Poll Which Trilogy Did Better?

Discussion in 'Star Wars' started by VulcanMindBlown, Jun 6, 2017.

?

Which Star Wars Trilogy Was More Fun and Better Executed?

  1. The Prequel Trilogy (Episode I-II; The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith)

    42.1%
  2. The Sequel Trilogy (Episodes VII-IX; The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Unnannounced)

    57.9%
  1. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I whole heartedly disagree. But, to each their own.
    Is it unreasonable to ask for specific examples of something outside of personal experience? Because, as much as I ahve encountered people who enjoy the PT, it often comes with a caveat of some kind.

    Honestly, why not share examples if it helps others understand your POV? That makes n sense to me at all. :shrug:
     
  2. 2takesfrakes

    2takesfrakes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    STAR WARS should've deviated from the Skywalker family right out of the gate, when Disney took it over. Have The Original Trilogy gang step in to help secure the copyrights and trademarks for a new generation and pass the torch, as it were ... but definitely pass the torch. Instead, STAR WARS is more derivative and boilerplate than ever. There hasn't been a decent STAR WARS movie since EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and even then, that movie was burdened with a lot of scenes where the cast is just hanging around, sitting around talking. Most of Yoda's scenes could've been easily shortened and condensed, but they drag on, instead. I want to love this franchise, but I can't, when so much of it has sucked for so long. THE PHANTOM MENACE left a good impression on STAR WARS fans, when it first came out, despite weak characterisation. But it lost favour, apparently, upon repeated viewings. With me, for instance, after Padme outlines her strategy for capturing the throne room, out in the fields, somewhere, the rest of the movie's very bloated and dull ... and flat, as in lifeless. The spacebattle falls completely flat. But the rest of the prequels and everything Disney has done have really taken the fun out of STAR WARS for me. I want to like it, but it's like we don't want the same things, anymore. I want STAR WARS to surprise me, whilst STAR WARS wants me to be content with the same old, same old ... the status quo ...
     
  3. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm sorry to hear that, but I couldn't disagree more.

    As for TPM, it didn't wow me, despite overwhelming marketing. I think the PT episode I truly walked away from blown away and enjoyed was AOTC. ROTS left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

    Star Wars has surprised me with TFA with the fun visuals, very interesting characters and set the stage for the story-it made me feel like a kid again, and I could share that with my dad. RO did surprise me in that, despite the darker tone, I actually felt the desperation of the Rebellion, as well as the powerplays of the Imperial leadership. It wasn't as personal of a character story as I would have liked, but the stakes were raised very high.

    Finally, I love the fact that there are things like "Rebels" and "Forces of Destiny" for my younger daughters. It provides me the chance to really share with them, at a level that they can appreciate and explore. I have never felt like Star Wars was moving away from the status quo more than now.
     
  4. Prax

    Prax Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You, sirrr, have mastered the comma, I would say. Very good.
     
  5. JayTheTrekkie

    JayTheTrekkie Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I voted for the Sequel trilogy. The Force Awakens did pretty well.
     
  6. 2takesfrakes

    2takesfrakes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Every post of mine is like a piñata, sir ... each filled with little surprises!
     
  7. LJones41

    LJones41 Commodore Commodore

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    The Sequel Trilogy is a mess to me. I feel that it has one last chance to produce a good movie.
     
  8. EnsignRicky

    EnsignRicky Commodore Commodore

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    You are too kind.
     
  9. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Voted for the ST. Thus far, I have had fun with both films, while I really only had fun with AOTC in the PT. ROTS just was depressing, not fun, not enjoyable, really just sucking.

    In comparison, I felt fully engaged with TFA and TLJ, as well as plenty of rewatch opportunities. They have a good balance of fun and seriousness and great character moments.
     
