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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Phantom Menace Reviews 123

Posted by Hemos from the not-all-it's-cracked-up-to-be? dept.
m3000 writes "Screening were held in New York yesterday for the Phantom Menace. Already there are reviews circulating on the internet about how they were disappointed by the movie. Was the hype too big or is the movie not that great? " Must-not-read-the-heresy-George-Lucas-is-the-Overmind. Er...sorry. The reviews are basically "all we expected, but not what we hoped for."
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Phantom Menace Reviews More

Phantom Menace Reviews

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  • 'security was tight' (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    "hi, i want you to come see this story about
    this rag tag band of rebels who overthrow
    a huge conglomeration of corrupt power hungry
    technautocrats."

    "you mean starwars?"

    "no, i mean free software."

  • director's viewing (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    slashdotted already?? Couldn't get through....

    I wonder about those reviewing the movie. Has anyone else heard about the viewing Lucas had with other directors, including Spielberg, Scorsese (sp?), and Ron Howard. From what I heard, they left the viewing practically drooling! I would probably trust their judgement more than about anyone elses except my own!
    I remember this because some newspaper misquoted(sic) Ron Howard as saying that Lucas had some big problems with the picture. Apparently what he really said was Lucas was going to have a big problem trying to cut two minutes from a very good film (apparently Lucas was trying to do this at the time). Ron Howard said that any one of the directors would have loved to have made that film (or something to that effect).

  • Critics are so annoying! (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Ack. How annoying can critics get? Remember that archive of articles for the NYT? They called the first one "tacky but fun, great for the kids", then bashed the second and third.

    There are very intriguing comments:

    (Spoiler-free)

    - "Ep.1 is all special effects, but the others were about people and story." Huh? We haven't been watching the same movies. The other movies were about SFX, and they were great because of it. There was a great story, too; but it's not because Ep. 1 is full of SFX that it's not about a story.

    - "Jar Jar is comic relief, and us hardcore fans could do without it." Puh-lease. What was C3PO again, if not an annoying comic relief? Don't tell me he had an important part in the story.

    Ep. 1 will be a classic ten years down the line, but people will always bitch and moan in the first few months.

  • Pandering to 13 year olds? (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 06, 1999 @08:28AM (#1902549)
    Well, it seems almost official. TPM panders to young kids. The most damming evidence is the ever-annoying Jar Jar Binks. Lucas did NOT design this movie for the adult, or for the Star Wars die-hard.

    Why would he focus on the kids? I thought I wouldn't have to say this about Lucas, but follow the money. Young kids have parents. Ticketsales = Ticketsales * 2. And he's got a ripe audience for his next movie -- little kids who enjoyed the first and want to see the next.

    It's a shame. But I'm sure I'll still enjoy the movie.

    The funny thing about reading these reviews is that these people really do seem to have their finger on the pulse of what Star Wars is. More development of Darth Maul [aka: "Evil Bad Guy"]. More goal-oriented action. Action sequences are good. Less annoying creatures. Here's hoping that Lucas reads the same reviews as everyone else.

    Here's hoping that he's got the Star Wars machine well-oiled by the release of Episode III.
  • The hype has become annoying at best. Maybe I should sink in and go with it all, but I just dont't feel that urge I originally felt when I first heard about it. Im sure the movie is great, not the best, but nothing can top the originals. I am quite sure however that this movie will be accepted as a classic if not at first, in the future.
  • The only thing we didn't see in the hype to get this movie off the ground was trailers featuring the toys.

    Seriously though, when was the last time you anticipated a movie that was "releasing" a line of action figures before the movie itself? This was a pretty bad idea.

    As a general rule, if you're anticipating a movie, it's going to disappoint you. And when that movie is the first new addition to a Lucas legacy, it's going to disappoint a whole lot of people. I'm not sure they could've avoided it even if they witheld the toys and didn't keep a running supply of trailers and commercials on their website.
  • If you want to avoid knowing anything at all about this movie, go live under a rock or in a cave for another 2 weeks. That's the only way you'll avoid it. I really hate people that think that everything - including character names!!! - is a spoiler. How did "Darth Maul" spoil *any* of the plotline of the movie for you? I can't understand how it could.
    Dear God, some people are pathetic.
    - A.P.
    --


    "One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad

  • Hell, I was in Target last night and saw Jar-Jar bandaids.


    ...phil
  • Hey, Austin Powers wasn't very popular when it came out, but now it's a classic.

    No, it's not a classic. It's a fad. Check back in 20 years, then tell me if it's a classic or not.


