addresses his advanced age and small stature. Yet Kenobi has mastered the most basic lightsaber form, Soresu...a style so basic and defensive, it's almost passive. Kenobi confesses that he had never thought of his prowess with Soresu as a mastery. Windu asks: Who is the true master? One who has adopted the killing form that compensates for one's weakness? Or a master of the classic form?
Instilled with this new confidence, Obi-Wan goes to face the fiendish droid general. Again, this is taken from the novelization.... so your canon consideration may vary. I have no problems with that bit of narration.
It's often been said that a Jedi knight should have a bit of cockiness and swagger to his/her demeanor because one Jedi is basically worth any 100 soldiers untrained in the ways of the Force. Despite Grievous' mechanical advantages, he is only trained in the lightsaber forms as taught by Dooku.... he has no training in the ways of the Force. Obi-Wan has both. He pretty much surrenders himself to the will of the Force in every confrontation, and acts without undue thought. He goes on pure instinct and channeling of the Force. He becomes a vessel.
Just my humble take on Kenobi vs Grievous.
As for Yoda's being an acrobatic whirlwind of destruction, well..... To quote the NPC character, Flynn, from the video game "Battlefield: Bad Company 2" (when he takes an action that runs counter to his own beliefs) : "Hey, even the Buddha had to kick a little ass every now and then."
Mace and Kenobi have a conversation (in flashback narration) before Kenobi confronts Grievous. Mace has Kenobi take greater stock in his own self-confidence by speaking of why Windu chose the fighting style of Vaapaad, which is a monstrously aggressive lightsaber style, and why Yoda's fighting style addresses his advanced age and small stature. Yet Kenobi has mastered the most basic lightsaber form, Soresu...a style so basic and defensive, it's almost passive. Kenobi confesses that he had never thought of his prowess with Soresu as a mastery. Windu asks: Who is the true master? One who has adopted the killing form that compensates for one's weakness? Or a master of the classic form?
Instilled with this new confidence, Obi-Wan goes to face the fiendish droid general. Again, this is taken from the novelization.... so your canon consideration may vary. I have no problems with that bit of narration.
It's often been said that a Jedi knight should have a bit of cockiness and swagger to his/her demeanor because one Jedi is basically worth any 100 soldiers untrained in the ways of the Force. Despite Grievous' mechanical advantages, he is only trained in the lightsaber forms as taught by Dooku.... he has no training in the ways of the Force. Obi-Wan has both. He pretty much surrenders himself to the will of the Force in every confrontation, and acts without undue thought. He goes on pure instinct and channeling of the Force. He becomes a vessel.
Just my humble take on Kenobi vs Grievous.
As for Yoda's being an acrobatic whirlwind of destruction, well..... To quote the NPC character, Flynn, from the video game "Battlefield: Bad Company 2" (when he takes an action that runs counter to his own beliefs) : "Hey, even the Buddha had to kick a little ass every now and then."
That's true.
I did too... that was a great scene.
I remember somebody on the Trek BBS arguing that Yoda Force-slamming the Royal Guards into unconsciousness wasn't a justified use of self-defense because they hadn't actually attacked him and were just pawns of the new Emperor. It was an unwarranted attack.
It was one of the silliest and dumbest arguments I've ever seen made over one of the Prequels and that's saying something.
It was one of the silliest and dumbest arguments I've ever seen made over one of the Prequels and that's saying something.
