Head to Head: Return of the Jedi vs Revenge of the Sith

[Phil.Pastel]

Please vote on which of these two Star Wars films is more exciting.

1) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
2) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

I'm a little tired of people hating on Anakin and claiming the prequels aren't as good. Hopefully, this poll will show that

a) they are
or
b) people are dellusional

ROTJ is widely regarded as the worst of the three original Star Wars films. Frankly, it has not aged well. Revenge of the Sith is widely regarded as the best movie in the newest trilogy. The series seemed to be getting stronger.

We will pit these two against each other, so please vote. Please do not allow yourself to be influenced by nostalgia. I know it happens to everyone at some time (and maybe there's nothing wrong with that), but try to guard against it, nonetheless.

I will tell you right now, I'm going with Revenge of the Sith. I still watch ROTJ, but with all embarassing stuff that took place on Endor, I kind of have to watch the movie in a dream-like state in order to be able to tolerate all that. The ill-advised plot developments, poorly written and executed scenes, laughable characters and scenarios... it's almost too much. And then I'm supposed to notice that at the very end of the movie, they make a minor change and it is supposed to matter to me

[wyldman11]

I am in an odd minority that the original trilogy in order of favorite to least is
1) New Hope
2)Return of the Jedi
3)Empire Strikes Back.

And why, for some reason ESB just doesn't sit well with me for some reason. I don't know why, I just never liked it as much for all thoughts and purposes I should love it but I find it boring for some reason.

[Phil.Pastel]

I think it started strong with the neat battle on Hoth. Finish was emotional with Han being Frozen. But, really, most of the fighting took place early.

[wyldman11]

Really for me I just don't know why. For example I should love Hoth, I love snow, I love snow based planets, I love the outfits used, even in this I love them. I don't like Hoth, there is nothing I can think of why I don't like it.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

Original cut unedited ROTJ for me. Return of the Sith was a major disappointment. I was hoping that the final pic would erase the awfulness of the first 2 movies by having Vader in his black suit slaughtering Jedis left and right single-handedly. Instead, I got Anakin killing kids. Not bad ass. Not bad ass at all. I wanted the guy who terrorized everybody and made them crap in their pants when in the same room. Instead I got more of the weepy guy who also chokes his pregnant wife. Nice.

Return of the Jedi, while far from perfect, had the new Biker Scouts and speeder bikes. It had Imperial Stromtroopers blasting Ewoks (who no taller than kids at least fought back). It had the climactic fight at the end between father and son ending in the father saving the son's life at the cost of his own (sans the "Nooooooo!"). It had Jabba's Palace with all the aliens, the Rancor and the return of (and demise) of non-New Zealand Boba Fett. It had the space assault on the second Death Star (featuring the new and awesome TIE Interceptor) with the famous line "It's a trap!" by Admiral Ackbar. Revenge of the Sith had the famous line "She's lost the will to live." This from a robot. I'm glad they got the will-to-live measuring device in the future.

[LesPaulPS2]

Original cut unedited ROTJ for me. Return of the Sith was a major disappointment. I was hoping that the final pic would erase the awfulness of the first 2 movies by having Vader in his black suit slaughtering Jedis left and right single-handedly. Instead, I got Anakin killing kids. Not bad ass. Not bad ass at all. I wanted the guy who terrorized everybody and made them crap in their pants when in the same room. Instead I got more of a weepy guy who also chokes a pregnant woman. Nice.

Could not have said it better.

[wyldman11]

Oh I should say why RotJ is better then RotS.

Slave Leia alone beats out RotS.

[slackrguy]

I am in an odd minority that the original trilogy in order of favorite to least is
1) New Hope
2)Return of the Jedi
3)Empire Strikes Back.

And why, for some reason ESB just doesn't sit well with me for some reason. I don't know why, I just never liked it as much for all thoughts and purposes I should love it but I find it boring for some reason.

This is pretty much my view of it.

New Hope and RotJ had wicked cool space battles. I appreciate what ESB does for the orig. 3, but as a kid the Wompa scared the bejeesus out of me, the Taun-taun died and got split open, the Vader helmet scene was disturbing visual imagery for me, the Dagobah cave scene was creepy, and bounty hunters and betrayal were beyond my understanding at the time.

NH and RotJ bring back nostalgia, ESB does not.

RotS had a lot of characters I thought were neat looking die, not something that wins me over. I voted for RotJ, it still makes me smile.

[midor]

I think ROTJ is the best of the originals.

From what I gather I thought it was ESB that no one liked since Lucas didn't direct it.