    ...phil
  • Posted by Mudokon23:

    I'm sure some people will be disappointed by Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace but I think my generation will love it regardless. Star Wars was the second film I ever saw (the first was Grease,embarassing & no comparison), I remember beign excited just going to the cinema and then to see a movie like that...wow. That's how it was for all my friends then too..then the merchandise appeared, the first figure I got was Han Solo, I remember it clearly because I lost the blaster that came with it for a while and was dead upset.
    Anyway, the point is that I really don't remember all that much else from 1977, but I remember everything to do with Star Wars clearly and so do millions like me all over the world. We'll all love the movie regardless because each showing of Star Wars films and the site of memorabilia brings back happy memories from childhood....I don't think many of us would be so hooked on all things tech if we hadn't seen that movie.
  • It was an important part of episodes 4-6 to show how much droids were disliked/discrimenated. This probably has something to do with the clone war. Heck by "A New Hope" droids were all harmless, a phaser fired is energy waster if its fired at a droid. We get to see what causes all this discrimation in the first three.
  • Of course the hype is too much. We all know how the Phantom Menace storyline ends. The Jedi lose. A. Skywalker will become Darth Vader. Obi-wan will become a hermit and so forth.....
  • You're wrong. Leia was adopted into the royal family. The Queen isn't her mother.
  • You're wrong. Leia was adopted into the royal family. The Queen you're refering to isn't her mother.

  • I think that A New Hope won best film because at the time, no one had ever made a movie quite like it.

    Star Wars did not win Best Picture at the '78 Oscars. It lost to Rocky, if I remember correctly. See this link [imdb.com] on IMDB [imdb.com].

  • Damn if that isn't EXACTLY what I thought about the Matrix.

    Keanu Reeves: Whoa.
    Me(before seeing it): must totally suck as bad as Jonny Mnemonic.
    Me (after seeing it): okay, makes amends for Jonny Mnenomic (and others).
  • Well, I was 8 in '76. Ideal age for Star Wars, I guess. My mom didn't let me see it because it had "Wars" in the title. I snuck out with my big brother and saw it anyways.

    By the time ROTJ came out, I was a bit older, and it had worn on me. Especially Ewoks. I will carry THAT grudge to my grave.

    Bun now, I've got two boys, 11 and 5, and they're fuckin ape-shit over this Star Wars stuff. Way more so than kids were in '76. So, on the one hand, I'm worried about psychological disorders, and on the other hand, I find it a thrill to take part in something these kids find so damn exiting - something I remember to be so exiting I was willing to risk severe punishment from my parents (afterwards, Dad told Mom to chill out. Otherwise, I'd still be grounded).

    No, I'm not looking forward to Jar Jar, and somehow, I suspect that even though Jar Jar was put in there for my kids, my kids will probably be annoyed as well (hell, I was annoyed by his brief appearences in the trailers). But overall, I think we're going to have one hell of a great time, and I've been looking forward to this ever since the late '70's when Lucas told Starlog magazine that Star Wars was intended to be shown in a set of 9 movies.
    That is, IF I can get into one of the local theaters within a week of May 19th.
  • Sounds like you've got sour grapes because your stud-muffin had to work instead of keepin you warm.
  • "On another note: How is he going to explain the absence of 10e6 droids in the later films? Would you
    downgrade to storm troopers from robot legions? I'm sure it will be explained though. A backlash against
    intelligent droids? "

    must have something to do with "the clone wars".
  • Well, I saw Phantom Menace last night, and I am forced to agree with the critics. It's an okay film, but I would have been sorely disappointed if I had been standing in line for four hours to see it.

    Visually, it was stunning, but we knew that was inevitable. What surprised and disappointed me was the age group the movie seems to have been aimed at. This might as well had had a Disney Logo instead of LucasFilms, it was so sanitized and watered-down.

    You know there's a bad guy in it, and you know he's going to fall, but when that fall came, not a single person cheered. No one applauded. With a crowd that applauded the Fox logo and cheered the Lucasfilms logo I would have expected a better reaction when the bad guy was defeated. But we weren't engaged by the film, and there was no emotional response when that moment came.

    It's a good film. It's visually stunning. It's certainly fun. But don't bother standing in line to see it. Wait until the lines die down...it won't be long.

  • "but the "hype" has been practically non-existant"

    Stop by a toy store, Target, or even a chain bookstore. Half of the floor space in my local Borders is currently taken up by TPM books, calendars, guides, etc. Target has a stack of TPM toys up the the ceiling, and that's a 30 ft. ceiling! The pressure on the toy market has been intense.

    Also, I don't think even "Titanic" managed to get a 10 page puff piece planted in Time Magazine _before_ the opening.

    Personally, I wish GL had held himself back a little on the hype machine and product tie-ins. He has personal wealth and total independence in filmmaking. Does he really need another billion or so in royalities?

    Just my bitter 0.02.

    sPh
  • A Manhattan, Kansas band, Ultimate Fakebook [noisome.com] wrote a tongue-in-cheek song last year about this very subject. You can hear part or all of the song, "Far, Far Away" via links here. [noisome.com] (realaudio or mp3).

    Choice lyrics include
    "Isn't it good to / to not always get all that you want,"
    "'cause everybody wants it so much better than anyone could ever let it be,"
    and "George Lucas is the force / will it save us from heartbreak / in 1998?"

    J.

