Liking cheese is good. Nobody has topped the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, and that's full of cheese (he does a great, cheeky, cheesy sword flourish while fighting guards at the feast near the start of the film).
But, for me, for Star Wars, I don't like most of the prequel fights. They weren't about great characters, they weren't good scenes, and they wouldn't have worked without the stunts. They were showing off. If you take the sword fight out of the Dooku fight, you don't have a scene. If you take the sword fight out of Vader v. Obi-Wan or Vader v. Luke, and you still have a scene. Much shorter and less action-packed, but Vader and Luke would try to turn each other in Jedi, or "I am Your Father" would be happening - there's still a scene.
As to the quality of the swordplay itself, well, frankly, I think there's really great action in the original trilogy. I find those sword fights tense, thrilling, and the swordplay is great. It doesn't look less impressive to me than the prequels. The prequels have a flashier style and more flips. But the sword fight itself still looks skilled and impressive. Just more "kendo" and less "Cirque du Solei".
In the prequels, I appreciate the epic quality that was brought to the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan v. Maul duel. A lot of that is John Williams' doing. I also liked the fight between Mace Windu and Palpatine, which I felt would have been a scene (not a *great* scene, but...) without the fight. Other than that, I must confess I find them bland, tedious excuses for sword demonstrations (and on that mark, they are impressive), and I tune out.
To each his own - if you like them, more power to you. But for me, they fall flat.
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Otter (24464)
5 years ago
"I appreciate the epic quality that was brought to the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan v. Maul duel. A lot of that is John Williams' doing."
Ain't it the truth about John Williams! Yes, without the awesome score, the three-way fight in "Phantom Menace" would fall as flat as the medal-awarding scene in "A New Hope". The score makes the scene work. Williams doesn't get enough appreciation from the fans, he's elevated the films as a whole and single-handedly saved a lot of iconic scenes.
It's so nice talking to a sane and perceptive Star Wars fan, for once.
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Ace_Spade (9381)
5 years ago
I think Williams gets overlooked because he's so prolific, we hear his music so much, and that almost makes us forget how awesome he is. He sets a benchmark for all music in cinema. He also sounds "classic" movie, with big, bold brass sections triumphantly proclaiming the epicness of film, which we expect.
But he's great. I've never heard a John Williams soundtrack that wasn't great. Star Wars is a masterwork of composing.
"It's so nice talking to a sane and perceptive Star Wars fan, for once."
Right back at ya. I get a little bored by all the aggression often displayed between Star Wars fans on these (and other) boards. Instead of laying out arguments and debating the merits and demerits of, say, whether or not The Last Jedi was any good, people just angrily blast away at each other, calling each other morons, tasteless, or worse.
It's great to just converse about films, films we love or hate or are confused by or enthralled with, and just have a good conversation about a wonderful medium.
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