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Harry's STAR WARS EPISODE ONE Review

I could be FIRST! by Mr White	May 20th, 1999 05:25:17 AM
Right on Harry!
Maybe a little more coming later? by Sefster	May 20th, 1999 05:26:10 AM
I was hoping for maybe a little more of an in depth review from you, Harry. But, I guess that will come after most people have seen it. Happy you liked it, though.
Ep1 and Harry by Arz	May 20th, 1999 05:37:14 AM
I posted this on another part of the site, I guess I got my answer. ------------------------------ --- Listen, when Harry comes out with his review he faces a problem. Is he honest and face being shut out by Lucas and hollywood types? Or does he claim to absolutely love this movie and lose the respect of his readers? (of course there is the chance he did actually like it.) As for me, the Gungans just have to go. Jesus, it was like slapstick watching these morons. Did they speak Reggae? How can anyone possibly like a character that bumbles his way through a battle? Everything he did was by accident. Please, give us some respect. And did anyone hear the battle droid respond to orders by saying "roger roger" ?? Are you kidding? What stormtrooper would say "roger roger" to Darth Vader? It made them even seem comical. Why would you make the battle droids comical? Be honest with yourself guys, you can be disappointed, it's not against the law. Just be honest you know you expected more.
Anticipation by Papi at Work	May 20th, 1999 05:43:10 AM
Very glad you liked it Harry. My family probably won't see it until the 28th. One thing though, as many people have said over and over, no movie could possibly live up to the hype and sustained anticipation that was generated for TPM. And now here we go with LOTR before the first scratch gets on the PM's celluloid. I'm looking forward to LOTR with more excitement than SW. But I'm not going obsess over it for the two years until it comes out. Everyone do yourselves a favor and chill on these highly anticipated movies. Sure keep track of them, but this emotional frenzy wears me out just reading about it.
wow by ibilith	May 20th, 1999 05:43:31 AM
Darth Maul carried this movie on his back to the land of coolness. George Lucas better find a way to fuse his two halves back together and get him into Episodes 2 and 3.
WOW...The only thing I can say.... by NJFILM20	May 20th, 1999 05:44:48 AM
I posted as soon as a I got home on the other article and I said I'd write again. I was lucky enough to be one of the first people in America to see EP1 when I saw the 12:01 E.T show. I have to admit. It was fucking phenomanal. Utter disbelief when I try to take in all that was on screen. Like I said in my other posts, it was not perfect, ( Bad dialogue, Queen was wooden, And that fucking Jar Jar, who I liked at first, turned out to be extemely annoying). Other than that, it was one of the best cinematic experience of my 21 yrs. I think seeing it with a bunch of die-hards only enhanced the experience. It was great to be a part of history. It was great to see all my expectations of EP! lived up to. Much credit to Lucas and everyone involved. Can't wait to see it again. I'm still smiling. Until next time. NJFILM20
Episode 1 - Maybe Some Spoilers by Aggie_Ed	May 20th, 1999 05:48:06 AM
Harry, I had to agree with you. In today's edition of the Austin-American Statesman, they had a blending of basically all of the negative reviews that have come out in the last week. I went into this movie trying to block all that negativity from my mind as I tried to watch this movie with a totally objective mind. I loved this movie, but the people around me didn't seem to think too much about it. There was a lot of grumbling when Shmi mentions the birth of Anakin, and there were some other things going on in the movie that didn't seem to please some of the audience around me. But I liked it. I read the book when it came out two weeks ago, and I loved it. This is a good, entertaining movie. As I've told my friends over the last two weeks that the negative reviews have been coming out, I go to a movie like Armageddon, Independence Day, Men in Black, etc, for pure entertainment. I don't care about the story necessarily. I go to the movies to have fun!! Episode One is fun, and I only regret that I didn't buy tickets to more than one showing today!!! Go see this movie!! The pod race was extremely intense, and the final lightsaber duel is amazing!! Go see this movie and have fun with it! My only complaint: it wasn't long enough!!!!!! Ed
There goes my last hope by wainwrig	May 20th, 1999 05:50:35 AM
Harry, I'm glad you liked it. I really am. But I'm also glad you apologized to those of us that hated it. I held out a slim hope that you would feel as dissapointed, saddened and angry at this film as I did. Then maybe Lucas would take notice, maybe something would change before the next film. I've seen the various films in the SW series about 20-30 times each over my life, but I'm not a fanboy. I just really like the movies. After watching TPM last night I fail to see how any rational person could make a comment comparing ANH to TPM. Sure the original was a popcorn movie, but it had wit, heart and vision. And if nothing else it was an exciting ride. Last night something I never thought could happen happened...I sat through a Star Wars movie bored. Even RotJ has about 15-20 moments in the movie where I think "cool!". TPM had two (Light Saber through door and begining of fight with DM). I can't see how anyone thinks this film resembles the original three in either fun or wonder.
WoW by Jeffskywalker	May 20th, 1999 05:53:19 AM
I'd write something, but I'm going to go see it again! I love this movie!!!
It was great!!!!...and it wasn't. (Spoilers...Sorry, but they're by Epsilon3	May 20th, 1999 05:56:15 AM
First, I really liked this film. It was fun, it was well-crafted, and it was worth standing in line and painstakingly avoiding all spoilage. I also think it works well as an establishing movie to start the whole story. The first film in 9 (now 6) should really set things up, and I think this one did. I loved Queen Amidala. George Lucas has finally written a decent female character (I'm not going to get into my Leia issues, though she did get better as the series went on). I didn't like Jar-Jar, but he didn't ruin the film, either (I liked Harry's "Jar-Jar's a hippie" explanation, even if I don't buy it, personally). My biggest problem with the movie was that it was that there was too little character development for the most part. There was good establishment of Anakin. Qui-Gon, Obi-wan and Amidala were developed fairly well, too, but other than that, most characters were there as plot points and not as characters, which is pretty disappointing, but not too surprising where Lucas is concerned. I'm very disappointed by Darth Maul, because I feel he got no character development whatsoever. I think that people who read the script or perhaps the novel (I haven't read it yet) got more, but he just seemed to show up to kick ass and that's about it. I didn't want him to be the central focus, and I didn't want him to even get more screen time, but considering how much he was pushed in the advertising, I would have liked him to at least be a character of some sort. I feel the battle droids got more development. But it's no matter. It was a fun and engaging film that was worth seeing, worth standing in a very long line for a week in advance for a couple of hours when I should have been studying for finals, worth a lot of things. I'm not the biggest SW fan in the world. I like my fairy tales with a lot more substance (Neil Gaiman's Stardust for example, or Tolkien and C.S. Lewis). SW is more a generational marker for me. I'm just under a year older than the original film, so, like the rest of the people in my generation, it's an event--something that defines us all in a very strange way. I'm greatly looking forward to the next two films. My biggest worry about the prequels was that in developing Anakin, much of Darth Vader's mystery that makes him such an engaging character would be lost. I still fear that, but I'm willing to wait and see. In 2002, God willing, I'll be in line again. And, oh yeah, the soundtrack was fabulous, and I would be perfectly willing to have Ewan McGregor's children (there was a lot more eye-candy than just the special effects :). Sorry for the long post.
WOW!!!! by Hobbs3	May 20th, 1999 05:58:18 AM
I'm still processing what I just saw. Even though I unfortunately knew most of what was going to happen, though the magnatude of the TPM has left me speechless. I did have problems with many parts though they mostly configure with many of what others have to say, to a far lesser degree for me. The best part of this film for me was that it really did make me feel like a kid again. For anyone who has younger siblings, ect take them to this movie!! I saw the TPM with 3 of my 4 younger brothers 15 , 13, and 8 years years old ( my other little bro is at WSU still. Anyways the thrill to see my youngest bros face light up in wonder during the pod race, whenever Maul appeared ( his favorite scene he recounted was when he pulled back his hood ) ect. I know Harry has gone on and on about pretending to be 7, but the just asking what he liked and what he didn't was more fulfilling for me. Also within 10 min of getting home a furious lightsaber battle erupted in our den, which I promply moved outside and joined right in, lets just say that there isn't one intact broomstick to be found.
Star Bores. Harry, you're wrong! by bshaw	May 20th, 1999 06:00:13 AM
I usually don't talk back, but this is annoying me... I was extremely excited about this new movie, and had bought tickets early, etc., and ditched school to see it on opening day. What I saw shocked me, and Harry's review shocked me even more. What happened to the intelligent film? What happened to characters! Phantom Menace lacks both of these, and turns out to be a boring two hour eye-candy trip that doesn't have much action, and does a disservice to the previous movies. How can one like Jar Jar? I was sitting next to three 10 year olds (or so it seems), and their reaction was that of confusion. They didn't even crack a laugh. My reaction? What's so funny about a Jamaican accent and stepping in "doo-doo"?! Unlike the other three movies, there are no characters you really root for, and no character that you have compassion for. There's no mock character like Han Solo, and there's no character who shows excitement. And by the way, Jake Lloyd makes this movie even worse. The scenes where he's in the cockpit with R2D2 is a complete mockery of the term "performance": his reactions counter what is going on; instead of excitement/fear we get the impression that he's playing some hokey game and that there's no danger. Not to mention, there's NO RESOLUTION between Anakin and Neeson's character! Not to mention, no emotional diologue! How are we supposed to believe that a plausible relationship exists! The only relationship is between Anakin and his mother, who gets nicely locked away half way through the movie. And my final complaint, the lack of excitement. In my opinion, when you ignore the pod race, the first hour and forty minutes of this movie is a complete bore. The two Jedis move their swords and wield their hands, but that's it. They always win. We know they'll win. Yes, the race is exciting, but there's no real purpose of it to the plot; there's no tension. If he doesn't win, I thought, who cares? The film gets very good at the last ten minutes. But besides that, it's terrible. It's dissapointing. This is the apotheosis, literally, of the technoligization and dedramitization of movies recently. I look at epic masterpieces like Badlands and Dog Day Afternoon, where there are people you care about and situations that makes your blood tighten up, and I have an appreciation of cinema. I look at Star Wars, and I see those films came out 20 years ago. We need a good script, Harry, good acting, good everything. Phantom Menace had some nice eyecandy, but there was no heart.
Reading Novel First A Mistake by Zaphod	May 20th, 1999 06:00:19 AM
I found that knowing a lot of spoilers ahead of time really backfired for me. Having read the screenplay and novel before seeing the movie, I wasn't afraid of having things spoiled. What I didn't expect was a tremendous letdown because of all the cool stuff that had been CUT. This could have been a 3-hour movie, easily. Maybe it should have been. The editing seemed too tight to me.
WOW!!!! by Hobbs3	May 20th, 1999 06:00:43 AM
I'm still processing what I just saw. Even though I unfortunately knew most of what was going to happen, though the magnatude of the TPM has left me speechless. I did have problems with many parts though they mostly configure with many of what others have to say, to a far lesser degree for me. The best part of this film for me was that it really did make me feel like a kid again. For anyone who has younger siblings, ect take them to this movie!! I saw the TPM with 3 of my 4 younger brothers 15 , 13, and 8 years years old ( my other little bro is at WSU still. Anyways the thrill to see my youngest bros face light up in wonder during the pod race, whenever Maul appeared ( his favorite scene he recounted was when he pulled back his hood ) ect. I know Harry has gone on and on about pretending to be 7, but the just asking what he liked and what he didn't was more fulfilling for me. Also within 10 min of getting home a furious lightsaber battle erupted in our den, which I promply moved outside and joined right in, lets just say that there isn't one intact broomstick to be found.
