Star
Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Chronological Story Order: 1
Release Order: 4
Series Rank: 8
out of 8
Notable: The first of a three-part prequel in
the series, the first film chronologically, and the fourth film in
the entire series. The film was released almost 16 years following
the last film of the original trilogy. The pod-race scene paid homage
to (or ripped-off?) the chariot race sequence in the Circus Maximus
in the Best Picture-winning Ben-Hur (1959),
one of the most thrilling and famous in film history.
Tagline: "Every generation has a legend. Every journey
has a first step. Every saga has a beginning."
Director: George Lucas
Plot: As the film opened in the last days of the Galactic Republic,
the scheming Trade Federation had blockaded the small planet of Naboo
(with capital city Theed), to coerce it into signing a treaty. Jedi
Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Jedi apprentice (padawan) Obi-Wan Kenobi
were sent to find a peaceful solution as ambassadors. On board the
Trade Federation's command vessel, they were attacked by a battle
fleet of droid soldiers commanded by Viceroy Nute Gunray, who was
following orders of mastermind Lord Darth Sidious, a disciple of
the evil cult called the Sith. They escaped and landed on Naboo where
they rescued young Queen Amidala, the pacifist, newly-elected ruler
of Naboo, who had refused to sign the treaty and found her palace
besieged by the droid army. During their flight with the Queen and
astromech droid R2-D2, the Queen's damaged ship was forced to make
an emergency landing, stranding them on the remote desert planet
of Tatooine. There, the two Jedi knights discovered young 9 year-old
Anakin Skywalker, a young slave who had the power of the Force (and
might be "the Chosen One"), and was remarkably proficient
with machines (he manufactured his own protocol droid - the unfinished
C-3PO). The boy participated in an exciting Podrace with a jet-powered
speeder, won the race and prize money - and his freedom, and was
now able to leave Tatooine to be trained as a Jedi. As they were
preparing to leave, the group was attacked by Sidious's apprentice,
Sith Darth Maul with a double-ended light-saber, who had been dispatched
to kill Queen Amidala, but they were able to defend themselves and
escape. The Queen was escorted to the planet Coruscant, the capital
of the Republic, where emboldened Senator Palpatine (potentially
the next Chancellor) informed her that the Senate was deadlocked
and Naboo was about to be attacked. Returning to Naboo, Anakin and
the Queen faced massive invasion forces from the Federation due to
the reappearance of the evil Sith, with an emerging plot of revenge
against the Jedi. The Jedi Council, led by Masters Yoda and Mace
Windu, were informed that the untrained boy Anakin was "The
Chosen One."
During the struggle to protect the palace and the Queen from attack,
the two Jedi knights had to contend with deadly Sith Darth Maul in
a furious lightsaber duel, leaving Qui-Gon Jinn mortally wounded, although
Obi-Wan vanquished Darth Maul and triumphed as a newly-appointed Jedi
knight. (Anakin was now Obi-Wan's new Padawan.) Naboo scored the victory
and became free, after the invading droid army was defeated and the
Trade Federation surrendered. This struggle was proof that more Dark
Side force invasions would occur, to threaten the Republic's safety.
Set-pieces: The Boonta Eve Podrace through the rough Tatooine
desert terrain, the battle between the forces of the Federation and
the Gungans on the plains of Naboo, and the climactic epic lightsaber
(laser sword) duel in the Naboo palace between the two Jedi Knights
(Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor))
and Sith Darth Maul (Ray Park).
Academy Awards: Nominated for three Academy Awards (with no
wins): Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects
Editing. It lost all three nominations to Oscar-winning The
Matrix (1999).
Razzie Awards: Seven Razzie nominations, including: Worst
Director (George Lucas), Worst Picture, Worst Screen Couple (Jake
Lloyd and Natalie Portman), Worst Screenplay (George Lucas),
Worst Supporting Actor (Jake Lloyd as Anakin), and Worst Supporting
Actress (Sofia Coppola as Sache), and it won one Razzie Award:
Worst Supporting Actor (Jar Jar Binks).
Production Budget: $115 million
Box-Office: $431 million (domestic), $474 million (lifetime
domestic gross) and $1,027 million (worldwide). It was the highest-grossing
(domestic) film of 1999, besting second-place The Sixth Sense
(1999) at $293.5 million.
Run-Time: 133 minutes |
|
Star
Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Chronological Story Order: 2
Release Order: 5
Series Rank: 7 out
of 8
Notable: The fifth film in the entire saga
- and the second prequel in the series in terms of chronology. The
first motion picture to be shot completely on a high-definition (HD)
digital 24-frame system.