  • Are you seriously going to tell me that any of the SW movies were designed for the adult or die-hard fan? Screw that. Personally I think the double sided lightsaber is too much of a fan invention - I don't like it much.

    Nah man, I was 7 when Jedi came out. And I loved it. If Lucas made a movie that appeals best to kids, I've got no problems with it - the others appealed to me when I was a kid. Why should he target me specifically?
  • No one who saw the movie would say that.
    Itchy's a jerk.
  • No, I realize that staves are very useful weapons (although the difficulty in holding a lightsaber of any kind, along the blade is a problem here). It's just that that's _exactly_ the sort of thing that a fanboy would come up with. A movie entirely about Boba Fett is also the sort of thing that fans would go nuts over, but might not hold any more interest to 'normal' fans than a movie centered around another character. My point was just that the lightstaff feels to me like something that was tacked on, rather than really meshing in with the 'history' of the SW series. I dunno, it just doesn't sit too well with me, I guess. Maybe my opinion will change once I see it.

  • Star Wars is timeless, we are not (Score:5)

    by cpt kangarooski ( 3773 ) on Thursday May 06, 1999 @08:30AM (#1902572) Homepage
    I think that a lot of the disappointment about the new movie can be traced back to this. How many people here grew up on the Star Wars movies? A crapload. I did't see SW till ~1981, on a friends' Beta, because I was born in '76. Saw Empire at day camp, after it had just about finished it's theatrical release. Saw Jedi when it came out in '83. Naturally I love 'em all.

    I suspect though that relatively few people who were in their 20's or older back in '77 are as big fans as we are (YMMV). Basically it's nostalgia. I mean, they kick ass and all, but a lot of our enthusiasm is due to having been exposed to SW a lot growing up.

    Anyhow, although a lot of us have matured, and want to see a more mature SW film (More mature than the Ewok movies, probably less than 'Leia does Alderaan' ;)

    *BUT*, although the new movies will be darker and probably cooler, the first one is going to have to be fairly light (otherwise it wouldn't be able to contrast with the later movies). And Lucas is still making movies that will appeal best to kids. We've aged, but the 'intended' audience of the movies has not. If kids who are currently growing up see the new movie, I bet you dollars to donuts they'll be as hooked as we are. We just have to remember our inner lil' geek and we'll love 'em too.

    I am _SO_ there on the 19th. And that weekend. And maybe a couple other times....
  • People gonna DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE??

    --
  • You mean Episodes IV, V, and VI. As that was what, Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi were.
  • I always liked Star Wars the original better than
    either Empire or Jedi. Empire is a close second, with Jedi bringing up the rear by far.
  • Everyone is judging this film before it is even released!

    I can't believe the preconceived notions that people have about this film.

    I saw the first Star Wars when I was four with my father, he took me at least six times to see that movie. Not once did I hear, "Oh no, you want to see Star Wars again..." Star Wars is not a movie for kids.

    The Star Wars movies appeal to the wonder in all of us, kids just happen to have a little more of that than adults.

    Release your preconceptions and see this movie with an open mind, let yourself enjoy it for what it is, not what you think it should be!

  • If you go in there expecting the second coming then obviously you are going to be disappointed.

    Lucas can never measure up to fifteen+ years of expectations in a two hour film! Just take it for what it is.

    I'm hoping that it is a good addition to the originals, from what I am hearing in those reviews it is. Since most people have built up expectations of this movie you will inevitably have them judging it against those expectations.

    Admittedly I had no expectations of the Matrix and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I'm hoping to go and see the movie with people that aren't so hyped up that they are about to explode, because I know that those are the people that are going to be disappointed.

    Empty your mind of preconceptions and see this movie.
  • The preview was Tusday; you can see my /.-rejected review at http://wcsb.org/~swain/review.txt. Not much different from the aint-it-cool ones though.
  • I belive you're correct.
  • What? I can't remember anyone saying that, except Lisa, who only said it to make Bart feel better.

  • Bah (Score:2)

    by Knara ( 9377 )
    This always happens with any big movie. The people who were totally, mindlessly enamoured of it see it first one way or another, then are disappointed because they didn't have constant orgasms while watching it, or the messiah didn't appear in an usher's uniform to seat them. They then proceed to tell everyone in the known world it was disappointing.

    Gee, I wonder why...

    Bottom line is, if you expect nothing going into a movie, you'll never be disappointed. We've all known that critics are just bull*$#%ters anyways (Leonard Maltin gave _Laserblast_ 3 1/2 stars for chrissake), so why would people who saw the movie and happen to post them on the Net have any more validity as to our own personal opinions of a movie than theirs?

  • Re:Episode I (Score:3)

    by Knara ( 9377 ) on Thursday May 06, 1999 @04:28PM (#1902584)
    A lot of people had this opinion of Babylon 5 as well. By mid-Season 1 we knew that Londo would be Emperor and that Babylon5 would be destroyed.

