If Bingowings' personality is really that big an affront to you, there's always an "ignore" feature that you're free to utilize.
Nice! I particularly like that last one. Makes him look much more fiersome and intimidating. Amazing what a quick colour & texture job will do for a character! :)
Adywan, if you're considering incorporated Bingowing's idea vis-a-vis an isolated meditation chamber, let me just throw in my two cents. I really love the idea. Though it's primarily a cosmetic concern, it does make a great deal of sense that Vader wouldn't want peepers hanging around right outside his bachelor pad. Moreover, the point has been raised (and I think rightly) that Executor's backgrounds start looking really repitious and confined. Putting in a hallway or tunnel here could really help to lend a bigger "feel" to the flagship. :)
Superbly done, sir. You never cease to amaze and astound!
How about "Yoda." Or "The Saga Begins." <grin>
Yeah, that's always puzzled me. Actually, he doesn't even come across as an assassin: he hires someone else to do the work for him!
So Jango = glorified sperm donor + shady "middleman"?
Hardly a compelling argument. Whatever successes he may have had in the past (the bulk of which I attribute to other creative minds, by the way), the fact remains that his latest movies have all been sub-par and sophomoric. I don't see how the comparative high quality of one release should in any way impact the degree of scrutiny to which other releases are held...
AxiaEuxine said:Yes, I never take anyone or anything at face value.
PS: I love the original trilogy in all of its original glory. Please dont ever think I dont.
Isn't that basically asking us to take you at face value? ;)
Agreed. "Sub-par" would be a better designation that "unpredictable." I highly doubt that George set out to intentionally write a crappy movie. "I know, I'll make all the romance scenes abhorrent! That'll really surprise them!"
Not in the least; I just wanted something entertaining. A sociopath stalking a political activist might be good source material for a slasher flick, but leering, staring, whining, "I can't breathe," "I hate sand," etc., is anything but intriguing, particularly when this is the character we're supposed to be relating to. It's worse than boring: I've sat through plenty of boring lectures, but none that made me wince and grit my teeth like the scenes in question do.
No, what I was saying was that I don't want interaction that is boring and cringe-inducing for the sake of realism. The Han-Leia romance in ESB is both believable and entertaining. The Anakin-Padme "romance" is believable to a degree (sure, teenagers flirt awkwardly) but neither entertaining, engaging, nor amusing. Hence, it's counterproductive. Besides which, it contains no spark of relatable humanity whatsoever. It's dull, boring, and just plain embarassing to watch.
Oh, and "monotonous drudgery of real life"... all right, as a side note, I want to tell you that it's silly to assume life is monotonous drudgery for everyone. I can only assume that your life is this way, and you want everyone else to suffer along with you. Sure, escapism is fun, but no fun if it isn't at least to some degree relatable. Just because you haven't had any of those experiences doesn't disqualify everyone else. That's your ISSUE.
Nice little ad hominem, particularly coming from someone who openly claims to be "unusual" and "awkward."
DarkFather said:So you're trying to tell me that the believable human element in Star Wars isn't what helped it be such a cultural phenomena? That humans in Star Wars shouldn't be relatable, because that would be too realistic?
Compare with:
Akwat Kbrana said:
Besides, it's not just the awkwardness that pervades everything Hayden does, says, or seems; it's the terrible quality of the acting. I've seen middle-school plays with more emotional depth and believability than the exchange between Portman and Christensen.
Start paying attention, or go back to the shallow end of the pool. The point I was making re: realism vs. excitement was that Star Wars doesn't bother to show characters relieving themselves, dashing to the corner supermarket for a can of beans, or filing their taxes, because that would be boring. Not unlike the awkward, leery, creepy, contrived "romance" that the audience is subjected to in AOTC. Movies need to maintain a dynamic tension between fantastic excitement and authentic humanity, and arguing that just because Star Wars characters have depth and humanity (though they're few and far between in the PT) then Star Wars is ipso facto an accurate portrayal of real life, you need to pull your head out and see the light of day.
You're not actually arguing against any point I've made; you're just being whiny and crotchety because someone disagreed with your opinion. Oh, boo, hoo. If you find the portrayal of Anakin and Padme in the PT "relatable" or indicative of real humanity, then you've got issues...
DarkFather said:I don't bash the romance too much. Looking back, I think I was just as creepy and awkward as Anakin around the girl I liked.
