Variety: "The Phantom Menace” is now the most viewed “Star Wars” movie on Disney+
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I painstakingly downloaded the trailer over many hours in what I think was quicktime format. I bought my tickets early. I waited in line for 2 hours to get a good seat.
I was sitting in the the theater thinking, "wow, this is so great!" but by the time I got to the car with my dad it was more like, "wait... was it?" I was so pumped for it and desperately wanted to like it. But it was bad. And it's still bad.
I was sitting in the the theater thinking, "wow, this is so great!" but by the time I got to the car with my dad it was more like, "wait... was it?" I was so pumped for it and desperately wanted to like it. But it was bad. And it's still bad.
Liked it as an 8 year old,
as an adult I enjoy it and my only wish is that Anakin had been a few years older
as an adult I enjoy it and my only wish is that Anakin had been a few years older
It ranks 4th of all SW movies for me, after 5,4,6. It's not perfect by any means, but it's world building is amazing. Duel of Fates is easily the best fight in the whole series. And the Pod race is immensely underrated.
Decision to kill off the 2 best characters outside the OT was perplexing though.
Decision to kill off the 2 best characters outside the OT was perplexing though.
If not for Rise of Skywalker, Phantom would be the worst Star Wars movie in my opinion. I'll just copy my thoughts from my March rewatch:
Yeah, Ani is bad, Jar Jar is worse, and the racial stereotypes are fucking bizarre, but the most offensive element to me is how stitched together the narrative is? Like the editing is objectively bad, as if certain moments were mistakenly omitted. We cut from Darth Maul heading out on his speeder to Qui-Gon mid-sprint, Maul right on his heels. We jump from the Naboo landing to the sacred Gungan area to the battlefield to the castle. Of course you don't need to show every little thing, it's easy enough to connect the dots, but the way it unfolds is just so sloppy. George's disinterest in directing is absolutely evident, and it's a shame, because he let the other craftspeople down (ILM absolutely knocked it out of the park, shouts to Doug Chiang for the impeccable art direction).
Yeah, Ani is bad, Jar Jar is worse, and the racial stereotypes are fucking bizarre, but the most offensive element to me is how stitched together the narrative is? Like the editing is objectively bad, as if certain moments were mistakenly omitted. We cut from Darth Maul heading out on his speeder to Qui-Gon mid-sprint, Maul right on his heels. We jump from the Naboo landing to the sacred Gungan area to the battlefield to the castle. Of course you don't need to show every little thing, it's easy enough to connect the dots, but the way it unfolds is just so sloppy. George's disinterest in directing is absolutely evident, and it's a shame, because he let the other craftspeople down (ILM absolutely knocked it out of the park, shouts to Doug Chiang for the impeccable art direction).
Upon release I was disappointed by it.
But in the current climate, I've long since realized how much heavy lifting PM and prequels have done for the franchise. We just had a show (Bad Batch) end depicting the conclusion to the clone saga and Hayden is still showing up in recent properties (Ashoka and Obi-Wan). It's amazing.
The line "It's woooorking" is still uber-cringe, though.
But in the current climate, I've long since realized how much heavy lifting PM and prequels have done for the franchise. We just had a show (Bad Batch) end depicting the conclusion to the clone saga and Hayden is still showing up in recent properties (Ashoka and Obi-Wan). It's amazing.
The line "It's woooorking" is still uber-cringe, though.
Nah. PM is a technical mess of a film and nearly every actor is giving a bad performance.
I think it's one of the most shockingly inept blockbusters ever made... and somehow Attack of the Clones is even worse.
Revenge of the Sith was my first Star Wars movie in theaters and I loved it, it's what made me a Star Wars fan.
I need to rewatch the movies but Phantom Menace was alright from what I remember. Attack of the Clones was a movie I never watch to the end.
I need to rewatch the movies but Phantom Menace was alright from what I remember. Attack of the Clones was a movie I never watch to the end.
Oh I agree.
My point was that other blockbuster films being even worse has made people think this film isn't as bad as people thought when it's just that people's standards have fallen so much.
The prequels might not have good acting or dialouge, but they delivered when it comes to world building. Lucas and his team did amazing work on expanding the world and concept design for ships and vehicles. John Williams also delivers the best tracks of the series for the prequels. I will take taxation of trade routes any day over the dreadful world building of the sequel trilogy.
i saw this one recently, i gotta say i thought it was generally capable but not very interesting and constantly missing good opportunities which is just generally how i feel about all star wars movies i've seen
It's a really bad movie, and I love it. As mentioned, tone back Jar Jar and have an older Anakin, and you have a much more solid movie. I hadn't realised until watching the theatrical release recently, why does the Naboo ship have the capability to scan and assess midichlorian counts?
It's a fun movie to watch IMO even if it isn't as good as the OT. I have a lot of friends who love SW and we tend to watch the prequels more as it's just a good time.