    Same thing in this case, but by the previous poster's logic, there can never be a good prequel to anything, which is not true. It depends on the viewer's ability (or inability) to realize that a different kind of story is being told. One where the excitement is involved in _how_ you get to the conclusion, not what the conclusion will be.

    Different kind of suspense, but suspense nonetheless.
  • And Jar-Jar fruity strips!


    ----------
    mphall@cstone.nospam.net


  • I expect to enjoy the Phantom Menace as just another Star Wars movie. I'm not worried about the reviews or the awards; in particular, I will see an award-winning film if I want to have a particular sort of predictable experience. There's variety there but it's a very constrained sort of variety.

    Loved The Matrix, it had some good depth as well as being an enjoyable story. I'm sure I'll have fun at The Phantom Menace.

  • I don't think this is why. The reason it is guaranteed to do so well is because of the enourmous popularity of the first trilogy. I will go and see it no matter how bad the reviews are. This is not because I am mindless, but simply because the first trilogy was so good that it is all but certain that this one will be ok.

    A better computer analogy: If there was a computer company that made an OS with the class and consistency of Mac OS, the stability of *nix, and the installed base of Windoze, and who has produced three rock-solid releases in a row, lots of people will buy the next version whether it gets good reviews or not, because they trust the people who make it.
  • and how could it? It's been talked about by fans in worshipful tones for years; I've already read a serious predicion that it will break Titantic's record box-office. Nothing can live up to hype like that.

    Steven, Senior Technology Editor, Sm@rt Reseller
  • OK kiddies, enough. My boyfriend works for a toy store, and they had to open at midnight to sell Star Wars toys. The lines reached across the plaza! This is ridiculous. All you people who want your stuff to become collectors' items are in for a disappointment, because too many people have the same idea.

    Most of us are not collectors !!! I bought my toys because I like to display them in my computer room/office/etc, or even (*eck*) play with them. :)

    don't, but then again, I still have trouble understanding the hype about a cliched western set in space with lots of special effects. *shrug*

    It's because we all have different ... TASTES ... ta-ta !!! I don't wonder why people don't like the movie, why are you wasting your time doing the opossite ??? Anyways, your view in that regard is definetly in the minority.

    BTW - I love Star Wars, and I hate westerns. Star Wars, was (when I was a child) and is (now with TPM) one of the few movies that can stimulate my imagination. It makes me want to leave my computer alone and start drawing again, creating new worlds, characters and other images. Very few movies can affect me this way ...


  • Yup. (Score:1)

    by Augusto ( 12068 )
    On another note: How is he going to explain the absence of 10e6 droids in the later films? Would you downgrade to storm troopers from robot legions? I'm sure it will be explained though. A backlash against intelligent droids?

    Remember in A New Hope how in the cantena the bartender tell's C3PO and R2 "We don't allow your kind in here".

    Also, anybody notice the similarities between stormtroopers and the battle droids ? I wonder what it means ...
  • Page 2 of the review says page 3 has spoilers so don't bother reading this.

    Anyways, 2 hours and 15 minutes is too short ??? Most movies todays are not even 2 hours long. And anyways, we know there are 2 sequals continuing the story after this.

    Stop the whining , go see the movie !!!
  • He now has more positive reviews. Cheez, of course there are going to be people dissapointed with the film, we're all different ! Don't depend on someone else's opinion and form your own.

    Go see the movie !

    www.aint-it-cool-news.com [aint-it-cool-news.com]


  • I'm sure Jar Jar will get his just due soon enough.
  • The one problem for Lucas is that for us it has to measure up to the 16 years' worth of hype that people like us have surrounded the movie with. The movie could (and definitely will be) an excellent movie, regardless of the glitches that these reviewers seemed to point out.

    But I'm sure though that there will be plenty of people who come out of TPM thinking "Man, The Matrix rocked, but TPM sucked!" simply because the hype:quality ratio was a little bit more balanced out. You weren't waiting since 1983 for The Matrix, were you?
  • your opinion of a movie that hasnt been released on someone else's opinion of the movie? That seems rather narrow to me..I wonder why. I can't remember a time when I DIDNT like Star Wars. it's not just about Han Solo and blasters. The first ones were made so well (in my opinion) that it seemed like it was alot more realistic than it really was. You saw the inside of the Millennium Falcon and it had a lived in look. If you're expecting some deep movie...think back to the first one. It's got fairy tale appeal, it's not meant to change the way you look at life. Geez, it's meant to let you get away from the rest ofthe world for a few hours. I won't go see it two dozen times or buy the toys, but I will see it once or twice to make sure I see it all, and then I'll buy it on video.

  • Exactly. I was prepared to be disappointed in The Matrix, mostly because of the Keanu Reeves factor and the fact that every TV ad I saw for it featured him doing his "whoa" line. (For some reason I always think "Evil Robot Uses!" when he does that.) This made The Matrix that much more fun when it really turned out to be a great flick.