  10. bigglesworth

    bigglesworth Commander Red Shirt

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    What a difference a month makes. Had I voted in early December I would have picked the ST. I really enjoyed TFA and the trailers for TLJ made me feel that viewers were really in for a treat. Having seen the movie I had to vote for the PT. From the perspective of the overarching narrative, the Resistance has only a couple dozen members and two ships, the New Republic is gone, all the OT characters are gone, the First Order is the military superpower of the galaxy, and there's really no clear path for our heroes (Rey/Poe/Finn) to defeat the FO unless Ep IX takes place 10 years or more after TLJ.

    If we're looking for realism in SW, no world is going to dare oppose the FO. No world is going to be publicly supportive of the Resistance considering the New Republic was a total disaster. There's no popular figure (that we've been introduced to) with the various military and political connections (like Leia or her father Bail) to champion the cause and organize the various Rebel cells into a cohesive unit.

    When we were introduced to the Rebellion in ANH, they were a small but organized unit. The Resistance... not so much... at least not from what we're shown in TLJ.

    The PT may have been clunky and hamfisted in it's storytelling, but it told a story and it had a direction. I think the ST is a rudderless ship at this point.
     
  11. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Fair enough, but man, I just don't see how.

    I mean, you still have Leia, and Poe for leaders, as well as Rey, who could become a symbol. We know the Resistance has allies in the Outer Rim, so that will still be born out, much like the Mon Calamari coming to the Rebellion's aid in ROTJ-remember, we hadn't seen most of those ships before, like the cruisers, two new fighters, and new aliens.

    The FO's overconfidence will cost them even more, I suspect.
     
  12. bigglesworth

    bigglesworth Commander Red Shirt

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    I guess it was my impression those allies gave our beloved princess the middle finger in TLJ. I guess the FO could have been jamming her transmission or said allies didn't have time to mount a rescue effort, but Leia seemed to have lost any hope right before Luke (kind of) showed up.

    I do agree with you that the resources are there. From the Canto Bight scenes we see that lots of people are getting rich off weapons development, so obviously there's no shortage of starships, star fighters or blasters. My question is, if you're in business to sell weapons/ships/whatever, are you going to do business with the winners or the losers... considering the winner (and the dominant military power of the galaxy) will crush you like an eggshell if they find out you're doing business with the other side.

    I hope the story for Ep. IX can give us a believable path for the Resistance to come back stronger than before and defeat the FO (assuming that's the direction the writers want to go). Right now, the future looks pretty bleak and I don't want some stupid event that saves the day (as an example, young Anakin blowing up the Trade Federation ship shutting down all the droids in TPM, or the almost exact same thing that Stark does to save NYC in The Avengers).
     
  13. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, I felt that way after Empire and ROTS.
     
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  14. Ithekro

    Ithekro Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The First Order seems to be a military and possibly and economic structure, but it doesn't look like it is a political structure....at least not with Kylo Ren on the throne. Previous bits for the Galaxy have revolved around taking the capital and redressing the government....this time the government was wiped out completely right at the start. The Senate is gone, the bureaucracy is gone. The systems set in place by Palpatine to replace those systems in the Empire are also now gone. The First Order cannot be powerful enough to redeploy a set of Moffs (military governors) to all sectors of the galaxy and maintain that control through anything other than fear. Fear of Starkiller Base (which was destroyed). So what you have instead will be the old Imperial loyalist planets joining the First Order and the former Republic systems going their own way until and unless they can rally up some leadership or symbol to fall behind to counter the First Order.

    There will either be Civil War, or just a restructuring, if the First Order doesn't start trying to retake the galaxy system by system following the fall of the Republic and the destruction of the Resistance. The Falcon is now probably just the Rebellion.
     
  15. fonzob1

    fonzob1 Captain Captain

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    I enjoyed each of the prequel films much better than the sequel films, and Revenge of the Sith is easily the best film of the five. The prequels, despite their faults, had better characters and better writing.
     
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  16. Qonundrum

    Qonundrum Vice Admiral Admiral

    Not an easy vote, eince eps 3, 5, and 8 - in no order - are my favorites.

