There are a LOT of similarities. It definitely blurs the line between "reboot" and "homage", but I'd argue that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I think it will take a few years for me to digest and figure out where I think it ranks in my personal assessment of the Star Wars movies.

That being said, I'm excited about the future of Star Wars again -- the prequels came very close to destroying any optimism that I had in that regard.

For the moment, consider Episode VII but ignore the plot and parallels / homage / blatant copying between it and A New Hope. In all three prequels combined, there wasn't a single character that was interesting; that we could identify with. Anakin was annoying -- in kid form and adult form. Ewan McGregor did OK with the material and directing he was given, but the script and writing in general did NOTHING to connect prequels Obi-Wan with the original trilogy. Padme, Jar-Jar (ha!), Palpatine, Dooku, etc. -- not a single memorable, interesting character that made me want to learn more about them. Sam Jackson's Mace Windu was probably the closest, but didn't get enough screen time or depth to really establish interest.

Already I feel confident in saying that in terms of characters, Episode VII is massively, overwhelmingly better than the prequels. Rey, Finn, and Poe are each individually far more interesting than every character from the prequels combined. AND, I want to see how those new faces interact with the old stars also. Luke, Leia, even Chewbacca (my personal favorite of the OT) all seem like they will continue to be very important to the story moving forward -- and continue to develop their own story arcs in addition to the new cast.

The Force Awakens wasn't *perfect* -- I tend to think it leaned a bit too much on revamping A New Hope also -- but it was very good and very entertaining. And I am definitely excited about the future of Star Wars again.

You know what?
Samuel L Jackson does kinda look like Laurence Fishburne. They've also played some similar roles (Morpheus, Mace Windu?)

Guess what else? Elijah Wood looks a bit like Tobey Maguire.

And Summer Glau looks like Olivia Wilde.

And Reese Witherspoon looks like ... well, pretty much every hollywood blond apparently.

People look like other people, and funnily enough, a huge defining factor in your look is your skin tone. I personally have often been compared with a young Harrison Ford*..... Billy Dee Williams.... not so much....

*not actually true.

I can attest, I worked at lucasarts around that time. for a game we were making, we had made a light saber color generator that let the player pick their own personal color. George sent an email to us that said we had to nix that and that there were only red for bad, green or blue for good and purple for Mace Windu. we had to kill the whole system and remove it from the game. it was a bummer for us, but I guess it kept things consistent so that's ok.

*dupeof=http://videosift.com/video/Mace-Windu-kicks-ass-in-Star-Wars-Clone-Wars

2 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.

This video has been declared a duplicate by the original submitter; transferring votes to the original video and killing this dupe - dupeof declared by notarobot.

*dupeof=http://videosift.com/video/Mace-Windu-kicks-ass-in-Star-Wars-Clone-Wars

You latest hit sift inspired me to try to find a lightsaber fight that wasn't lame. I found this instead:

http://videosift.com/video/Star-Wars-Clone-Wars-Mace-Windu-does-Not-Need-a-Jetpack

Grievous in the movies was a huge disappointment after seeing him take on around six Jedi and a squad of clone troopers in the animated Clone Wars series, by artist of Samurai Jack fame, Genndy Tartakovsky. Supposedly he was greatly weakened by a Force Crush from Mace Windu before appearing in Revenge of the Sith, hence the constant coughing and wheezing, his hunched over sickly look and toned-down fighting style and the apparent ease with which Obi-wan Kenobi took him out (with a fucking blaster of all things! UGGH). He really deserved better. But that movie was a crapfest in general so I don't know how much having an at full-strength Grievous would improve that whole situation. Dirge would've been nice to see too but Kenobi had already had his way with him by then.

Actually, now that I think about it, the Clone Wars was the best thing to happen to Star Wars since the original trilogy by far.

I like the scene where Cameron stops Mace Windu from killing Ray Comfort, and then Windu gets knocked out the window.

No, because Mace Windu dies in the end...

>> ^Sagemind:
Damm Jetpacks! I always knew, from day one, when I first saw Boba Fett, that that strapping a huge rocket onto his back would be his downfall...
My theory just keeps proving itself!


Yeah it's a running joke in the SW series. In Episode II, Jango got decapitated because he failed to realize his jetpack was malfunctioning...you can see him try to blast off right before Mace Windu goes in for the coup de grace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp9ajaF_QDo

Wow, I usually keep all that stuff straight. I must be slipping!

In reply to this comment by Vajeeh:
Hello!!!! Obi didn't kill Boba's dad, Mace Windu sliced off his head a little while after Jango set his cape on fire. If George Lucas read this he would faint, wait that would be good........ No more minute errors!

In reply to this comment by budzos:
I think you're right Sylvester. Episode 1 has the best use of sabers. The opening twenty minutes of this movie is also quite good, especially the very opening on the trade federation ship. The suckage starts with Jar Jar's first appearance, but the Gungan city and the Jedi's passage through the underwater core of Naboo are some classic Star Wars if you ask me. Things get truly shitty once Anakin shows up.

One thing I hate about the prequels is how every single character who shows up in eps 4-6 is somehow tied to the events of eps 1-3... worst offences being:
1. Darth Vader created C3PO
2. Yoda knows Chewbacca
3. Obi-Wan killed Boba Fett's dad

Hello!!!! Obi didn't kill Boba's dad, Mace Windu sliced off his head a little while after Jango set his cape on fire. If George Lucas read this he would faint, wait that would be good........ No more minute errors!

In reply to this comment by budzos:
I think you're right Sylvester. Episode 1 has the best use of sabers. The opening twenty minutes of this movie is also quite good, especially the very opening on the trade federation ship. The suckage starts with Jar Jar's first appearance, but the Gungan city and the Jedi's passage through the underwater core of Naboo are some classic Star Wars if you ask me. Things get truly shitty once Anakin shows up.

One thing I hate about the prequels is how every single character who shows up in eps 4-6 is somehow tied to the events of eps 1-3... worst offences being:
1. Darth Vader created C3PO
2. Yoda knows Chewbacca
3. Obi-Wan killed Boba Fett's dad

Nick Gillard has been with George Lucas from the beginning, doing the choreography for every saber fight since 1975... He's constantly traveled to keep up with trends and new styles... GL asked him to find something much more exotic for "these Jedi and Sith at their prime". Wushu was the only solution...

The wild swings are called flares, and serve to misdirect your opponent and gain momentum on your strikes... In EPIII Obi-Wan and Annakin stand inches apart doing infinity flares at high speed... Most would say it's just showing off, but it serves an important purpose when you can be cut in 2 at any moment...

And it was Mace Windu that beheaded Jango Fett... Not Obi-Wan.