Phantom Menace question (need clarification desperately!!!) by HAL9000	May 20th, 1999 06:00:45 AM
Okay, so the guy who says to Amialda: "I think we're going to have to accept federation control for the time being" is part of the sith, and he goes on to be the vile emperor, who dies as a geezer when his apprentice vader throws him down the shaft? If this is true, then who in gods name is Darth Sidious? Was Darth Sidious the dude standing next to Maul in Coruscant? Was Senator Palpatine masquerading in the black cloak thingy during the hologram transmissions? Damn, I'm confused. Anyone who can clear this up will be remembered in my will.
WOW!!!!2 by The DonVito	May 20th, 1999 06:02:39 AM
Harry, I gotta say I agree with your review. Ep1 was fantastic. The negative reviews did me a great favor, since after hearing from these blowhards about how bad Ep 1 was going to be, my expectations were lowered. Man was I blown away! The last time I felt such ephoria was when I saw TESB. Ep1 made me feel like a kid again. I know I'll see this movie again. I wonder if the critics saw the same movie I did.
Confirmation by majorhavok	May 20th, 1999 06:02:43 AM
Yes, you're still a kid.
The Phantom Menace by AJS	May 20th, 1999 06:04:59 AM
This is what worries me. Over the last few weeks there has been a huge U turn in the way that TPM has been reported in the press in my country (England). For the last year there has been nothing but positive anticipation in the press about this movie. But over the last few weeks (even before the first reviews came out)the press over here have started to savage the film and George's motives for making it. I can understand a critic not liking a film ...... that's not my problem. What is my problem is the fact that most of the negative reviews I have seen so far have amounted to nothing more than personal attacks on George & Star Wars fans in general. One particular review by a British Critic stated the following "if your the kind of guy who's been following Star Wars since 1977, what your woman wears is usually a purely hypothetical problem." I realise that it is taken out of context, but in that one sentence you get a general idea of the tone of the review. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?? It's not a review, it's a accusation that most Star Wars fans are sad single men with well developed wrist muscles. I for one am sick of this treatment (& so is my girlfriend of 7 years). Why is there this sudden hate for all things Lucas? They just can't stand to see someone do well can they? For God's sake ...... it's just a movie. But they seem to be going in to screenings demanding a work of art. HELLO! This is Star Wars, it may not be art, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. (More ranting may follow .... I won't see the film for another month and a half ..... sigh)
WORSE THAN HOWARD THE DUCK by Chi-town	May 20th, 1999 06:05:53 AM
ok...so it's a slight exaggeration but this reminded me of the SIMPSON'S episode when Bart & Lisa write an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon and one of the entries is How to buy the He-man doll...this should be called...EPISODE 1: How to buy Jar Jar...first of all i saw the 3:30am Mann's Village show...great crowd and everyone was psyched...opening was great than it started...jar jar (whose speech pattern was best characterized as ebionics meets rastifareian very annoying) took over...i hated everything about him, his awful underwater world, and his fat, bloated king...only a 3 year old lobotomized will find him amusing...he was worse than the EWOKS all rolled up into one...and what was up with the ...i felt ashamed as i watched a cross eyed YODA sitting next to a neglected Sam Jackson pissing on Anakin...Yoda's become a goof caricature...the only saving grace is that i'm really psyched for episode 2...but this film was overall disappointing...there were no STAND UP AND YELL AND CHEER SECTIONS...Lucas directing was amateur...i yearned to see a visual director like John Woo shoot the battle b/w Maul & Obi-wan...yeh the sword play was great but the film wasn't kinetic enough...even the POD RACE was overkill and what the hell happened to TATOOINE...it was turned into some PIXAR nightmare...goddammit they didn't even go to MOS EISLEY...someone pls stop george lucas from RUINING his trilogy...this is the biggest disappointment EVER...and what was up with those TRADE REPUBLIC baddies speaking like bad Asian chopsocko-karate-dubbed bad guys...oh well...guess i'll go see it again...
Very disappointed in TPM!! by gerwalk	May 20th, 1999 06:07:17 AM
I am a huge Star Wars fan, but I have to be honest, I didn't hate this film, but I didn't neccesarily like it either. It is on par with previous summer blockbusters like independence day, maybe a bit better, visually a lot better, storywise a lot better. But, this is not a star wars film, not even close. It may hiave the look, may have the feel of a star wars universe, but it definitely dosen't give you the feelings that the original star wars trilogy does. There is no tension here. Who gives a fuck when Obi Wan is hanging from a thread during his battle with darth maul, not me at least not the way you were concerned for luke at the end of esb. Why not, well who the hell even know who the guy is specnt half the fuckin film analyzing blood samples. Does anyone give a fuck when anakin blows up the trade federation ship. No! Why not? No tension, no established impending doom, no impossible odds like the death star, no final shot that can be fired only from a jedi. Hell you got the feeling that jar jar binks could have tripped and had the same impact on the federation ship that anakin did. Overall I have to say that I am disapponited, for all those who say view it in a child eys. fuck that. I am not sure children could even follow what the hell was going on. i know I and several other adults were basically scratching their heads the entire time. Give kids a bit more credit, I doubt many of them will be willing to sit through this the Phantom bullshit.
Darth Maul = directorial restraint! by hotbread	May 20th, 1999 06:08:39 AM
Darth Maul. My god. My freaking god. That's all I had to say. He was SO much scarier and more evil than I thought he would be. Some have complained that he didn't get enough lines, and he didn't get enough screen time. But this is what keeps him mysterious and scary! The glimpses that we do get of Darth Maul are of an unstoppable, uncaring, ruthless EVIL. If he talked a lot, or if we got to follow him around in his daily routine, he wouldn't be scary anymore -- he'd just be some guy with weird shit on his head. Lucas didn't WANT us to see much of Darth Maul. He's the boogeyman that you catch a glimpse of out of the corner of your eye. Maybe we have been spoiled by over-edited, breathless, in-your-face movies like Armageddon and Godzilla, so we expect everything to be portrayed at full force 100% of the time?
Jar Jar Jemimah, etc. by Alexandra DuPont	May 20th, 1999 06:09:12 AM
Harry, thanks for a quite well-reasoned review. I must respectfully disagree about Jar Jar, however; for me, it's not that he's annoying, it's that he draws on a racist archetype. Seriously. I know that sounds pathetically PC (and believe me I'm anything but), but let
8 changes that would make TPM a great SW movie... (spoilers) by Mr EuroSnob	May 20th, 1999 06:10:08 AM
Let me start by saying that I would give TPM 3/4 stars. It was a very good movie, but being a SW movie, TPM has some critical flaws. Here are eight suggested changes that would improve the movie IMMENSLY, all in my opinion of course... --- 1) Remove all Jar-Jar's scenes involving fumbling, walking in poo, farting, and killing half the droid army by mistake. Ideally Jar Jar should be completely redone, too make him less like a cartoony. --- 2) Replace the Boss Nass character (he is CGI anyway), and take out the idiotic fountain-drooling/laugh. --- 3) Either clear up the Jar-Jar and the other Gungans "jamaican" accent, or make their langauge alien, with subtitles. Hey - if we managed 3 movies with a grunting wookie (WITHOUT subtitles I might add), we should be able to handle a side-kick with sub-titles. --- 4) Dub over the Nimoudians voices, they sound too much like stereotypical asian immigrants, very distracting. Or make their language alien, and use subtitles. --- 5) Remove the scenes dealing Midi-Chlorian crap, no need for such a lame "trek-like" explanation of the force. --- 6) Replace the two-headed pod race announcer, how 90's lame was that? ("That's gotta hurt in any universe!" - BARF) --- 7) Remove the sub ride through the core of Naboo, completely pointless and lame. ("There's always a bigger fish" - Yeeesh, how profound can you get!) --- 8) Have John Williams rescore the movie. "Duel of the Fates" was the ONLY good part of the soundtrack, the rest was barely audible and such a generic score that it could have been attached to ANY movie. Somone please remind Williams that this is supposed to be a STAR WARS score. --- Anyway, here's hoping for an improved secial edition. - EuroSnob
S I T H S L A Y E R S E Z: by Sithslayer	May 20th, 1999 06:10:36 AM
RIght on Harry. Now imagine trying to keep quiet about it for TWO WEEKS. I've now seen it four times and counting. When you watch a film more than once, you tend to look elsewhere on the screen and I've already noticed a few tidbits for those of you who want to experience some "Where's Waldo?" kind of stuff. WARNING: READ NO FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. ...............Okay. I want everyone to know that I am the one who is to take credit for SCOOPING this stuff. First of all, in the Senate Chambers, look hard at who's in attendance. I saw a race of Wookies in the upper middle to right on the screen for a split second and I swear that it was Chewbacca himself raising his arms up in the air and yelping, because you can hear his roar!!! Also look to the bottom left of the screen and find that FREAKIN' E.T. The Extra-terrestrial is in there with two buds. Three of the E.T. race are present. How cool is that? In the scene where the battle droids are shut down, look for the one droid that has the number (1138) written across his back!!!! I'm gonna keep searching for the "potato" in the asteroid field when I watch this film more times in the future. I'm out!
