The Force Is Strong With This One - The POP Star Wars Thread

Gimli the Festive wrote:

I'd be happy to hear about what happens.

Is series 1 the one from about 5 years ago, or is that entirely separate?

Yeah, thats the one! Unique animation - definately worth watching!

Anyways, Force Unleashed, in a nutshell:

Galen Marek was a Human male secretly taken as an apprentice by Darth Vader from his father, a Jedi named Kento Marek, on Kashyyyk during the Great Jedi Purge. For years, the Dark Lord trained him, under the codename Starkiller, in dark side arts and to eliminate his enemies, including Jedi who survived Order 66. Marek was told that he would ultimately assist in overthrowing Vader's own Master, Darth Sidious, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, while in reality, Vader and Palpatine were only planning to use him to root out those who rebelled against the Empire. In 3 BBY, fifteen years after the commencement of Marek's training, his missions to hunt down the last remaining Jedi began, leaving no witnesses.

After killing Shaak Ti on Felucia, he returned to the Executor, his Master's flagship, on which Darth Sidious appeared and ordered Vader to kill the apprentice. In apparent obeyal, Vader telekinetically hurled him through the viewing windows, only to have him "resurrected" six months later on the Empirical. The Dark Lord convinced Starkiller that he had saved him from death against his Master's orders, and gave him a new assignment: to rally an alliance of rebels who would eventually destroy the Empire.

After locating key figures, Marek and the rebels met on Corellia where they formed the Corellian Treaty, an accord that created the Alliance to Restore the Republic. However, Vader, along with Imperial forces, raided the meeting, captured the rebels, and revealed to Marek that he had only been used to rally the Empire's enemies. Marek tracked the Dark Lord and the Alliance leaders to the Death Star, a massive superweapon on which he dueled both Vader and Sidious. The former Sith apprentice sacrificed himself, allowing the rebels to escape. His sacrifice inspired them, and the Alliance which the Dark Lords had created in order to root out the rebels would prove to be their undoing.


Got this from Wookipedia! - The alternative ending is that Starkiller gives into the Dark Side and became Vader's replacement, sporting some evil looking armour!

Sounds like a winner. I'll have to try and watch them. And I remembered from years ago that Kashyyyk is Chewbacca's home planet!


I used to love the expanded universe of the books and all that. I really should get into them again.

You're all gonna hate me for saying this, but I prefer Lucas' THX-1138 (1970) to all the Star Wars films...

It's a damn fine film. I prefer SW, but THX is a winner.

I haven't seen THX sadly, but what do you guys think of American Graffitti?, I can never get into it.

It's good, bittersweet near the end, not brilliant. Has some fantastic tunes though, the soundtrack is superb.

Has anyone caught the Clone Wars on Sky Movies Premiere at all? It aint THAT great really, compared to the first 2 animated series.

Jinks wrote:

Has anyone caught the Clone Wars on Sky Movies Premiere at all? It aint THAT great really, compared to the first 2 animated series.

I rented it earlier this year. It was reasonably enough once I got used to the animation style but I was left with the impression that it could've been a lot better, which I'm guessing the TV show is. I really need to see it.


A question for fans of the original trilogy now, which version is your favourite? We have the films as they were when first released, there are the 1997 re-issues and then the even more messed about with ones from the DVDs a few year ago.

For me, it'd have to be the 1997 versions, simply because they were the first ones I saw. Some of the spruced up effects looks so much better then they originally did, so I can live with a few niggly changes that were made (yes Greedo, I'm looking at you!). I've never even seen the ones that came with the DVDs.

I do prefer the first animated series that Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack) did, the film should have been like that.

I'm actually gonna have to go for the originals before they were tinkered around with. Despite it being the least best of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi will always be special to me as it was the first ever film i saw in the cinema.

Thats NOT to say that the 1997 re-release Special Editions werent any good, it just seemed like a few of the additions seemed very forced amongst the films, Jedi in particular with it's seriously woeful song and dance routine in Jabba's Palace - seriously that was AWFUL to say the least, it always gets fast forwarded whenever i watch it. The inclusions in A New Hope werent too bad really, i particularly liked Han Solos meeting with Jabba in the hanger and the Death Star explosion was a lot more epic - those additions were fine in my book, no problems there.

