Samuel Jackson responds to TFA

Yeah, great choreography! We really needed more of this in TFA......JUST KIDDING!

 

That was the first other Star Wars I've watched since TFA came out.

Wow, that was absolutely painful! AOTC has always been by least favourite but that reminded me of the Jedi knight games cutscenes with amateur acting and ps2 level graphics. Mostly because of how unnatural the actors look next to the backgrounds and how all the cgi looks feather light

It's like how a lot of people remember video games from 10 years ago looking a lot better than they actually did and being surprised by how poor they look compared to todays standards when they see them again for the first time in ages. I had that kind of moment there, not just with the visuals, everything was so stiff and labored/uninspired! I like the PT for the most part but TFA completely blows them away.

 

Samuel L Jackson shouldn't have been in Star Wars in the first place, he was too well known for his earlier roles which distract from the Mace Windu character. Plus the purple lightsabre was an extravagent indulgence.

 

Well I didn't necessarily mean THAT part !

 

As SKB said, Jackson should not have been in the series. He was too well known (though I would say Ewan McGregor was too, but he fits in fine), especially for much more adult roles.

I really don't like the PT fights. They're too clean. Too well choreographed. They seem too flamboyant, pretentious and bombastic.

As a big fan of stuff like Kurosawa, the gritty, down-to-earth, (sorry to be cliched but) realistic fights are just to me superior in every way.


That's just me though. I can understand why people do like the PT fights, but I personally can't see anything in them.

Apart from Duel of the Fates. Though that isn't the fight, just the atmosphere and music.

 

Ewan McGregor, Samuel Jackson, Liam Neeson, Terence Stamp, Jimmy Smits and Natalie Portman were ALL WELL KNOWN when the Prequel movies were made. And I had no problems with Jackson as Mace Windu. Alec Guinness was well known when he did the Original films. Billy Dee Williams was already well known when he did Episodes V and VI. So was Peter Cushing when he did Episode IV.

I'm sorry, but I agree with Jackson questioning the lightsaber duels in "The Force Awakens".

 

Have you seen 13 Assassins? Some of the most realistic fight choreography I have seen. Amazing movie, a little graphic if you're sensitive

 

I love SLJ. Give that man a Tarantino dialogue and he's brilliant. Born to play such roles, as is once again evident in The Hateful Eight.
Give him a lightsaber and ... not so much.

Chances are he, as an actor, will be remembered more for his turn in Pulp Fiction (that biblical monologue) than for pimping up the lightsabers and sitting in front of green screens. But time will tell.

shrugs

 

I think there is a balance to be struck.

There were excesses in the duels of the Prequels. With that being said, the amount of skill on display was impressive, and I think befitting of what we would expect a highly trained Jedi or Sith should be capable of in terms of swordsmanship.

The movesets should be more realistic (no useless spinning or twirls), and you want to have high stakes and an element of danger to the duel. You can still have this while displaying a high level of technical swordsmanship and that are fast and intense.

I also like the level to which they took the use of the lightsaber to block blaster bolts in the Prequels. In these cases, the saber twirls make a lot of sense, and it really shows what a Jedi is made of.

 

Dude.... so deeeeeenseeeee!

 

The movesets should be more realistic (no useless spinning or twirls), and you want to have high stakes and an element of danger to the duel.

This is STAR WARS, not "THE FRENCH CONNECTION". Why are we talking about realism? The main people who engaged in lightsaber duels were Force sensitive. They could utilize telepathy, telekinesis and so on. They were trained to tap into these abilities. So, why are we arguing over the "realism" of lightsaber duels, when you can barely find such realism in sword fights in martial arts films, let alone swashbuckling movies? Even Luke Skywalker's skills with the lightsaber were presented with very little realism. And he did his share of flips in "Return of the Jedi".

I don't mind the flips, the speed or the acrobatics. What bothered me was that a young woman with NO TRAINING with a lightsaber whatsoever was able to defeat someone who was trained and had experience. But . . . you can say it's "STAR WARS". I could only take the lack of realism to a certain degree. And what happened between Rey and Ren was a bridge too far.