QUENTIN'S REVIEW: "The Phantom Menace" = THE BEST OF THE STAR WA by quentin2	May 20th, 1999 06:13:18 AM
What did I think?... When I saw it, my opinion was colored by the reviews of the mainstream critics (whom I usually trust), and I had read the script, the comic-adaptation, and listened to the soundtrack... I pretty much knew every line in the movir by heart. What did I think? I COULD NOT LOVE THIS FILM MORE!!! It literally had me on the edge of my seat for the total duration of the movie. Some say that the plot slowed down too much with the Anakin scenes and the Coruscant scenes. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the action behind the action. It is much more fast and furious than the slowing-down of A New Hope. But, there is something I must say about the pace of this film that I will come to later. PLOT: I've said it before and I'll say it again. It is the least-simplistic plot of all the Star Wars movies. Some people say they were confused? Who are these people? Slack-jawed yocals? I guess these are the same people that would have trouble understanding the plot of Forrest Gump. For, although this the most complex plot of the Star Wars movies, it does not stray THAT far from the simplistic good-guy, bad-guy nature of the Star Wars films. People complained about the Niemoidians' voices. I must admit, at first, it was a bit strange. I didn't like it. But as the movie progressed, I couldn't imagine the Neimoidians with any other voices. Actually, now I love the Neimoidian accents! I think they're just one of the cool things in the Star Wars universe. "the seeenate"... THE ACTING: The acting was dead perfect. Liam, Ewan, and Natalie definitley knew their stuff. I actually expected bad acting, but that's not what I got. ..now, let's talk about Anakin: I didn't like his introduction. Well, I liked it, but it was too quick. It was rushed. They never slowed to let us get a sense of him. And at first, I must admit I was a bit shaky about his acting. But, he came to grow on me. His acting wasn't bad at all. He acted his part just as perfectly as the other actors did. He acted like a nine year old boy. THE SPECIAL EFFECTS: I have an image from nearly every scene in the film. I have every commercial and the two trailers saved on my hard drive. Yet, I think all will agree with me here: I WAS TOTALLY UNPREPARED FOR THE SPECIAL EFFECTS. My jaw dropped to the floor in just the opening scene alone. When the Republic Cruiser docks with the Federation Battleship, THAT was incredible enough! From there, the effects elevated to the highest and most realistic standing I have ever witnessed in my life. Jar Jar was 100% real. Watto was 100% real. EVERY effect was 100% real. There wasn't one effect which I good think myself: "Oh, that's bad CG..." WOW. That's all I can say about the effects. WOW. This is definitley a "blow the audience away" movie. Even non-Star Wars fans should see this movie just for the special effects alone. ISSUES THAT PEOPLE HAVE: Midi-Chlorians- I really don't understand the reasoning behind hating this concept. I have known about Midi-Chlorians for half a year, so if you're expecting me to bash them, think again. Some people feel betrayed, some people feel that their own takes on Star Wars have been thrown into the trash. Guess what? YOU WERE LOOKING TO DEEP INTO THE MOVIE! The Star Wars movies are nothing more than modern versions of Flash Gordon. These are ridiculously fun movies in which you root for the good guy and root for the bad guy and just suck in the imagery. That's all. This is how I look at it: Look at Episode I as THE FIRST episode, because THAT IS WHAT IT IS. The Force is an energy field created by Midi-Chlorians. LIVE WITH IT. Does it take away from the mystical nature of the Force? I really don't see how. Honestly. Someone tell me how the whole concept of "The Force" has been changed at all. Because I don't see it. Every word that Yoda said in TESB is still the same. Life creates The Force. Some people, like Alexandra DuPont, believe that Vader can no longer be so strong in the Force if he is half-machine. Why is that? People are looking at Midi-Chlorians the wrong way. They think Anakin's body is filled to the brim with some strange particle. That's wrong. EVERYONE has Midi-Clorians. They are a part of everyone's cells. Now, Anakin has the most concentrated amount of Midi-Chlorians. THE MOST CONCENTRATED. It's not that his body has more cells than anyone else. It's that he has a higher concentration per cell of Midi-Chlorians than any other being. Why would that cpncentration per cell change if he becomes half-machine? Why would it change even if he was ALL machine except for a brain or something? IT IS A CONCENTRATION PER CELL. IT IS NOT THE TOTAL BODY AMOUNT. Because, if it were the total body amount, than I guess someone could lose their Force powers by getting cut and losing blood, right? COME ON. Think about it, people. NEGATIVES: MY one major important negative is this: The movie was just too fast. And I don't mean that in a good way. It is as if Lucas stuff a bunch of things into a cabinet and pushed it shut. It's just BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. It never slows down like the other movies did. It doesn't slow down to get at least a longer camera shot of Anakin when we first see him. It doesn't slow down when it gets sentimental. It just doesn't slow down. It's too much to look at at one time. At first I disagreed with people who said the movie should have been longer. I thought every Star Wars movie should be about two hours in length. I was wrong. This movie should have been longer. It had far too much crammed into a two hour period. I wanted the camera to move slower and not just quickly wipe to the next scene the second the dialogue was done. That is really, the only significant negative feeling I have about this movie. And the whole "Globe of Peace" thing at the end. I didn't like that at all. What the hell was it? Some kind of glowing ball that symbolizes peace??? Lucas shouldn't have put it in the movie. And I didn't like Natalie portman's valley-girl accent as Padme. Why didn't she just keep her regal Amidala accent throughout? I did love her Amidala voice. Very good acting there. WHERE DO I RANK IT WITH THE OTHER FILMS?: I'm sorry to say this, I really am. I feel sad saying it, but.... "The Phantom Menace" is the best of the Star Wars films. And to tell you the truth, I honestly honestly didn't think it would be. The reviews made me think this was a ROTJ-level movie. And I LOVE TESB. I thought there was no way TPM would top TESB. I just didn't think it would. ....but it did. And do you know why? Because, in my honest opinion, TPM was more Star Wars-ish than the other Star Wars movies. There, I said it. Lucas has always siad that Star wars is just Fantasy with technology. Star Wars is not sci-fi. And none of the Star Wars movies prove this better than TPM. A New Hope had this huge, planet-destroying space station. But, TPM has a beautiful planet, a majestic city, and a beautiful palace taken over by the villains. The Jedi Knights are real in this film. They aren't just some "hokey religion with ancient weapons", they are total bad-asses. There isn't ONE BIG image in TPM like the Death Star, and that's what I liked about this film. It was about the plot. It was about the Palace. A planet taken over, a beautiful (and I do mean beautiful) Queen who must flee, a slave who must win his freeedom, and a FANTASTIC capital planet (the senate and Jedi Council scenes were AWESOME), and finally the return to the planet and the fight to take back the palace and defeat the armies of the Federation. A wonderful, magical, fantastical story. More endearing to me, than the story of a farm boy who destroys a space station. SCENES I LOVED: The passage through the Planet Core, the Pod Race, the Galactic Senate, the space battle, the Gungans vs. the Battle Droids, and the three-way lightsaber duel..... WOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!! These scenes caused my jaw to drop. I'm kind of sorry, because the three-way lightsaber duel in TPM makes the Vader vs. Obi-Wan fight in ANH seem like two snails trying to outrun each other. I absolutley loved how Maul paced back and forth and stared evilly at Qui-Gon, while Qui-Gon meditated. I ABSOLUTLEY LOVED THAT!! I was smiling. Because Maul KNEW that he was going to kill Qui-Gon. And Qui-Gon meditated and gathered up his energy. Indeed, Qui-Gon was faster than before, and I don't think he knew he would die. But I was totally unprepared for how it look. Maul puts his lightsaber right through Qui-Gon and it comes out the other end, even leaving a burn mark on his outfit where the hole is. True, I don't understand why Qui-Gon didn't disappear, but Lucas said we will come to understand that in Episodes II & III. ....and MAN, I LOVED DARTH MAUL'S DEATH. Very cool. AND FINALLY...: I cannot wait to see it again. When the movie ended, I really really wanted to get back in line and see it again. I am going to go see this movie as often as I can over the weeks to come. Like I said, there is just too much to absorb in two hours. Your eyes cannot digest it all. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST see this movie more than once to see everything. And that is not necesarilly true with the other films. Sure, I saw the special editions multiple times at the theater, but I did that because I liked the movies so much. This movie DEMANDS that you go see it more than once. You don't really have a choice. If you want to see the whole movie, you must go and see it again. I know I will. Was it worth the wait? Was it worth all the fuss? YES. YES. A THOUSAND TIMES, YES.
A Piece of Crap is This by Clock	May 20th, 1999 06:16:24 AM
I resent Harry's comment "I'm a STAR WARS fan." Does that mean if I hated this movie, I'm not? maybe I'm taking it out of context... But yes, I hated this film. And yes, I grew up with all STAR WARS films, watched them all once a week for years, endlessly played with my toys, etc. This movie invites none of that. What am I going to do: "Okay, let's get the Queen out of here before... (gasp!!) she signs a contract!! NOOOO!!! Not the evil contract!!" Is that what this movie is about? Why center your main story around politics about as exciting as your average CNN report. And don't say, "That's not what it's about, it's about Anakin and blah blah.," it's about Trade Routes. The Anakin story, I realized while watching the film, is fairly moot. There's never anything at stake because we already know the outcome of everything. But that's thanks to lousy writing and flat direction. And now let's talk characters and the actors inside them. 1) Obi-Wan - Nothing to do whatsoever. His job is to look at Qui-Gon, nod and say "Uh, yeah, I think that too..." Ewan McGregor, normally so energetic and, well, GOOD, stinks here. I never had interest in his thoughts or actions. 2) Qui-Gon - Boring, thanks to the thudding dialogue and Neeson's constant why-am-I-even-in-this-movie? deliveries and facial expressions. 3) Queen Amidala/Padme - I don't even know what was going on with this nonsense. She emotes about as much as a slap of beefsteak. 4) Anakin - Horrible, easily the worst character in the movie. To disagree with Harry, he is not a normal kid, playing with his friends and whatnot. He's never even convincing as a character, I was constantly, more so than anyone else, aware that this was so godawful a performance that any slight characterizations that Lucas might've thought out are drowned out in this kid's worthless acting. I truly hope I never, ever see him again, ever. 5) - Jar-Jar - He sucked, to be sure, but I was surprised at how little I minded him after a while, so I'm sort of like Harry in that respect. I was dreading him for the longest while, but during the movie, I became immune to him, and realized he could not at all bear the burden of what's so bad about this movie. His master bears that responsibility. His master of course, being Mr. Lucas. 6) - Darth Maul - Well, I really don't know what to say about him. I feel Harry's explanation for his small screentime is hogwash: this is a character who should've BEEN in this movie! What an incredibly wasted oppotunity! There is no villain, yet there are so many of them. The two Trade Federation guys, with their bizarre ethnic undertones, were an abomination. I'm really wanting to see Harry defend these assholes. All they do is talk and slur their speech, is that supposed to be intimidating? Darth Siddious... doesn't even register. He's off the radar, I hardly noticed him. How can there be no bad guys in a movie series about Good Vs. Evil? George Lucas is a terrible, terrible director. Instead of the wit we saw in the previous STAR WARS films, he get silliness and baffonery, quite possibly a result of his trying hard to please his own children. The man can't write dialogue to save his life, tirelessly dishing out exposition in minute-long monologues. I will see this movie again, just to make sure that I think what I think, if you know what I mean. I hope I can appreciate the empty, spirit-deadening preoccupation with filling every single frame with an effect of some kind, all of which is shockingly uneffective after the first half hour. I hope I will find some good things to say about it. I hope.
The Kirin Review by Kirin	May 20th, 1999 06:18:12 AM
Note to George Lucas: Awesome CGI. Edit looooong boring scences between the action. Less muppets, more character development. Geez, give the bad guy a few lines. B-
Second Thoughts by TOMMY TERROR	May 20th, 1999 06:22:53 AM
Good review Harry, I was peculiarly curious to read your first impressions, and I'm pleased you haven't fallen to the dark side. I'd seen the press screening, but I wanted to see PHANTOM MENACE with fans on opening night - with a cheering crowd - and when friends had an extra ticket for 12:01 I jumped. To tell you the truth the crowd wasn't that different. Almost insanely noisy as we waited for the film to begin, screaming over trailers - I almost thought the world would end right then and there. But once the film started there were only intermittent cheers - usually when a character first appeared, kinda like watching Married With Children. I don't know if they were just awestruck (like I was again) or disappointed, but those 70's feelings of a group herd instinct were sadly no more. Altho now I wanna see it with kids. It was a much easier ride second time around, I knew when to disengage (the serious Anakin scenes on Tattooine) and when to study the scene for clues and details (almost every scene). So many delicious details in the background - creatures and gadgets - it's insane. Anyone else notice when Amidala is first captured and led down the stairs - all of her handmaidens look exactly like her. In fact it almost looked like Natalie Portman played all of them. I wonder if there's some cloning already? Check it out. I had to pee during my first viewing and fuck if I didn't miss 5 entire scenes. This flick is really packed and fast. I've decided my biggest disappointment is Anakin's mother. She has to say some of the worst lines, and it almost seems like she's compensating for Ani's lack of depth with her studied gravity. They don't make a very believable family. I really hope Lucas bones up on his directing actors abilities before attempting a love story.
star yores... by angel	May 20th, 1999 06:23:09 AM
whew, was it tough gettin' into this film! i walked up to the box office at 11:30, got two tickets for the 1:00 show and walked past ten people forming a line for the 4:30 show. the theater was hardly packed. but that's cool. everybody is staying away thinking it will be a madhouse...here's where lucas shoots himself in the foot (ala jar jar?)...TOO MUCH HYPE. the movie didn't suck, but it sure lacked hardcore. here's the biggest problem--and i'm right: JAKE LLOYD AND NATALIE PORTMAN ARE TWO OF THE WORST ACTORS TO EVER GRACE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. you'd think at some point before spending hundreds of millions of dollars lucas might say, "oh shit. those two can't act!" the audience was audibly embarresed whenever jake and natalie had dialogue. atrocious. the visuals were stunning; liam and ewan rocked though forget any character development; jar jar is exactly what people fear it to be (how many times must it squeal? jerry lewis is right...); the aliens were cool; but THE SPACESHIPS SUCKED. compare those awful silver looking things to the ships in star wars. please. where was ron cobb? ralph mcquarrie? sigh. at least the music rocked. the film is not bad, but lucas has lost his sense of direction....this movie will not bring the star wars mythos to the next millenium...i mean, natalie portman was TERRIBLE...get some british kids next time....
