The Phantom Menace: Underrated

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

ravenm said:

boberts said:

And Lucas was in a tough spot, because he's making films where everyone knows the end before it even starts.

I was never a big Star Wars fan but knowing I could see Darth Vader be created was pretty much the only reason for me to actually go see Episode 3...

Right, but why would you want to see 1 or 2?

[amsiraK]

boberts said:

ravenm said:

I was never a big Star Wars fan but knowing I could see Darth Vader be created was pretty much the only reason for me to actually go see Episode 3...

Right, but why would you want to see 1 or 2?

Exactly.

Had TPM actually been made first, no one would have cared. It was a poor addition.

[Kash Flagg]

I just don't understand how Lucas could get really good actors and basically make them play cardboard cutouts.

[Hassan bin Sober]

I thought it was great when it came out. I enjoyed the prequels and thing people give them too hard of a time. This film seemed more like the originals then the others.

[amsiraK]

kashflagg said:

I just don't understand how Lucas could get really good actors and basically make them play cardboard cutouts.

Because he has no respect for his actors. I think it was Carrie Fisher who said that they would all take turns wearing a T-Shirt that read "Meat" on it because that's how he treated them. In his eyes, it's the story - and basically the effects aspect of it - that's the important part. People be damned.

Meanwhile, we get his dream movie and it reeked out loud.

[The Raven]

It's funny.

You spend a good portion of your life wanting to see what the Star Wars prequel movies would be like if George Lucas was to ever make them.

Then 1999 hits, and you spend the rest of your life wanting to travel backwards in time, to a land where there was only IV, V and VI.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

theraven said:

It's funny.

You spend a good portion of your life wanting to see what the Star Wars prequel movies would be like if George Lucas was to ever make them.

Then 1999 hits, and you spend the rest of your life wanting to travel backwards in time, to a land where there was only IV, V and VI.

I thought the prequels didn't exist to you anyways, Rave?

[Kash Flagg]

karisma888 said:

kashflagg said:

I just don't understand how Lucas could get really good actors and basically make them play cardboard cutouts.

Because he has no respect for his actors. I think it was Carrie Fisher who said that they would all take turns wearing a T-Shirt that read "Meat" on it because that's how he treated them. In his eyes, it's the story - and basically the effects aspect of it - that's the important part. People be damned.

Meanwhile, we get his dream movie and it reeked out loud.

Well yeah, I get what you mean...I just think from a director's standpoint you would try to get the best performance out of your actors. Obviously Lucas doesn't feel the same way.

[The Raven]

chuckymac314 said:

theraven said:

It's funny.

You spend a good portion of your life wanting to see what the Star Wars prequel movies would be like if George Lucas was to ever make them.

Then 1999 hits, and you spend the rest of your life wanting to travel backwards in time, to a land where there was only IV, V and VI.

I thought the prequels didn't exist to you anyways, Rave?

What prequels?

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

kashflagg said:

karisma888 said:

Because he has no respect for his actors. I think it was Carrie Fisher who said that they would all take turns wearing a T-Shirt that read "Meat" on it because that's how he treated them. In his eyes, it's the story - and basically the effects aspect of it - that's the important part. People be damned.

Meanwhile, we get his dream movie and it reeked out loud.

Well yeah, I get what you mean...I just think from a director's standpoint you would try to get the best performance out of your actors. Obviously Lucas doesn't feel the same way.

Well, he thinks that good special effects=good storytelling. Everything else is apparently secondary. Some actors are gonna be good no matter what, like Ewan McGregor, but some others need more direction, and when Lucas is focused more on what's going on the blue screen in editing, they can't get that.

[The Raven]

chuckymac314 said:

kashflagg said:

Well yeah, I get what you mean...I just think from a director's standpoint you would try to get the best performance out of your actors. Obviously Lucas doesn't feel the same way.

Well, he thinks that good special effects=good storytelling. Everything else is apparently secondary. Some actors are gonna be good no matter what, like Ewan McGregor, but some others need more direction, and when Lucas is focused more on what's going on the blue screen in editing, they can't get that.

This is true.

Also, I have the DVD set, and on the special behind the scene features, Harrison Ford talks about how George couldn't understand how he couldn't get certain emotions out of the actors.

"I don't understand, it's right here in the script."

He just sucks as a director.

[Kash Flagg]

theraven said:

chuckymac314 said:

Well, he thinks that good special effects=good storytelling. Everything else is apparently secondary. Some actors are gonna be good no matter what, like Ewan McGregor, but some others need more direction, and when Lucas is focused more on what's going on the blue screen in editing, they can't get that.

