Thoughts on Sith
May. 24th, 2005 05:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenite0I got to see SWIII-ROTS on Sunday. I agree with the general consensus--best of the prequels, pretty pictures, but unfortunately made by Lucas. Some random comments I haven't seen other people make:
In the original trilogy the one big ground battle was the assault on Hoth. Both sides had reasonable tactics. The rebels dug in and used artillery and air to delay the assault. The imperials broke the fortified position with heavy armor and then poured in the infantry to exploit. Not the only possible actions, but there's no obvious stupidity.
In ROTS both armies are standing up walking towards each other as if they're re-enacting the Battle of the Somme. Sure, they did that in AOTC but at least they had the excuse that they'd never fought a major battle before. You'd think natural selection would've left someone who likes diving for cover in charge. On the Wookiee planet there were some trenches dug but then the troops got out of them as the droids attacked. Plus nobody tries to take high ground or maneuver around a flank. Any modern American battalion could wipe out both sides without upgrading to blasters. Actually, if blasters have the effectiveness they seem to in ROTS, they might want to stick with modern weapons even if they have the option to upgrade.
The space combat wasn't any better. With the brains they can put in droids you'd figure they could have long range missiles that put anything David Weber's written to shame. Nope. Instead they have capital ships shooting at each other at distances that would make Horatio Hornblower say "If you're that close shouldn't you be tossing some ropes over?"
Anakin is a heck of a pilot though. A ship with no lifting surfaces, whose engines broke off, and is losing pieces in reentry, and he still has a controlled landing. Impressive.
R2-D2 had some fun moments. Beating up the super battle droids has to be classed as fanservice, though.
What really got to me was how the population of the galaxy has no role except spectators. They're having this massive war with nobody volunteering to fight except the Jedi and lead conspirators. So the people have no say in what happens to them, other than maybe voting for a senator, and you gotta know the galactic senate is even more gerrymandered than California.
When the DVD comes out I'm looking forward to one deleted scene:
Obi-Wan: "You were the chosen one! You were supposed to destroy the Sith!"
Anakin/Vader: "Yeah! And the only way to do that is to infiltrate, so I can kill the Emperor when he least expects it!"
"Oh."
"But I can't get away with it if he thinks I'm still friends with any Jedi."
"Oh. So shall I whop off some limbs, set you on fire, leave you for dead, and run off with your wife?"
"Yeah, that'd be a big help."
I think at this point I really want Peter Jackson to outlive Lucas and inherit the rights so we can get a remake of the Star Wars saga that's done right.
In the original trilogy the one big ground battle was the assault on Hoth. Both sides had reasonable tactics. The rebels dug in and used artillery and air to delay the assault. The imperials broke the fortified position with heavy armor and then poured in the infantry to exploit. Not the only possible actions, but there's no obvious stupidity.
In ROTS both armies are standing up walking towards each other as if they're re-enacting the Battle of the Somme. Sure, they did that in AOTC but at least they had the excuse that they'd never fought a major battle before. You'd think natural selection would've left someone who likes diving for cover in charge. On the Wookiee planet there were some trenches dug but then the troops got out of them as the droids attacked. Plus nobody tries to take high ground or maneuver around a flank. Any modern American battalion could wipe out both sides without upgrading to blasters. Actually, if blasters have the effectiveness they seem to in ROTS, they might want to stick with modern weapons even if they have the option to upgrade.
The space combat wasn't any better. With the brains they can put in droids you'd figure they could have long range missiles that put anything David Weber's written to shame. Nope. Instead they have capital ships shooting at each other at distances that would make Horatio Hornblower say "If you're that close shouldn't you be tossing some ropes over?"
Anakin is a heck of a pilot though. A ship with no lifting surfaces, whose engines broke off, and is losing pieces in reentry, and he still has a controlled landing. Impressive.
R2-D2 had some fun moments. Beating up the super battle droids has to be classed as fanservice, though.
What really got to me was how the population of the galaxy has no role except spectators. They're having this massive war with nobody volunteering to fight except the Jedi and lead conspirators. So the people have no say in what happens to them, other than maybe voting for a senator, and you gotta know the galactic senate is even more gerrymandered than California.
When the DVD comes out I'm looking forward to one deleted scene:
Obi-Wan: "You were the chosen one! You were supposed to destroy the Sith!"
Anakin/Vader: "Yeah! And the only way to do that is to infiltrate, so I can kill the Emperor when he least expects it!"
"Oh."
"But I can't get away with it if he thinks I'm still friends with any Jedi."
"Oh. So shall I whop off some limbs, set you on fire, leave you for dead, and run off with your wife?"
"Yeah, that'd be a big help."
I think at this point I really want Peter Jackson to outlive Lucas and inherit the rights so we can get a remake of the Star Wars saga that's done right.
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-24 11:01 pm (UTC)There's a concept missing here....
Date: 2005-05-25 02:55 pm (UTC)Two words: citizen soldiers. They tried having all their fighting done by a super-elite corps chosen before puberty (the jedi). They tried having it all done by robots. Then they tried clones who were little more than slaves. (Imagine if Random Trooper #856-D decided one morning he wanted to quit his job and go into public relations or flower arranging instead. I don't see them letting him go.)
Add to the list of Reasons the Old Republic Desperately Needed to Fall. The rebels of the original (or real) trilogy were at least taking on the power (= responsibility) of doing their own dirty work. Maybe the culture will rebuild better the second time around.
Re senators: I don't see a lot of gerrymandering going on when the natural political unit appears to be the planet and/or solar system. But that could lead to a sort of rotten-borough system. Planet X, with about ten thousand people total and one guy in charge (compare to Firefly, most eps) has the same vote in the Senate as Planet Y with a population of four billion.
Re: There's a concept missing here....
Date: 2005-05-25 02:59 pm (UTC)Saw a Making Of Flick
Date: 2005-05-27 06:30 am (UTC)I thought the Narnia trailer was worth the matinee price though.