Can't wait to see this film!!! by Kultros	May 20th, 1999 06:27:33 AM
First of all I'm a Brit so I can't get to see the film yet so I'm going to have to preserve my sanity by talking about EP2 and EP3. A few months ago, someone on AICN said that Obi Wan might have two apprentices and then one of them betrays Obi Wan, big fight scene and this is what turns Anakin. We don't know how the structure of Anakin's fall will turn out but I personally think that for Anakin to turn his back on Obi Wan is going to be the mostimportant betrayal. I've just got this sneeky suspicion that Darth Sidious or Palpatine or whoever will turn him because Obi Wan isn't there to save him when he falls into the lead. One possible idea is that it could be during the clone wars and Obi Wan will make a decision with which Anakin diasagrees. Whatever the way it turns out, I can't wait to see the film and its only just under another two months till we get the film!!! Ah well, at least we get all the good Brit com films before you. P.S. Sorry, I've posted this on the wrong article really. Not really about EP1
Right on, Harry by fido	May 20th, 1999 06:28:38 AM
You gotta stop reading my mind, baby! I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis and I'm running off for P.M. viewing number two right now...
Bail Antilles?? by Psifi	May 20th, 1999 06:29:00 AM
Alright either I'm stone deaf or Palpatine mentioned one of the other candidates for Chancellor as Bail Antilles of Alderaan...not Bail Organa. Harry mentioned that Bail Organa supporting the call for a vote of no confidence didnt make it into the final script. Maybe this means that they didnt want to commit to a given actor in the role which might be greater in later films.
STAR WARS IS BACK!!!!!!!!!! by JokerRulez	May 20th, 1999 06:31:42 AM
So the moment finally arrived...I've been dreaming of this since I walked out of that theater 16 years ago. So how was it? It was as good as any other Star Wars movie! Give or take personal preferences (I think Empire is the best of them all). George Lucas has really created a gorgeous universe for us to enjoy, and enjoy it you will. Were there some problems...certainly. How was Jar Jar...I thought he was great, like that goofy friend who is always getting into trouble. Was it as good as we all hyped it to be...impossible. I have been milling over this movie for hours and hours now and have come to a conclussion. We can not give it its proper place until all six episodes are finished. Lucas' genius in these movies is how the whole is greater than the parts. Any one Star Wars movie cannot stack up to the great movies in history, but if you take the trilogy together, that stacks up pretty well. To all you people out there who didn't like this movie, I am sorry, you just didn't get it. One aspect of my life is completely satisfied now, until Episode II gets further along in pre-production. Finally I think my good friend Marcus Martin said it best " this movie is for the kid in all of us." Hope you enjoy it. Joker
TPM Bashers - all WHINERS! by octosquid	May 20th, 1999 06:32:22 AM
There's been a lot of negative reviews and TPM is currently being savaged in movie chat rooms and newsgroups everywhere. I was prepared for the absolute worst, but I was actually very, very pleased with this movie. I'm not a rabid Star Wars fan, but I have to admit that I forced my Mom to take me to see A New Hope on opening night way back in 1977 and I got a little choked up during the opening titles of The Phantom Menace. Please don't listen to any hype - good or bad - just watch this movie. Don't compare the acting to the other films, don't compare the "coolness" of the starships or droids to the other films - just immerse yourself in the universe and absorb it all. If you fret over the insignificant details in this movie, you will be depriving yourself of the extremely satisfying gestalt of this movie. All the "Phantom Menace" bashing is composed of nitpicking and complaints about insignificant details which shows that all these people didn't get it. The whole effect is much, much greater than the individual bits and pieces of technology and character.
This was not a good movie! by The Mad Hatter	May 20th, 1999 06:35:11 AM
I can't believe I waited 16 years for that God-awful bullshit, and Harry thought it was great!?!? Jesus H Christ!! I'm fucking at a loss!! He's right about one thing though, I'm now more than ever waiting for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. This trio of movies will FUCKING KICK-ASS. And it won't be ruined by "kiddie bullshit" either. I trust Peter Jackson over George Lucas ANY DAY OF THE FUCKING WEEK!!! PJ is NOT a merchandising WHORE. LOTR will show all you deluded SW fans how a trilogy SHOULD be made..... Now, on the subject of "Phantom Menace" - what the hell was George Lucas thinking? This is the kind of flick which makes "Godzilla" seem like the best movie ever made! It was teeming with childish crap from beginning to end, and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when the finale arrived. Lucas deserves a damn good flogging for force-feeding us this shit stew. The flick was nothing but a toy commercial, and I've seen more entertaining adverts than what I witnessed today...Jar Jar was a pain in the butt, Anakin was a stuck-up brat with far too much of the Wesley Crusher syndrome, and the dialogue was some of the worst in living memory. And what about Darth Maul? A true KICK-ASS MOTHERFUCKER, and he was TOTALLY FUCKING WASTED!!! A heinous crime, Mr. shit-for-brains Lucas! I can honestly say that anyone who loved this flick were not looking at it through the eyes of a child, THEY ARE A FUCKING CHILD!! I could feel my intelligence being insulted right from the start...All of you asshole losers who drool that this movie is awesome are deluding yourselves. I just knew that this would be the case, so I prepared for it. You so desperately wanted to love this flick that you're prepared to make ANY excuses in its defense. AND what about the line people?? Yeah, what about 'em?? What a bunch of dumb fucks! Camping out all this time to see a movie which didn't deserve ANY of their devotion! I will say here that I WANTED to love the movie, but I'm NOT gonna try and cover up what I believe to be a multitude of flaws...All you Lucas fanatics who can't look at a movie objectively are in 100% denial. The movie is simply not as good as most of you will make it out to be, and frankly, I don't give a fuck what you think. I didn't like it, and to me that's all that counts... I think Lucas must be LAUGHING at all you dummies, he can direct a mediocre movie and STILL make a fortune... Guys like Lucas are bad for the future of film-making. Taking his example, all you have to do is pack your movie with muppets and CGI and call it "Star Wars" and you're guaranteed a hit! I used to respect Lucas, but now I HATE him - THE GREEDY, WHORING, MERCHANDISING BASTARD!!!
Loved It by gfmcbay	May 20th, 1999 06:37:45 AM
I agree with Harry here just about 100%. There will be some spoilers in my comments, so skip them if you haven't seen the movie (no, really, skip them!). Just a tiny bit of background on me, so people can put my comments into context: I am a 25 year old male who has been a big fan of Star Wars for as long as I can remember. I didn't wait in the ticket line for days (though I did wait in the to-be-seated line for about 5 hours in the rain in NYC), didn't wait in line to buy toys at 12:00 on May 3rd, etc. I'm a really big fan, but not to the point where Star Wars figures into my life on a daily basis. Ok, now on with the comments.. I liked Jar Jar, quite a lot. The kids are going to go absolutely nuts for him. He's the somewhat-annoying, yet oddly funny comic relief for this movie, just as C3PO was for the others (Threepio is here in this movie, but has very little screen time). My only gripe about Jar Jar is that he may have been given a bit too much screen time, time that might have been better spent developing Obi-Wan..But I guess we wait for 2 & 3 for that. If Jar Jar is around in the future episodes, please cut his screen time, that's all I ask. I loved Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon. I am really sad he was killed.(hey, I told you to skip it if you didn't see the movie, didn't I? Don't blame me!) The whole scene at the end with Obi-Wan and Yoda was difficult to watch, and you couldn't help feeling bad for Qui-Gon because of the unfortunate(?) turn of events he had a place in setting in motion. I also loved Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan and Ray Park as Darth Maul. The entire lightsaber duel in the final battle sequence was so amazingly kick-ass. The background scenery on spaceship landings and setup shots was so utterly grand and realistic (in a fantastic sort of way). I find it hard to reconcile in my mind that those places dont exist!! The pod-race was amazing too, but you don't need me to tell you that, pretty much everyone agrees on that part. A few of the comedic one-liners were great, though many do not compare with some of Han Solo's comments through the first trilogy. The Queen saying "We'll take the long way" when faced with Darth Maul was classic. I could go on and on...the short version is, I loved this film. Like Harry, I can't really say where it would fit in terms of quality compared to the first three. When I first heard the soundtrack, I thought it didn't really measure up to the rest, but upon listening to it multiple times, I think its right up there, and maybe a bit BETTER than Empire's score (which I consider to be the best of the original trilogy). I think that's a major problem with the acceptance of this movie...We haven't had 20 years to flame-war over whether or not Anakin told the Queen he would marry her or whether Obi-Wan blew out his lightsaber in the swamp (ala didn't Luke talk to Biggs on Tantooie??). When we have, I firmly believe everyone will have a wildly different view of this movie. All of that being said, the one major thing I didn't care for in the movie was how Anakin sort of bumbled (the bumbling success was fine for Jar Jar, but having it for two characters was a bit much!) into destroying the droid control ship at the end. I realize that the explaination is that The Force was using him, but it would have been nice if he had competently flown up to the battle, went into the ship and had the confidence to go in and blow the main reactor, perhaps drawing parallels to the pod-race as Luke drew them from the Darth Star trench to Beggar's Canyon. A few misc comments on the force: Doesn't it seem that despite all of the wise Jedi's lip service to inner peace that they seem to get the job done better when they are ragingly pissed off, one step from the dark side? Obi-Wan seemed pretty upset about Qui-Gon when he whacked Maul, as Luke was when he defeated Vader. It seems like the secret for Jedi is to run with the anger but pull back in time, rather than truly finding some inner peace. With all of the talk of the chosen one, balance of the force, and all of the force-inspired events drawing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to Anakin..And Yoda's line about the Sith -- the dark side having only two at a time (no more, no less)..it sort of seems like the force wants the jedi to be wiped out? Too many jedi in comparison to the dark siders...thowing the yin and yang out of balance?