    Episode 1, by contrast, has raised expectations so much that it almost can't help but be a disappointment to the really hard-core fans. The most interesting review comment that I read was that Episode one seemed to depend a lot on the next two movies to build interest, rather than standing on its own regard. Of course, most movies aren't released with a guaranteed 5 sequels, three of which are already released.

  • >The most damming evidence is the >ever-annoying Jar Jar Binks.

    Yesd, while Jar-Jar does help damn him, the most damning is that Anakin is a little kid. They wanted someone that little kids could easily relate to as opposed to developing a much, much better plot in which Anakin is Obi-Wan's apprentice.

    As for the entire series pandering to little kids? Nah, I never saw them until I was a tad older than a little kid and I never "grew up" with Star Wars. The die-hard fans are most often NOT those who were enraptured as children.

    However I have heard from an associate (who works for the theater company and got to see it the other night) that it really isn't that great, and just "ok".

    Conclusion:Yeah,it'll be ok, but it won't add anything new except more Lucas moralizing to little kids... and the pathetically ruinous Anakid and Jar-Jar
  • Ah, but how many of you out there can honestly say you have absolutely no intent of buying an action figure or two or maybe one of the lightsabres?

    There is no need to worry about profitability on this film at all, it'll rake in tons of cash no matter what the plot was, if it was a well-written movie made for the fans we'd go see it as would th e little kids. Merchandise would still be sold at record levels. But by dumbing it down all Lucas gets is a few little kids and a bunch of angry geeks
  • Episode IV was actually the first Star Wars.

    I, II, and III are the prequels obviously.

  • It's called "calculated risk" (Score:4)

    by boethius ( 14423 ) on Thursday May 06, 1999 @03:52PM (#1902601)
    George Lucas is not what I would call a particularly dumb person. I don't think many people would, even given the EWOKS.

    I have little doubt this movie was shot in many different modes -- dark, light, in-between. And, as the saying goes, a movie is really made in the editing room. Lucas has had many years to seriously consider who he wanted the prequel to appeal to and he probably could have chosen whether "noir" or "political intrigue" or "cheesy kiddie flick" ended up on the cutting room floor. So, he chose "cheesy kiddie flick" and us old-timers will have to live with it.

    I'm not necessarily lauding Lucas' move, but he does have a business to run and he's invested what surely amounts to a whole ton of money into Episode I. He could have made a movie for "us" but would he have had the same return on his investment? I doubt it. Personally, I'll probably see it at least twice in the theater, but, unless I had kids, I wouldn't invest seriously in the merchandise. In total, my investment into Episode I will probably run about $100, including 2 or 3 screenings and later purchasing a video or DVD; kids, on the other hand, will probably represent at least a few hundred bucks just in toys alone.

    So in general, I don't honestly think us Star Wars "boomers" (yep, I saw it '77) would invest the same amount of cash into the movie as we will for our kids, even if we went to the theater and saw it 5 or 6 times. A small fraction of us has enough desposable income to just trash it all on the collectable stuff (those are always the die-hard collectors anyway). Perhaps it says something about our society when we kow-tow to our kids this way, but this is generally the reality of our consumer culture.

    Lucas is in his 50s. The guy will *certainly* never go broke and it is highly improbable that his "Empire" would ever be anything less than seriously important in the film industry, even if Episode I had never come out, but he does have the next 20-25 years of running Lucasfilm to think about. There's no doubt we would have made his film a success at the box office if he had tailored it for us, but he has longer-term issues to consider than a few weeks (or months? or years?) of fan frenzy. After all, what is he going to do after the prequels are done?

    I think George will come around the next 2 episodes -- again, in a decidedly calculated fashion. "Empire" was the best of the bunch anyway so we're likely headed for a fuller story line, plots, and characterization. The eye candy is great but wears thin. It'll need more substance if Lucas has any hope of us pulling out a copy of the movie in 5 years to just watch it for the fun of it (which I still do with IV and V -- ROTJ still stinks in my book).

  • Star Wars has always been a movie that appeals to the younger crowd. You think when the original trilogy was made that George Lucas had the older crowd in mind? Just look at most of the dialogue in the older Star Wars movie. I'm pretty sure Princess Leia could have used a more adult term for "Stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf-herder". As far as I know, the older crowd during the late 70's were still coming down from their LSD trips. If you don't want to see a movie that is specifically made to attract the younger crowd then don't, but you will know deep inside that you are going to be missing alot.

    Don't watch it and expect to see the best movie of your life, watch it and expect to see the most fantastic fairy-tale science fiction storyline of all time.

    Expect me to skip work on the 19th, camping out very early in the morning in front of my movie theatre with 12 tickets in my wallet. One for my wife and the rest for me. I'm not going to let a bunch of stupid critics ruin my life.

    The source will be with you. Always.
  • I'm not a SW uber-fan.

    I thought the first three were great, but that's probably because I was a kid. The characters and conflicts were very classic, very well defined, very one-dimmensional. If SW or ESB or ROTJ were to come out now, I probably wouldn't even go.