Tagline: "A Jedi Shall Not Know Anger. Nor Hatred. Nor Love."
Director: George Lucas
Plot: Ten years after the invasion of the small planet
of Naboo from the previous film, the galaxy was on the
brink of civil war, and peace was again threatened. Under
the leadership of mysterious renegade ex-Jedi Count Dooku,
thousands of solar systems threatened to secede and break
away from the Galactic Republic. When Senator Padmé Amidala
(the ex-Naboo Queen) arrived in Coruscant to attend the
Galactic Senate and express her pacifist views, an assassination
attempt was made on her life as her ship landed. Supreme
Chancellor Palpatine suggested that 19 year-old arrogant,
impatient and headstrong Padawan apprentice Anakin Skywalker
be assigned to protect the Senator. A second assassination
attempt (with poisonous centipede-like creatures) also
failed, when Obi-Wan and Anakin protectively came to
her rescue. They chased assassin Zam Wesell to a Galactic
City nightclub, but the bounty hunter (Jango Fett) who
hired her killed her with a poison dart and then escaped.
Anakin was assigned to personally protect Senator Amidala
- and escort her back to her home planet of Naboo. They
arrived in Naboo at the port city of Theed, where they
were transported to the palace. Senator Padmé Amidala
told Queen Jamillia in the Naboo palace throne room that
she would go to the isolated and remote Lake Country
for safety. In the course of his mission to protect her,
Anakin discovered his love for Padmé as well as
his own darker side. Meanwhile, the bounty hunter's poison
dart was traced to a distant planet named Kamino, hidden
outside the Republic. Obi-Wan traveled to Kamino (on
Yoda's request), during a time of unrest when many star
systems were joining Count Dooku and the Separatists
(headquartered on the planet Geonosis) and the coming
of civil war threatened. On Kamino in his quest to find
Jango Fett, Obi-Wan discovered that a secret "clone
army" was allegedly being produced and created there
for the Republic (and the Jedi). The model for the clones
was, suspiciously in fact, bounty hunter Jango Fett!
Obi-Wan continued to track Jango Fett to Geonosis, where
he found more 'battle droids' for a giant army being
manufactured, now by the militaristic Separatists. In
a side plot, Padme/the Senator and Anakin journeyed to
Tatooine so that Anakin could investigate a vision of
his mother Shmi's suffering (after being kidnapped by
Sandpeople). When Shmi died in Anakin's arms, he brutally
slaughtered the Sandpeople, to Padme's dismay. Anakin
would be forced to choose between his Jedi duty and forbidden
love to Padmé Amidala. On Geonosis, Count Dooku
failed in his efforts to convince Obi-Wan to join him,
and the Jedi was imprisoned. At the same time, the Supreme
Chancellor Palpatine had gained 'emergency powers' and
was adamant about destroying the Separatists. The attempt
to rescue Obi-Wan on Geonosis by Padme and Anakin failed,
and the three were sentenced to be executed in an arena.
Mace Windu and other Jedi fighters freed the captives,
and Jango Fett was killed, but Count Dooku's wave of
'Droid' soldiers overwhelmed them. Suddenly, Yoda appeared,
leading the "Clone Army"
in an assault on Dooku's Separatists to defeat them, although Dooku
saved himself. One by one, Dooku first took on Obi-Wan and then Anakin,
severing Anakin's arm in the process. Yoda vanquished Dooku in a head-to-head
lightsaber duel, culminating with Dooku's successful flight to Coruscant
and the revelation of his alliance (as Darth Tyranus) with Sith Dark
Lord Darth Sidious. It was feared that they could soon assume control
of the Galactic Senate, with a sinister plot. Although the Republic
had prevailed this time, the Clone Wars would continue. Padme and Anakin,
who was fitted with a cybernetic arm, were secretly wed.
Criticism: The title Attack of the Clones was
a misnomer - the Clone Army came to the counter-attack defense
of the Jedi (and the Republic), while an offensive Battle
droid army was on the side of Count Dooku and the militaristic
Separatists.
Set-pieces: Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen)
and Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Ewan McGregor) speeder chase after
assassin Zam Wesell (Leeanna Walsman) in Galactic City, the
scene of hand-to-hand combat between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett
(Temeura Morrison) on Kamino's landing platform, the breathtaking
aerial chase through the asteroid field of Geonosis, Anakin's
and Senator Padmé Amidala's (Natalie Portman) dangerous
traversing of Geonosis' mechanical-robotic assembly line
(manufacturing a Droid army), the battle of the captives
(Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan) against three monsters
in the Execution Arena and between Mace Windu's (Samuel L.