What Else Would It Be by MantelTwins	May 20th, 1999 06:39:43 AM
Last night it hit me. I was going to see Episode one after sixteen years. I was seven when A NEW HOPE came out. And here I am at 29 eagerly anticipating the Phantom Menace as if I were seeing for the first time someone I idolized and looked up to as a child. I wanted to see this film as a child like Harry and many recommended I do. I tried and to some degree I did, but then again it was Yoda himself who said, "do or do not. There is no try." So as an adult my reaction to the film was paradoxically feeling comforted and yet dissapointed by the reality that you can never quite recapture the romance and innocence of youth. So I had to accept that certain parts were dissappointing (not enough Maul, Kenobi, Yoda, that even as a kid I would not have liked JarJar) and others cool (the foreshadowing, the politics of the imperial senate, etc.) But as a child or an adult I felt that the film lacked any true powerful moment. Whenever I see A NEW HOPE, I still get choked up when Luke is racing down the trenches. Wedge has dropped out, Biggs is dead, and Luke's lost R2. Then he hears Obi Wan's voice. ANd Luke shuts off his targeting computer. The music swells...i didn't get a moment like that in Phantom. Is that too much to ask for?
Lucas is a visionary so stop whining! by domino	May 20th, 1999 06:40:44 AM
George Lucas is a genius this much is known. The movie isn't perfect this much is known. The PM is a hook for the next generation this much is known. Jar Jar Binks is annoying this much is known. I have got to the point where the film itself has taken less significance then to the whole experience leading up to it. Think about the first time the name was announced: "The Phantom Menace" what? we inquisitively asked. The first time Fox announced a release date: 5/21/99. Only a couple months to go we gleefully shouted. The first trailer is released: we all stand in line just to see the trailer and abandon "The Seige" in the process. A 2nd trailer is released-Lucas announces to release on Wednesday-Toy stores around the country release the merchandise at midnight-lines start to form a month in advance-and finally we are seated in front of that giant screen with a rowdy crowd who all want the same thing-a vision. The Lucasfilm logo appears-our heats skip a beat, and there it is in a galaxy far far away. Does it really matter if it sucked even a little bit. At least we came for the ride.
Am I the only who reads between the lines of Harry's review? by Mr EuroSnob	May 20th, 1999 06:41:09 AM
Is it just me, or does Harry not seem very excited at all? Compare this review to his initial Matrix impressions... And why does he suddenly switch topic to LOTR? I predict that we will soon see something similar to Harry's Godzilla reversal. (Ironic, since it happened exactly one year ago) - EuroSnob
Alien Resurrection Disease by A Roman	May 20th, 1999 06:41:45 AM
Just tell me: was TPM infected by the Alien Resurrection disease? When the hype around the newest addition to a brilliant trilogy slowly built up just to be utterly destroyed after the first screening of the new flick. Of course, there were some people who liked Alien4, but after reading the negative talk back reviews here I was quite reluctant to go to the theater (and I was right. I was speeding away in the city at 80 mph to be as far from the scene of disaster as possible). Did it happen to Star Wars?
Definitely made for KIDS by anton	May 20th, 1999 06:42:13 AM
I just came back from seeing TPM. I waited in line this morning for 3 1/2 hrs. Im in Montana and it snows 9 months out of the year so there wasnt any overnight waiters. I have to agree with everyone who says that this movie is made for the kids. No doubts about it. This is the best kids movie i have ever seen with the exception of The Little Princess which was a masterpiece. If you cant handle watching a kids movie then dont go. I went and I was disappointed in how it lacked everything that as an adult I want to see in a movie. If you cant handle dissapointment then dont go. Anyway, right now I have to go watch it again.
Its the end of the world as we know it... by AcidGuru	May 20th, 1999 06:43:46 AM
Does anyone else hear those minichlorians singing that REM song? The minichlorians have also told me that if people actually found this film interesting then they are as easy to manipulate as an obi-wan handwave during a stormtrooper interagation. (acidguru waves his hand in front of their eyes) "this movie is not garbage....it is the type of movie youre looking for." (the sw junkies repeat) "this movie is not garbage.....it is the type of movie we're looking for."
tonight,it happens. by tkip	May 20th, 1999 06:43:49 AM
I'm fairly confident that when I see the movie tonight,I'll probably like the movie BUT not love the movie.I suspect the movie's main flaw is the jar jar character.No one seems to like him.I sense some re-editing when Lucas does the special edition.As for the Darth Sidious and Darth Maul.I think its obvious that the senator and Darth Maul are the same person and if people are still crying over Darth Maul's fate, theres always the clone wars.
THIS IS STAR WARS FOLKS!!!!!! by cruiser	May 20th, 1999 06:44:24 AM
Well, it's taken me all day to process the piece of work I saw at midnight last night, and all I have got to say folks, I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I mean sure, Jar Jar the jackass was goofy and all that shit, but in some parts I thought he was funny. The foreshadowing of what is to come gave me chills-I'll agree with Harry- when Palpatine tells Anakin he will be following his career- whoooo. I liked what they did with Darth Maul he was mysterious and my god he has got to be the scariest looking character I have ever seen in any of these films. Liam Neeson kicked ass as Qui Gon, as did Ewan as Obi Wan, those fella's could do some serious damage, during every fight scene I was just on the edge of my seat going yeah- get 'em boys. The music and the end battle scene made up for every corny thing in the TPM, except for the two headed sports announcer- that is something they should put in the SPACEBALL'S sequel - but hey nobodies perfect. I thought they did a very good job of laying the groundwork for the next two films. I can't wait to see who they cast as the next Anakin- I read somewhere Ryan Phillipe- I don't know who they should cast- it will be interesting. Oh and Darth Sidious and Palpatine are the same guy I am almost positive. Well onto EPISODE 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! meanwhile I am going back to the theater for my second run at this seriously great film!!!!!!!!!!!! cruiser out...................
Just got back from SW-EP1.... :( by rodh	May 20th, 1999 06:45:50 AM
Well, it was Star Wars, but... I have been waiting for 16 years like others...and..in my opinion. It was visually stunning at times. Fight scenes were terrific ( JEDI/SITH), pod race was rad. But this film really lacked in the chemistry department. The acting was stail. I really wish i could have come out of the theater saying "MAN THAT WAS AWESOME" but i can't. I just hope that LUCAS does better the next time, and I think that OBI-WAN is gonna rock!!! i'm out.
Star Wars Boring by Barrymore	May 20th, 1999 06:49:38 AM
I saw Episode 1 last night at a midnight showing. To me, it was very boring. There was an hour in the middle where there was nothing happening except senators, etc. talking. The plot about the Trade Federation made no sense. Darth Maul and Ewan were TOTALLY wasted. I love Sam Jackson--but you can't help but laugh when he shows up in the council scenes. Jake Lloyd is totally out of place. Is there any question as to whether Sidious, Senator Palpatine, and the Emporer are all the very same guy? No. Jar Jar Binks was absolutely horrible--I could not understand a thing that he and Boss Nass said. Anakin just happens to shoot the control center of this huge space station...the control center is sitting right there in the ship hangar? Yeah right. I was very disappointed overall.
Two cents worth by CaptainWow	May 20th, 1999 06:51:10 AM
There are so many things to say about this film (and so much that has already been said), but I
This movie did NOT suck! by MSJanke	May 20th, 1999 06:57:18 AM
Way to go, Harry! I just saw Star Wars - Episode One: The Phantom Menace last night at 12:15 AM. It's the first of three times that I will be seeing it this week. Now, I don't want to spoil it for any of you so I'll keep my comments limited. But I do want to say: DANG!!! This movie is awesome! I have no idea what those critics were smoking. Same for you fanboys. Roger Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars out of 4, at least. I went into this film as a huge SW fan and with just as big of expectations. And I was NOT disappointed. The Phantom Menace rocks! The visual effects were extraordinary. Best ever visuals in any film, no question. I need to watch it a few more times just to soak in the background images. You know how some films use CGI instead of models and it just looks BAD? Like ST: Insurrection, for example. That is totally not the case here. The computer animation blends seemlessly with the live action almost 100% of the time. The story was simple yet effective, and this film totally set up the next two movies. I can't believe I have to wait three more years for Episode 2!!! The pod race was awesome. Liam Neeson was perfect. And the best part of the movie was the LIGHTSABER DUELS! I loved the saber scenes of the original 3 movies, but the ones in TPM just put them to shame. They were exquisitely choreographed. Absolute intensity. My one complaint is, yes, Jar-Jar. He's actually not horrible. Lots of the crowd loved him, as his antics recieved a lot of laughter. I can stomach the guy. Its just that there's too much of him. If they would've cut his roll in half it would've been perfect. Still, I cant argue with this film. I'm sure the kids will love him, and Lucas has made it clear that this is a movie for the entire family. (One more note, Minor Spoiler here: Our old buddies the Tuskin Raiders [Sand People] make a surprise cameo at one point in the film and its golden! I laughed...) Lucas did it. He actually did it. It was an awesome experience. I was with a good crowd, which was nice. Waiting in line. Everyone was so excited. The lights went down and everyone cheered. The 20th Century Fox logo appeared and people cheered. The Lucasfilm Ltd. logo appeared and people cheered. The Rebel fanfare started playing and people cheered. People cheered at key moments in the film. And people cheered when it ended. The critics can bite me. We all loved it. As we walked out of the theater you could feel the satisfaction of the crowd. There was major good buzz going around. This movie is not a disappointment and I can not wait to see how its box office numbers do this week. I can't wait to see it again. SW-E1:TPM gets 9 out of 10 points from this viewer.
tpm: ROCK! by blix	May 20th, 1999 06:57:56 AM
Whoohoo and icam with harry's reaction to jar jar people who slag him are wroood. oh the joy at how absolutly cresent fresh it all was. After 3 years of hanging on spoilers i had my reservations (too much cgi, a name cast). Not only that but my beloved redwings went over to the dark side of the force where there are no stanley cups only 2 short hours before i was to view 'the beginning' episode of the films that were a zeitgeist of my youth. As i watched i felt myself starting to shrink, growing younger by the minute, lucas did what i thought surely would be impossible he made a film that not only lived up to my expectations but had indeed surpassed them. Natalie portman made the film for me though as an actress she is truly sublime she had what was to me the most difficult role and the most difficult scenes how do you convey the beginning of a love affair when one of the participants is 8 years old how do you make it believable that 14yr old padme could not even look twice at that spicy obi wan? some how she found a way and she just nailed the scene and every scene for that matter. Rave on natalie now give that girl a reward in the next film like a yummy ani that can actually act not some namby pampby ryan phillipe. cmon lucas try jonny lee miller on for size.the dark side never looked so good.
even the bashers will see it again by the boom	May 20th, 1999 07:21:43 AM
I saw the movie about 6 hours ago. I waited in a long ass line for what seemed like ever (I was first in line for my showing) so that I could get the best seat in the house. My two buddies and I were exhausted from staying up all night and were battling fatigue all the way. I didn't flat out love this movie. I didn't like the kiddie elements very much either. I would have liked more Maul and more Sith in general. I agree that Jake Lloyd was pretty painful in some scenes, but I think Natalie Portman did a great job. In short, my take was that it was a flawed film but I still liked it. My friends did not like the movie, for many of the same reasons that are being thrown out by everyone. Our car ride home started out with these guys listing everything that they didn't like about the movie, but then a strange thing happened. These two guys who just said that they were very disappointed, began discussing all of the elements of the overall story, and how events in Ep 1 will influence the overall story, and then we all launched into a discussion of what we loved about the film. And (to some degree) to our surprise, we found that there was more about the movie that we adored than dispised. We all will see it again. My friends who initially gave it a bad review were already making plans for a second viewing less than a half hour after leaving the film. Come on, it's Star Wars. Of course we'll all see it multiple times. For those of you who haven't seen it, there are plenty of reasons to see this movie. Even if you don't like everything, I promise that you will like much of what you see. And if you see it and are disappointed, wait until the second, third, or fouth veiwing, and see if your opinion has changed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pop in A New Hope and think about all the implications.
