Just watched Force Awakens, and don't see how it is 2.2 points higher
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elgaroo — 10 years ago(January 02, 2016 10:45 PM)
The pod racing scene is the Endor speeder bike chase drawn out WAY too long..P Risks are not inherently "good", especially when they are poor fits, conceptually, and in execution. George Lucas having a go at just tossing in whatever random passing interest he had at the time in the hopes of once again stumbling into genius was just uninhibited laziness annyone could have done better, which I believe strongly posterity will precisely assess of the latest trilogy, etc.
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mrdjx — 9 years ago(July 30, 2016 08:54 AM)
Umm.. by itself the scene is technically a well directed piece of work and a showcase for ILM's abilities. BUT the scene really doesn't have a place in the film, since the time taken to set it up is disproportionate to the overall stakes of the films narrative-in this case I'm referring to the fact that Qui Gon, Obi-Wan and Amidala ultimate goals are to reach Coruscant so they can inform the Senate of the blockade and prevent the Citizens of Naboo from dying. Part of the problem is that the threads in the Podrace plot do not get revisited once the scene is over. Sebulba is set up as an antagonist, then discarded from the storyline once he loses. Watto is only reintroduced briefly in Episode 2 to give exposition on the whereabouts.
The next point is one that I believe is one of the most critical flaws in the PT trilogy. That is, a substantial amount of screen time is given to Qui-Gon and his relationship with Anakin. As we all know, at the end of the film Qui-Gon dies, leaving Obi-Wan to train Anakin. However Qui-Gon's relationship with Anakin does not get revisited in Episode 2 or 3 and does not play much of a role in Anakins development. This results in Anakin and Obi Wan becoming friends offscreen, and the first time we see them as having any kind of relationship is in Episode 2, where its clear that they seem to hate eachother. Since we never see them as friends, the emotional punch behind Anakins betrayal is simply non-existent.
If George Lucas had swapped Qui-Gon with Obi Wan in the Podrace plot, the PT trilogy would've have been far better received, as the audience would've seen the development of a relationship which would become a key plotline in the Star Wars Saga. -
soundoflight — 10 years ago(December 27, 2015 08:40 PM)
I agree. While this movie is incredibly flawed, there were moments of "Star Wars" in it, particularly the epic final battle with Darth Maul. I FELT something during those scenes. I was on the edge of my seat. The Force Awakens did not evoke this feeling even once.
I consider the Phantom Menace to be a slightly superior film to the force awakens (though I think the second and third prequels are gutter trash).
Ranked:
Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, A New Hope, The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones -
dellaroccokc — 10 years ago(December 28, 2015 09:52 AM)
Can you describe what you "felt" during the lightsaber battle against the guy you know nothing about and the two Jedi's you can't relate to? Was it the ninja moves and flipping that put you on the edge of your seat as you shoveled popcorn into your face? I admit Duel of the Fates is a good score but literally thats the only thing that made it interesting.
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AlGranthamMusic — 10 years ago(December 28, 2015 06:35 PM)
I rewatched Phantom Menace for the first time today since I saw it in the theatre, and I have to agree that the lightsaber duel is excellent. I "Felt" something as well. Could be the score, could be the fact that we're watching a jedi knight engaged in an epic fight alongside his apprentice, and perishing. That's some serious beep Incorporating the timed force-fields towards the end was a stroke of genius too.
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seanericmathews — 10 years ago(December 31, 2015 10:40 AM)
I too watched it again for the first time in over a decade. And it was just as bad now as it was then. It is an abomination.
Two headed NASCAR alien commentator.
That is all.
Really though Lucas relied too much on CGI and catering to all a different audience. He lost touch with what made the originals so great.
Yeah, TFA wasn't perfect. And yeah, they might have been playing to the fans. But Ill take that over the tripe that Lucas gave us in the prequels. You can take your trade federation and shove it. -
soundoflight — 10 years ago(December 29, 2015 09:54 PM)
I could relate to the Jedis In fact, those are are probably the only two characters in the entire prequel trilogy that are relatable, both played by excellent actors. Liam Neeson's Jedi character was quite likable, and you care when he dies. And note that he dies in such a way that it's a bit gut wrenching.
