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Upon its 2002 release, Attack of the Clones received better reviews than The Phantom Menace but wasn’t as financially successful. While it did pull in almost $650 million worldwide, it was vastly overshadowed by the previous film’s financial success. Domestically, the film was outgrossed by Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which were more well-received. Internationally, it was outgrossed by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and ranks as the lowest-grossing Star Wars film. Before its release, however, Lucas already began writing the final installment in the prequel trilogy before filming in 2003. In between the two films, an animated miniseries, Star Wars: Clone Wars, was released to fill in the story gaps. Interestingly, this next installment was the first one to receive a PG-13 rating, whereas the others were rated PG. Finally, 2005 saw the release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

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Synopsis

Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) attempt to rescue Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). They manage to rescue him, but unfortunately General Grievous (Matthew Wood), commander of the droid army, escapes their capture. Anakin learns that Padmé (Natalie Portman) is pregnant and gets worried when he has visions of her dying in labor. Palpatine appoints Anakin to be his representative on the Jedi Council, much to the dismay of the other Jedi. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan travels to the planet Utapau to confront Grievous while Yoda (Frank Oz) assists the Wookies on Kashyyk. As Anakin starts to get closer to the Chancellor, he learns that Palpatine is secretly a Sith Lord. Palpatine manages to convert Anakin to the Dark Side and makes him his new apprentice, christening him Darth Vader. It all culminates in the extermination of the Jedi and the formation of the Galactic Empire.

Review

Though the prequels overall aren’t great, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is easily the strongest one. Right from the opening scene, this gets right into the action and keeps things engaging for the first 30 minutes. Once the Chancellor is rescued, things start to slow down for a bit, but this time, it’s not boring. Granted, there’s still some stilted acting and bad writing on display, but it’s nowhere near as bad as before. As with the other films, Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, and Frank Oz are giving solid performances. Natalie Portman also does a good job, but even she can’t save some of the terrible writing here. While his acting still isn’t great, this is easily the best performance Hayden Christensen’s given in these movies. His best moments are when he has no lines and acts specifically with his facial expressions.

Admittedly, the way that Christopher Lee and General Grievous are killed off so suddenly is a bit anticlimactic. However, that ties in with a larger problem the prequels as a whole have: there are no real surprises. If you’ve seen the original trilogy, you already know where the story is ultimately going to lead, making it pointless. That said, seeing how the Empire formed, how Darth Vader came about, and what happened to the Jedi is interesting. It helps that this film has easily some of the best action sequences of the prequels, especially towards the end. Plus, John Williams’ score is by far some of his best work, particularly “Battle of the Heroes”. Even if it’s not saying much, this is still a pretty good film compared to the other prequels. Overall, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is the strongest in a less-than-stellar trilogy.

Buy Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2RTay6z

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Even before it was released, The Phantom Menace was arguably the most talked-about and hyped film of 1999. Once released, it broke several box office records, including the largest single-day gross held by The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The film went on to gross over $900 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. However, despite its commercial success, the film received mixed to negative reviews, with many fans lambasting it over the years. Because of the backlash, Lucas was reluctant to keep writing but soon completed a rough draft three months before shooting. He brought Jonathan Hales on board to co-write the screenplay due to his experience on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. With the final script written, most of the original cast returned, along with a few new additions. Finally, three years later, 2002 saw the release of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

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Synopsis

After an assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), the Republic decides to vote on creating a new army. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) goes off to investigate who was responsible for the attempted hit on her. Meanwhile, his now-grown apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) agrees to protect her and escort her back to Naboo. Obi-Wan’s investigation leads him to the planet Kamino, where a Clone army has been secretly created for the Republic. He also finds Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), the bounty hunter hired for Padmé’s assassination and chases him down. The chase leads him to the planet Geonosis, where he encounters Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), who’s organizing a Separatist movement. Obi-Wan reports his findings to the Jedi Council before being captured, prompting Anakin and Padmé to rescue him. Unfortunately, they also get captured and are about to be executed before the Jedi arrive with the Clone army.

Review

Compared to the previous film, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is an improvement, but it’s still flawed. One positive I can give is that the storyline isn’t as jumbled or as slow as the last film. That felt like there were at least four simultaneous and seemingly irrelevant plots going on, and none were particularly interesting. Here, there are only two simultaneous plot threads that fit together well and are somewhat engaging, some more than others. Obi-Wan’s plotline about finding the assassin, learning about the Clone army, and confronting said assassin and Count Dooku is interesting. However, except for a sequence on Tatooine, the romance between Anakin and Padmé is sappy, cliché, and very unengaging. It doesn’t help that while the writing isn’t great, these scenes, in particular, have some of the worst writing ever. Perhaps most infamous is Anakin’s monologue about how he hates sand.

