My thoughts and reviews on everything Star Wars

Well, I did this already for Harry Potter, and I think I will also do this for Lord of the Rings once I read it and watch the movies again, but for now, it is time to review everything Star Wars. I will review each of the six movies, plus a few video games I have played. The video games will go in chronologically, so if it takes place before Episode I, I will review it first.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (The video game)
Rating: 9/10
This is a very good role-playing game if you’re into that sort of game. It has a great story with very interesting characters that develop over time: From Carth and Bastilla to Mission and Canderous, this game is phenomenal. Very few flaws in this game—one being the constant load screens. But the development of the characters and the gameplay make this one of the better Star Wars games.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (The video game)
Rating: 8/10
Very similar gameplay to its predecessor, The Sith Lords has new characters, of course, but they are less interesting than the characters in the original KOTOR. Kreia is creepy, Atton is a poor imitation of Han Solo, and Bao-Dur has no personality. The plot also has a less interesting concept—i.e. there is no Revan-like twist (Kreia being a Sith Lord is not a twist, IMO). The gameplay is about the same as the original. But if you don’t play the original and you play this, you’ll see it’s really not a bad game at all. It just pales in comparison to the original.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (The movie)
Rating: 7/10
Sometimes I feel generous giving this film a 7/10. Sometimes, however, I feel it deserves it. It’s not an awful film as some people make it out to be, but like many other films, it pales in comparison to its original—in this case, the original trilogy. This film really didn’t give us a reason to care about a lot of the characters, and in a lot of cases, there was no drama with certain fight scenes because we knew a certain character was going to survive (i.e. Obi-Wan vs. Maul, Anakin flying the Naboo ship). That problem lingered throughout the trilogy, which is why it is so hard to make a prequel, especially a prequel series.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan (The video game)
Rating: 7.5/10
This game is set before and during the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Obviously, you play as Obi-Wan Kenobi. I do love the missions you go on, such as rescuing the queen from the Tusken Raiders and battling Darth Maul, just like in the film. Some parts of the game, however, are far more difficult than other parts, making it always way too easy or way too hard in some areas of the game, depending on the difficulty you play on. However, it follows Obi-Wan’s journeys well, and it’s a must play for any Star Wars gamer.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (The movie)
Rating: 6.5/10
I have to say this: Every time I watch this film, I like it less and less. First time I saw it, I loved it. When I got it on DVD, I still really liked it. About a half dozen views more on DVD later and now I’m starting to dislike it. The dialogue, plot, acting, special effects, you name it—all suffered in this film. It’s not a horrible film, but even with less Jar Jar and no “Little Ani”, it still isn’t much of an improvement, if any, from The Phantom Menace. Hayden Christensen was a poor choice for Anakin. His scenes with Padme make me cringe more and more each time I watch it. Yoda fighting with a lightsaber was a letdown. Just everything about this movie is a disappointment. At first I had decided Episode I was the worst movie of the trilogy, but I have now decided it is Episode II. There is something in almost every scene that makes you think “What was George Lucas THINKING?”

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Video Game)
Rating: 5/10
Ok, so I only played the Game Boy Advance version, but boy does it kinda suck. It's just hard, not fun to play, and has you do things that really were nowhere near what was in the movie. For it being a Game Boy Advance game, the graphics and sounds were ok, but I've hardly logged any time into this because it is so difficult and repetitive.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (The movie)
Rating: 8/10
I gave this an 8/10 based on the quality of the film, not on how much I enjoy it. Anyway, Revenge of the Sith is probably the best out of the Star Wars prequels. It actually doesn’t disappoint when it comes to connecting the prequel trilogy to the original trilogy. The way Anakin turned to the dark side did, however, disappoint me. I feel it should have been more drawn out and Anakin should have slowly turned to the dark side. I also felt his means to turning to the dark side were farfetched. So, he turns to the dark side and kills dozens of younglings just so he can save his wife, whom he later causes the death of. That’s my biggest critique of this film. Aside from that, the Jedi execution scenes, the scenes on Mustafar, and the scenes with Yoda were all done pretty well and were pretty emotional. Heck, I’ll even admit I still sometimes get misty-eyed when I hear Obi-Wan yell “You were the chosen one!”

