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What is the worst part of The Phantom Menace?
- Thread starter Dalek
- Start date
everything except the Duel of Fates and worldbuilding
dang you just destroyed Rian, now he'll be crying under the weight of his Knives Out success
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For me, Jar Jar and the pacing. The concept and core of the story is sound. The movie is just very boring to watch. It starts off fine, and ends fine, but the middle portion drags, and I feel like so much could have been condensed and made tighter. Rewrite Jar Jar's character, and truncate all of the Gungan and Tatooine/Anakin stuff, and it could be a solid movie.
The script itself is just poorly written, so that's a large part of it. Lucas should have stayed story consultant, and let someone else write the screenplay. Another director may have been better, but it's not like he's a horrible director. He's definitely a better idea man.
Oh, I imagine not making Analin a kid would have done wonders too. A teen would have worked so much better. Like 15 or 16.
The script itself is just poorly written, so that's a large part of it. Lucas should have stayed story consultant, and let someone else write the screenplay. Another director may have been better, but it's not like he's a horrible director. He's definitely a better idea man.
Oh, I imagine not making Analin a kid would have done wonders too. A teen would have worked so much better. Like 15 or 16.
Yup, it's definitely The Last Jedi fans that keep this shit going in every Star Wars related thread... 🙄🙄
Unless it was sarcasm.
Oh, I'd also get rid of the obnoxious racist caricatures. I couldn't cringe hard enough when watching it in the theater for the first time.
The whole trade war thing. So fucking boring.
Felt like the only reason for the pod racer crap was to make a video game based on it.
Also the rest of the movie. Yippie!
Felt like the only reason for the pod racer crap was to make a video game based on it.
Also the rest of the movie. Yippie!
Yeah this for me. Oh and the introduction of anti-jedi robots that basically killed the whole space samurai mythos.
The moment the droid soldiers start speaking in squeaky joke voices and you realize this is your tone for the movie.
Actually, wait, it's this, the first moment of the first new Star Wars in sixteen years:
Squeaky joke voice robots and the taxation of trade routes being in dispute. Goody.
Actually, wait, it's this, the first moment of the first new Star Wars in sixteen years:
Squeaky joke voice robots and the taxation of trade routes being in dispute. Goody.
If I had to pick one, probably Jar Jar generally being unbelievably annoying every time he went on camera. Topping it all off with him winning a battle by fucking up repeatedly.
Runners up are probably Anakin winning the space battle by pure chance and the whole side plot where the Jedi free Anakin but are all like "ehh can't be arsed" about saving his fucking mom.
Runners up are probably Anakin winning the space battle by pure chance and the whole side plot where the Jedi free Anakin but are all like "ehh can't be arsed" about saving his fucking mom.
I think everything before and after the pod race sucks. In fact when I was nine and seeing it in the cinema I remember thinking while they're sitting around yakking on Tatooine that this movie is a lot slower than I was expecting. Even my Star Wars fanboy kid mind was trying to tell me this movie was bad. But I do think the pod race itself is a well made action scene with excellent sound design, except for some of the goofy alien gags thrown in.
But it has very little to do with anything and since there's an eternity of glacial buildup (and is followed by the equally endless Coruscant boredom) you're quite right, it makes for a painfully slow second act.
imagine walking into theaters in 1999, its been 15 years since the last star wars movie and you have watched ESB 100+ times
the crowds are hollering and screaming, the Lucas Film logo crawl shows up and everyone goes wild
then the crawl begins and it starts talking about taxes and trade disputes
the crowds are hollering and screaming, the Lucas Film logo crawl shows up and everyone goes wild
then the crawl begins and it starts talking about taxes and trade disputes
OP
OP
The entire sequence before the pod race while the racers are prepping. We've got: the most convoluted bet of all time, Jar Jar gets farted on, a one-by-one introduction of George's mostly shitty alien designs, and it just being generally long and drawn out.
The awful fucking stereotypes that Watto, the Trade Federation, and Jar Jar have. It was bad enough at the time, but now it's so awful that it's hard to watch.
Aside from that pretty much everything is trash-tier except for the Maul battle and particularly the music for the Maul battle.
Aside from that pretty much everything is trash-tier except for the Maul battle and particularly the music for the Maul battle.
Same. It was grim.
I went to the cinema to watch the 3D rerelease in 2012 and I was shocked at just how bad the film was. Somehow I'd managed to block out the nonsense plot and agonisingly tone-breaking comedic scenes in the 13 intervening years. The podrace was still 100% legit though.
Worst part? I already said it, but it's probably the extremely forced comedy all the time. Star Wars had comedy driven by the characters ("boring conversation anyway HEY GUYS"), but Phantom Menace was just trying too hard, like a series of uninspired SNL sketches.
Edit: Also the choice to go all-in on CGI over practical effects. The 1999 CGI has aged the film extremely badly.
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It's not just one thing. Remove one of the following:
Jar-Jar
The childish humor
The bad acting
The bad dialogue
The politics
Would you have a good movie?
No, you would not.
TPM, like all of the prequels, suffers from the myriad effects of George Lucas's indulgent choices and questionable taste. He needed skilled collaborators to workshop the script, tell him "no," and make suggestions throughout pre-production and filming. The prequels failed because they weren't made under the scrappy, collaborative conditions that produced the Original Trilogy.
