I saw this film on theatrical release in and was very disappointed. Of course, alot of the disappointment initially had to do with the amazing hype build-up that accompanied the novel trilogy. Nothing could have lived up to the public’s expectations.
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That having been said, The Phantom Menace is disappointing not so mighty because it stinks, but because, I fell, with some additional tweaking, it could have been grand considerable better. Its almost as if Lucas got the state ideas and character concepts developed to a schematic level and then sort of lost interest in them and did not execute them any further.
Specific gripes:
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1. We never really bond with or understand Qui-Gon’s character or his relationship with young Anakin. He states that he thinks Anakin may be the chosen one, but that is not really sufficient. We need to survey an emotional bond or some kind of identification between the two, but it unbiased isn’t there.
2. Not to remove on Jake Lloyd (he’s probably a tall kid), but Lucas or whoever unprejudiced did not accept a superb performance out of him. Plus, there is no hint in young Anakin at this point of character traits or flaws that might later foreshadow his tumble. Yoda says he sees nettle and scare in Anakin and the Jedi Council produce vague predications that he may eventually be uncertain, but we as audience members unprejudiced don’t perceive it. We are supposed to infer that Anakin is somehow damaged by his life as as slave and subsequent separation from his mother, but again, we don’t spy any of this. His life as a slave doesn’t seem to demonstrate any hardship; his mountainous scene saying goodbye to his mom is not particularly intriguing (mainly due to wooden acting by Lloyd; Pernilla August as his mom does a reliable job view) . Also, if he’s a slave, how does he have time/resources to manufacture robots and pod racers? Fair not very factual to life.
Perhaps if we had seen Anakin and/or his mom subjected to some sort of abuse or exploitation we would have a better indication both of the terror and nettle in Anakin and also a potential emotional reason for why Qui-Gon wants to rescue Anakin. When I reflected on it, I concept it would almost be better if Anakin were like the feral boy in Road Warrior II: an unkempt, unclean, and agressive character that had to be somewhat tamed and civilized by his Jedi rescuers. We don’t peek any character flaws, any petite hints of selfishness, arouse, dismay or frustration. As is, young Anakin is objective an average cute kid; we don’t view any depth to why he wants to race his life as a slave or speed off to join the Jedi so we don’t really care.
3. Source of humor: The novel series had a mix of humor based upon the droids 3PO and R2D2 and also with the human characters (primarily interactions between Solo, Leia, and Luke) . In TPM, the vital source of humor is generated from droids and Jar Jar Binks with shrimp or no laughable banter or interaction between human characters. This has two effects: 1) relying on computer-generated characters for humor means the notable create of humor becomes physical slapstick, which is one of the main complaints about the Jar Jar charcter; and 2) the interactions between the human main characters, when deprived of humor, makes their relationships seem dry and mechanical, another source of the shallow characterizations.
The one comical moment that stands out is when, after being ambushed by the Trade Feds at the beginning, Obi-Won says to Qui-Gon with a wry smile: “Well, you were upright about one thing Master….the negotiations were short!” This one moment stands out because it is one of the few jokes between human characters and it works and expresses some of Obi-Won’s personality. It also effectively echoes some of the banter and attitude that made Solo’s character so liekable and crucial to the fresh films, an attitude and sensibility that is lacking in TPM. As is, we are stuck with Jar Jar’s pratfalls for yuks, and it fair doesn’t work unless you are 5 years broken-down.
4. The shallowness of Darth Maul: Similar to other problems with character depth, we don’t know enough about Maul. He says early in the film that at last he will have revenge on the Jedi. Revenge for what? We never know beyond vague notions that the Sith and Jedi are traditional enemies. That is not enough. We either need to be shown more wait on yarn on this or have some reason for Maul’s motivation. His fight scenes with the Jedi at the waste are dynamite and clearly the actor is very skilled in martial arts and projects a menacing attitude with only minimal dialog or conceal time, but we never really know anything about him other than “he is a poor guy” and that is not enough.
5. State goofiness. As others have pointed out, all the midi-chlorian business is a red herring of mumbo-jumbo that takes the mystical mystery out of the Force and reduces it to a medical condition. The Jedi are supposed to be wise, mighty seers, but them seem oblivious to the presence and intentions of the awful guys over and over again. Having young Anakin earn C3PO is humorous and seems like a forced “cricle closer”. Further, having Anakin originate out on Tatooine doesn’t seem upright and seems liek another circle closer that is forced. Wouldn’t he remember all this years later as Darth Vader in Episode 4? Wouldn’t there be some result of this coincidence? As famed above, having a slave that doesn’t seem to be deprived or suffering and has the time/resources to earn robots and pod racers as a hobby seems goofy too.
Again, it seemed to me like Lucas got the station and characters to a distinct point and then pause on them. With only a minute extra pains or different emphasis on sure elements, the movie could have been worthy improved and the audience would have had more insight into the characters and identified with them more. As is, the lack of character development combined with wooden acting makes it hard for the audience to care. The special effects residence pieces are spectacular, and the computer generated elements are pioneering and well executed, but without a reason to care about or like the characters, its hard to collect too aroused.
Again, not a terrifying movie, but frustrating because with honest a few changes or extra anxiety, it could have been so great better.
Int. evening – A dimly lit room.
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George: The movie must have a child-friendly laughable relief, and we also need some clever doll to sell afterwards… hmmmmm… Jar Jar Binks!
George: Wait it can’t be too child-friendly or we’ll loose the fans! Throw Maul into the ring, oooooh he’s scary… hmmmm… we’ll cleave his dialogue down to three lines so the action figure can possess them all!
George: Liam Neeson is starting to complain about his lame character and dialogue… hmmmm… let’s fair give him a top-notch death at the kill of the movie… wait we’ve already done that.. aaah what the hell! Everybody loves a cliché!
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George: Wait! The script is a puny thin… hmmmmmmm… Wait I maintain this frosty Special FX company they’ll gain out the holes!
George: All the chilly authors have expanded my universe making it diverse and brilliant… but let’s honest focus on places we know… like Tatooine!
George: Anakin is really intelligent… we’ll let him effect C-3PO… wait why doesn’t Vader peer him later? Oh yes… he’s unprejudiced been ignoring him… heh heh…
George: Oh yeah I’ve also invented these midiclorieans… which they for some outlandish reason haven’t heard about in the unique episodes… well the knowledge has fair been lost in the substantial Jedi massacres later on!
*George continues like this for months*
Actually I’m a Star Wars fan… and I like Episode I because of the icy action scenes, spectacular special FX and I actually don’t reflect that the acting is so unpleasant, and Jar Jar is stunning comic at times. I unprejudiced have this love/hate thing for this episode. The whole Star Wars spirit, the innovation leisurely the used trilogy has been replaced by some kind of Disney oriented commercial family pack! To mighty money (minus 1 star) too small creativity (minus 1 star) … and George you better clone Darth Maul in Episode II and perform it bloody and spoiled for Anakin, and realease the modern episodes on DVD (and not perform 6000 special editions), or I’ll slit off that beard of yours while you sleep! (can you obtain sued for this? )