It’s not Shakespeare, it’s not even Yellow Pages, it’s barely English. If there is a better put down than that, I have yet to hear it. That is gold.

"Snappy dialogue" by George Lucas LMFAO!!

3.38 LOL. "Jean Luc stop making films you're too old and you're boring even me"

@Onmysheet

7 жыл бұрын

"I fell asleep, woke up and fell asleep again" Brilliant!

And the next you thing you know he's putting a bucket on his head and going FFSSSHHH HAWWWW and talking like James Earl Jones. I

Kermode is spot on. Anakin's transformation to the darkside is one of the shallowest, pathetic and badly written attempts at a character study in cinema history. His transformation was the entire point if the prequels (if not the saga) and Lucas hadn't really thought about it until he came to script episode 3 (weeks before filming). He even re filmed the entire turning scene because his test audience didn't get it first time, so weak was his writing. That tells you everything you need to know

'Princess Dingybong'

Not to mention that the first act of Batman Begins had a more convincing master-apprentice cycle than all three Star Wars prequels. Also, that email's rather funny- "inadequacy" is laying it on a bit thin as an explanation for killing kids. That has to be the biggest misjudgement in a 12 certificate film apart from the hangings in PotC3.

Mark is right, Star Wars died in 1983 with Return Of the Jedi. Nothing that comes after can save it. It may live in our minds but don't expect a new Empire Strikes back in the cinemas.

Kermode used to have so much more bite to him.

One thing I love most about listening to Mark Kermode is that he sees through the pretentious bullshit so confidently and just keeps it, well...real.

@burst2_

Жыл бұрын

Not regarding his politics.. he's a brainwashed liberal leftist

Kermode at his best! Ripping new ones into Lucas & Godard. lol

It's possible that George Lucas' greatest artistic achievement was to put Samuel L Jackson in three movies and make even him boring. I mean, that's kind of a special talent.

o my gosh kermode is a legend

Love it when Simon says "no you hang on"

Mark's being a little harsh with the video game remark. I thought the storytelling in The Force Unleashed was a lot better than all the prequels. That said, I thought the dialogueless Lego Star Wars was better than the films. And btw, how was that emailer able to detect "truth in the characters?"

on the subject of science fiction, I'm still baffled at Flash Gordon. Few words, Brian Blessed in large pants with a large beard flys round on angel wings bellowing like mad. Do I say anything else.

"Smiled with glee when spotting the Millennium Falcon"? What version was that guy watching?

He didn't. He turned on his lightsaber and they all fainted.

why did he kill the kids though, WHY??!!

@rafuxec Anakin knew that learning how to save people from dying entailed learning about the Dark Side. Remember that scene in that concert hall or whatever when he asks 'is it possible to learn this power?' Palpatine says 'not from a Jedi'

as much as i know kermode is not a star wars fan, and i agree with most people's bashings of the prequels, but he has to accept and appreciate that Star Wars revolutionised cinema and special effects. Alot of films I know Kermode loves were inspired by Star Wars. The originals (Or at least the first two), despite lifting alot from 1930s adventure serials, westerns n mythology, were genuis masterpieces, both on screen and in inspiring fans minds. You can't hype something that big, something in a movie has to strike a loud chord in the audience to get that successful

@textthing

10 жыл бұрын

Spoken like a true fanboy.

@MrAkashvj96

9 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry but "Masterpieces"? Is that supposed to be a joke? The original is horrendously flawed filled with more plot conveniences and plot holes than 99% of the blockbusters at the time (like Apocalypse Now or Psycho). It's poorly structured and the dialogue is so simplistic at times that it's hard to take seriously. Empire Strikes Back has several flaws as well but it at least deals with some darker issues and brings some moral complexities. A very good film but masterpiece? Not even close. It clearly won over the public but popularity doesn't make a movie any more worthy, from an artistic standpoint.

@textthing

9 жыл бұрын

Agreed.