This is true.

Also, I have the DVD set, and on the special behind the scene features, Harrison Ford talks about how George couldn't understand how he couldn't get certain emotions out of the actors.

"I don't understand, it's right here in the script."

He just sucks as a director.

I think it's a big reason why Empire is the most liked out of the whole series. Irvin Kirshner was a director who knew how to get emotion out of his actors. I shudder to think how Lucas would have handled the Vader/dad scene.

[amsiraK]

I have to cram this in here. I love Sasso.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtSOMZEXv34

[Dr. T is an alien]

thebluedevil said:

fabulousswissfranc said:

I loved it when it first came out too (like most others in the collective "It's a new Star Wars movie!" vein).

Watching it now, it has its flaws but there are moments of greatness (Qui-Gon Jinn character, Darth Maul)

sadly, neither Qui-Gon or Darth were characters in eps. II or III.

Qui-Gon actually DOES make an appearance in Ep. II, but it is really easy to miss it. The novel covered it a little better, but when Yoda is meditating on the disturbance that Anakin was causing by killing the Tusken tribe you can hear Qui-Gon's ghost saying, "Anakin! Anakin! NOOOOOOO!!!" It was the first instance that Yoda had ever heard of a Jedi continuing to exist after death, and what led him to attempt (and succeed) to contact Qui-Gon's ghost. Qui-Gon taught him what he knew, and Yoda and Kenobi wound up being better at joining with the Force than Qui-Gon.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

kashflagg said:

theraven said:

This is true.

Also, I have the DVD set, and on the special behind the scene features, Harrison Ford talks about how George couldn't understand how he couldn't get certain emotions out of the actors.

"I don't understand, it's right here in the script."

He just sucks as a director.

I think it's a big reason why Empire is the most liked out of the whole series. Irvin Kirshner was a director who knew how to get emotion out of his actors. I shudder to think how Lucas would have handled the Vader/dad scene.

Yeah, Kirshner was a f***in' visionary.

[Non Banjoble Tokens]

I didn't think it was that bad. At least it had Darth Maul.

[jfbop37]

pushvalvenis said:

I feel sorry to a point for the Phantom Menace. There was no possible way in HELL it could EVER have made people happy.



Granted, George could have made it a little less.... Jar Jar, but people freak out over the whole movie. It had to set up something. And sometimes setting up a good story takes a while. When you look at it from the perspective that it's the beginning of an 18 hour Movie (watch all 6 as one movie) then it's actually pretty good.


All of this is pretending there is about 99% less jar Jar.



Although knowing that Jar Jar is in part responsible for the Empire rising to power has made my opinion on him less venomous in recient years.

This is always the point I have been trying to make with people when it comes to this movie.

This movie was doomed from the get-go. Too much hype and anticipation.

[spec]

I thought it was pretty enjoyable. It was always going to be doomed to mass criticism. Didn't think kid Anakin was that bad, dunno why he gets such a slating. Better performance than Teen Anakin in EP II! But yeah, Jar Jar sucked balls.

[Panda Bear]

It's a piece of shit.

[404error]

It's the weakest of the prequels due to it's pacing.

It seems the movie was set up as meeting somebody, then somebody meeting somebody else, then somebody meeting somebody meeting somebody else... and there were a LOT of shots of people just... walking.

But for some reason, whenever it's on, I can't stop watching it. Jar Jar was a little too pop culture for me, but I didn't mind the kid.

What really hurt his movie for me was the editing. There were short scenes of one character telling another character something, then that character's reaction... and off to another scene. I would have liked to see more of the Trade Federation guys. One prime example of this is "Obi Wan Kenobi... meet Anakin Skywalker"... then a laugh and a cut. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the characters right after that.

Probably the best scene in the movie for me was when Obi Wan and Qui-Gon were kicking ass at the beginning. You got to see what Jedi were capable of. Also when Qui-Gon used his lightsabre through the blast doors and the Niemodians were saying "He's still coming through!" That was a great Star Wars moment. Another one was when Obi Wan and Qui-Gon were talking, and Qui-Gon used the famous "From a certain point of view" line.

All in all, there were a LOT of great "Star Wars" moments in this movie. From the music down to the scenes with Yoda and Anakin looking mad at Yoda/Mace after they said he couldn't be trained... all good stuff. There's also the "GET TO YOUR SHIPS!" moment that always won me over, and the scene where Padme and the Royal Guard use their grappling guns at the same time outside the palace walls.

I really enjoyed certain parts of this movie, but other parts just still make me cringe.

So yes, I would say it's under rated.