I think the prequels were better than they get credit for, it became almost fashionable to heap scorn on them, even Simpsons did in one episode but they really weren't that bad. I haven't bothered watching the new ones, there comes a time when even the best franchises should end and it looks like they don't know when to quit.
It's not as bad as it's reputation makes it out to be. If you can ignore Jar Jar and Loyd's bad acting, then there's actually a really decent Star Wars movie here. IMO Attack of the Clones is a much more cringe-worthy film.
shareI'll concede that Clones and Sith are just about passable entertainment. But The Phantom Menace is absolutely diabolical. The acting is pitiful. Lucas had become so bad at directing actors that he made experienced thespians like Neeson, Mcgregor and Portman all look like awful, wooden actors. Portman has even said that studios wouldn't employ her after these films.
The dialogue is an absolute joke from beginning to end. Un-enganging, flat, nerdy and charmless. Jar-Jar Binks is the biggest mistake since a young, political fellow named Adolf recieved a few too many votes. He is one, long, excruciating cringe.
The screen is constantly filled with soulless cgi. That and the action amounts to just constant noise.
There is no subtlety, no intimate nuance, no magic, no character, no depth, no wit.
Too much hate? I'd say it doesn't garner quite enough hate. I'd even say it's worse than Batman and Robin.
Darth Maul's lightsaber is kind of cool. And I really had to rack my brains to find something good to say there.
Duel of the Fates is a great piece of music.
shareI don't know what that is. Is that the traditional Star Wars score?
shareIt was new in TPM. It's the one with chanting, the one from the scene with Qui-gon, Kenobi and Maul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHqdESArkqU
Yeah, that's good. As is the traditional Star Wars music. But I guess that's a given.
shareI'm just trying to find things that were new in TPM that doesn't suck and the song, and in all honesty Darth Mauls fight scenes are what sticks out for me. Also the new light saber effects.
shareMore suggestions re: good things about movie:
*all the costumes especially for Jedi, guards, Amidala and handmaidens
*lightsaber designs esp. double-bladed lightsaber and Windu's gold saber
*cityscapes esp. Naboo and Coruscant
*characters of Obiwan, Quigon, Amidala/Padme, Mace Windu and Palpatine
*fleshing out the Jedi Order concept
*Palpatine's scheming plot which has its basis in reality
One thing I miss about Lucas is that the newer movies don't have his esthetic eye. His movies have wonderful art design to the tiniest detail.
I can totally get behind that but with one but, The OT already had great design pieces so it's really not new-new.
shareJust rewatched this movie. There are some good moments and features in this movie. But it's just to difficult to get past Jar Jar and Jake Lloyd. And unfortunately, at least one of them is in 80% of the scenes of this movie. Then it's not really clear what is going on at the start. Why are they attacking Naboo? Why can't anybody including Naboo or any of their allies stop it?
Lucas really needed write a script, then hand it off to someone else to fill in the dialog and direct.
It's so ironic, considering how crazy everyone was to have new Star Wars movies after a 17 year drought. The craze kept on going until several years after "Revenge of the Sith" came out, and then a lot of purists started whining like spoiled brats about continuity and problems with the movies. Then everyone started jumping on the bandwagon.
I'll tell you right now that this film was greatly beloved when it came out, and it was part of one of my fondest memories of early teen-hood. It was so exciting to have our own generation of Star Wars movies come out during the millennium and I wouldn't trade them for any of the new crap Disney is pooping out every few years.
It so wasn't beloved. It actually made a hell of a lot less than what people were expecting. It made a ton of money opening weekend but there was a huge drop off straight after that because word of mouth was so poor.
shareROTS is right up there with the OT while I and II really aren’t that bad, it’s the Disney films that are horrible
shareYes, the prequels are bad movies, particularly "Phantom Menace". However they are bad movies that contain some very good scenes and some really great effects and music, so if you love Star Wars it's possible to learn to enjoy the good and ignore the bad.
A true fan can enjoy the film the way a gold miner enjoys sifting through a heap of muck because he knows there are shining valuable nuggets in there... and that's NOT how you enjoy a movie that's actually good.
I find them entertaining but I hate the whole Jedis can't marry crap which was never mentioned in the original trilogy.
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