Compare this to the force awakens where Han Solo is killed in such a cheap way you don't really feel anything.
Darth Maul was a decent villain. At least he retained an aura of mystery and evil about him.
Imagine if Darth Maul took off his "mask" and a 16 year old nerd was underneath. It would completely ruin the effect.
That's what The Force Awakens gave us.And as you mention, the score was gripping. Nothing of the sort came out of The Force Awakens.
Overall, I think the duel with Darth Maul is the best thing the prequel trilogy produced, and is better than anything found in The Force Awakens as well. -
AlGranthamMusic — 10 years ago(December 30, 2015 01:30 AM)
Just finished re-watching the entire prequels trilogy, and was so much more impressed with it than I remember. The Darth Maul duel in the Phantom Menace definitely stands out as a great scene. In fact I would consider it one of the most memorable across the entire prequel trilogy. Nothing much happens in Attack of the clones, but there's some excellent stuff in Revenge of the Sith.
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alexcregan1998 — 10 years ago(January 02, 2016 04:46 AM)
God you're so wrong it's a bit laughable. How can you not see the wide Valley separating The Phantom Menace and The Force Awakens in Quality? The onky thing I can think of that The Phantom Menace has above The Force Awakens is it's Film Score, even though I love Rey's Theme and every time it comes up it gives me goosebumps,the rest was very forgettable indeed. The Phantom Menace on the other hand I seem to know every single track, probably because of my obsession with Battlefront 2 as a younger child
So there you go, the Original Score for The Phantom Menace that's the only thing I'd give it over The Force Awakens. -
apriloish — 9 years ago(December 22, 2016 01:43 PM)
I recently watched rogue one an have now scene every film in the franchise im fine with what ever film someone prefers but i have to be honest the force awakens not perfect but is miles better then phantom meance.Heres my opinion of these films star wars is a great fantasy space film empire strikes back is a masterpiece an easily the best return of the jedi is a great ending suffers from to much repeat of the other two but is a great finale none the less the prequels phantom meance is easily the worst star wars film its crap attack of the clones is ok its a ok action film its a time waster not bad just ok the actor playing vader is ok because vader is simply a teen so he has to whiny a bit the problem is to much cgi an the love scenes are so bad written. Revenge of the sith again not great but pretty good an easily the best prequel i like this one.Force awakens is a great sequel that set up the new trilogy suffers from to much of a retread but the action is great an its harrison fords best performance rogue one is really good but the story is bland an the main character weak.The animated kids film clone wars is also garbage
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farfolomew — 10 years ago(January 07, 2016 08:01 PM)
Wow, your post echos my sentiments almost to a T! While the TPM is considerably flawed in many of its attritubes, I loved certain elements of it: the music, the new planets, species introduced, and mainly the Darth Maul fight scene at the end. Say what you will about the Darth Maul character himself, but that fight scene was between those 3 was epic, and I dare say even better than Luke vs Vader in ESB.
Your ranking of movies is exactly as I would have them too (although for me, ROTJ and ESB are nearly identical in ranking; there's no clear winner for me between those two). I'm biased a bit on ROTJ because I grew up with it, but I objectively look at the Ewoks today, and I sincerely think they're not a stain on the movie. The way Han despises them at first, then learns to tolerate them, as well as C3PO's promotion of a deity status is just pure script gold! Not to mention the epic space battle scene. And then ROTJ's ending with Vader's final act of goodness, the unveiling of his helmet, and the cremation scene. THAT was great cinema. ROTJ is seriously underrated and anyone who thinks TFA is better than it is delusional.
As for ESB, well that needs no defending for it's ranking -
Day_ImFivebyFive — 9 years ago(December 22, 2016 03:58 PM)
RotS is far and away the best of the prequels IMO. I get scared even thinking of watching that film, cause it has so many dramatic moments. Anakin going dark has to happen, but it's so gut wrenching to watch we can't take our eyes off screen. Mace confronting Palpatine is also bone chilling because we know what's gonna happen. Ah, it's a great film to rewatch, especially certain scenes.
The Phantom Menace has one good scene (two if you count the pod racing scene, though I don't since it's not important to the overall plot as others have mentioned). Attack of the Clones is better than TPM overall with a more interesting plot but has no memorable scenes.
This is all my opinion of course.