C3PO question - spoiler by SlashMC	May 20th, 1999 07:23:01 AM
How could Anakin have built C3PO?? unless C3PO had his memory wiped, in ep4 it clearly indicates he has no knowledge of many things? --- THREEPIO: He says he's the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a resident of these parts. And it's a private message for him. Quite frankly, sir I don't know what he's talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles, but with what we've been through, this little R2 unit has become a bit eccentric. LUKE: Obi-Wan Kenobi? I wonder if he means old Ben Kenobi? THREEPIO: I beg your pardon, sir, but do you know what he's talking about? --- what's going on? in ep4, Obi-Wan obviously knew nothing of R2-D2 or C-3PO. surely he would remember R2-D2 from his 'heroic' foray out onto the wing of the Queen's ship. Obi-Wan never met C-3PO when they were on Tatooine so that one is less heinous. Why wouldn't R2 have told Luke all about Anakin in Ep4? R2-D2 and C-3PO quite obviously knew nothing of Tatooine when they crashed there in Ep4 and if you suggest otherwise you are nuts.
this is a great movie (caution - spoilers!) by Xott	May 20th, 1999 07:26:37 AM
I don't usually post here, but I'm a little disheartened by all this TPM backlash. I thought the movie was incredible, a ton of fun, and most importantly, a perfect introduction to everything that lies ahead. No, there wasn't much character development in this movie, because there was a lot of character INTRODUCTION. This movie had to set up a LOT of stuff to get things in motion for all the heavy stuff, the dark stuff, the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT stuff that will happen in the next two episodes. Think about it: The trade dispute/battle of naboo happened as a means of getting Palpatine in charge of the senate, which paves the way for him to take it over and start the Empire. What happened to Qui-Gon had to happen, because otherwise he would have trained Anakin, Anakin would never turn to the dark side. But Obi-Wan has just finished his training, and thus isn't really qualified to train Anakin on his own. They're setting it up for essentially a failure on Obi-Wan's part to guide Anakin away from the dark side. It all makes so much sense, and watching every scene of this movie with the forthcoming events in mind really put a fascinating, thought-provoking spin on it. Episode I is an introduction, a prologue of sorts. It's like the yellow scrolling text before the rest of the series, and it's completely necessary. And hell, it's a lot of fun too! For those of you complaining about Jar Jar and the cheesy stuff, I agree to an extent but Jar Jar didn't really bother me at all after a while. Later in the day I found myself immitating his voice, and I realized that kids are really going to like him. As annoying as Jar Jar may be to a lot of you, just imagine this film without him. You think it's boring now (i totally disagree), but without a little life and humor, the serious regality of the politicians and Jedi Knights would have slowed this movie to a crawl. These are more serious times, more official times. I think a Han Solo type character would feel out of place with these Jedi, but Jar Jar creates an interesting balance. And the way Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan react to Jar Jar throughout the film is fantastic, and seemed to even out the Gungan's sometimes over-the-top goofiness. I loved the scene where Qui-Gon grabbed Jar Jar's tongue, that was hilarious. And has everyone forgotten the podraces? What an INCREDIBLE scene that was -- so good that I barely noticed the goofy two-headed announcer. And what about Coruscant? My god, what an incredible vision that was. Same with the underwater city. I can't believe how much people complain about Jar Jar and how little time they spend addressing some of the breathtaking visuals in this film. Oh, and Anakin... Anakin is the real life in this film, easily the most interesting character. He's the one we're going to want to follow. The seriousness of the Jedi and the politicians form a sort of backdrop for Anakin's charisma and energy. I really want to see more of him, I can't wait for episode II. With most of the groundwork out of the way, and the light-hearted stuff put aside, episode II will be Anakin's time, and god it's going to be good. In the meantime, I'm going to see this movie over and over again, and I'm going to love it. It's strange that a film with such amazing visuals, awesome action scenes, and really wonderful insight into the events to come for Star Wars, could be regarded by anyone as a bad movie. I did have my complaints, but they're really just nitpicks. The Nemoidians really bothered me. I disagree with the complaint that they weren't evil enough, because they weren't suppose to be evil. They're cowards put in a position of power, and they work well as that. It's pretty much their voices that drove me crazy, especially since they're some of the first voices we hear in the movie. Yuck! Other than that, I have only very minor complaints, not even worth mentioning. Oh, and as for the complaints that TPM doesn't have the same magic, the same wit as ANH? Well, here's a secret: NO FILM will EVER be able to capture that magic. At least not for US. But for all those kids seeing their very first Star Wars film this weekend? Well, for them, for the rest of their lives, nothing will EVER be able to top the magic of TPM. Anyway, what a great, FUN film! Can't wait to see it again tomorrow!
all i have to say by RolloTomasi	May 20th, 1999 07:29:55 AM
i actually checked my watch several times during the middle, the plot was jerky, the gungan language and behavior was embarrassing, i felt robbed because qui-gon and obi-wan were basically ciphers (their demeanor and fight scenes were wonderful to experience but i felt i DID NOT KNOW WHO THEY WERE - so little emotion, so little personal expression - although I guess they had a lot to do, physically, in a 2:13 period), the battle droids should have been scarier (i still have nightmares about stormtroopers, in comparison), and yet dear God I cannot wait to go see this movie again. whoever posted about the "gestalt" of these movies hit it on the head. the whole point is the overall, utterly convincing immersion into not just an alternate universe or time but an alternate reality. i saw it hours and hours ago and i still cannot focus on anything else.
Just because I want to get it all off my chest by Scottie Ferguson	May 20th, 1999 07:31:05 AM
If anyone cares here's one guy from the midwest who dreams of being a filmmaker's review of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace (by the way, are they posting it as Star Wars everywhere? I mean, I assume they didn't call ESB Star Wars... it's the freakin' Phantom Menace... that's the name of the movie!) anyway... let me do this Harry-style ... after 4 hours in line, around 9:00 the line started moving. Which we found odd since the tickets didn't go on sale until 10:30. Turns out everyone decided to show up and just cut in front of the people who hadn't put their lawn chairs away yet. That means the tried and true fans who'd been there since 7 in the morning now had the risk of not getting to see the movie. So it became a mass huddle with no line etiquette... when tickets went on sale the idiots opened the doors on the other side where the people who'd just shown up were standing, and rioting and mass shoving ensued.... it was a mess... I think I have bruises from trying to get ahead in line to buy five tickets, since when we mass huddled we all decided to just send one trooper in to shove up as far as he could go and buy all five instead of all of us buying our own. The big theater with the awesome sound sold out while i was about three people back. Then they refused to sell tickets to the second screen until everyone was in the theater for the first one. So I stood there another hour... I had been standing for about 2 hours when they opened up ticket sales again. The idiots then decided not to let anyone in until midnight for the second showing, even though the theater was empty (we figure since no one came out of the theater after entrapment ended, which was where the second screen was). After more pushing I ended up in the middle of a mass huddle again, instead of the front like I started. Then the theater people got mad and started yelling at us ... one girl threatened not to let us see the movie unless we straightened up the line... someone made fun of her cause she was like 17 and on a powertrip and she stormed out of the theater and slammed the door... betcha they don't get too many applications any time soon. So anyway I finally sit down and watch a TON of previews, including three 20th century fox films that all looked pretty dull (Ice Planet could be cool but they had nothing to show)... except Tarzan, which is gonna rock, for a Disney cartoon. So the movie opens. And goes. And ends. I tried to sum up all the different feelings I had during the film. Here was the awesome CGI, none of which I didn't believe. Some kickass light saber duels... a cool story which seemed only to serve as a backdrop for the next two. Here also was a character named Jar Jar Binks who annoyed the shit out of me. I'm the clumsiest person I know, and I don't fuck up everything I do. I found him distracting and on top of that the film would have worked just as well without the extreme character that if I was 6 or 10 or whatever I would want to punch in the nose, not play with. Missing was any sort of character development. The jedi's were cool... everyone was cool I guess, but I didn't give a shit about the characters. I didn't care when Kwai Gon died. I didn't care especially about the people of Naboo. They were suffering? Where? I never saw it... i just had to take it for granted. I didn't care if they lived or died. I found the dialouge forced overall, and many performances very uninspired. Methinks George should give up the director's chair like he did for ESB and ROJ. Gone were the warmth and heart of the first three that made them so much better than any star trek movie. That made me enjoy going to a galaxy far far away. I didn't enjoy my time with these people. Anakin was fun - I'm gonna miss him come episode 2, but everyone was so dull. There were good lines here and there... but... But at the same time, it was still Star Wars, and I will see it again if that tells you anything. But it'll be because of the Jedi Council, the pod race, & the light saber duel, which were the only things that were way cooler than the first three. It all looked nice, but it's like all the other movies coming out recently -- lots of eye candy, but nothing to really care about. If anyone's still reading this thank you -- I'll sum up everything I felt in a couple of sentences. The Phantom Menace made me want to run out and watch Trainspotting, Schindler's List, and Pulp Fiction (god I hope Sam Jackson is Boba Fett! That would sooo kick my ass) but not the original trilogy. At the same time I've never been so pumped for episode two in my life... unless of course the love story unfolds like the gazillion speeches everyone but the jedi had to make. No one talked. They just preached... they gave speeches. They recited their lines. The line was fun... but the film was a letdown. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION... signing off, Scottie Ferguson (now i'm gonna go read everyone else's talkback)
Jar-Jar is a hippie! by Tangent Z	May 20th, 1999 07:31:27 AM
I'm waiting around at work. late. I surf in here and say, okay, i'm not gonna see the film unti Friday but I just peek at Harry's review. I go to "Jar-Jar is a hippie" and laugh out loud! I love it. I am looking so forward this! But I stopped there. Harry, you may kinda a guy!