    Note, spoilers follow and not all might be shrouded.

    I-III try a new formula and expand on the universe, complete with political intrigue. And tons of big name stars. Which sadly does little more than to remind us that big star names alone can't carry movies if the plotting is clunky than a freeway full of plotholes.

    Indeed, ep I has more or less dated the best despite its misgivings. III is the grittiest, which helps it a lot, but it feels like a rough draft and there's nothing like that surprigsingly good pod chase scene. Still, III sets up Vader and the Emperor in a neededly nasty way. Is "neededly" a word? It is now. :razz: II just sucks Jar Jar spheres.

    So I-III dare to do more, are hit or miss, have some very wooden acting, big name stars who are dreadully underused, and clearly didn't try to ape the feel or storylines of IV-VI.

    VII has a few good set pieces in what's a passable plot until Han mocks the writers with "Another death star" that, along with the attack on the starkiller base, made VII a huge chore despite some potential and even having the
    "I have the force so I have no training because I'm here on a desert planet selling trash to pay for
    both my parents' second liver transplants but can now fly the Millennium Falcon with the greatest of ease."
    The characters are well-acted but most are often hollow stick figures despite having some origins worth exploring. Rey, without the super powers being used too conveniently, is otherwise one of the stronger characters. So are Poe and Finn, based solely on their origins (especially Finn having a realization and becoming an ex-stormtrooper).

    I'll do the summary and vote now and capsule VIII afterward because the movie has only been out three weeks: VII and VIII felt some need to ape the feel and plots of IV-VI. Character archetypes are juggled but are largely successful despite being very thin. VII hints at something different and wisely keeps "the legacy heroes" from all meeting up, which would have been the cliché of the century had they gotten Luke, Leia, and Han in the same room.

    Minor spoilers, won't hurt new impressions of VIII if you read this before viewing it: VIII to a lesser extent than VII, lifts anything from IV-VI or any other sci-fi/fantasy/myth genre. Innovations on most scenes actually make most lifts their own, I was impressed.

    Now come spoilers aplenty, avoid the remaining paragraphs in this post: Ep VIII builds on what little was made in VII and it becomes a lot easier to cheer on the rebels resistance as a result. We hear a nasty claim about Rey's origins that hints at how nasty life is for some in the first order, if the claim is true. Poe isn't as magical as Han was (thankfully), which leads to some tense situations and - yeah - had he obeyed his superior officers then things would have been better off and the reveal is nicely handled. Finn is awesome. Rose is a decent new addition, also showing to be more well-rounded as opposed to previous trilogy characters all being oh-so-perfect. Luke makes a mistake but Rey, while finding out about herself as well, helps him find himself and for rates less than $200 or the insurance copay. Ren too gets a couple of good twists and even a taking down by Snoke. Right down to that stupid helmet, which Snoke uses against Ren. And Ren is still unpredictable, keeping him a reasonable menace. Hope DJ makes a return because he makes a compelling villain, to the point the good guys say a word you normally don't hear in a Star Wars movie. That and Phasma can remain dead or she'll become the Star Wars version of Doctor Who's Master, who always returns for no reason and then dies in increasingly "final" situations but only shows up again next time for no reason except a one-liner throwaway line.

    That and Chewie eats a freshly plucked Porg (which looks (and tastes)
    rubber tennis ball, which is a lot like chicken-flavored tofu only not as rubbery when chewed on
    ) to the horror of its flock and later becomes friends with the flock in a story moral that is as (the most possible opposite of "heavy handed") anything in sci-fi has ever put out. What's not to like in this film?!




    Warning to anyone looking at the immediately posted post above the one you were just looking at before seeing the immediately posted post (this one): The two paragraph above this disclaimer cautionary warning include spoilers in increasing intensity for episode VIII. And Porgs, the most awesome critter in the galaxy and keep in mind I loathed the Ewoks. But that one's okay, most people think I'm weird to begin with.