- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
phantom menace first thoughts — Page 2
- Time
- Post link
I was tired of seeing Jar Jar by the time Obi-wan and Qui-gon got to Theed. I realized this when I say him dangling from the overwalk after the Jedi jumped down and started taking out droids. I was thinking "why did they even bother with this character?"
After the film, I just didn't feel much of anything. I was at a big premiere, with stormtroopers and Vader outside (Edwards was opening a new theater that day), and I just didn't feel connected to the SW spirit going around.
<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>
<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>
<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: JennyS1138
there was no humor
there was no humor
There was Jar Jar!
...mpff... missa just kidding!
About the humor, I agree, and most of all I was agree with an interview of Mark Hamill who said (at the time of TPM) that there was no humor cause there was not any "Han-Solo-type-guy", some sort of "outside" character...
Another thing which disturbs me in the PT is just Naboo. The planet is not ugly, but you know, I'm european, I'm french and I live in the Alpes (famous european mountains which cross France, Italy,...), and so, not far from Italy, and I must say that the look of Naboo (Renaissance style buildings, lacs, mountain meadows,...) is just too close and too familiar to me. I really have difficulties to see it as a sci-fi planet, or just exotic planet. And in TPM, we stay long time on Naboo...
- Time
- Post link
Red heads ROCK. Blondes do not rock. Nuff said.
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: Han Solo VS Indiana Jones
"Naboo" in and of itself is a bad name for a planet. If they had it set on Alderaan instead I might have felt something.
"Naboo" in and of itself is a bad name for a planet. If they had it set on Alderaan instead I might have felt something.
The "Naboo" name doesn't disturb me. In fact, it's one of the only things I like about this planet.
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: CO
Anakin, should have been like a great athlete who is a wildcard, but was loved by the people and not necessarily loved by the Jedi. Lucas should have shown Anakin being heralded for being the top jedi during the Clone Wars, being the Michael Jordan of the galaxy, but his arrogance, like many star athletes, and their belief that they are indestructable, are the reasons for their downfall. Show him learn even greater powers from Palpatine, and make the audience feel that Anakin loves the darkside, but knows it is wrong deep down inside. Have the dream of Padme as a subplot, just something else to drive him there, not the sole reason. Anakin never turned to the darkside, he just wanted to save Padme, that was a real lame reason.
Sorry about the rant off topic, but once I start thinking of what if for the PT, I could go on and on......
Anakin, should have been like a great athlete who is a wildcard, but was loved by the people and not necessarily loved by the Jedi. Lucas should have shown Anakin being heralded for being the top jedi during the Clone Wars, being the Michael Jordan of the galaxy, but his arrogance, like many star athletes, and their belief that they are indestructable, are the reasons for their downfall. Show him learn even greater powers from Palpatine, and make the audience feel that Anakin loves the darkside, but knows it is wrong deep down inside. Have the dream of Padme as a subplot, just something else to drive him there, not the sole reason. Anakin never turned to the darkside, he just wanted to save Padme, that was a real lame reason.
Sorry about the rant off topic, but once I start thinking of what if for the PT, I could go on and on......
I first just want to say that that's exactly how I felt too.
