Phantom Menace kinda sucked...

Posted by ROB T. from 162.10.138.28 on May 24, 1999 at 02:14:08:

In Reply to: Phantom Menace stuff posted by Mack on May 23, 1999 at 22:20:34:

I saw "Phantom Menace" on opening day and I was all hyped for it even though the critics had been lackluster about it. But unfortunately they were right. It's the weakest of the four Star Wars films so far.
The CGI effects were distracting; Jar Jar, Watto, Boss Nass and the Gungans never looked like they were actually in the scene interacting with the human actors and so every time they appeared it took me right out of the film.
George Lucas' direction was subpar and the script was pedestrian. He put too many special effects shots in when less would have definately been more. The effects looked great when they were of cityscapes and hardware but the animated effects didn't work and he should have just stuck with human actors for all the acting roles.
Speaking of which, why did George use special effects to create so many characters and then make those characters bipedals? With some minor changes Jar Jar could have been played by a man in makeup and he would have blended into the scene much better. Same with several other characters.
In the years since "Jedi" I think George should have spent less time worrying about special fx and instead enrolled in a creative writing class. The script was dull and I didn't like that he had characters using American slang. This is supposed to be a galaxy far, far away but Jar Jar used words like loony and nuts?
I also didn't like the humor. I realize George aimed this film at kids but did he have to fill "Star Wars" with fart jokes and pratfalls and spitting and funny voices? Kids today watch the Simpsons. He should have trusted them to appreciate something a little more sophisticated then a guy stepping in crap.
I could have forgiven all of that if it weren't for Jar Jar. This is the worst character ever created for a movie. He seemed like the ugly lovechild of Prissy from "Gone With The Wind" and Steve Urkel. Every time he knocked something over (and he did that too much) I expected him to turn and say, "Did I do that?"
On the positive side. The lightsaber fights were terrific and I thought the story itself was interesting (just didn't like its execution) The groundwork is laid for some very cool things in Episode 2 and 3. If George takes things a little more seriously and stops trying to dazzle us with how much computer generated crap he can cram into each frame (and, of course, if he kills Jar Jar early in the next flick) there is a great possibility that the next two films could be incredible.
Well, I'm done ranting..

Follow Ups:

Re: Phantom Menace kinda sucked... Mack 10:35:50 5/24/99 (3)
- Re: Phantom Menace kinda sucked... Mola Ram 04:10:21 5/25/99 (2)
  - Re: Phantom Menace kinda sucked... Mack 19:32:30 5/25/99 (1)
    - Mack's devotion to "Phantom Menace" ROB T. 22:23:23 5/25/99 (0)

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: I saw "Phantom Menace" on opening day and I was all hyped for it even though the critics had been lackluster about it. But unfortunately they were right. It's the weakest of the four Star Wars films so far.
:   The CGI effects were distracting; Jar Jar, Watto, Boss Nass and the Gungans never looked like they were actually in the scene interacting with the human actors and so every time they appeared it took me right out of the film.
:   George Lucas' direction was subpar and the script was pedestrian. He put too many special effects shots in when less would have definately been more. The effects looked great when they were of cityscapes and hardware but the animated effects didn't work and he should have just stuck with human actors for all the acting roles.
:   Speaking of which, why did George use special effects to create so many characters and then make those characters bipedals? With some minor changes Jar Jar could have been played by a man in makeup and he would have blended into the scene much better. Same with several other characters.
:   In the years since "Jedi" I think George should have spent less time worrying about special fx and instead enrolled in a creative writing class. The script was dull and I didn't like that he had characters using American slang. This is supposed to be a galaxy far, far away but Jar Jar used words like loony and nuts?
:   I also didn't like the humor. I realize George aimed this film at kids but did he have to fill "Star Wars" with fart jokes and pratfalls and spitting and funny voices? Kids today watch the Simpsons. He should have trusted them to appreciate something a little more sophisticated then a guy stepping in crap.
:   I could have forgiven all of that if it weren't for Jar Jar. This is the worst character ever created for a movie. He seemed like the ugly lovechild of Prissy from "Gone With The Wind" and Steve Urkel. Every time he knocked something over (and he did that too much) I expected him to turn and say, "Did I do that?"
:   On the positive side. The lightsaber fights were terrific and I thought the story itself was interesting (just didn't like its execution) The groundwork is laid for some very cool things in Episode 2 and 3. If George takes things a little more seriously and stops trying to dazzle us with how much computer generated crap he can cram into each frame (and, of course, if he kills Jar Jar early in the next flick) there is a great possibility that the next two films could be incredible.
:   Well, I'm done ranting..

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