Its a sad, sad day by Akkala	May 20th, 1999 07:35:54 AM
Well, TPM is finally out and my only reaction to the movie is sadness. Sad because Lucas didn't learn from ROTJ. Sad because he considers Star Wars to be a kiddie movie. Sad because, with all the money he's going to make with this, there never will be a cool Star Wars movie. Ever. No cool battles with legions of Jedi. No cool scene with Vader cutting down scores of them. If fact, I'm not sure Lucas has the guts to ever have a human enemy again. All thats left is five more movies full of CGI goofballs and "evil" robots. Aaron
I am not sure what to say by zoziw	May 20th, 1999 07:44:18 AM
For sixteen years I have waited for this movie. I did not line up for months to get a ticket or to get in. My friend lined up for four hours to get myself and others some tickets. I showed up about at about 10:00 to get a seat. I thought that over the last month that the poor reviews of this movie had brought down my expectations enough for me to enjoy it. The crown jewel of poor reviews was when someone yesterday was quoted as calling it "crap". When my friend and I left the theatre when it was over we both felt like it was missing something that the other movies had. Perhaps it was not, perhaps over the last 20 years of watching the originals and reading about all of the backstory to them we started to view them in a way that originally we had not. Maybe playing with the toys for years when I was a kid (sorry Harry I outgrew that stage years ago) and developing my own adventures with them somehow ingrained them more into my psyche then I realized. For me this just didn't feel much like a Star Wars film, keep in mind I said "much like" not just "didn't". I felt the lightsaber battle at the end was excellent, better then all of the saber battles in the first three put together. Tatooine had a comfortable familiarity to it and that was enjoyable. I was suprised when I felt let down by the pod race. It seemed even the harshest critics liked it, but I felt it was no better then the speeder bike chase on endor (the sfx were better of course), it just seemed to lack the intensity that I was hoping for. The Jedi seemed bored with most of the battle scenes (perhaps this was intentional) they casually deflected the droids laser fire with little or no effort. The character development was almost no existent, so much so that I really didn't care what happened to any of them. The space battle was terrible (worse then the original ANH in my opinion). I did not care or know any of the pilots, the ships were unfamliar, and the battle was just not exciting. This also goes for the ground battle on Naboo, it only got good when the shields collapsed and the tanks rolled in (but that part was way too short). The battle at Hoth in ESB was so much superior to the Naboo one, even the ewok battle on endor had a little more suspense (Leia getting injured, Han and Leia almost getting busted, Chewbacca's take over of the AT-ST, etc). Considering the role Palpatine will play in the series, I thought more attention should have been paid to his becoming Chancellor. Darth Maul, if you've seen the trailer then you've heard his lines (I am not joking). Grossly underdeveloped (I realize he is just a stand in until Vader, but still) I still do not know who this guy is, the movie dosen't tell you anything. Sure, he looks mean, but he doesn't do anything but engage in lightsaber battles (I did enjoy the lightsaber battles very much, but because of awful character development I really didn't care who won). I will see this movie probably two more times (promises to people) but if it wasn't for these commitments I would probably only see it once more to ensure that I had not fallen asleep before the film started and had a rather bad dream.
I loved it! by Clockwork Taxi	May 20th, 1999 07:47:14 AM
Sebula(sp) the pod racer, is my new favorite character, he's a pimp!
The Phantom Opinion by Cthulu	May 20th, 1999 07:51:51 AM
Glad to hear you loved LOTR. But there was something crucial missing from the TPM review: the position you were writing from. I came away not knowing if you liked or disliked this film. And that disturbs me greatly. What seperates us movie fans from publicity people, sponsors and critics is that we can tell it like it is. We're ordinary joes with honest opinions and have nothing to gain by saying we loved or hated a movie. If the Force is strong with this one, say so. Ditto if the Empire has no clothes.
Armageddon rocks! by nelson	May 20th, 1999 07:53:29 AM
Lucas should've let Michael Bay direct this flick. The Pod race is the slowest, and I mean slowest action-sequence made. Lucas: let the new generation of directors make your movies. By the way, the plot in Armageddon was better.
It's All Your Fault by D'Amour	May 20th, 1999 08:01:42 AM
I'll be brief. Reading all of the negative comments above, one recurring thing seems to keep happening: people seem to be complaining about the film that TPM wasn't. This makes no sense. What about the film that was up there? Don't criticize a film for not being the film you wanted it to be, but rather criticize it for the problems within itself. No one, no matter how long you have waited, has a right to dump on TPM because it didn't match the film you had waiting in your head. Mr. Lucas doesn't have to share your idea of how the prequels should progress. It was his idea, his films, that have brought you such great joy over the years. Whether or not you feel TPM is a classic, you should be more grateful that you got to see it at all.
Not worth the wait by Not Todd	May 20th, 1999 08:03:34 AM
Sorry, Harry, but if you truly do love this film so much you plan to see it 20 times over the next year you are just as much a fanboy loser as your critics claim. After your praise of that p.o.s. GODZILLA I guess I shouldn't be surprised. If it's got a lot of explosions and big monsters you get such a hard on that no blood is left for your brain to process that film quality which is known as "quality". This film was basically a 30's era serial with a big budget. The dialogue was ridiculously amateurish. Sure, Darth Maul was cool and so was the pod race, but have you ever seen anything as cheezy as that two-headed race announcer? Its commentary could have come out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon---not one of the good ones but one of those cheap made-for-tv ones where they are friends rather than predator and potential prey. Jar Jar wasn't as bad as I feared but he still added nothing but pratfalls. There were also about half a dozen too many of those "I just know the audience is going to react to this because they know what's going to happen in the future" moments. I give this film a 7 because of the good action, and that is probably being overly generous. Anybody who gave it a 10 just wasn't using their brain.
Harrrrry!!!! by mercator	May 20th, 1999 08:05:22 AM
Nice review, Harry. My spirits are officially lifted, and I'm seeing it tomorrow.
I Agree with Harry - Episode 1 is Awesome! by Cyrus	May 20th, 1999 08:08:16 AM
To me the wait was well worth it. IMO Phantom Menace lived up to the hype and then some. I saw it for the second time a few hours ago, and I love it. I think so many people come in expecting to hate Jar Jar and the CG, and they do. I came in knowing that I was about to see the new Star Wars movie, and no critic or elitist tightass was going to ruin it. I was going to let the film wash over me, and take me with it. I was not going to let any negativity effect my judgement of the film. The Phantom Menace is every bit as magical as the first 3. Harry is right about those who are dissapointed with Maul's limited screen time... I thought it was done very well. It kept him a mysterious, enigmatic foe. Also, the lighter elements are there to balance out Maul and the darker elements. Maul would not have the same kind of impact if there were no light hearted stuff. I'm still in a daze... It's just too incredible for words.
TPM: GOOD Direction: TERRIBLE! by Batgar	May 20th, 1999 08:09:43 AM
I will see TPM 5-6 more times, simply because the pod race, and many other scenes really make this movie for me. I had 9 really good "geek-gasms" in this movie. 1) Opening Crawl: Damn that was nice to see. 2-5) Pod Race: The entire thing, at certain moments, total geek-gasms. 6-9) All 3 Darth Maul appearances. Yes, the acting sucked. Any one who says different is lying! Yes, the characters sucked. Anyone who says different is lying! Yes, there was no urgency, no real establishment of good and evil. There were no really stand out lines like "I find your lack of Faith disturbing." or "It ain't like dusting crops boy...." There was no "fleshing out" of existing plot lines, and there was no closure, or verification of things we thought we knew. The purpose of a "prequel" is supposed to show us what events proceeded to create the end product. TPM didn't satisfy on this level. Oh well. I will see it 5-6 more times, and I will enjoy it. It was alot better than ROTJ, but it comes a distant 3rd when it comes to the characters and advancement of the whole "Star Wars" universe. P.S. George Lucas can't direct to save his life. Did you see those poor lost kids that were in the scene when Anakin was prepping his pod for the race? Those kids had no clue where to be, or what to do!
Afterthoughts by Meatball	May 20th, 1999 08:12:50 AM
incerely believe in the ability of the readers (and maintainers) of this site to form intelligent opinions on their own, but I beleive in the bottom of my heart in this instance many have failed. Getting wrapped up in the hype invariably leads to a let down, and then to a need to cover up by pretending that all is grand. Please think about this movie again. I have to believe that in a few years this movie will EASILY be the black sheep of the Star Wars family. It was an utter disappointment. Gone from Star Wars is the very essence that made it great. The Characters. How many lines from the Star Wars trilogy can you recite? Star Wars created a new brand of pop culture, this movie follows pop culture. All visuals, underneath, shallow emptyness. You don't need Harrison Ford in a Han Solo costume to recite funny lines, that comes from situational writing. You're telling me two JEDI KNIGHTS in MAJESTIC ROBES are wallowing around in a swamp and George Lucas can't think of one amusing line? I just saw this movie four hours ago and I can't remember have of the crap that was said. Utterly forgetable. I'm so upset. I didn't even walk in with the high expectancies of many others. The thing is, visually, it is groundbreaking and stunning, just like the first movie. But this one had no flare, no soul. It tried, but it just wasn't there. Ultimately, I feel sorry for the next generation of Star Wars fans out there who have this as their first new big screen Star Wars movie, because frankly, it failed. George, please remember that the story and the people in the story are the most important essence of storytelling.
Flawed? Yes. But it still kicked ass by TRINITY	May 20th, 1999 08:18:01 AM
I loved this film, but it did have a few flaws I'd like to address. 1. Jar Jar: Please, please, PLEASE don't let him be in the next movie! A little comic relief was needed, of course, but why did he have to be so juvenile? Yes, yes, I understand that Star Wars is, first and foremost, for children, but this thing was just plain embarassing. Give kids a little more credit! 2. Obi Won's character was a little underdevolped for me. I think Lucas took it for granted that we are already familiar with him, but this is EPISODE I, afterall, and I would have liked to have seen his character fleshed out a little bit more and given some more screen time. His rebellious nature could have made a more interesting counterpoint to the more stoic Qui-Gon, somewhat rebellious in his own right. And Obi-Won should have interacted with Anakin more, setting up their relationship which will come to fruition in Episode II. 3. Anakin's destruction of the Federation Ship should have been more purposeful. He practically did it by accident, and I think it would have been more effective had he purposely brought it down. And yes, I understand that he's only nine years old, but R2 could have helped him, and it really would have nailed home the fact that he will become the greatest pilot in the galaxy. Also, Anakin displays virtually no character flaws which would indicate that he will eventually become Darth Vader. I'm not saying the kid should have pulled a Damian, but he could have at least cheated in the pod race, or shown some unhealthy pleasure in blowing up the ship. Keep in mind, all of these complaints are merely nitpicks. This film rocks hard. Darth Maul is perfectly used, the effects are amazing, blah, blah, blah, if you're a Star Wars fan, you know what's right with the film, and no amount of silly CGI characters could have brought it down.
Flawed? Yes. But it still kicked ass by TRINITY	May 20th, 1999 08:21:07 AM
I loved this film, but it did have a few flaws I'd like to address. 1. Jar Jar: Please, please, PLEASE don't let him be in the next movie! A little comic relief was needed, of course, but why did he have to be so juvenile? Yes, yes, I understand that Star Wars is, first and foremost, for children, but this thing was just plain embarassing. Give kids a little more credit! 2. Obi Won's character was a little underdevolped for me. I think Lucas took it for granted that we are already familiar with him, but this is EPISODE I, afterall, and I would have liked to have seen his character fleshed out a little bit more and given some more screen time. His rebellious nature could have made a more interesting counterpoint to the more stoic Qui-Gon, somewhat rebellious in his own right. And Obi-Won should have interacted with Anakin more, setting up their relationship which will come to fruition in Episode II. 3. Anakin's destruction of the Federation Ship should have been more purposeful. He practically did it by accident, and I think it would have been more effective had he purposely brought it down. And yes, I understand that he's only nine years old, but R2 could have helped him, and it really would have nailed home the fact that he will become the greatest pilot in the galaxy. Also, Anakin displays virtually no character flaws which would indicate that he will eventually become Darth Vader. I'm not saying the kid should have pulled a Damian, but he could have at least cheated in the pod race, or shown some unhealthy pleasure in blowing up the ship. Keep in mind, all of these complaints are merely nitpicks. This film rocks hard. Darth Maul is perfectly used, the effects are amazing, blah, blah, blah, if you're a Star Wars fan, you know what's right with the film, and no amount of silly CGI characters could have brought it down.
Did anyone else notice the E.T.s in TPM? by joey bags	May 20th, 1999 08:31:07 AM
I don't know about any of you but I saw three E.T.'s sitting in the senate chamber during the vote of no confidence scene. They are hard to see but myself and several people I know saw them. check it out.
