What was the worst scene in....................................The Phantom Menace? — Page 2

hitfan said:

walking_carpet said:

+1

finding the worse scene in TPM is like debating the worse player on the Bears offensive line.  But this is a microcosm.

+10

There was a lot of suckage in TPM: Anakin is a cutesy 10 year old.  Slavery is bad.  Yippee!  That's gotta hurt no matter what planet you come from.  Boss Nass.  Anakin destroys the command center by accident.

It's really hard for me to pinpoint the one singular moment of the movie that is the worst.  What sticks out the worst in my mind is the two headed announcer during the pod race.  The need to inject really bad comic relief moments every few minutes just wears you down after a while.

what else is outrageous about that scene is how totally fake it looks.  Lucas went on and on for years taking about how CGI can help him because he can create anything photorealistic. 

THERE IS NOTHING PHOTOREALISTIC about that two-headed pod-race announcer!!  come to think of it, there is so much crap in the PT thats not photorealistic.  Another garbage scene in TPM is the Naboo ground battle! pixar nowadays looks better - but you dont hear them saying any of the animated features are meant to be photorealistic.

the clone troopers in AOTC were obviously CGI to me even back in 2002.  most likely what cost ILM the oscar that year.

if photorealism was truly the standard for using CGI in the PT, then one can easily argue that the PT had far worse effects from 1999-2005 than the OT did from 1977-1983.  and its not even close.

walking_carpet said:

THERE IS NOTHING PHOTOREALISTIC about that two-headed pod-race announcer!!  come to think of it, there is so much crap in the PT thats not photorealistic.  Another garbage scene in TPM is the Naboo ground battle! pixar nowadays looks better - but you dont hear them saying any of the animated features are meant to be photorealistic.

the clone troopers in AOTC were obviously CGI to me even back in 2002.  most likely what cost ILM the oscar that year.

if photorealism was truly the standard for using CGI in the PT, then one can easily argue that the PT had far worse effects from 1999-2005 than the OT did from 1977-1983.  and its not even close.

+1000. For me personally, this is one of the more frustrating things about George's attitude. The special effects in the OT helped emmerse you in the universe, whereas the effects in the PT just remind you that you are only watching a movie.

TheBoost said:

I'm more pro-CGI than most members of this board, but I think the best/worst example of what you're talking about is the new musical number in Jabba's palace.

The two EXTREME close ups of the singing aliens mouths are so painfully there just to show us how proud they were of the CG (that hasn't aged well). If that was a puppet or even an actor, you would NEVER do a shot loooking down at the uvula. The whole point is "Hey, this CG cartoon has a uvula! Isn't that awesome!"

 When lucas announced that he was making PT in 1995 and he sited advancement in CGI, I was giddy as hell.  memories of The Abyss, T2 and Jurassic park (even though i thought this movie overall was a letdown) are among the greatest movie going experiences I've had.  Just think what ILM had in store for more star wars.

This was a fallacy - one thing, those aforementioned films are among the greatest special effects movies ever made even 20 years later.  secondly, CGI was implemented in those movies specifically for items that were impossible to achieve otherwise!  you didn't see ed harris in a 'cgi' diving suit - he actually wore the suit!  and hippies rat was real! and there was only ONE t-rex!  not one thousand.    

I still see plenty of examples of great photorealstic CGI - Davy JOnes, District 9, King Kong, Dark Knight.  Even the PT (lava on mustafar, the landscapes of the planets - except coruscant in broad daylight,  the battledroids).  its too bad there was just so much more bad and inexcusably excessive cgi.  I mean...would it really been too much to ask to have temura morrison wear an actual clone trooper suit!?!?  looking back, i guess its surprising that at least chewbacca was still peter mahew in a suit.

apologists like to parrot the LFL talking point "well, epsiode III had more models and sets than the entire OT"  but this is a horrible analogy.  A) Star Wars was a modestly-budgeted movie  B) Empire had limited locations (the falcon, dagobah, the star destroyer bridge) , the PT had more diverse sets because they scripted more locations C) the very nature of coruscant would require more models than tatooine, which can use an actual location  D)the ratio of models to cgi renderings is still extreme.

just thinking about all this and considering the SE changes, it points to lucas thinking "digital above all else", "an unwatchable digital effect is still better than a flawless optical effect..because digital rules"

lol, getting a little off-topic with this post.   feel go back and add more TPM scenes.

@walking_carpet: having seen T2 and The Abyss recently I feel that the CGI does not really stand up. It looks phony. But here is the important part: it still fits the film. It does not take away from it, pull you out of the experience etc.

It's not about photorealism so much as it is about having a suitable artistic style. The gritty, lived in universe, was a part of Star Wars and clean looking CGI is an inappropriate technique to realize these films on screen.

Bingowings said:

Akwat Kbrana said:

In my opinion, the worst scene is R2's introduction sequence on the queen's ship. It's just so painfully ham-fisted and cringe-inducing. "Look, kids! It's R2-D2! Remember him? From those other Star Wars movies? Well here he is, and he saved the day!! Neat, huh? But wait! In just a few minutes, you'll get to see how he met C-3p0 for the very first time!" *facepalm*

I have to disagree there.

Sure you could have had Artoo go up second and another one after him.

Sure you could have dwelled a little less on him as he went up the little droid lift thing.

But the scene shows Artoo doing what he was designed to do and he is the true hero of the saga even if Uncle George attempts to diminish his achievements by dwelling too much on those Skywalkers.

Sorry, guess I wasn't specific enough. I was referring to the sequence where Panaka brings R2 before Amidala for commendation, not the actual shield-generator repair sequence.

For me, the worst scene in TPM was the first time Jar-Jar opened his mouth and said, "Oyi, mooie-mooie! I luv yous!"  Up to that moment, sitting there in the theatre, I still felt like I was watching a Star Wars movie.  But as soon as he uttered those first words, I knew something was amiss.  Then, as he kept speaking, I came to the slow and horrific realization that, despite all my anticipation, this movie was, in fact, going to suck :(

I've never attended a Star Wars convention.  Does anyone wear Jar Jar outfits to those?

walking_carpet said:

...looking back, i guess its surprising that at least chewbacca was still peter mahew in a suit.

And yet they still managed to blow that one.

Maybe it's best they overused CGI because they might have also screwed up with physical props as well.

When I saw this thread title, my first thought was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGMvadAFqLQ#t=02m13s

Honestly, it's just one awful mix of bad writing, poor directing, and uninteresting characters.