Jackson) Jedi fighters and Count Dooku's (Christopher Lee)
droids, and the concluding light-saber duel between the Yoda
and Count Dooku.
Academy Awards: Nominated for one Academy Award (with no wins):
Best Visual Effects.
Razzie Awards: Seven Razzie nominations, including: Worst Director
(George Lucas), Worst Picture, Worst Remake or Sequel, Worst Screen
Couple (Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman), and Worst Supporting
Actress (Natalie Portman), and won two Razzie Awards for Worst Screenplay
(George Lucas and Jonathan Hales) and Worst Supporting Actor (Hayden
Christensen).
Negatives: Character development, acting and dialogue, especially
between Anakin and Padme during their love scenes, were criticized.
Production Budget: $115 million.
Box-Office: $302.2 million (domestic), $310.7 million
(lifetime domestic gross), and $649.4 million (worldwide).
It was not the # 1 film of 2002, facing stiff competition
against the # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) film Spider-Man
(2002) at $403.7 million, and the # 2 film, The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) at $340
million.
Run-Time: 142 minutes |
|
Star
Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Chronological Story Order: 3
Release Order: 6
Series Rank: 6 out
of 8
Notable: The sixth and final film in the entire
saga - and the third prequel in the series in terms of chronology.
The first of the films to receive a PG-13 rating. It was generally
considered the strongest of the three prequel films. It was released
on the 28th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: Episode IV:
A New Hope (1977).
Tagline: "The Saga is Complete."
Director: George Lucas
Plot: The time period was three years following the events of
the previous film, at the onset of the galaxy-wide Clone Wars after
the Clone Army of the Republic (led by noble Jedi Knights) had successfully
counter-attacked the Separatist Droid Army of Sith Lord Count Dooku.
Two Jedi Knights, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, led a desperate
mission to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, leader
of the Galactic Senate. Anakin, becoming more brooding and connected
to his "dark side," successfully killed Dooku in a duel,
and rescued the Chancellor. After being granted "emergency powers," the
dictatorial Palpatine could now control the Jedi High Council - which
he distrusted. He asked Jedi hero Anakin to be his personal representative
(or spy) on the Jedi Council. Skywalker was also given a conflicting
assignment - to secretly spy on reigning Chancellor Palpatine and
report back to the Council. It was later revealed that Palpatine
was the treacherous Dark Lord Darth Sidious with a 1,000 year-old
plot to rule the galaxy (as the Empire). Sidious appointed Anakin
as his new apprentice -- who was then renamed Darth Vader. (Faced
with haunting premonitions that his secret wife, Padmé Amidala,
was going to die, Anakin Skywalker was completely seduced by the
Dark Side.) Darth Sidious was fomenting a major Galactic Civil War
within the Empire. There was a major uprising against the Jedi Knights
and many were decimated. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda were
forced into hiding. Darth Vader fulfilled his mission to slaughter
members of the Separatist Council and their Battle droids. There
was a climactic light-saber duel between Obi-Wan and his former apprentice
Anakin/Darth Vader - the latter was left disarmed, seemingly-lethally
wounded, and crippled, but was resuscitated and brought back to life
(and forced to wear a black armored life-support suit and helmet
(or face mask)). Amidala died giving birth to Anakin's/Darth Vader's
own offspring - twins (a boy named Luke and a girl named Leia). Was
there hope for the galaxy?
Set-pieces: The opening space battle between General Grievous
and the Federation against the Republic's Jedi during the rescue of
Coruscant's kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid),
Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Ewan McGregor) one-on-one combat against General
Grievous (Matthew Wood) on Utapau, the duel to the death between Chancellor
Palpatine (Darth Sidious) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), and the
simultaneous, climactic lightsaber duels: on Mustafar between Obi-Wan
and his former apprentice Anakin/Darth Vader, and in the Senate chambers
between Yoda and Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid).
Academy Awards: With only one Academy Award nomination (with
no wins): Best Makeup.
Razzie Awards: The film won its sole Razzie nomination - Worst
Supporting Actor (Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker).
Production Budget: $113 million.
Box-Office: $380.3 million (domestic) and almost $849 million
(worldwide). It was the # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) film of
2005, besting second-place The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) at
$291.7 million. It was the # 2 highest-grossing (worldwide) film
of 2005, just behind Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) at almost $897 million.
Run-Time: 140 minutes |
|