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (The video game)
Rating: 6/10
This game looks like it took just a few months to make. The graphics are lacking, the controls are such as that you just button mash the whole time, and it becomes somewhat boring. It follows the movie pretty well, and I love the alternate scene where Anakin defeats Obi-Wan, then kills the emperor, declaring the galaxy belongs to himself and himself alone. But this is really at best an average video game based on a movie. Not entirely worth it unless you are a huge Star Wars nerd like me.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (The video game)
Rating: 8.5/10
Incredible, incredible game. The graphics are unbelievable, the controls are very easy to understand, and you start to get attached to the protagonist known as “Starkiller”. In it, he is Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and this game has a very nice climax, which (SPOILERS) results in Starkiller’s death. Not many video games out there have the protagonist die in the end, but this one does. (END SPOILERS) The few critiques I have are that the idea of Darth Vader having a secret apprentice is a little farfetched and that Starkiller would be turned so easily. Other than that, very good game.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (The video game)
Rating: 6/10
How could a sequel have such a dropoff, you might ask? With a bogus concept, a shortened game, and no advancements in graphics or controls. It feels like they rushed this game. I completed it in two or three days, whereas the original took me a few weeks at least. The plot is based on Vader creating clone of Starkiller to try to make this one more obedient, to no avail. The one plus I can say about this game is that the battle scenes with the Gorog were done really well and are very exciting. However, you find it hard to care about this guy since he is a clone and not the actual Starkiller. Disappointing game to say the least.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Rating: 9.5/10
Ah, the movie that started it all. Imagine if something had prevented this movie from being released. There would be no Star Wars. This is the classiest, most famous, and most people’s famous film: the original Star Wars. At the time, it was just called Star Wars, but as sequels came out they added a title to this one. This Star Wars movie still proves that you don’t need special effects or battles every ten minutes in order to make a quality Star Wars film. Unfortunately, the series went downhill from here.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Rating: 9/10
Some people consider this film their favorite Star Wars film and I can see why. The beginning has a battle and at the end we are left with a cliffhanger (What will happen to Han?) and a huge plot twist (Darth Vader being Luke’s father). I believe George Lucas came up with the idea of Vader being Luke’s father AFTER filming A New Hope, because of the way Obi-Wan described Luke’s father and what happened to him in that film.

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Rating: 8.5/10
I wish Lucas didn’t try to use gimmicks in his films just to get certain people to watch, but they first became evident in ROTJ. The main gimmick of this film is the Ewoks and their ability to somehow overpower an entire fleet of the “Emperor’s Best”. That’s like saying a bunch of schoolchildren could kill guys that have been trained for the US Army. For this simple thing alone, I can’t rate it any higher than an 8.5. However, this is still a quality film and the Original Trilogy is not complete without it. The scenes with Luke, the Emperor, and Darth Vader were perfectly done. I definitely enjoy this film, but most people consider it the weak link of the Original Trilogy.

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Rating: 8.5/10
This is one of my favorite PC games of all time. In it, you play as an outcast Jedi named Kyle Katarn who gets “reborn” in the force after his companion Jan Ors is taken from him. It’s an extremely fun game to play and the plot is compelling. The bosses are just tough enough and you get a variety of weapons (including the lightsaber) and force powers to use on them. The downside to this game is that it’s a bit repetitive with some of the enemies and the final boss can be extremely difficult to kill. But I would definitely have to say this is in my top 3 of Star Wars games.

Star Wars Battlefront I
Rating: 8/10
Solid, solid game, I must say. This game isn’t really set during a certain time period or even have a conceivable storyline or plot. It just is a shooter game where you can take control of any soldier (Stormtrooper, Trade Federation droid, even Wookies). Basically, you are on a battlefield (usually somewhere on a famous Star Wars locale such as Hoth, Endor, or Tattooine). You try to control these “Command Posts” by standing near them. The more command posts you have, the likelier you are to win. It’s negatives are its simplicity and lack of different types of gameplay, but it at the time made for a fun game to play online with other people.

Star Wars Battlefront II
Rating: 8/10
The sequel to Star Wars Battlefront II didn’t really improve much at all. They added the ability to play as a Jedi, but changed little else. Again, limited game modes. There are certain campaigns you can do, but still, no story. I liked some of the locales they added (such as the Death Star) and they also added being able to fly in planes, but I have never liked that game type. I’m not a huge fan of big changes made to sequels in games, but you gotta have more changes than this did.

Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (The video game)
Rating: 9/10
Based on the Age of Empires engine and gameplay, Star Wars Galactic Battleground is a sort of Star Wars empire simulator. My favorite part about the game is how it takes you to actual events in the Star Wars universe, such as the battle of Naboo’s grassy plains, the battle of Endor, and the battle of Hoth. It also has campaign missions that take place before and after a lot of the Star Wars films. My one critique is its lack of realism—the size ratio of things is way off. Look at Luke Skywalker compared to an AT-AT walker. Is that the way it looked in the film? Nope. Plus, huge machines like Walkers can board air and water transports that are like 1/3 their size—unrealistic to say the least. But if you can get by that, it’s a really awesome game.