Darth Maul: Apprentice (2025)

For being a cosplay/fan-constructed film with what I would expect not to be a high budget, I found it pretty impressive. Sad that it's actually a lot better than "The Phantom Menace" and actually has real drama. What the hell was Lucas thinking?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djo_91jN3Pk

TBerg said:

No one does Star Wars better than not-George Lucas.

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I think it's some kind of universal law that should have its own name...

I'm seemingly against the whole world in thinking that the prequels were good, and definitely better than the latest too fast JJ rendition. First let's get this out of the way ...

• Jar-Jar sucks
• The CG Bomb sucks
• The acting was largely anemic

But the key is that they really carry the epic narrative that made Star Wars great space opera. The latest installment has JJ Abrams typical breathless non-compelling action.

If you don't believe me listen to ENTP Camille Paglia on why Revenge of the Sith is the greatest work of 20th century art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaW72ZchK6M

I don't see it, despite wanting to.

But hey, if you feel like these movies were made for you narratively speaking, then enjoy them.

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Anyway, back to the thread: This was a pretty decent fan-led effort. They obviously know how to frame scenes and make them interesting. There were a few blips here and there, but a great effort.

Part of the problem with the prequels is that questions are far more interesting and mysterious than answers. In 4/5/6 you are dropped into a huge universe that's basically... in the middle, no explanation given. You're in the middle of a rebellion why? How did these people get power? Who's the guy in the suit? What's this planet? In the prequels the only thing you get is answers. Which is why you have to watch it 4/5/6/1/2/3 otherwise you spoil the surprises.

I think Lucas is amazing at universe building but not so great at story. Once the universe was made there were so many great storytellers who told stories in it that showed us that while he may be okay there is better. That said I don't hate the prequels as much as other people they all have problems. Specifically killing the most interesting villains in anti-climatic ways. Maul/Boba.

How is Darth Jar Jar not the most interesting villain?

Jennywocky said:

Anyway, back to the thread: ...

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No, screw that, let's have a good old fashioned thread derailing

The Gopher said:

Part of the problem with the prequels is that questions are far more interesting and mysterious than answers. In 4/5/6 you are dropped into a huge universe that's basically... in the middle, no explanation given. You're in the middle of a rebellion why? How did these people get power? Who's the guy in the suit? What's this planet? In the prequels the only thing you get is answers. Which is why you have to watch it 4/5/6/1/2/3 otherwise you spoil the surprises.

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Hm, yes the prequals do lack the mystery of the later three, because we know what is going to happen. Jenny et. al., the best way to see it is to watch/study the Ring series by Wagner. Four operas with one epic narrative. I saw it live in San Francisco ages ago; it's a trial. But by the time you get to Götterdämmerung you know what's going to happen, which makes the epic inevitability of the destruction so compelling.

Revenge of the Sith really reminds me of Götterdämmerung, I don't know if Lucas knows Wagner (despite sharing a burrito order with him once) but there are too many parallels.

I think Lucas is amazing at universe building but not so great at story. Once the universe was made there were so many great storytellers who told stories in it that showed us that while he may be okay there is better. That said I don't hate the prequels as much as other people they all have problems. Specifically killing the most interesting villains in anti-climatic ways. Maul/Boba.

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He was too detail oriented maybe when it came to story. It's instructive watching the behind the scenes clips.

Hadoblado said:

How is Darth Jar Jar not the most interesting villain?

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The bad guy who almost destroyed Star Wars

Architect said:

No, screw that, let's have a good old fashioned thread derailing

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Impetuous Jedi! You have interfered with the plans of the Dark Side for the last time!

Hm, yes the prequals do lack the mystery of the later three, because we know what is going to happen. Jenny et. al., the best way to see it is to watch/study the Ring series by Wagner. Four operas with one epic narrative. I saw it live in San Francisco ages ago; it's a trial. But by the time you get to Götterdämmerung you know what's going to happen, which makes the epic inevitability of the destruction so compelling.

Revenge of the Sith really reminds me of Götterdämmerung, I don't know if Lucas knows Wagner (despite sharing a burrito order with him once) but there are too many parallels.

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I know what Gotterdammerung is.
(Hell, I've seen Die Walkyrie at the Met, my dad was an opera buff, and I'm an avid Tolkien fan, who also swiped elements from the overall storyline.)
That doesn't make the prequels good.

But if you want, you can move on to explain why "The Matrix Revolutions" was actually a good movie because it was based on the Upanishads.

You don't get graded on your source material, you get graded on execution. Lucas' vision far exceeded his grasp, typically.

I'm with Hado. Lucas should have kept up the Darth Jar Jar subplot. Along with a million other minor repairs, the prequels would have been very satisfying.

As it was, one of my biggest complaints was the differences in tone between real Star Wars and the prequels.

Star Wars was awesome because there was comedy, swashbuckling, adventure, and just enough intrigue to keep us occupied. The prequels were heavy drama with a lot of non-entertaining filler. Even if the lead actor had been competent in his role, Anakin's character was so fucking whiney, that was like Star Wars for Twilight fans.

JJ Abram's version at least attempted to bring back the flair that made Star Wars so compelling, while limiting our exposure to whininess.

What was Lucas thinking? He had very little to say I'd think. All the decisive people/investors were probably trying to make the most money as it was possible and they did, phantom menace sales figures were only recently bested by the Force Awakens

Jar Jar is a great family friendly character, which most likely along with the silly humor brought more people into the cinema. Mission accomplished.

It's a misconception to think that big movie makers try to be great, no, they try to make consistent and popular works to ensure the best ROE (Return on equity) and they are very good and professional about what they do.

Blarraun said:

It's a misconception to think that big movie makers try to be great, no, they try to make consistent and popular works to ensure the best ROE (Return on equity) and they are very good and professional about what they do.

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Maybe that is the entire source of my issue concerning the disparity between movie series. The real Star Wars was created by an inspired group of people setting out with a passion to create something novel and entertaining. The prequels were made by a business man. The newest movie was made by someone who has experience reinventing iconic stories and characters for audiences with short attention spans.

My thread = Republican party
All of you = Donald J. Trump

...Hijackers!

We're sorry.

I agree that Darth Maul: Apprentice was probably among the best work of fan-fiction (I'm not really a fan of fan-fiction as a rule) I've seen.

I was really disappointed with the antagonist in The Force Awakens. Starwars has always offered the most iconic baddies, even if they do have a terrible habit of dying prematurely. This one had a controversial sword and

As for the apprentice, it didn't offer much plot, but lightsabers are cool and they got that down real well.

Hadoblado said:

Also, I hate the force. Girl without training beats powerful Sith in lightsaber combat due to 'strong in force' shenanigans. The story isn't worth telling when the force is self-balancing.

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Where were the boobies? I demand boobies!

No, I didn't watch it.