 

Yeah I don't think you need to have engaged in german longsword fencing or kendo to realise that movie swordfighting ( even plausible examples ) is as *real* as movie barfights are *real*.

I think a large majority and myself use the term realism to describe a certain degree of raw and visceral character to the fighting that in turn gives the fights a feeling of real peril and at least an air of authenticity.
As to the other point: Luke can do flips all he wants - in the end of the day his duel with Vader is so much more engaging than any of the prequel fights because it serves as an externalization of character.

Even the most impressive dance choreography of all times couldn't substitute for that character element.
And whatever you think about the character subtext of the TFA climax - you'll have a hard time substantiating that it is simply absent.

PS
Just because any excuse is a good excuse for some fencing
Here is why "real" fights don't make for good adventure cinema:

 

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the new (or better: old) direction they took the duels in.

I know how you feel. I was a huge Star Wars fan walking into the Phantom Menace and walked out a changed man. That film put everything into perspective. The series had let me down and had now become just another action franchise with big budgets and lots of special effects. Without soul. Mind you, that's how I felt. I'm very aware others enjoyed that film very much and still do. Good for them.

I hated the videogame, 'to hell with physics' fights. Yoda bouncing around like a rubber ball in episode 2 was the worst.
I got into the LOTR films in that period to get my cinematic fantasy fix.

Now with episode 7 I'm very grateful that in the portrayal of the characters (were the real heart of the new film lies) and in the staging of the fights they went old school.
I felt myself falling in love with the galaxy far, far away all over again. At first I thought it was a nostalgia thing. That this film was made for the OT purists. How wrong I was as I turned to face my two sons in the cinema (5 and 7 years old). They loved it too.

But I feel for you man. You obviously love Star Wars and are let down by the new film while the majority of people around you are having a good time . You are vocal about it on this forum, but the party goes on. Sorry. You still have the old films to revisit and can just pretend these new ones don't count or are fan fic or whatever. I know that's what I did with the PT. (though to be fair I kinda learned to admire the technical skill and designs of those films if anything...).

 

All I can say is if Mace Windu returnsso my friend like a lightning trip back down to the force.

 

The Jedi order was at its height herego...its precipitous fall. To me the duels reflected the ignorant skill level that these guys possessed at the time. The duel in TFA may have provided greater emotional weight and context than anything in the PT (excepting Anakin v Obiwan) but skill wise the prequel duels are supposed to look like ballet as opposed to a forced two-step in TFA. PT duels involved thoroughly skilled forced users. TFA involved the rawest of the raw. Even Kylo Ren had never been in a lightsaber fight before. Finn it was his second time using it and Rey's second time touching it first time using it. Plus I think Sam was taking a playful jab not criticizing the movie or even the duels. Except for Kylo they weren't trained they do need to go to lightsaber fighting school I am shocked this thread is thiis long...WOW.

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Doubt it...before Han Solo made his return in this film Sam Jackson was sitting comfortable atop the highest grossing movie actor of all time list. He's been in plenty of successful movies including the prequel trilogy (financially). But you know that billion + dollars the TFA has made so far put Mr. Ford up to the top. Sam does like 4-5 movies a year at least 1 blockbuster he's a Nick Fury appearance and Mace Force Ghost cameo from being back on top baby!

 

They were twirling glow sticks in the dark .

 

What? TFA lightsaber duels may not look impressive, but they are realistic. This is how people fight for their life!

 

That's how UNSKILLED people fight for their lives .

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 9, 2016, Original Post Date: Jan 9, 2016 ---

It should be, "Love Yoda, I do ."

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 9, 2016 ---

.

 

Kylo Ren was skilled. His fighting style, even though armed with medieval bastard sword, is perfect Katana style. Rey's tactics were logical. They were meant to keep distance to Ren at a maximum, almost like fencing. It was actually very good. But the problem is people's point of reference. They like the unrealistic dancing in the prequels. But I prefer real world combat, based on historical styles which were designed and succesful for a reason.