@swsagafan8779

9 жыл бұрын

ASobsessive I agree with Nameless Paladin here. Telling that the first two Star Wars (A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back) are masterpieces is a little bit exaggerated. Yes, they have revolutionized the way movies are made, but masterpieces? I don't think so. The originals have flaws and the dialogue in the first Star Wars from 1977 wasn't the best. The Original Trilogy isn't renowned for its tremendous acting performances or its exquisite dialogue. In fact the only Star Wars movie in which the dialogue comes close to a well flowing human dialogue is in The Empire Strikes Back, and even this movie has its fair share of clunkers: "laser brain" for example. The only thing that people liked back then, and still like today, is the story told in the originals. If you take the historical context back in the 1970's and 1980's, it wasn't a hopeful time in America, people were depressed after the defeat of the Vietnam war, the rises of prices of products as oil. People needed something to escape mediocrity. Star Wars came out and changed everyone's view back then, thankful to the historical and social context back then, not to the movies or their extraordinary acting and dialogue themselves. If the originals were released today, I'm sure that a lot of people would have laughed about the story in the first Star Wars: "princess?!?", "Evil space Empire?!?", "That's outdated!" The originals are recognized until today because they had the chance to be released 30-40 years ago, not because they were, or are, masterpieces. And because, back on that time, the story was mostly addressed to children and early teenagers (which are now today 40-50 years old people who still love the originals) with its simplistic plot, not to adults. After Return Of The Jedi there were a few of attempts to cash-in on the saga (for example, Ewoks and Droids cartoons and a couple of live-action Endor spin-off features) but tie-in stories didn't really catch on until the early-nineties with Timothy Zahn’s impressive Thrawn Trilogy. But even then, it was only a pulp sci-fi for the fans rather than a wide reaching phenomenon. The first sign of Star Wars becoming the pop culture monster was when the Special Editions were released in 1997. And those were only released to get the fans excited for the incoming new movies. Mark Kermode mentioned it in this video, the only reason why Star Wars is still alive is because of its fanbase and what is happening in their heads, not because they are recognized as universally popular movies all around the world. As a casual Star Wars fan (yes I'm a casual fan, not a hardcore SW fan as my nickname might suggest), the thing that still impresses me today about the originals was how those movies were made back then, when technology wasn't as advanced as today. It wasn't the acting or the performances of the actors and the dialogue. As Mark Kermode well said, even the dialogue in the originals isn't "Shakespearean".

@KSRugby

9 жыл бұрын

you could agree or disagree with me on your opinions on the films, but what u cant deny is the hype. and you can't make something as big as star wars became unless there is something there that strikes a chord in people, in tat sense: yes original star wars is a masterpiece

@Casarzino Yes, but me saying that I'm going to the shops and then functionally explaining that I'm going to the shops does not make great screenwriting. I also think that going to the shops is fairly unnatural.

'Insufferable piece of old arty hogwash' 'The nature of art in the wake of Bosnia, ooohh, eurrggh' 'Absolute twaddle from start to finish' 😅😅😅 Fantastic

Please. If he's 880 in AotC and can do aerobatics on foot, he wouldn't age so dramatically in only a little over twenty years. That's just an excuse. The fact is, Yoda shouldn't have used a lightsaber at all. Especially when nearly EVERY SINGLE OTHER CHARACTER uses them, too. Talk about repetitive! How about something new with the Force from the wise old Jedi Master who is too small to truly fight effectively with a lightsaber yet can lift whole X-Wings with his mind and barely lifting a hand?

Anakin never had a father, seperated from mother at young age. Had a lot of fear in him. Came under the poisonous influence of Sidious as a kid. Lost his mother in a cruel way. Slaughtered a Tusken village, incl children. Wasn't sorry. Narcissist, megalomaniac. Is about to lose Padme, can't deal with her death. There was an arc that led to his turn. Admitted, the younglings is pretty extreme. I assume it's mostly because of Sidious' spell over him . His eyes have been clouded by the dark side.

Wow he wanted to remake episode 4😮

@EvilgidgitReturns Hahahaha so true. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" "Join me..." "Okay."

@nicholasjralph They would have been better off 'doing' the last film in all three; getting rid of 'child Anakin' and actually playing it out much more slowly. Kermode got this one right. They're dreadful. Three is the least dreadful.

@rafuxec And now that I think about it why Vader didn't demand Palpatine that he teach him this resurrection trick to bring Padme back to life at the end of the movie?

@Gadget-Walkmen

Жыл бұрын

It's not a "resurrection trick", it's a way to CHEAT DEATH ability to STOP THEM from dying. Not bringing them back from the dead, something that you failed to pay attention to at all here in the slightest.

....and the next thing you know: He's putting a bucket on his head.... :-)) Poor princess Dingybong.... :-(

"Princess Dinky-Bong"

@nicholasjralph Almost 'spot on'..I do remember that one amazing(IMO) scene in 'clones' when Anakin slaughters the sand people and we see his shadow mimicking vader! That was the first time I remember Anakin turning towards the dark side...Shame the rest of that film was pap!

kermode is right about there being nothing in revenge of the sith, or the first two prequels, that coherantly explains a character transition from good to bad. The only slight redeeming thing about Anakin's turn to the dark side was that there was some kind of temptation for him to seek more power, and even that, combined with christensen's awful acting, feels like Lucas just chucked it into the story at the last minute, and you dont really feel for anakin's struggle with his inner conflict apart from in the 'rumination scene'

@KSRugby

8 жыл бұрын

***** motivation for him to kill a bunch of kids n then some cartoons?! Normal people do not think like this, even if they have fears over the safety of a loved one, it doesnt add up in a coherant mind that killing children will help u achieve the power you need. so vader's story (As shown in the prequels) is basically that of a dumbass whining brats' evolution into a child murdering phycsopath!

@KSRugby

8 жыл бұрын

***** yeah there is a story there but it's very badly told. It makes anakin look like the biggest idiotic psychopath imaginable! How would it make sense to him that the way he is gonna get the power he wants is to kill some kids n some cartoon characters?! N when he turned to dark side palpatine said to him that he didn't know the full secret to cheating death himself, so you would think there would be a part of anakin that would be like 'what? you dont know it now?!' Anakin wasnt seduced by the dark side, he was tricked into becoming evil.

