mattperiolat
King Koopa
Thank you, Brodie... for everything.
Posts: 11,445
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Post by mattperiolat on Jan 8, 2017 11:48:30 GMT -5
The big thing to remember is it had been fifteen years since Return of the Jedi. Kids like myself who had grown up with the classic trilogy were just dying for new Star Wars and seeing the rise of Darth Vader. Yes, I bought into the hype. Bought the toys, the book, the soundtrack, watched the trailer and still went in spoiler free. I seriously met up with people and we camped out, in rotating shifts, in front of the theater for two weeks(!) for this movie.
It took me YEARS to accept it sucked. When you invest so much time, effort, energy and passion into something, to call it bad says it was all a waste. But it is. It's boring, the story is all over the map, it relies way too much on visual effects... the ONLY things I like about the movie are Liam Neeson, Pernilla August and the final duel. The rest? Ick. The first signs that something was rotten at Skywalker Ranch and the thing that would do the most damage to the franchise was its creator.
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Post by hossfan on Jan 8, 2017 12:08:01 GMT -5
"Sixty Minutes" devoted an entire show to Lucas and Star Wars prior to the release of "The Phantom Menace". When a supposedly hard news program spends that much time on a piece of pop culture, you can see how much hype it was getting.
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Post by Hit Girl on Jan 8, 2017 12:14:06 GMT -5
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Post by Fade is a CodyCryBaby on Jan 11, 2017 2:40:54 GMT -5
I was in Middle school and yet the widespread marketing floored me. I remember Taco Bell, KFC, the Pepsi cans, waited in line for the toys, remember watching the trailer debut on TV...
And then I watched it and even as a kid I knew something was off. I don't think it's what anyone was expecting (hoping) for. I still have a bunch of collectibles from Episode 1, thinking it'd be worth so much and, well, yeah.
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Jan 11, 2017 3:07:19 GMT -5
I remember those damn Pepsi cans EVERYWHERE. It's strange, I loved watching the original trilogy (and I was the perfect age when they re-released them in theaters in '97 I think it was), but I never went to see EP1. I dunno, I just always wanted a new trilogy and a sequel to Return of the Jedi with the original cast. Thankfully they filmed 2 of the three films with Carrie.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
Better have my money when I come-a collect!
Posts: 27,966
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Post by chazraps on Jan 11, 2017 3:53:34 GMT -5
The Phantom Menace sucked.
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Post by Cvslfc123 on Jan 11, 2017 4:26:46 GMT -5
I have a soft spot for it because, being a 90's kid, it was the first Star Wars film I ever saw. I remember me and my brother would stay up late on a regular basis watching it. It was nice being one of the few people who didn't know that Palpatine was Darth Sidious.
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Post by revolver86 on Jan 11, 2017 6:22:52 GMT -5
I was like 12, and was already a huge SW nerd, thanks to my dad. We went and saw all the rereleases in theaters. I use to read all the books, so yeah, I was a mega nerd. Me and my old man walked out of seeing TPM and both looked at eachother and I said "Am I crazy, or did that suck?" My dad was in denial, so we went and saw it again, the next day and that's when he finally admitted it was terrible. Far cry from seeing Rogue One, with him, last week and us just marking the hell out after.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 8:14:18 GMT -5
It's funny how much the prequels on some levels influenced the way I think about this series. I was insanely frustrated with Ep. 7 because I kept trying to figure out the geopolitical situation in this universe, which TFA was not trying to tell. The prequels delve an insane amount into all of this political stuff going on, whereas TFA tells us nothing about who is running anything or what is even going on, haha. Were you freaked out too when they blew up the Republic homeworld because you had no idea if it was Coruscant or not? I sure as hell was. The terror of the moment, and the thought of losing that awesome as hell world from the prequels (and novels), kinda took me right out of the movie, actually. Very jarring. Sadly, they're going *that other* Lucas route to explain the geopolitics of the First Order/Resistance era: let the other medias tell the story. We got more geopolitics of the moment in the TFA novelization, and I think the Leia novel released after the movie was solely about her politicking in the years before Episode 7. We got SO MUCH of that multimedia storytelling with the prequels - Lucas letting comics and novels and cartoons pick up and solve subplots he dropped hints at in the movies - that it became very exhausting (I flat out dropped buying most comics & novels before Episode 3), was completely made moot when Disney wiped out most non-movie continuity, and is barely even an avenue I want to revisit again now. It's a nice idea in theory, but in practice it's very costly to the fans, literally piles up and ultimately is just something I want to read up on for free on Wookieepedia.