    That being said, I'm going to TPM. It's a story I've followed since I was 4 years old, and I'm not about to stop now :-) I also am looking forward to excellent cinnematography, sound, and effects, which Lucas always provides.

    -Rich
  • I remember reading on the New York Times' page reviews of Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back from the time the movies were released. Basically the critics were saying that neither movie is as good as StarWars, that they're boring, etc. And look at them now, most people love all three, and certainly not everyone's favorite is StarWars. SW is my least favorite actually, I like ROTJ the best I think. Anyways, doesn't matter if reviews are bad, we will see a few months from now what we think of the movie when the dust has settled.

    Hey, Austin Powers wasn't very popular when it came out, but now it's a classic.
  • if the critics hate it, then...

    it must be good.

    we'll see for ourselves soon enuf.
  • Right here. [wired.com] One of the big problems, according to Wired, is that the movie is just not long enough.

    -----BEGIN ANNOYING SIG BLOCK-----
    Evan

  • Think about it.

    With a bo or quarter staff, you can grab it anywhere along the length, giving you a number of usage options.

    Try grabbing a dual light saber (light stave?) anywhere but the handle and you're in deep trouble.

    That said, the different ends of the dual saber may be independantly operable, which gives you the effect of rapidly reversing a saber without wasting the time that actually doing that would take.

  • It's just your imagination, kid.
    --

  • Lucas can never measure up to fifteen+ years of expectations in a two hour film! Just take it for what it is. I'd bet against you. I have really high expectations for this movie. Not in the sense of "It's the greatest, most important film of all time", but in the sense that Star Wars created a universe complete unto itself, and I've spent 15 years waiting for a window back into it to see more. Star Wars is great because of its mythology, attention to detail, and general artistry: TPM looks to bring all of this back with a vengance. My biggest concern is that it will go too far with eye candy at the expense of the Star Wars feel.

    On another note: How is he going to explain the absence of 10e6 droids in the later films? Would you downgrade to storm troopers from robot legions? I'm sure it will be explained though. A backlash against intelligent droids?

    -m

  • Droids (Score:1)

    by magic ( 19621 )
    Note: There are still the probe droids used on Hoth, but they are non-humanoid.

    The empire doesn't use humanoid droids, but R2's are standard in X-wings for the rebellion, and there are a bunch running around in other capacities.

    A big part of Darth Vader's character is that he is part machine, and the anti-machine backlash (both in the movie and in real life) is part of what makes him "evil" and inhuman. I wonder how this fits into the character's beliefs about machines.

    -m

  • A friend of mine got to watch it at a screening as well, and he put up a brief review/critique of the movie - he's not a 'professional' movie critic (which I generally distrust anyhow), just a guy who lived through the SW era, and had some connections to see the movie... I can only presume his review is somewhat like the ones out there - since aint-it-cool-news is already slashdotted, at least there's cold water being splashed out there before everyone starts rioting in the theater when it finally comes out. There aren't any spoilers that I can see in the review, just a general critique of the overall movie. Just stuff about the high amount of humor (well the original SW was pretty cheesy anyhow), and the seemingly young target audience the movie is aiming for, and a surprisingly linear plot. Perhaps, as the review mentions, Lucas is aiming for a younger audience in order to build a following for the remaining prequels. The review is on a messageboard, at http://www.netbabbler.com/message/?forumid=16186&m essageid=925940735 -- please be kind to it.
  • I saw Phantom Menace on Wednesday and thought it was excellent. I had the same feeling walking out of the movie that I had coming out of the other Star Wars movies. I thought it was consistent story-wise...Lucus did a really nice job. I really thought the special effects were rarely distracting and were simply a vehicle to tell the story. A few points, without any spoilers:

    - I think ILM has mastered doing ship effects and other "solid objects". Really done well.
    - Phantom Menace has a lot of humor in it. It was rather lighthearted, but you will see the groundwork is being layed for darker themes.
    - The acting is great!
    - Jar-Jar wasn't quite what I expected. I think he's there for the kids. Not as annoying as some have predicted. He made me laugh a number of times.
    - Anakin was more endearing than I expected.

    One last point. I saw this movie with about 500 people. I didn't hear anyone say they hated...or even disliked the movie. Lots of people were critical though. My favorite was "well...I don't think this was the best movie EVER."

    If you need to criticize it on that level, I'd love to see your next movie. May the Force be with you.
  • "The original star wars was nowhere near as good as the other two."

    Are you shooting crack directly into your skull?

    "In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Episode III was absolute crap in terms of effects, acting, etc."

    Episode III hasn't been released.

    "The story line was all that was good/important about Episode IV. And the only purpose of the Episode IV story line was to serve as a base for Episode V and VI."

    Aside from making yourself out to be just a tad bit less than bright, what's your point?

    Quux26
  • Aw hell...

    "I can't be the only one who figured out the "big secret" 20 minutes into the movie without already knowing about it."

    I thought that TCG's secret was one of the best of all time! I couldn't get anyone to spill the damned secret. And I don't suppose I'm bright enough to have gotten that myself. Then again, I never did figure out who did it on Murder She Wrote before the end...