The apologists use this one all the time. "The awkward, creepy romance of AOTC is more realistic than the screenplay-romance of ESB." Granted, but if I was looking for realistic, I wouldn't be watching Star Wars. I'd be taking a walk, or crunching some numbers, or running some errands, or eating a bowl of cereal. Sci-fi movies ought to constitute an escape from the monotonous drudgery of real life. I'll excuse the deplorable "romance" scenes in AOTC based on the realism argument around the same time my real life sees the advent of hyperspace, lightsabers, Jedi Knights, and battle-droids. Movies aren't meant to be a direct reflection of real life; they're meant to entertain. AOTC romance is neither engaging nor entertaining; it's just cringe-inducing.
Besides, it's not just the awkwardness that pervades everything Hayden does, says, or seems; it's the terrible quality of the acting. I've seen middle-school plays with more emotional depth and believability than the exchange between Portman and Christensen.
...or "every single solitary thing about it blew..."
I think Ady already mentioned that he'll be removing the red "windshield" from the exterior shot. :)
Edit: Beat me to it, 005...
I'll jump in and cast my vote for keeping the audible Vader reactions. As I see it, the issue isn't so much Vader's strength as much as it is Luke's. Everything is leading up to Luke's total defeat and humiliation. Yoda insists that his training is incomplete and his strength is altogether too underdeveloped to face off with the Dark Lord. Vader is making all the rules, calling all the shots, and holding all the cards. It's his ground, his turf, and his terms. "All too easy."
And yet, all odds to the contrary, Luke shocks both his would-be captor and the audience by matching ruthlessness with passion, cruel intention with heroic bravery. He fights with strength unequal to his training, and Vader is utterly taken aback by the aspirant's resilience. Even when he has forced Luke to yield ground (not unlike his duel with Obi-Wan, by the way), and seems to have regained the upper hand, Luke forces Vader's defenses aside and deals a lightsaber blow to his shoulder. His reaction is a mixture of shock, pain, admiration, and anger, all of which rise from his charred lungs and pass through his vocal modulator as a muffled outcry.
It's an interesting dynamic. Even though Vader goes on to overpower Luke, he ultimately fails his mission, and the would-be Jedi escapes with his friends and ship intact. The Empire struck back, but Vader's efforts have ultimately been thoroughly and utterly frustrated. What's a Sith Lord to do to regain his plunging self-confidence? I guess he could always go build another Death Star...
ESHBG said:The thing that works for me is to look at the PT as almost EU, so you can take it with a grain of salt and accept it or not.
Almost EU? Personally, I see the PT as decidedly sub-EU in canonicity. Zahn and Stackpole, even at their worst, will always be vastly superior to this tripe.
I don't think the issue is so much that people want PT-Anakin to be Vader-esque; we just don't want him to be whiny, bratty, creepy, and dramatically competent as a two-by-four. A noble, selfless, compassionate Anakin would be preferable, among other reasons, because that's a much wider character arc than with which we're currently presented.
AxiaEuxine said:I see no reason to make every blade in the prequels blue, that would be boring.
Gee. Something boring in the PT? Who'da thought?
Star Wars EU has always had severe flaws (though less so than Star Trek EU, in my opinion). I've always thoroughly enjoyed, however, the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson, the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn, and the X-Wing/Rath Squadron series (And I, Jedi, of course) by Michael Stackpole and Aaron Allston. Everything else I've come across is just...mreh...
Of course, things got a thousand times worse when some brainiac decided to let Salvatore write for Star Wars. I didn't think EU could get any lower after NJO started...then the PT took root, and I was proved wrong. It's really a shame. The Star Wars universe has so much potential; it's sad to see it so...untapped...
Knightmessenger said:Did you just use the regular episode II dvd for the images? What are you using to enhance the images? I think you did a good job with the colors but in some ways I feel like I prefer the original images more. It looks more like Blade Runner which is cool however this is still in the time of peace in the republic. So everything should still look somewhat new and shiny.
True, but new and shiny is one thing; Barney's Purple Playhouse is quite another...
doubleofive said:I for one would love to see a A New Hope logo. I could swear I saw one in that vain somewhere...
Yeah, it was on the cut of ANH that had the Biggs scene included. Also, Luke had to throw his grappling hook twice. ;-P
Vaderios, may I just say that your mockups are amazing! I'm particularly intrigued by the interior DSII shot with the space battle up-close and personal. Awesome idea; I really hope Ady chooses to implement it. :)
Erm...could be wrong, but I think he was being facetious...
Love the colour-correction (or -alteration, if you prefer) job, Vaderios. Massive improvement over the original colouration. :)