MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) Discussion > ROTS still has the best opening of any S...

ROTS still has the best opening of any SW movie ever.


I don't think even Lucas himself could beat his own space battle again. The first 15 minutes of this movie is just magical and probably will never be created again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZq53GloUhw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xg2PshET_0

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I disagree, I think ANH has the best opening.

Let me explain. I was around in 1977, and FYI audiences were absolutely STUNNED by the first shot of the super-detailed spaceship, we'd never seen anything like it and were absolutely blown away by the spectacular realism, the tense fight, the mysterious woman, the charming droids, and the stark landscapes of Tattooine. It's good solid filmmaking, and was groundbreaking at the time.

I also think the opening of ROTS is too spectacular for its own good, there are so many amazing things going on at the same time that the viewer literally can't get a grip on everything that's happening. Instead of being pulled into the story the first time I saw it, I kept thinking "Wait, pause, what was that?".




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I agree in many ways. ANH is probably my favourite, though I have a soft spot for Empire, as it's more mysterious, with the probe droids being released.

For years I used to think the same as you, ROTS's opening was just too damn busy. You couldn't tell what was going on. The strange thing is, that if you watch it now, after all the films that have come since, it feels positively restrained.

Since the computers can do flocking behaviour with their particles, and set things of on automatic, space battles in modern movies have just turned into mega particle effects scenes, where it's just a blur of movement. So the opening of ROTS has grown on me, I must admit. ;-)

I also rather enjoy the silver ship coming down into the atmosphere of Coruscant and through the clouds in AOTC. :-)

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I agree partly because ANH started a pop culture phenomenon and that is one of my favorite SW movies.

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I also think the opening of ROTS is too spectacular for its own good,


Agreed. However that first 10-20 seconds is just amazing.

I wish Phantom Menace would have started in a similar spot: Right in the middle of the clone wars. Explaining the origin of the war in 2 movies was the biggest mistake of the prequels imo.

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Star Wars, later renamed "A New Hope" has the best opening.

ROTS is a bunch of CGI nonsense.

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Agreed, of the 8, ANH

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the best ever...

RIP Star Wars

1977- 2012

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Agreed, "it's so dense" - the combination of of music/war drums and effects is sublime and impressive. Clones has some (underrated) appeal too with it's mysterious film noir opening.

The most historically significant and famous opening will always remain ANH though; this must have been a defining moment for the genration of kids back then.
de gustibus non est disputandum

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Yeah the opening was good, but as soon as it gets to that ridiculous part with R2 setting the droids on fire.. it turns to garbage. Horrendous first act.

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Why couldn't Anakin and Obiwan use the Force to rid their ships of the buzzdroids?
Do the windows of their ships have UV-A, UV-B and UV-Force blocking properties?



--End Transmission: Code 350--

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[deleted]

In the words of TFA "that's not how the force works"

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Why have buzzdroids when they could have been magnetic explosives?

It doesn't make logical sense unless they were used for some other purpose.

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First time watching it was spectacular, but it never held up for me. I do admire the attempt of taking the audience directly into a huge space battle after the opening crawl, as that was pretty bold, but the result left a lot to be desired.

- Videogamish visuals and FX.
- Ugly ship designs. Don't like those colorschemes on the Stardestroyers and Seperatist ships.
- Unnecessary attempts at humor. The Buzz droids and vulture droids making dumb sounds and behaving like cartoons. The silly banter between Anakin and Obi Wan in what should be a pretty serious moment. I guess Lucas wanted to make sure the film wasn't too dark so he sacrificed the film's opening.
-No sense of what's going on in the battle, zero strategy/tactic, too much stuff happening. Seriously, look at this screenshot. Such a clusterf### of stuff.
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/3/34/Spacebattle.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20091019154628


Honestly the space battle from TPM was pretty crap as well, but at least it looked spectacular and the battle had sort of a narrative.


The Shroud of the Disney has fallen. Begun the Jar Jar Abrahams Wars have.

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I think the battle of Scarif from Rogue One is one of the best space fight scenes I've seen in a sci-fi movie even better than the one from ROTS.

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I think the battle of Scarif from Rogue One is one of the best space fight scenes I've seen in a sci-fi movie even better than the one from ROTS.


I agree. It was the best fight involving capital ships since Return of the Jedi.

Now, the one scene that I was really impressed by in the ROTS opening battle was when the two gunships starting blasting one another with heavy artillery, causing the Separatist ship to lose and begin spiraling out of control towards the planet. That was cool!

- - - - - - -
I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.

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the ackbars agree so its final

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No. It's tied with TFA for the worst.

Perpetual outrage is the most popular religion today.

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TFA has no epic opening so your statement is null and void.

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Yes it does. It's just shorter.

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Much much shorter, I would say about 3 - 5 seconds.

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Still not sure what your point is. They both have openings....

Perpetual outrage is the most popular religion today.

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The best thing about TFA was Kylo stopping the laser blast, that was just epic and even better in IMAX 3D. The opening sequence in ROTS lasts about 15 minutes and has everything a Star Wars fan could ask for. It even has the obligatory kitchen sink! We get to see Grievous and Anakin saving Obi and Palps. Then Anakin lands half a ship! There is nothing like this in the 8 films so far. Although its possible they might come close in ep 8 or 9 but I seriously doubt they can.

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It even has the obligatory kitchen sink!
That's not a good thing.

Perpetual outrage is the most popular religion today.

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The first 45 mins of A New Hope took my breath away.

The Star Destroyer, the colorful droids, Luke and the binary sun, Obi-wan, the cantina - totally amazing

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Yeah, I still think the opening shot from the original is the best....

Perpetual outrage is the most popular religion today.

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ROTS is better.

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Still the best ever...

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ROTS is way better. It has the best opening of any real Star Wars movie.

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agreed

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Agree, the first 20 minutes of ROTS was excellent indeed

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I agree too, not even any of the 5 Disney movies had a opening that could compare.

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