Acting-wise, like the storyline, it’s much improved here, though, for every good or decent performance, there are more weak performances. Like before, Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid give good performances, and Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson try their best. Newcomers Christopher Lee and Temuera Morrison also stand out, but Hayden Christensen is probably the weakest link in the cast. That said, I think Christensen’s poor performance is more so due to the lack of strong material he’s given. He does have his moments, particularly when he finds hid dying mother, snaps, and slaughters several Tusken Raiders in rage. Like the last film, this goes overboard with the CGI, most noticeably in many of the blue screen compositing shots. Ultimately, while this is an improvement over the last film, this film is still largely forgettable. Overall, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is mediocre at best.

Buy Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2si0tWi

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After the release of Return of the Jedi, Lucas decided to put the series on hold, having felt “burned out”. While he wasn’t interested in future sequels, he became interested in a prequel trilogy after developing the original trilogy’s backstory. With Star Wars‘ resurgence in popularity in the 1990s, Lucas started developing the prequels, focusing on Darth Vader’s origin story. Lucas also became fascinated with digital effects technology at the time, feeling that this would him help realize his vision. Lucas’ effects studio, Industrial Light & Magic, made strides with digital effects in The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park. Originally, Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, and Steven Spielberg were offered the director’s chair, but they all felt he should direct. To build up hype, the original trilogy was re-released to theaters in 1997, billed as “special editions”. Finally, 16 years later, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released.

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Synopsis

A dispute is brewing between the Trade Federation and the Galactic Republic that could potentially lead to war. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are sent as ambassadors to negotiate. Unfortunately, things go south and they end up on the planet Naboo, where they meet Jar-Jar Binks (Ahmed Best). With his help, they make it to the capital, rescue Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), and escape from the planet. Their ship ends up needing repairs, so they land on Tatooine, where they meet young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). Qui-Gon notices the Force is strong with the boy, so he offers to train him to become a Jedi. Meanwhile, a mysterious warrior named Darth Maul (Ray Park) has been sent to eliminate the Jedi and capture the Queen. With the galaxy’s fate at stake, will our heroes succeed and what will become of Anakin?

Review

Since this is an internet review of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, it’d be easy to trash this. While I do have some legitimate complaints I’m sure to have been talked about endlessly, I’ll try to be positive. Firstly, many of the big set pieces work as a fun spectacle, particularly in the last third of the film. Easily the highlight of the film is the three-way lightsaber fight with Quin-Gon and Obi-Wan taking on Darth Maul. In terms of world-building, there are some interesting concepts and it’s cool to see this universe before the original trilogy. While many of the digital effects have not aged well, they’re still impressive for the time and even revolutionary. Plus, John Williams’ score for this is among some of his best work, especially the “Duel of the Fates” piece. Sadly, these few positives can’t save this otherwise dull movie.

Before I get into some of my other issues, my biggest issue with this is that it’s just boring. There are so many dialogue-heavy scenes that go on and on for what seems like forever that are very uninteresting. Acting-wise, except for Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Ray Park, and a few others, most of it isn’t very good. Yes, Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best are terrible, but they’re not the only ones delivering subpar performances. Actors like Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson, who are normally good in other films, are pretty wooden here. Granted, much of that could be blamed on the weak material and the film is geared more towards children. However, I think even children would find this movie uninteresting given the slow pacing and especially the more political scenes. Overall, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace isn’t awful, but it’s not that great either.

Buy Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2sbMHED

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Despite production problems, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back was still a massive success critically and commercially. On a $23 million budget, the film grossed over $180 million upon release, making it the highest-grossing film of 1980. Much like the previous film, Lucas chose to once again self-finance the film, but not direct the film. Irvin Kershner couldn’t return to direct as he went off the do Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery. Initially, Lucas wanted Steven Spielberg to direct, but he was banned due to disputes with the Director’s Guild of America. So, Lucas offered the job to David Lynch and David Cronenberg, both of whom declined, before settling on Richard Marquand. Lawrence Kasdan returned to write the screenplay with Lucas, and much of the original cast returned as well. So, in 1983, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi was released.

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Synopsis

Following the previous film, Luke (Mark Hamill) and crew attempt to rescue Han (Harrison Ford) from crimelord Jabba the Hutt. After the rescue, the others go rendezvous with the Rebel Alliance while Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his training. Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire has been working on constructing a new Death Star with The Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) overseeing it. On Dagobah, Luke consults with a dying Yoda (Frank Oz), who confirms that Darth Vader is his father. He’s also visited by Obi-Wan’s ghost (Alec Guinness), who informs him that Leia (Carrie Fisher) is his twin sister. Back with the Rebels, they plan a ground assault on a shield generator protecting the Death Star with Han leading. Lando (Billy Dee Williams) leads the fleet attacking the Death Star once the shield is shut down. It all culminates in a battle on land, in space, and within the Death Star.