[Phil.Pastel]

Original cut unedited ROTJ for me. Return of the Sith was a major disappointment. I was hoping that the final pic would erase the awfulness of the first 2 movies by having Vader in his black suit slaughtering Jedis left and right single-handedly. Instead, I got Anakin killing kids. Not bad ass. Not bad ass at all. I wanted the guy who terrorized everybody and made them crap in their pants when in the same room. Instead I got more of the weepy guy who also chokes his pregnant wife. Nice.

Those of us who like Anakin maybe prefer seeing him without the outfit? Just a thought. I think it was cool the way he grew into the part.

Return of the Jedi, while far from perfect, had the new Biker Scouts and speeder bikes. It had Imperial Stromtroopers blasting Ewoks (who no taller than kids at least fought back). It had the climactic fight at the end between father and son ending in the father saving the son's life at the cost of his own (sans the "Nooooooo!"). It had Jabba's Palace with all the aliens, the Rancor and the return of (and demise) of non-New Zealand Boba Fett. It had the space assault on the second Death Star (featuring the new and awesome TIE Interceptor) with the famous line "It's a trap!" by Admiral Ackbar. Revenge of the Sith had the famous line "She's lost the will to live." This from a robot. I'm glad they got the will-to-live measuring device in the future.

ROTJ had high points. It also had absudities that insult the intelligence of the viewer. Do you really want ewok arrows and spears to penetrate stormtrooper armor? Or see a whole garrison surrender instead of turning around and running back into the bunker? That kind of stuff ruins the viewing experience regardless of how great other elements of the movie were. I don't recall anything that embarrassing in ROTS. The slaughtering of all the Jedi was quite emotional (great music), and we got to see the emperer in a lightsaber duel.

[Optimus Prime]

Could not have said it better.

Bravo! Bravo!

[Phil.Pastel]

I think ROTJ is the best of the originals.

From what I gather I thought it was ESB that no one liked since Lucas didn't direct it.

I would find that hard to believe. My understanding is that a LOT of people despise ewoks. And I dislike them, myself.

I don't think you'll actually find many people who go around bashing them, however. The movie is what it is, and there's not much point in complaining about it after the fact. There wouldn't be much point in complaining about the design of your house after it is built, you just accept it for what it is.

For my part, I don't blame the ewoks for everything that went wrong on Endor. The writing was just bad. There were bad scenes that had nothing to do with the ewoks. One minute they are trying to kill Han and Leia (they even shoot Leia), the next they are trying to capture them alive. So you have inconsistant behavior for your characters. Hey, since you decided to take them alive, wouldn't it make sense to stun them, as they are armed? Apparently these particular imperial troops never saw the first movie and didn't know their weapons had a stunning feature. Pretty much everything that went on on the forest moon was non-sensical.

[wyldman11]

I would be curious on ESB vs ROTJ of comparison of general populace vs Star Wars fans. I know amongst more hardcore fans ESB is the preferred movie. In most situations like this you tend to get more of the more hardcore fans, who tend to scare off more casuals.

[EldestSon]

Oh I should say why RotJ is better then RotS.

Slave Leia alone beats out RotS.

plus hayden christensen is the worst actor.

[wyldman11]

plus hayden christensen is the worst actor.

if you don't include children actors, and totally remove Jake Lloyd by doing so.

[Slave2Evil_Lyn]

ROTJ all the way, it has always been my favorite Star Wars film and ROTS is in my opinion the worst of the 6 films.

It would just take to long to type out how much I dislike ROTS.

[Phil.Pastel]

Please provide specific examples of bad acting by christensen in ROTS. Or else your statement adds no credibility to your opinion

Lloyd was not in ROTS. Therefore, his inclusion in this discussion is curious (at best).

[wyldman11]

Please provide specific examples of bad acting by christensen in ROTS. Or else your statement adds no credibility to your opinion

Lloyd was not in ROTS. Therefore, his inclusion in this discussion is curious (at best).

He said worst actor ever, didn't specify movie

[He-Dad]

I am in an odd minority that the original trilogy in order of favorite to least is
1) New Hope
2)Return of the Jedi
3)Empire Strikes Back.

And why, for some reason ESB just doesn't sit well with me for some reason. I don't know why, I just never liked it as much for all thoughts and purposes I should love it but I find it boring for some reason.

I'm in that minority as well. ESB puts me to sleep. I fell asleep in the theatre even...which I NEVER do.