OP
OP
I'd say the real test here is how many then go on to watch the rest of the PT VS how many end up like me and decide nah, I'm good.
Probably this.
Any reason is a good reason to shit on the sequel trilogy of course.
Man it's gonna be one hell of a wake-up call to the Gen Xers and Millenials who despise the sequel trilogy when, in 10-15 years time, Zoomers who grew up with those movies as their Star Wars enter their 30s and start getting all nostalgic for them. They'll receive mass fan re-appraisal like the prequels have, just watch.
Every line of dialogue that people hate and clown on now ("They fly now?!") is gonna be meme'd into being good, like Anakin's diatribe about sand.
Every line of dialogue that people hate and clown on now ("They fly now?!") is gonna be meme'd into being good, like Anakin's diatribe about sand.
I do think the quality of the blockbuster, led by the MCU has dropped. This movie has far more stakes (far more than most all mcu entries), a couple good performances, and more tonally even than something like Multiverse of Madness
Actually watched it last night in theater (first time). Never was a defender of it before.
Pros: worldbuilding (excellent extras, machinery, sets, and diversity of interesting locales), Darth Maul's design, Qui-Gon/Padme/Anakin as protagonists whose fate we're invested in, podrace sequence, the soundtrack, Duel of Fates sequence (having Obi-wan a backseat character the entire film have to suddenly assert himself in crisis), a few impressive visuals, the broad narrative strokes
Cons: Any sense of nuance, Jar Jar, inconsistencies like establishing the force run but not having Obi use it with Qui-Gon, overly politically focused, some dead performances, too much cg in a few instances, on the nose dialogue, and so on
I think it largely works because of the broad narrative strokes. You can overlook how clumsy it is with the right sound/visuals, during a visceral screening. At home tv volume, its a much less bearable viewing.
Actually watched it last night in theater (first time). Never was a defender of it before.
Pros: worldbuilding (excellent extras, machinery, sets, and diversity of interesting locales), Darth Maul's design, Qui-Gon/Padme/Anakin as protagonists whose fate we're invested in, podrace sequence, the soundtrack, Duel of Fates sequence (having Obi-wan a backseat character the entire film have to suddenly assert himself in crisis), a few impressive visuals, the broad narrative strokes
Cons: Any sense of nuance, Jar Jar, inconsistencies like establishing the force run but not having Obi use it with Qui-Gon, overly politically focused, some dead performances, too much cg in a few instances, on the nose dialogue, and so on
I think it largely works because of the broad narrative strokes. You can overlook how clumsy it is with the right sound/visuals, during a visceral screening. At home tv volume, its a much less bearable viewing.
this is kinda wild if this is actually people starting at episode 1 incorrectly based on the numbering
It's gonna be great, the sooner we get to that point the better.
There was a recent theatrical release that probably spurred interest.
View: https://youtu.be/w9pePpxU58M?si=WmCBfp8TREXIL741
"I wanna get into star wars! Guess I'll start at 'episode one'! 😊 "
.....
"....I don't think I want to watch any more of this 🤢"
.....
"....I don't think I want to watch any more of this 🤢"
Yeah the sequel trilogy really made the prequels look like masterpieces by comparsion. At least in my opinion.
Forgive me, I'm going to complain about the tiniest thing: I can't stand the way this article is written. A few paragraphs in it refers to "the streamer" without having once referred to Disney+ or the Disney company at all. What streamer? What the hell is a streamer anyway (nobody I know refers to streaming services that way)?
Yeah, it's 100% due to people who never watched Star Wars deciding to check it out, starting with episode 1, and then deciding it's not for them.
I checked out the re-release last weekend and as an adult with better analytical skills it was easier to see why the movie just doesn't work.
That said, it's still the best of the Prequels. It's not good, and way behind both the OT and ST, but yeah. Best of the Prequels.
I checked out the re-release last weekend and as an adult with better analytical skills it was easier to see why the movie just doesn't work.
That said, it's still the best of the Prequels. It's not good, and way behind both the OT and ST, but yeah. Best of the Prequels.
I mean denial is a strong drug and nostalgia will blind even the most devout.
It was fun to watch again but I guarantee you when the 25-year anniversary for the attack of the clones comes....
-_-
It gets everywhere...
It was fun to watch again but I guarantee you when the 25-year anniversary for the attack of the clones comes....
-_-
It gets everywhere...
I honestly don't expect that will happen like it has for the prequels.
The sequels just aren't supported at the level the prequels were that pushed them on people so heavily.
They also set themselves up so badly for it that the scope of the sequels is so focused it doesn't feel like a thing you can throw so many additional things into.
Toys, games, shows... they went all in on prequels
Like the prequels were all of Star Wars for over a decade,
The sequels were 3 of 5 movies and a failed animated series, and then CW returned and Mandalorian came out and Andor and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka now Acolyte....
Rey, Finn and Kylo will be popular and probably become more popular but I don't think the sequels as a whole will
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