Review

Of the original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is a somewhat flawed but enjoyable conclusion. It’s still a fun and exciting space opera, but it isn’t nearly as dark or heavy as the last film. While there are plenty of dramatic and emotional scenes, there’s also weirdly forced comedic moments thrown in every so often. Thankfully, these moments are few and far between, and they don’t detract from the rest of the film. Acting-wise, everyone still puts in a good performance, with Ian McDiarmid stealing the show as the villainous and sinister Emperor. With his evil cackling laugh, raspy voice, and intense demeanor, he makes for a fantastic villain alongside Darth Vader. Speaking of villains, Jabba the Hutt is one of the most impressive visual effects ever made, especially for puppetry. Plus, the last third of the film is everything a big sci-fi spectacle should be.

In terms of direction, Richard Marquand does a fine job, but it lacks the dynamic look of Irvin Kershner’s style. As I mentioned before, the film has odd comedic moments that don’t exactly gel with the rest of it. In particular, some of the scenes in Jabba’s palace and especially when the Ewoks are introduced are definite weak spots. In the case of the Ewoks, they’re not terrible and they do contribute to the last act, so that’s something. However, there’s something about them that feels corporate as if they were introduced solely to be cute and sell merchandise. As for the special edition changes, the ones here are especially bad, either being distracting or ruining otherwise good scenes. While I have my issues with the film regardless of the changes, this still works as a satisfying conclusion. Overall, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is enjoyable fun.

Buy Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dCLec1.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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Where to watch Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)

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[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_video src=”https://youtu.be/lI6Gwxu7dVQ” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_video][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]No one could’ve expected Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope to be nearly as successful as it was. On a budget of $11 million, the film made over $500 million worldwide and was the highest-grossing film of 1977. Within a year of its release, there were numerous toys, rereleases, novelizations, comics, and even a now-infamous holiday special. Naturally, a sequel was to follow, but this time Lucas decided to self-finance the film to maintain full creative control. However, he became overwhelmed between managing Industrial Light & Magic and financing, so he brought on Irvin Kershner as director. Not only was Kershner Lucas’ professor at USC, but Lucas was impressed by Kershner’s 1978 film Eyes of Laura Mars. Most of the original cast returned, ILM worked on the effects, and Lawrence Kasdan was hired to write the screenplay. In 1980, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back was released.

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Synopsis

After the destruction of the Death Star, the Galactic Empire has become more active in seeking out the Rebel Alliance. The Empire soon finds their location on the ice planet Hoth and launch a full-scale ground assault on their base. While their base ends up destroyed, the Rebels manage to escape, and our heroes decide to split up for now. Luke (Mark Hamill) travels to the swamp planet Dagobah after receiving a vision from Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) to go there. Once there, he meets the wise Jedi master Yoda (Frank Oz), who agrees to help Luke continue his training. Meanwhile, Han (Harrison Ford), Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) are being pursued by the Empire. They take refuge in Cloud City thanks to Han’s old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), but it’s a trap. Sensing their danger, Luke goes to rescue them and confront Vader.

Review

Oftentimes, a sequel falls into the trap of not being as good as the original or failing to meet expectations. However, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is not just a worthy sequel but an all-around better film. The film takes everything that made the previous film work and further develops it, while also adding to the material. Also, while the first film was more of a fun sci-fi adventure, this one is much darker and more character-driven. Of course, there’s plenty of the Star Wars action we’ve come to expect, especially in the first act. The Battle of Hoth is a spectacle to behold, the stop-motion of the Imperial Walkers being a major highlight. There’s also a lot more humor than the first film, especially when Yoda is first introduced. His being introduced as a random funny puppet makes him being a wise sage even more impactful.

Acting-wise, everyone delivers ten-fold, having established their characters in the last film and getting to further develop their characters here. Not only does the original cast do a phenomenal job, but Billy Dee Williams is a great addition. His naturally suave charm radiates off the screen, which makes it even more upsetting when he betrays his supposed friends. Now, it’s hard to talk about this film without mentioning the major plot twist that’s revealed towards the end. Given that this film is almost 40 years old, it’s not much of a twist anymore, but it’s still effective. It’s the sort of plot twist that makes audiences immediately want to know what happens next. On a final note, this thankfully was tampered with the least when it came to the special editions. Overall, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is what a sequel should be: bigger, bolder, and better.

Buy Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YA3DAd.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. 

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Where to watch Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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