I was 13 when Phantom Menace first came out. I too bought my ticket ahead of time (To this day I still have the complimentary McDonald's coupon they gave me with the ticket). I went to see it with a friend who was also into Star Wars. I was a little wary of the existance of a prequel trilogy, that it would eclipse the popularity of the originals to new fans. But it was outweighed with the excitement of a new Star Wars adventure. We had a poem-writing assignment near the end of my 7th grade year (a couple of months before the movie was released), and I wrote mine in honor of The Phantom Menace (although it was actually a synopsis of the original trilogy... a looking back of sorts). I still have it at my mom's house. So I saw the movie with my friend, and I liked it. I admit it. I liked it. I didn't think it was as good as the originals, but I didn't have too many problems with it. I didn't mind Jar-Jar at all. I still don't, to be honest. And I didn't like the podrace until the last lap, and I think it's a horrible decision that they made it even longer on the DVD because it's just boring for longer. Most of my dislikes with the movie was about how it seemed that Lucas was obviously trying his best to make everything look better and cooler than the originals, and all he did was seem to break continuity with sleeker-looking ships and almost ridiculously powerful Jedi that just didn't make any sense to me. And I thought it would have been nice to have seen one hint that Anakin had a chance of turning to the dark side besides Yoda saying a few cryptic words with little real substance to back it up. But I pretty much think of it now the way I thought of it then. It looks pretty cool, and it's a decent movie, and it's entertaining, but it just doesn't hold a candle to the originals. And it also seemed like too much of a departure from Star Wars. If Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far, away, The Phantom Menace seemed far away from it.
Even though it's not part of the question, others have summarized their experiences with the other prequels, so I'll do so as well. I was 16 when Attack of the Clones came out. I went to see it with a different friend. And I left feeling pretty good about it. It started to seem closer to Star Wars. Things started to make sense. The things that happened in the movie were things that had actually been talked about in the originals, like the Clone Wars, for example. Anakin wasn't just this perfectly innocent boy with absolutely no chance of ever doing anything wrong. Obi-Wan grew a beard, so he looked more like Obi-Wan. I didn't even mind the love story stuff, as I was sappily in love at the time with someone who didn't give a shit, so I could relate to him. And I still don't think it's that bad, although I now get a cringe feeling at a few lines, like, "If you are suffering as much as I am, please tell me," and the whole thing could have been acted better. I liked how they finally showed evidence that the technology was not as good as how it was 20 years in the future (like the fighters not having built in hyperdrive engines). But my opinion of it has lowered some. The Boba Fett story seems pretty stupid, especially now that the New Zealand accent has infiltrated the original movies. I'm not sure why Lucas decided to go in that direction anyway, since it makes no sense. Did New Zealanders not exist in 1980, so he couldn't make Boba Fett the way he wanted? But I'm getting off topic. I always cringed when Boba Fett was simply called Boba. It just sounds kind of... stupid to me. And I thought the Yoda fight was cool at the time because he's Yoda and wow and blah blah blah, but now I think it makes no sense and diminishes the character. But I still find the movie entertaining enough to watch and enjoy.
I was 19 when I saw Revenge of the Sith, and I'm still 19, just for the record. It was the only prequel I saw in theatres more than once. I saw it with my girlfriend both times. She hated it. The first time I saw it, I liked it mostly. I felt for Anakin and Obi-Wan when the duel ended and right before Anakin interrupted Mace and Palpatine fighting. But the turn was unconvincing, as was the piss-poor reasoning behind it (trying to make Anakin more sympathetic by doing the wrong thing for the right reasons... for love of his wife and sheer gullibility rather than love of power and greed). It was a visual effects orgasm to the point where I stopped paying attention. I didn't even realize there was a Wookiee battle going on, and when I tried to watch it the second time around, I still stopped paying attention. And I thought that the lava got in the way of the actual lightsaber duel. General Grievous is the worst villain ever, and the subplot of chasing him was lame and detracted from the main story. Couldn't they have gotten Obi-Wan out of the way some other way? And I laughed at the term "younglings" and "NOOOOOOO!" and a Star Wars film has never unintentionally made me laugh. So in a way, Revenge of the Sith was the most satisfying prequel because it tied up the loose ends, and is a good movie on its own, definitely the best of the prequels, and I felt for the characters. But it's also the most disappointing because of all the bad moments and continuity misteps and bad decisions in an otherwise good movie.
EDIT: Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that I always thought the droids were out of place, and although I can see why George felt kind of obligated to bring back those Star Wars icons, I think the movies would have benefitted from that horribly implausible scenario. Yeah, they just always happen to be around? Yeah, right. As Anchorhead used to say, it just shrinks the universe. Oh, yeah, and the least they could have done was wipe R2's mind as well. If they're going to go for a copout explanation, they should at least do it right.