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Post by cabbageboy on Jan 11, 2017 13:31:21 GMT -5
Thing is, at least I understood the basic political situation in the prequels. There was a Republic, Palpatine was angling for power, playing both sides, etc. It's a little complex for a younger viewer (which is ironic given that is who Lucas was targeting). But in TFA? I don't know what is even happening in terms of a New Republic, or what exact power The First Order wields, or anything. It's just crap writing, almost as if Disney just wanted the Empire but was told they were defeated in ROTJ, and then just had a rehash. It's the sort of problem I had with the later Harry Potter movies, where I was never sure exactly what Voldemort's plan was or why no one in the U.K. seemed to care. Even Transformers movies at their silliest show the Joint Chiefs and the military springing into action over the massive robot alien invasion.
Speaking of blowing up planets, it is time to retire this as a plot device. I wasn't sure if The First Order blew up Coruscant or what, but they blew up like 3 planets and NO ONE cared. It reminds me of the old Stalin line about "One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic." The First Order blew up planet after planet. Kylo Ren killed Han Solo. Which do you think the audience reacted to more? Same thing with the original movie. Tarkin blows up Alderaan but 5 minutes later I don't think the film itself cared, whereas Vader killing Obi Wan left the viewer with something to think about and characters grieve about it.
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Post by MC Blowfish on Jan 11, 2017 15:19:59 GMT -5
The excitement was different back then. ROTJ came out in 1983 and TPM came out in 1999. In between that time you had the Ewok specials, books, and some comics. Plus these movies were going to tell us how Anakin fell and how the dark side took over the galaxy. Now we've had The Clone Wars kind of bridge us between movies. Plus the prequels had good moments, it was a lot of crap which weighed down some of the anticipation for the new trilogy.
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Post by Hit Girl on Jan 11, 2017 17:09:05 GMT -5
............................................Episode I
.........THE PHANTOM MENACE
It is a time of great recession for the GALACTIC REPUBLIC. The taxation of trade routes and fourth quarter financial projections has caused consternation among the banking sector.
Analyses for outlying star systems predicts only 2% growth. Hoping to resolve the matter by expanding exports, the greedy TRADE FEDERATION has cut interest rates and raised tariffs on the small planet and middle economy of NABOO.
While the committee on fiscal affairs endlessly debates this development with the intent of assuring consumer confidence, the Supreme Chancellor of the Exchequer has dispatched two Jedi customs and revenue negotiators to liquidise assets and increase cash flow...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 18:02:56 GMT -5
Never enjoyed Star Wars hardcores. Want to see it? Yeah, so do I. Calm down.
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Glitch
King Koopa
Not Going To Die; Childs, we're goin' out to give Blair the test. If he tries to make it back here and we're not with him... burn him.
Watching you.
Posts: 12,716
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Post by Glitch on Jan 11, 2017 19:52:14 GMT -5
The hype was from the idea that we're getting new Star Wars movies. The biggest sign of the hype dying down afterwards was the fact that Attack of The Clones had nowhere near the hype. Felt weird how that one almost flew under the radar for me.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
Better have my money when I come-a collect!
Posts: 27,966
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Post by chazraps on Jan 11, 2017 20:08:54 GMT -5
In terms of Jake Lloyd films:
Jingle All the Way > The Phantom Menace
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