Empire didnt have too many - just a rejigged Hoth Wampa, expanded Bespin and a coupla other bits.

Still, not an awful lot wrong with the originals in my book. The DVD editions of the originals arent TOO great really, especially the 'boxes' that appear around the Tie Fighters in A New Hope; looks a tad odd.

Upon saying this, i suspect Lucas will re-release the prequel trilogy in a few years with added bits (on blu-ray perhaps?) and 3D - part of me just wishes the man would leave the films alone.

Try and track down the South Park episode Free Hat, that brilliantly sends up Lucas 'digitally improving' Star Wars, and Spielberg doing it with E.T.

Jinks wrote:

Thats NOT to say that the 1997 re-release Special Editions werent any good, it just seemed like a few of the additions seemed very forced amongst the films, Jedi in particular with it's seriously woeful song and dance routine in Jabba's Palace - seriously that was AWFUL to say the least, it always gets fast forwarded whenever i watch it. The inclusions in A New Hope werent too bad really, i particularly liked Han Solos meeting with Jabba in the hanger and the Death Star explosion was a lot more epic - those additions were fine in my book, no problems there.

The sprucing up of the effects was quite good in the re-releases. I once saw the Battle Of Hoth as it was originally, and there were horrible black lines around some of the AT-ATs, almost all gone in the 1997 versions. And as you say, the Death star explosion was much more epic. The extra Dewbacks on Tatooine, made the place seem more lively, more like it should be, and I think there's a line from Han - "Close the blast doors" that was added in. Lots of these cosmetic changes all worked wonderfully I thought, it was the extra scenes that they messed up with. I also dislike that song at Jabba's palace.

I think there is a perfect balance that can be found somewhere in all the changes made, for me it would be the 1997 versions minus a few of the additions. It is about time they were left alone, but with HD and Blu-Ray, you just know more is coming.

Exactly mate, as much as i LOVE the series, it is being milked to death now. Will the TV series be any good?

Jinks wrote:

Exactly mate, as much as i LOVE the series, it is being milked to death now. Will the TV series be any good?

I want to see George Lucas do something like THX 1138 or American Graffiti again. (THX is a TRILLION, QUADRILLION times better than ANYTHING Star Wars related altogether!! )

THX1138 has to be one of the most strangest films ive ever seen. Doubt Lucas will make anything non Star Wars or Indiana Jones ever again...

Jinks wrote:

THX1138 has to be one of the most strangest films ive ever seen. Doubt Lucas will make anything non Star Wars or Indiana Jones ever again...

I know he's producing this. Red Tails, a true story about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly during World War II...

Ok, best villain in the star wars series then?

Darth Vader for me. The look, the voice all gives him an aura of menace. Shame he starting life as 'Annie' but never mind.

Darth Maul looked cool and could have been great if he'd had a bit more today.

I've never really understood why Boba Fett is so popular.

I quite liked Boba-Fett - the epitomy of bad ass in my opinion, Jango sadly (like Maul) severely under-utilised in AOTC.

Boba Fett is great and Darth Maul had his moments, but it has to be Vader. Just try and forget how he started out.

Hard to see how Lucas wouldve bridged the gap from bowl haired moppet to dark lord of the sith - still though Revenge Of The Sith was by far the best of the prequel trilogy.

I know alot of people who claim Jar Jar Binks is the whole cause of the entire Star Wars saga, his buffoonery caused the ship he was travelling on to land on Tattooine in Episode 1, and from there on, a chain of events caused everything to happen that we now know...

Well...yeah...ummmm....you got a point there actually Donnie. Still though, he is a twat right?

Not really the best SW character, is he?

Yeah, success has clouded Lucas' judgement too much. He has too much money and too much freedom. It would have been better if he'd done the prequels on the scale of the original films. In the words of Tim Bisley from Spaced, "Jar-Jar Binks Makes the Ewoks Look Like Fucking Shaft!!"