@KSRugby

8 жыл бұрын

***** as i said in my first comment, the one redeeming thing in anakin's turn is that there was a temptation for him to seek power! n i dont think it sets up well for the originals at all. The fact Vader was just willing to accept palpatine's word on padme's death, the fact he doesnt show any anger towards palpatine in Empire or Jedi after palpatine clearly lied to him. At the end of Sith he's just stands by palpatine's side and doesnt even bother looking into what happened to padme! There was nothing in anakin skywalker in the prequels that screamed Darth Vader to me, yet there was also nothing in the prequels that screamed fallen hero to me either. The prequels basically are about a childish unlikeable whiney brat who becomes a child murdering physcopath n thats it

@KSRugby

8 жыл бұрын

***** it just looked really sloppy n unintelligently written. You'd think if anakin had any brains he might get a bit suspicious when palpatine talks to him about the sith in a positive light in that opera house! it takes for palpatine to flat out tell anakin that he is the sith lord because anakin cant take a hint! it bothers me that Anakin goes from 'im gonna turn u to the jedi order' to 15 minutes later saying 'yeah, i'll join the dark side n kill some kids'

When Simon says 'it will be the only film this year that will get a round of applause when the lights go down' - yeah, that's because it's the prequel to one of the biggest film franchises of all time. Not that it's any good.

@papachewie1280

3 жыл бұрын

Simon's defense for any movie is generally shaky at best

"I'd rather watch Dave Lee Travis play Macbeth". Forgot about that ha. Saw all the prequels as they came out when I was a kid. Fell asleep in Episode 2 and Episode 3 ha. Caught a bit of Ep 2 on Tv recently...boy it's bad Huge sci-fi fan but most of the Star Wars movies pretty much suck. Never got what the insane devotion was about :)

@Casarzino He is TRICKED into the dark side not seduced like Obi said, there is a diference.

When I went to see overblown-exercise-in-propoganda Independance Day at a small cinema in my hometown in Dublin, that got an ovation. Why? You tell me.

+m.a. + m.a. Have u seen the force awakens, have you changed your mind about star wars ending in 83

Kegamusha,pawaquatsi,mishima anyone ?

I usually like to side with Mayo when he's standing up to Mark, but there is no defending this crap.

he is wrong about this movie. It IS explained why he goes to the dark side. He cannot accept his girl's death, therefore wants to join the dark side in hopes of learning how to save people from dying, which is of course unnatural.

No film released that year that will have applause at the end? Er Simon... in 2005 Batman Begins was released...

When most of the movie's set is just a green tarpaulin, it's always going to be difficult for the actors to deliver compelling performances. Think of the last fight, Obi Wan and Anakin do not look like they are in any peril at all.

@Gadget-Walkmen

Жыл бұрын

LOL That's COMPLETELY nonsense right there based on what you’ve said and saying here! Obi-wan and Anakin DO look like they're in severe peril against one another, they can survive the lava environment perfectly fine and well because they're trained jedi with super human reflexes and movements.

I usually agree with Mark's reviews, but I felt very satisfied with the Sith. The Emperor feeds Anakin's ego by telling him he's the most powerful Jedi ever, then stirs resentment by saying the Jedi council are holding him back by not making him a master or teaching him the darkside (which he's told holds the power to save Padme dying from child birth). He also admits that being a Jedi isn't enough for him & that he'd prefer a dictatorship. Its about how resentment & fear make you controlling.

@Casarzino Dude thats being tricked not seduced because Palpatine was lying, later Anakin just forget about it because conveniently Padme dies for no reason. And Padme didn't have any terminal disease or anything that would make Anakin take the stupid desition of join Palpatine he based all this life changing choice on a nightmare, a nightmare! thats it, thats all it takes. Terrible writing.

Star Wars = Snore Bores.

Prequels suck agreed, but these critics are just dumb 2 minutes in. "Why couldn't yoda do backflips in ESB and RotJ? Because they didn't have CG!" ummmm no, it is obvious Yoda has aged greatly in the 30 years since the Republic fell. Whether this is just his species like comes to a halt at 900 years old or his ties to the force have been weakened cause of the Jedi calamity, I don't know. But Yoda dies like an old man in ROTJ, he was sick, he couldnt do perform lightsaber combat anymore. DUH!

@papachewie1280

3 жыл бұрын

You sure showed him 🙄

Mark doesnt know what he is talking about. He is a social justice warrior. He actually praised episode 7, and that is the worst star wars movie ever. Episode 3 is the best

@schmidtzcargolbull

5 жыл бұрын

im sorry but SW7 is about 2.3 times better than SW3

@freebee8221

5 жыл бұрын

Oh C'mon. J.j.abrams put wonderwoman in the lead! She beat kylo with zero training and did all the jedi mindtricks without actually being a jedi. Its like anakin beating darth maul in episode 1. Just didnt make any sense(except thats what the sjw's wanna see, chicks beating guys)

@schmidtzcargolbull

5 жыл бұрын

Fine, you're right.

@papachewie1280

3 жыл бұрын

@@schmidtzcargolbull No, he just cares way too much about this