There is no lingerie in space…
C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
- most planets in SW movies are one terrain, as they are meant to symbolise one country, so to speak. e.g. Hoth is an ice planet, Endor is a forest moon, Tatooine is a desert planet, etc.
- Naboo is some kind of idyllic Utopia, which kind of pisses me off. Are we supposed to expect that everything is perfect in the Old Republic before the Evil Empire came along? It just made it too unbelieveable for me.
http://www.myspace.com/red_ajax
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: battlewars
gaffer tape you aged from 13 to 19 watching the prequels, just imagine if they had been good you couldve really celebrated that time in your life even more. what a waste of time lucas made us all go on
gaffer tape you aged from 13 to 19 watching the prequels, just imagine if they had been good you couldve really celebrated that time in your life even more. what a waste of time lucas made us all go on
Just to add a little perspective here: The movies may not be appreciated by many here (and I have problems with TPM and AOTC just like a lot of you) but if the years between 13 and 19 seriously hinged on whether 3 movies were good or not, chances are there wasn't going to be that much celebrating in your life in the first place
Lucas didn't MAKE you slave your adolescence to the prequel trilogy. and I'm sure Gaffer managed to enjoy life whether or not there were three good star wars movies as he matured into adulthood. 
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
I've heard the argument that I'm using my old expectations of the OT to compare the prequels with, so I've set my self up to be dissapointed, which is complete bullshit. I enjoy movies from all generations, and don't judge films based on if they are black & white, have outdated special effects or outdated acting or if it has 5.1 THX stereo surround or not, I can recognize weither a film I watch is enjoyable, has a good story and acting and overall is of good quality or not...I can say without hesitation, the prequels lack all the essential qualities the OT had, other than effects/technology, they just don't have the quality depth of story, enjoyable characters or imaginative dialogue including humor. It all just comes off as forced creativeness.
Lucas is a great storyteller, but I think since and partially during ROTJ he's lost touch with alot of essential qualities, which made his other films so classic.
And If anyone was wondering, I was 6 when I saw ANH for the first time.
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: Tim Lehrbach
It's interesting hearing people talk about growing up with the prequels, now that it's over, It makes me feel like they missed out growing up on "real" Star Wars, because back in the late 70's early 80's everything was so much different than it is today, everything was much more limited back then, especially in cinema, I think it would have been a difficult task in any sense for Lucas to duplicate today the same effect the OT had on kids imaginations growing up in that period, when everything by todays standards Is so much more visually stimulating for kids.
I've heard the argument that I'm using my old expectations of the OT to compare the prequels with, so I've set my self up to be dissapointed, which is complete bullshit. I enjoy movies from all generations, and don't judge films based on if they are black & white, have outdated special effects or outdated acting or if it has 5.1 THX stereo surround or not, I can recognize weither a film I watch is enjoyable, has a good story and acting and overall is of good quality or not...I can say without hesitation, the prequels lack all the essential qualities the OT had, other than effects/technology, they just don't have the quality depth of story, enjoyable characters or imaginative dialogue including humor. It all just comes off as forced creativeness.
It's interesting hearing people talk about growing up with the prequels, now that it's over, It makes me feel like they missed out growing up on "real" Star Wars, because back in the late 70's early 80's everything was so much different than it is today, everything was much more limited back then, especially in cinema, I think it would have been a difficult task in any sense for Lucas to duplicate today the same effect the OT had on kids imaginations growing up in that period, when everything by todays standards Is so much more visually stimulating for kids.