    Quux26

  • There is a big difference between a "good" movie and a movie people love. Millions of people love Star Wars, but serious movie criticism has not been too kind to it, for justified reasons. Lucas may go down as one of the most famous directors, but has never been called a "great" director. The hype may be oppressive, but let's all see TPM for the same reasons we love the prior three, the lovable one-dimensional characters, the memorable cheesy dialog, and the amazing universe this classic fairy tale takes place in.
  • It's really annoying already. It's gonna be a long summer with all the product tie-ins everywhere. I think that somebody might be smart to release a movie against Star Wars, just as an alternative.
  • He's hyped it so much on here that he has no other choice but rave about it. Secretly though, it will not live up to his fantasy - how can it?

    I wonder if those losers in line in California will be saying to themselves 'I spent a whole month just for this?????'

    I really liked scooby doo alot as kid. I couldn't get enough of them on Saturday mornings. Now though if I see more than 30 seconds of it I'll wanna kick the TV in -

    BTW Did you ever notice how Freddy spent alot of time alone with Daphne????

    http://www.cdc.net/~drjekyll/scooby/darkside/
  • I tend to go against what critics say. If the critics absolutely adore a movie, I probably won't like it, because the movie will be too fake, trying to appease the critics and the marketing division, but not the end customer.

    If they say its so-so, then I'll probably think its a wonderful movie. I question some critic's ability to look beyond the screen to see the art form that is being presented to them.

    Now, the most important thing to remember here is that the average critic was disappointed when the Empire Strikes Back came out, as they were with starwars. However, when Jedi came out, and people were lining up a week in advance to see it, that tends to debunk the critic's ability to properly assess the public's response to a movie.

    I think that critics look for the more superficial qualities. Is there adaquate environmental propganda in the movie? Is there a firm, yet subtle message about saving the whales? In the end, does everyone just learn to get along with each other?

    Hell, as far as I'm concerned, I'm GLAD the critics didn't like it. That means there's just that many people I'm not going to have to fight to get a ticket on opening night.

    When Star Wars was released, it was revolutionary, and did not conform to the generic way that movies were produced at the time. Some people couldn't immediately embrace that and mis-took that to believe that the movie wasn't so great, when in fact, the public had been starving for it all along.

    In the end, only one thing matters. Do *I* like it. If I do, then I'm perfectly happy. And I'm sure that The Phantom Meanace will have a long theatre life and people will go back and see it again and again and again and it will win most of the academy awards and those same critics six months from now when TPM is still showing on half the screens in every theatre, they will release new critiques, this time telling the world how great it was, completely oblivious to their original assessment.

    You'll see.

    And when the sequel comes, they'll just be disappointed again.

    -Restil
    restil@alignment.net
  • One quote in a couple of reviews grabbed me... "Better than Jedi, not as good as Empire."

    Jedi was, even including the _hated, hated_ Ewoks, a pretty d@mn good film, and Empire was... Empire, the best of the series, and wonderful dark film!

    So this puts The Phantom Menace in good company, making the antici pation even more delectable.
  • Another possible reason for an apparent dumbing down of the story line in the TPM can be derived from there being two more flicks in the queue: If Lucas wants to hook another generation on the film, it makes sense to target 7 to 10 year olds now with a simple plot line, overly clarified and simple themes, and slapstick humor. 5 years from now, as II and III get released, the audience of children he hooked will be older, more sophisticated, and able to handle more complex themes. Until then, they'll continue to have Mom and Dad shell out big cash for action figures and toy light sabers, and his cash cow will not run dry.

    When I first saw Star Wars when I was seven, I doubt if I'd have been able to understand tension between Leia and Han as being more than just tension. Of course I remember enjoying the protracted "droids walking in the desert beeping at each other and complaining" scenes too, so I was hardly a sophisticated viewer at the time.
  • Remember when the Itchy and Scratchy Movie was first released, and all the people who saw it the first day said, at least at first, that it wasn't that great? (Well, I suppose that was only for a very short time, though) Maybe it is just their way of bragging about seeing it first.
  • That's what I was referring to. Maybe they're trying to make us feel better about not being able to see it early.
  • I wish I could post a sig that was also a somewhat appropriate comment.
  • correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the queen the mother of Leia? Maybe Lucas wanted people to see the similarities between the two.
  • These are the prequels. (There is a reason that IV, V, and VI came out first.) There will be no Han Solo running around blasting storm troopers, and probably a lot more drama then action. (I think The GREAT Lucas even said that the Prequels would be less exciting then the Star Wars we all grew up with.) I'm still going to live it and love it.

    Enjoy!
    *Carlos: Exit Stage Right*

    "Geeks, Where would you be without them?"

  • The comment in re the double-beam weapon lacks logic...or at least a knowledge of martial arts, both western and Oriental.