From a Good Perspective by Offal	May 20th, 1999 08:31:21 AM
This is my first post. Just got my user name and all that. Just came back from seeing episode 1. I saw "A New Hope" when I was a senior in high school. I'm now 40 and saw it with my wife and 4 year old son who fell in love with the "original" trilogy when I received it as a gift a few years ago. We all loved Phantom Menace. It ain't perfect but it is damn good. Lucas has a way of filling a frame like an old Mad comic, meaning there's a LOT to look at. Natalie Portman deserves more credit. She's great. Awesome effects. Great battles, though I fondly thought of "Total Annihilation" when I saw them. See it. What a trip to bring the boy.
I damn near shat myself! by Bluesman	May 20th, 1999 08:34:22 AM
I am what the Jewish religion refers to as, "an IDIOT!" mainly because of two things. Number 1, I bought the soundtrack, in case you werent aware, it gives away a spoiler. That didnt really bother me, because I knew it was going to happen walking into the theater. Call it a hunch, or the Force. Number 2, curiousity got the better of me and I watched about 4 minutes of the unauthorized behind the scenes look at TPM on the Sci-Fi channel. I turn on the TV, and I sit down, I cant find the remote anywhere, and the second I get comfortable, TWO ASSHOLES START RAPPING EVERY SINGLE SPOILER IN THE GODDAMN MOVIE!!! But luckily, they were wrong on about half of them, and they didnt tell me anything I didnt already knew. I had a school function to go to before the movie, and once I got to the Zeigfeld, it was total maddness. The movie started, and the only thing I didnt like were the sports announcers during the pod race (that seemes kind of corny) and the fact that the audience applauded during the first line of every major character. Once jar Jar came on, they were applauding for about 15 seconds. It was great and all, but I had a hard enough time understanding what he was saying anyway. all in all, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was the MOST INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION FILM I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!!!!! Later, Bluesman Bluesm2617@aol.com
The Phantom Menace is perfect by stickler	May 20th, 1999 08:40:21 AM
The Phantom Menace is not a movie I would have liked in High School. It isn't "edgy", sharp, artsy, clever, challenging, etc. But I am older. After seeing so many souless sci-fi movies, it is refreshing to see something so sincere and genuine. This is fantasy, not sci-fi. If you simply surrender to it and let it in, the rewards are enourmous. I have seen it twice, and after the first time I liked it a lot, but I had a few niggles- the pacing bothered me, the dialog and acting seemed stilted, the middle was kind of boring, the jokes were sort of flat. I loved it, but I had a few "it could have been better if they..." comments. By the second time I had seen it, all those thoughts disapeared. Everything was spot on. This was a new perfect Star Wars movie- the one I had waited 16 years for. The negative reviews I have been reading seem to point to wrong ideas- John Woo should have directed it (I would love John Woo to direct a sci-fi flick- but not Star Wars!), you didn't get enough characterization, the Gungans were lame, etc. Everything Lucas did fit so well into Star Wars. Try looking at Star Wars with virgin eyes, and you will see it is made of all these elements the same way. My girlfriend said Jar-Jar was far less annoying to her than c3-p0, a character she always thought was a negative old lady. I have accepted c3-p0 as a great character, because as a kid he seemd cool. I think Jar Jar will be the same for kids. And he didn't bug me at all, the second time. He fits in. Liam Neeson's character was great- I have never seen a Jedi in his prime, and he was the embodiment of what I always wanted to see. The Phantom Menace was everything it set out to be. It was the first chapter in Star Wars. If I want to see a adult war picture I'll see "Saving Private Ryan". If I want a great Sci-Fi film I'll see "Blade Runner". If I want to see rich characters with sweeping epics I'll see "To Live". If I want to see a film that challeges the way I think and brings me into the deep corners of the human mind I'll see "The Thin Red Line". If I want to see a fantasy movie that takes me to worlds I can't go and see things I will never be able to do and let my imagination run around and play, I'll see the "The Phantom Menace."
Let's start with this: Where was the "menace" in the Phantom Me by dennis	May 20th, 1999 08:51:15 AM
Darth Maul was not scary. He was visually stunning, but empty like most of this film. The movie is not bad, people. Anyone who says it's bad is just like anyone who says the dialogue was good: a liar. Don't blame the actors for any of their performances, we've seen ALL of these people do good work, it's the lack of competent direction, and they had nothing to work with, script wise. The one-liners that were here were horrible. "...kiss your trade federation goodbye"? Wonder why Portman was stiff? Maybe it was that 30 pound headdress she had on - she couldn't even turn her neck. Beautiful costumes, but bad in their functionality. Sam Jackson looked very uncomfortable reading his lines, and performing that ridiculous test on the kid with his hand mirror. The best scene in the film was watching Obi Wan try to control his anger towards Darth Maul, and their subsequent battle. But Qui-Gon's death could've been much more emotional if Lucas had added some weight by slowing the scene down, and for god's sake, let's see some facial expressions! Jar Jar was annoying, and he and the Gungans should be left out of the two other films. Too much CGI going on, here people. You can create a CGI cast, and you can make them "act" but can they emote? After seeing this film I would have to say no. I lacked human spirit. MY MAIN PROBLEM: the Midochlorians. George, thanks for taking all the "mystery" out of the Force. Hey kids, you don't have to feel the force to control it, you don't need faith, you just need a high midochlorian count. It's a shot at religion, which is fine, just a stupid one. The Force introduced eastern religion to mainstream america in some ways, I think, and maybe George "I am God" Lucas is trying to have a profound effect on society again, or so he may think. He suffers from Cameron-itis, a lack of heart, but a master of digital wizardry. I think if they write Ewan some cool lines, he will just explode all over the screen.
Darth Maul Ressurected by DrAsshole	May 20th, 1999 08:52:28 AM
Think about it here guys...why would George decide to totally back his advertising campaign with a character that is only to be killed off in the first of a three part trilogy? It isn't his style. It doesn't make sense. Besides, if Maul is still alive, then that leads itself to the idea that there is a chance for a Vader/Maul lightsaber battle, which would honestly be the crown achievement of the star wars films. Maul is an alien, and IF he is alive, they may use that to explain why he was seperated and not killed. Actually, I'm just grasping at strands of reasoning, trying to make myself believe that the coolest character in the Star Wars universe wasn't killed off in the FIRST of THREE films. It isn't Darth Maul's time to go. Gimme some opinions on the "Ressurection Theory" Thanks. The Doc
This was Lucas' STAR WARS by Amthor	May 20th, 1999 08:55:34 AM
I just saw TPM at a midnight show and LOVED it -- Had a blast(er)! I have been reading much on what was wrong with the tone of the film and I must say - with all respect - I think those comments address a different vision of "Star Wars." Remember, many of us saw Ep.IV as KIDS (at cinemas or on video). I suspect our memories of it are not only the movie's greatness, but the time in our life as well. Could TPM top ANH? About as easily as a 1979 Beatles reunion would have brought people back to 1967 and the days of Sgt. Pepper. You see, to age myself, I am in my mid 30s. I remember witnessing "Star Wars" (then it was not Episode IV) back in 1977. Frankly, it was silly and contained wacky bits too (3PO hitting R2, Chewie scaring off the mouse droid, R2 falling over after being zapped by the Jawas which, by the way, reportedly received groans from trailer audiences in '77), dialoge like "over-weight glob of grease." The acting was at times clunky too (the infamous "Toshi station/power converters delivery). But we didn't have the sophistication of today's movie-going, multi-media barraged youth, inundated by more serious, darker material. We didn't know any better; we thought "Star Wars" was FUN -- THE GREATEST! I also remember reading (and even thinking) upon Empire's release that the film was so dark, so grim; THIS is not "Star Wars" - "Star Wars" is supposed to be B-move fun. In the subsequent years after ROTJ (early 90s) - and arguably much repsonsible for the revitalization of the "Star Wars" universe for a new generation - there appeared a whole slew of new "Star Wars" material (mainly the novels and Dark Horse comics). These additions not only expanded the univers but, I dare say, reshaped the myth and its tone. They were of a new time and reflected its sensibilites. e.g.: Boba Fett was now a sinister anithero when in actuality, his personality is all but non-existant in the actual films (but man, did he LOOK COOL!). The "Star Wars" universe became darker, edgier, more-up-to-date... in a word: "cooler"(?) My point is simply this: Yes, TPM may lay-on the wackness a bit thick, but I dare say if you look at the PREVIOUS FILMS as the ONLY source material you may find that much of the current percieved mytholgy and darker tone which many people were disappointed were absent from TPM are actually absent from the majority of the other movies as well (with the exception of Ep.V, of course). I say we take the new trilogy as the first one and view it as a whole. Who knows, maybe TPM will get its Ep.V counterpart (in Ep. III perhaps?). Until then, I say kudos to Lucas; in a time of cynical, darker films, he brought me right back to 1977 when I was a kid.
About Star Wars Bashers........ by CRAZ4MOOVZ	May 20th, 1999 08:56:21 AM
Is it just me, or do you wonder why the Star Wars bashers are still posting on a Star Wars talkback??
Thanks, guys. by Hildago	May 20th, 1999 08:58:07 AM
Geez, why does everyone seem to think that we are sitting here, breathlessly waiting for their bad reviews? Lord knows if JoeBlow183 didn't like it, there's no way in HELL you're getting me into that film! I understand that Talk Back is for discussion, and you don't have to agree with Harry or anyone else. I'm not asserting anything contrary to this. Just try to understand that NOBODY CARES, that they will see this movie regardless of what you think, and that you are wasting your time.
The Nitpicker's Guide to 'The Phantom Menace' - MAJOR SPOILER AL by Eos	May 20th, 1999 09:05:01 AM
______________________________ ___ SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILE RS!!__________________________ _______ ...I really liked The Phantom Menace, and I think I'll like it more the second time. Like everybody's saying, it's a lot to absorb. As a longtime nitpicker, I intend to do just that, so read along for my list of rants, complaints, whines, and meddling ideas. Always bearing in mind that I still loved this film... Personally, I think the movie is pretty mediocre until Qui-Gon and Co. get to Tatooine...and then, all of a sudden, it becomes Star Wars. I gotta admit it, I didn't like the "escape" sequence in the beginning. You know the way that every Bond flick has Bond escaping from some certain-death situation in some over-the-top way? (i.e. being dropped overboard in a coffin, parachuting off a mountain, etc) No matter how bad the film is they always put in this Eveil Kneivel routine. Most people I know only go to Bond movies anymore to see that opening. So when we got plunged into this "how will the Jedi escape certain doom?" bit, I was uneasy. I didn't like the Niemoudians' "Oh no! They're a'comin for us! We're doomed!" If they think that Jedi Knights are so all-fired invincible, why try such a lame assassination attempt in the first place? C'mon guys, 'flooding the room with poison gas'? Don't villains ever try anything original? Sigh... All I can say for Jar Jar Binks was that he managed not to ruin the movie for me. I don't mind the 'goofy sidekick' concept (hey, it works for Joxer the Mighty) but a character who does nothing but act silly and never really becomes involved in the story does nothing for me. A lot of the time they spent having Jar Jar get into embarassing situations could have been used for something else - giving Obi-Wan some real character development? Don't mistake me, Ewan MacGregor did a good job, wish we'd seen more of him, but I think he was working to hard on impersonating Sir Alec. We didn't get to see enough of who Obi-Wan Kenobi was back THEN. I don't know why Luca

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