George Lucas isn't James Cameron. He shouldn't have final approval over every department, because he's first and foremost an idea guy. He doesn't write great dialogue, and he doesn't coach actors into delivering their best performances. His storytelling is prone to derailing itself. Lucas is the guy who should give creative direction to artists. He shouldn't be the great decider.
Jar-Jar
The childish humor
The bad acting
The bad dialogue
The politics
Would you have a good movie?
No, you would not.
TPM, like all of the prequels, suffers from the myriad effects of George Lucas's indulgent choices and questionable taste. He needed skilled collaborators to workshop the script, tell him "no," and make suggestions throughout pre-production and filming. The prequels failed because they weren't made under the scrappy, collaborative conditions that produced the Original Trilogy.
George Lucas isn't James Cameron. He shouldn't have final approval over every department, because he's first and foremost an idea guy. He doesn't write great dialogue, and he doesn't coach actors into delivering their best performances. His storytelling is prone to derailing itself. Lucas is the guy who should give creative direction to artists. He shouldn't be the great decider.
Fix your bad taste. Or at least feel enough shame that you don't broadcast it.
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I never find Jar Jar offensive though...
In my opinion, the movie was entertaining.
But if it's the worst part of it, was...
Probably the clunky dialogues/acting?
Well, I'm sure George Lucas was responsible for those.
In my opinion, the movie was entertaining.
But if it's the worst part of it, was...
Probably the clunky dialogues/acting?
Well, I'm sure George Lucas was responsible for those.
This. The whole sequence of child Anakin bumbling his way through a space battle is just torturously bad.
I actually just saw episodes 1, 2, 5, & 6 this past 2 weeks to get ready for 9 so I have some thoughts. The Phantom Menace had really impressive costumes, sets, music, effects, and action sequences.
I think what people don't like is the British accents. It doesn't feel like the Luke, Han, Vader, and Yoda we all knew and loved. At least that was my take but I may be biased as I kinda loved the podracing and unassuming script about foreign policy. Episode 1 is in my top 3 tbh.
I think what people don't like is the British accents. It doesn't feel like the Luke, Han, Vader, and Yoda we all knew and loved. At least that was my take but I may be biased as I kinda loved the podracing and unassuming script about foreign policy. Episode 1 is in my top 3 tbh.
The single worst thing?
I'll say Boss Nass. He manages to be even worse than Jar Jar he just happens to only be on screen a few times.
and he's center frame at the end
All the aliens are terrible. The droid army is terrible. Young Anakin is terrible. Midichlorians are terrible. Virgin birth/prophecy is terrible.
It's the worst SW movie.
I'll say Boss Nass. He manages to be even worse than Jar Jar he just happens to only be on screen a few times.
and he's center frame at the end
All the aliens are terrible. The droid army is terrible. Young Anakin is terrible. Midichlorians are terrible. Virgin birth/prophecy is terrible.
It's the worst SW movie.
The whole bit of him "accidentally" firing up the ship, closing the cockpit, and setting a course for space, one by one in sequence, is just painful, especially as the second he's done bumbling into the exact correct scenario to join the space battle, he instantly goes "Oh here it is" and finds the obvious gun trigger he was looking for to start with. Hideously contrived. Pretty much every fanedit I ever saw (and TPM might be the most fanedited film ever) recut that to have him deliberately fire up the ship and join the fight instead.
Everyone remembers "spinning" and "now this is podracing" but that one shot after he fires the torpedoes (and of course, accidentally blows up the entire space station) of him going WOOOAAAH and bobbing his head from side to side like a jack in the box always stood out to me as godawful.
What. People love C-3PO, what the fuck are you talking about?
Anakin and everything around him being so absolutely fucking terrible is one of the biggest problems with Episode 1 and he just has an American accent.
I'll say Boss Nass. He manages to be even worse than Jar Jar he just happens to only be on screen a few times.
THE PLANET CORRRRE
I remember sitting in the theater back in 1999 and this was the exact moment that I gave up any hope it would be good.
Take your pick from either the racist stereotypes concealed under "aliens", the fact that they left Anakin's mother as a slave and never sent anyone back for her, or the film skewing too hard into "kid friendly shenanigans" that made for an abundance of cringe events/dialogue.
Them awkwardly standing around while he holds this inexplicable big glowing thing that looks like it's about to explode and take out half the city, what an ending shot.The single worst thing?
I'll say Boss Nass. He manages to be even worse than Jar Jar he just happens to only be on screen a few times.
and he's center frame at the end
All the aliens are terrible. The droid army is terrible. Young Anakin is terrible. Midichlorians are terrible. Virgin birth/prophecy is terrible.
It's the worst SW movie.
Perhaps that was their sinister plan to get rid of those Gungans, "Yes, we are friends now, please accept this wholly inert symbol of peace, take it back to your underwater city won't you? Keep it in a center of most structural load bearing, it will compliment your architecture".
Because he was a whiny asshole. Not because he had an English accent. Everyone adored Obi-Wan in the OT (and PT).
The worst part of TPM is that it's really just a mediocre film that nobody has shut up about for the past two decades.
It's not great, but it's also not the irredeemable travesty the internet has built it up into. It just is.
It's not great, but it's also not the irredeemable travesty the internet has built it up into. It just is.
