It stunk.
Saw it on opening day, ended up seeing it three times. Just finished watching it on DVD.
Stunk.
Since it first opened (what’s it been, ten months now?) I really couldn’t put my finger on whether or not it was a good movie. Sure, the effects were great. Good action sequences. Decent charactor development. But as a whole? Didn’t work.
And don’t even get me started on Jar Jar Binks…
There is no spoon.
I’ve got to agree with you there. While I would have liked to enjoy it, after all, it’s Star Wars, I didn’t. It had all the flaws of the other movies, and very few of the good points.
All in all it was simply dull.
Did you get the feeling Lucas said to himself “well, I have all these fancy computers and animators at my disposal and, dammit, I’m gonna use them!”?
I thought the character development was horrible.
Example: Anakin and Amidala have spoken about 3 words to each other when she comes out and says “I care about you, Anakin” or something like that. Makes no sense!
The original trilogy has a great thing going between Han, Luke and Leia that Phantom Menace just can’t match. None of the PM characters ever let loose with each other, so very few real emotions are ever revealed. They could have cut some of the action and added a little drama. Instead, it’s just one big lifeless pageant. Very disappointing.
Also, why didn’t they play the Skywalker theme when Anakin left his mother? It would have been perfect… The music of PM wasn’t nearly as emotional as the others.
I was really disappointed in the movie, maybe I was expecting too much. But, it does go to show, that making a great movie isn’t all about how much money you have to spend.
Judy
“Um, according to who? Nothing more than a high brow troll, though occasionally the bi polar personality swung in a constructive direction on innocuous topics.” Omniscient
For me, the thing that PM lacked was a really good villain. Darth Maul was just product placement for future merchandising. Palpatine was sinister enough, but let’s face it, a Star Wars villain needs to be a man (or woman) of action. Darth Vader was such a great villain, he defined “bad guy” for nearly a decade.
It doesn’t matter how good the heros are if the villains are boring. That is what has made Batman so popular all these years.
God is my co-pilot. Blame Him.
I kinda felt left out watching it, like since I hadn’t read all the subsequent Star Wars books (between trilogies) about the rest of the characters, I had no clue. The Star Wars fan in the group was trying desparately to fill us all in, but we had too many questions.
A girl
Incidentally, I actually found the book-on-CD version of Phantom Menace much more satisfying than the movie. Great for a long commute, too.
There were two things I liked about Phantom Menace:
I liked it when Anakin asked Amidallah is she was an angel. It was very cute and matter-of-fact, and her reaction was charming. Nice little conversation, the only one that struck me as real.
I liked it when the Federation was unloading loads of limp droids off of a rack on a large vehicle. I didn’t immediately recognize them as droids since they were so lifeless, all strung up on the rack like drying socks.
The rest of it was horrible.
I’ll be the singular dissenting voice.
Even though many of the faults you describe are very real, the problem with the movie really lies in the fact that this was deliberately written with a trilogy in mind, so it is literally a part one, not a story in itself. And on top of that, it was an introduction movie. It introduces the characters, the universe, and the situation. Not much more.
However… You’re mostly right. It certainly lacked in fundamental areas.
DVD? Bootleg? Where are you located?
I always try to do things in chronological order.
No, it’s not a bootleg. It is however English language with Japanese subtitles, which isn’t a problem except when the junkdealer or the bad-guy podracer is speaking.
Inky
Geographically speaking, where did you obtain this?
“You don’t have insurance? Well, just have a seat and someone will be with you after you die.” --Yes, another quality sig custom created by Wally!
DVD, huh? Too bad it won’t be released on DVD until the whole prequel trilogy is finished.
well, that and the fact that it’s not even released on video yet. not til Tuesday.
{{{…it’s not even released on video yet…}}}—Babar714
I used to hear those remarks from folks who didn’t have friends with access to pre-release copies of VHS and DVD.
Think I still have a pre-release copy of The Game around here some place too.
Point is, don’t discount the claim. It’s too easy to get access to such things out here in CA.
Improbable? Yes. Impossible? No.
–Kalél
TheHungerSite.com
“If our lives are indeed the sum-total of the choices we’ve made, then we cannot change who we are; but with every new choice we’re given, we can change who we’re going to be.”
Okay. now you’re just bragging
Well evilbeth, to answer your question I’m located in Palo Alto California, and if it is a bootleg I’m surprised at how good it is (and surprised that they’d put advertising for Pepsi and Star Wars Special Edition in the beginning). I got it through a fellow computer animator who likes to brag about his “connections” loudly in bars. He offered to get them for a group of us and we all rolled our eyes thinking it was all hot air. Well shut MY mouth…
Phantom Menace won’t officially be released on DVD until the whole prequel trilogy is finished? Damn! If I’d known that I would have put it up on E-Bay.
I was disappointed in the movie too. I haven’t read the books, mainly because I am afraid that they won’t follow the movies, and since I’ve already seen four of the movies it would be after the fact now.
The friend that went with me slept through the whole movie.
** Sigh. So many men, so few who can afford me ** Original by Wally
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
I heard a rumor a while ago that the movie was actually written and directed by Rick McCallum, Lucas’ protege, and then Lucas just put his name on it to get publicity for the film (who would go see a Star Wars movie NOT directed by Lucas?). This is supposed to account for the movie sucking.
The only problem I have with this rumor is that it assumes that Lucas really is a good writer/director. He is neither, never was. He was just fortunate enough to have talented people around him, and a story idea people wanted to see.
I love Star Wars, I used to watch it on an almost daily basis when I was a kid, but Lucas is nothing more than a Hollywood fluke.