I've heard the argument that I'm using my old expectations of the OT to compare the prequels with, so I've set my self up to be dissapointed, which is complete bullshit. I enjoy movies from all generations, and don't judge films based on if they are black & white, have outdated special effects or outdated acting or if it has 5.1 THX stereo surround or not, I can recognize weither a film I watch is enjoyable, has a good story and acting and overall is of good quality or not...I can say without hesitation, the prequels lack all the essential qualities the OT had, other than effects/technology, they just don't have the quality depth of story, enjoyable characters or imaginative dialogue including humor. It all just comes off as forced creativeness.
Well said.
Red heads ROCK. Blondes do not rock. Nuff said.
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: The Bizzle
Just to add a little perspective here: The movies may not be appreciated by many here (and I have problems with TPM and AOTC just like a lot of you) but if the years between 13 and 19 seriously hinged on whether 3 movies were good or not, chances are there wasn't going to be that much celebrating in your life in the first place Lucas didn't MAKE you slave your adolescence to the prequel trilogy. and I'm sure Gaffer managed to enjoy life whether or not there were three good star wars movies as he matured into adulthood.
Originally posted by: battlewars
gaffer tape you aged from 13 to 19 watching the prequels, just imagine if they had been good you couldve really celebrated that time in your life even more. what a waste of time lucas made us all go on
gaffer tape you aged from 13 to 19 watching the prequels, just imagine if they had been good you couldve really celebrated that time in your life even more. what a waste of time lucas made us all go on
Just to add a little perspective here: The movies may not be appreciated by many here (and I have problems with TPM and AOTC just like a lot of you) but if the years between 13 and 19 seriously hinged on whether 3 movies were good or not, chances are there wasn't going to be that much celebrating in your life in the first place
Lucas didn't MAKE you slave your adolescence to the prequel trilogy. and I'm sure Gaffer managed to enjoy life whether or not there were three good star wars movies as he matured into adulthood. Eh, life was okay. ^_~
There is no lingerie in space…
C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: Tim Lehrbach
...I can say without hesitation, the prequels lack all the essential qualities the OT had, other than effects/technology, they just don't have the quality depth of story, enjoyable characters or imaginative dialogue including humor. It all just comes off as forced creativeness.
Lucas is a great storyteller, but I think since and partially during ROTJ he's lost touch with alot of essential qualities, which made his other films so classic.
...I can say without hesitation, the prequels lack all the essential qualities the OT had, other than effects/technology, they just don't have the quality depth of story, enjoyable characters or imaginative dialogue including humor. It all just comes off as forced creativeness.
Lucas is a great storyteller, but I think since and partially during ROTJ he's lost touch with alot of essential qualities, which made his other films so classic.
Are you not comparing the PT with the OT there?
- Time
- Post link
I never went in expecting the prequels to be better or worse as the OT. But knowing what Star Wars was about, and viewing them as impartially as I could, I didn't feel (at least after the first 2) that they were of good substance, I supposed I am quilty of being biased though, at least of thinking I would enjoy them. I'll admit both 1 & 2 had some good moments here and there, but based on judging the first two on just being movies (Star Wars or not), I didn't come away feeling they were all that great.
Episode 3 really had a chance to be even better than it was, I just felt some moments here and there really took away from it being a great film, as it stands to me, it's an entertaining film, but with some tweeking, could have been so much better...
Thinking about things, I almost wish Lucas had only made episode 3, since it probably could have stood by itself (with a few changes) without the first two drawn out air-filled backstories.
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
War does not make one great.
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
There is no lingerie in space…
C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.
- Time
- Post link
- Time
- Post link
Originally posted by: battlewars
what were your first thoughts when viewing this 16 year gestating piece of crap?
what were your first thoughts when viewing this 16 year gestating piece of crap?
I remember thinking that there were too many story tangents with a lot of insignificant characters, all of which had nothing to do with the main story.
I think it's terribly written. There's nothing there. It's all over the place. There's no real story. No real development to follow. I went back and gave it a second chance to see if it made more sense after it had a chance to soak in. It didn't. It's like a weird stage play, it seems one dimensional. The characters aren't interesting or life-like.
It's just a bad film - regardless of what it's a part of.