    One of the most difficult weapons for a swordsman to defeat is a bo or quarter-staff. In either world, the speed and momentum of the weapon make it one of the few that 'holds it own' against most other bladed weapons. Go look at Demura-sensei's book on the bo, or any decent work on advanced aikijutsu.

    Just an experienced student/teacher's tuppence.

    Cheers,

    Drieux
  • June 10th dude

    and I found out tonight that tickets go on sale, in Wellington at least, next Thursday at 8:00am

    I'm getting out my sleeping bag that night!
  • All of the main actors/actresses had to sign on for 3. I haven't read any spoilers or anything, but my money is on Qui-Gon getting killed in this one. Juts like Obi Wan in Episode 4.

    So Liam would probably be on only for minor appearances as a guiding spirit. Kinda like Alec Guinness.

    I'm still perplexed about the Yoda vs. Qui Gon training Obi Wan thing. But if the parallelism holds up, We'll see Yoda completing Obi Wan's training, just as he did for Luke (where Obi Wan started it, but could finish it).
  • And I'm sure that The Phantom Menace will have a long theatre life and people will go back and see it again and again and again and it will win most of the academy awards ...

    As with most people, I am really looking forward to this movie, and I honestly think it will be great. I like the fact that it's geared towards kids...That's the point. But I don't think it will win a ton of Academy Awards. [ok, I'm sure it will be a sure win for SFX and music] But it seems to me that this type of movie sometimes doesn't win awards just based on some sort of 'backlash' effect. It's obvious that those in the academy don't use the same scorecard for judging movies as most people [nor do critics]. I think that A New Hope won best film because at the time, no one had ever made a movie quite like it. It was completely original. From what people have been saying [the few that have seen it] I don't think TPM is going to create a new movie paradigm... I have total faith that it will be a great movie [for me] but it won't sweep the academy awards...

    My prediction... 4 awards

    Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

  • I think that A New Hope won best film because at the time, no one had ever made a movie quite like it.

    Star Wars did not win Best Picture at the '78 Oscars. It lost to Rocky, if I remember correctly.

    Oops.... you're half right. StarWars was nominated [in '78] but lost to Annie Hall :^( Well...it should have won! [g]

    IMDB Best Pictures [imdb.com]

    I stand corrected :) [Scratching head] "I could have *sworn* it got best picture..."

  • http://www.miamiherald.com/content/archive/living/ barry/content.htm
  • Go by Roger Ebert's site and you'll see Star Wars in his "Great Movies" reviews. He puts Star Wars with the likes of "Gone with the Wind" and "Citizen Kane" and "Aguirre, the Wrath of God".

    Pretty interesting, coming from a Pulizer Prize winning movie critic.

    Check it out at:
    http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/old_movies/old_mov ies.html

  • Oh man I know what you mean. Roger Ebert (he did the screenplay for Valley of the Dolls, I read that somewhere once) wrote a totally lame-o review of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is almost as unfilmable as Naked Lunch...but Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp did a fabulous job and the FX were groovy - it enhanced my enjoyment of the book.


    Most reviewers live on some ego trip - and I suspect that these movie-goers were on a bigger trip since they went to an advance screening.
    Get offa yer high horse!


  • OK kiddies, enough. My boyfriend works for a toy store, and they had to open at midnight to sell Star Wars toys. The lines reached across the plaza! This is ridiculous. All you people who want your stuff to become collectors' items are in for a disappointment, because too many people have the same idea.

    And another thing: overhyped movies are always a disappointment. Remember The Crying Game? I can't be the only one who figured out the "big secret" 20 minutes into the movie without already knowing about it.

    Ignore the hype, go see it, and have fun. Don't expect it to be an earthshattering experience, though. I don't, but then again, I still have trouble understanding the hype about a cliched western set in space with lots of special effects.
    *shrug*


  • *LOL*

    Actually, no, he didn't have to work. He was one of the lucky ones. :)

    I just fear for the sanity of people who get in line at midnight to buy toys when it isn't even Christmas season. ;)
  • The fortune cookie on the bottom of the page is
    eerily apropos:

    "I've got a bad feeling about this."

    Don't tell me I'm the only one who gets it.
  • I agree, everybody's expectations are *so* high, it's nearly impossible to make a movie that can live up to them. Those that have seen it still consider it to be a good movie, though.
  • From reading the reviews, it seems that the reviewers are trying to compare Ep1 to the previous (but later in time) movies. Mention is made about the Leigh-ness of the queen... why should there be Leigh-ness? She isn't Princess Leigh! The review also states that it was "all I expected, but not what I had hoped for". Personally, I'm going into the theater with an open mind, and as few expectations as possible (I expect the popcorn to be salty and the soda to be expensive.. etc.) Other than that - it's a new story, new characters, and I'm just going to watch it and enjoy.
  • This is an URL, not just underlining.
    When Reviews Attack [earthlink.net]


    I knew this reviewer in college. You would have liked him.

    He reviews a lot of stuff and happens to work at Digital Domain. (James Cameron's digiF/X shopola)


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