I'm not as big of a fan of the prequels as I am of the original trilogy, but I still enjoy most of them. (Saw Episode 1 in 3d and was not impressed. It reminded me why it was the weakest and worst of the six by far.) That being said, your question was which was more exciting, not which was better...and that epic Anakin/Obwan battle was more exciting than the ewoks so Episode 3 got my vote.

[krugos]

I enjoy Revenge of the Sith more than ROTJ, Ewoks are to blame for this. I like all six films very much, but ROTJ is together with Episode I at the bottom of my list:

Empire Strikes Back
A New Hope
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
Return of the Jedi
Phantom Menace

[HordakQuack]

My thoughts are that ROTS is more exciting than ROTJ. Which film do I prefer, ROTJ of course because just because it's exciting doesn't make it better.

[EldestSon]

Please provide specific examples of bad acting by christensen in ROTS. Or else your statement adds no credibility to your opinion

the entire movie. i just don't believe anything he says. and it's not just his fault cause i've seen him in another movie (where he builds a house with his dad) and he was much better. his chemistry with everyone is just bad.

as for my "credibility", i assure you i am a star wars fan and a fan of good movies and good acting. is that credible enough or do you need to see some sort of fan identification?

Lloyd was not in ROTS. Therefore, his inclusion in this discussion is curious (at best).

wild is bringing him up to say that hayden is the worst "adult" actor (meaning that lloyd and other child actors are worse than hayden).

that said, i find that kid to be slightly better than hayden in the star wars movies - as far as acting goes. again, hayden is just eye rolling bad. whether its the romance scenes, the scenes where he's just casually talking with obi-wan, or yelling at obi-wan, or kissing the chancellor's booty - nothing was believable. it all seemed very forced.

[Phil.Pastel]

the entire movie. i just don't believe anything he says. and it's not just his fault cause i've seen him in another movie (where he builds a house with his dad) and he was much better. his chemistry with everyone is just bad.

I can't understand why. Like I said before, it was neat the way he grew into the role. He was still pretty young in the 2nd movie and he struggled at times (some lines just seemed forced, ie. "It's not fair."). He seemed much more confident and capable in the last movie, and fit the part much better. He had a difficult role.

wild is bringing him up to say that hayden is the worst "adult" actor (meaning that lloyd and other child actors are worse than hayden).

That has nothing to do with the discussion. Bad actors can make good movies just like bad baseball players occasionally play well. In order for such comments to have any value here, specific examples need to be given. And since he wasn't in the movie, there's no possible examples to give. If we want to bash specific actors or characters, that can be done in a separate thread. We aren't discussing anyone's careers, only their performances in the two movies in question.

My thoughts are that ROTS is more exciting than ROTJ. Which film do I prefer, ROTJ of course because just because it's exciting doesn't make it better.

That is exactly why I used that phrasing. This was a Star Wars movie. It had good things going for it.

If ROTJ was released now, I don't know that I could get excited by it now the way I did when I was 12 or whatever. There were far too many silly elements. Still a "classic" (hate that term now..), still an original, had key elements, but it had major flaws that some people are apparently ignoring.

[wyldman11]

That has nothing to do with the discussion. Bad actors can make good movies just like bad baseball players occasionally play well. In order for such comments to have any value here, specific examples need to be given. And since he wasn't in the movie, there's no possible examples to give. If we want to bash specific actors or characters, that can be done in a separate thread. We aren't discussing anyone's careers, only their performances in the two movies in question.

You're making too much about an offhand comment, specifically about lack of qualifying statements which the post in question may or may not have intended.

----
Yesterday Episode III was on TV, and Hayden felt awkward in the scenes I watched. It was mostly the end of the movie, from when Palpatine reveals he knows of the dark side, till about the Windu Palpatine fight. For some reason he reminds me of SIRI where his inflections are awkward, he feels like he is a character added in after kind of like when someone edits themselves into a movie then tries to make it look like they were their the whole time but they did a bad job of doing it. Clone Wars has done much fairer job of showing the emotional range of the character and he is much more believable there. Which having watched Clone Wars just made the scenes in Episode III with Anakin feel even worse.

[Phil.Pastel]

You're making too much about an offhand comment, specifically about lack of qualifying statements which the post in question may or may not have intended.

Maybe, but this is a highly scientific poll Politics aren't allowed here. There's no need to mention an unrelated, unpopular character (ie. Jar Jar) as this could potentially influence voters.

While I think they could have made him a little more callous, dellusional, and selfish (primary characteristics of people who are evil), the script was what it was. His turn to the dark side was kind of awkward, but doesn't seem to me to have been a result of his acting. The writing could have been better.