Yoda vs. Darth Maul

[ericadawn16]

I saw Star Wars: The Phantom Menace today.

I think I and others have been giving it a bum rap.

When I first saw it was a 16 year old, it was with that emotion best shown in Fanboys as refusing to believe George Lucas could do anything wrong. As the years passed, this view was colored by the next two films, critics and society who hammered Episode 1 as something quite horrible.

This time as a 29 year old, I was able to see something in between. It's not as light-hearted or easy to understand as 4,5 and 6 but it's without all the mushy romance or whining like 2 and 3. The action is exciting and the script, although he has admitted to not caring about the scripts for the prequels, wasn't that bad. It was full of importance and foreshadowing for all five of the other films. Sadly, the politics hit even more close to home now than in 1999.

However, we were the only ones in the auditorium.

I know, it was a Monday matinee and 2D at that, but still...

My mom was worried that George Lucas would cancel releasing the other five.

I'm a film snob especially when it comes to Star Wars.

Unless you've seen Star Wars on a big screen with the proper sound and were at least 11, then you've never properly seen it.

This means that those who are graduating this year from high school and everyone younger than them, with the exception of the animated Clone Wars film, has never properly seen a Star Wars film.

Actually, 4, 5 and 6 haven't been released since spring 1997 so if you're 26 years old or younger, you've never properly seen those either.

The big screen is also much more conducive to one of my more recent games to play with Episode 1:
Spot Keira Knightley!

When I was younger, I didn't know who she was so I thought that they had done a Hayley Mills and Natalie Portman played both roles all the time. Now, I know that Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley both played the Queen depending on whether Natalie was being Padme or not. There's this scene that never made sense to me. They're trying to take over the throne room and Padme has surrendered and then you have the decoy Queen and she swaggers in and swaggers out, very cocky.

It just didn't seem like how Natalie was playing the queen otherwise. She usually goes for confident rather than cocky. Today, I recognized the body language as definite young Keira Knightley.

Bonus points if you spot Dominic West as a palace guard.

I also like JarJar. It's clear that he can make up his own mind and can solve problems as well as making the best of a situation like using the droid gun to shoot other droids. The main problem is both his clumsiness and speech impediment which doesn't seem to be shared by the other Gungans. This makes me think that Jarjar has brain damage or some other disability. Perhaps he's even had a seizure in the past. Either way, I felt sorry for him knowing what he wants to say but not having the means to really express it. I know what that's like.

Comments

[ayaneva.livejournal.com]

Phantom Menace is the only Star Wars movie I actually enjoy. I always thought I must have bad taste because of that. LOL

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Just curious, why that one as opposed to 4,5 and 6?

I can come up with reasons but I'm wondering if you know why you like that one better or not.

[ayaneva.livejournal.com]

I was never able to connect to the characters or story is 4, 5, and 6. Also, when I was little, I was afraid of Chewbaca and refused to watch the movies for that reason too. I did try to watch them when I was older but they just fail to grab me.

I would blame the dodgy acting but dodgy acting has never necessarily stopped me from liking a movie. I could also blame the now dated special effects but dated special effects don't normally bother me much either. It's not the genre of the film that prevents me from liking it. I like space settings and shoot 'em up scenarios.

There's just something about how the movies are constructed. Perhaps it's because it's all a bit bleak and I'm just not down with that. I mean, I know there's hope in the end but for much of it, there seems to be desperate struggling.

There was also the intensity of the Star Wars/Star Trek rivalry in the 1990s, wherein anything that wasn't the other franchise was automatically awful without a second thought. This is why I think it's actually good that JJ Abrams is directing the Star Trek films. He's a Star Wars fan and he figured out how to blend the two just a tiny bit, pull in some Star Wars fans while keeping the Star Trek fans happy, and I think the result was sci-fi that everyone can like without completely abandoning their cherished camps of thought.

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

I love Darth Maul, but that commercial sums up his role in the film -- he deserves a better story.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Have you been watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network?

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

I'm in the UK, and I don't get The Cartoon Network. Is he in The Clone Wars? (Or is that set after his death?)

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Drat, it is something you have to have cable or satellite for but it's awesome. For one thing, it has the best writing of females than all other Star Wars products. For another, it's not afraid to delve into minor characters and everything related to them...like having a multi-episode arc about Darth Maul's brothers and his upbringing.

However, SPOILER ALERT, Maul himself will be on a future episode despite being cut in half years before...

[legendary-zelda.livejournal.com]

I saw it in 3D with my nephew. I had also seen it in the theatres when it first came out years before. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it the second time around, because I didn't think much of it the first time. Maybe the 3D helped me have that immersive experience. Watching the podrace in 3D was pretty cool.

Can't say I liked Jar-Jar very much though. They should have had subttiles for his lines, I couldn't make out most of what he was saying.

[jedi-harkness.livejournal.com]

I always thought Phantom Menace got a bum rap. It's not the best Star Wars film, but it's still very enjoyable and has that sense of fun you expect from the saga. I remember seeing it back in '99 and being thrilled by the lightsaber duel and the Podrace, and Darth Maul rocks! I'm looking forward to seeing him again in CW.

I thought the 3D was very good, and I loved the CGI Yoda. Was Plo Koon dropped in there as well or is my memory of the original version getting fuzzy?

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Plo Koon was always in there.

I think part of it is also how the epic good vs evil is a lot more understandable than the prequel trilogy going into how a good person could be used for evil or how a person could become evil. The methods that Palpatine uses are frighteningly real and I can picture someone like Romney using them today.

That's awesome that you were able to see it in 3D. We had very few options for trying to find a 2D showing.

I freaking love that show and I hate how people are saying that this season or next could be the last. Hopefully, the next series will be just as great about females characters and delving into the more minor characters from the films.

Have you seen Fanboys?

[jedi-harkness.livejournal.com]

Ha, my memory is fuzzy! It's wonderful to be 40! ;)

I feel very lucky I was able to see SW on the big screen this go-around; I wasn't sure I'd be able to scrounge up the cash! The total for the ticket, popcorn, and Pepsi came to just under $20, but it was worth it. And since I went on opening night, I got a pair of Darth Maul keepsake 3D glasses! :D

I'm crazy for CW and I think it gets better year after year. I hate the thought of it ending, but it doesn't make sense to have the Clone Wars lasting for 5 years or more, right?

I think this past season has been really good, and they've written in some great set-ups for why Anakin starts to trust Palpatine more than the Jedi Order. That last story arc where Obi-Wan went undercover, I kept thinking of Revenge Of The Sith and got an even deeper understanding of why Anakin was so vulnerable to Palpatine's manipulations.

I've yet to see Fanboys, but always thought it looked pretty funny. I know Sam Worthington (Superman Returns, Being Human) is in it.

Have you seen The People Vs. George Lucas? While it may be a bit harsh on him at times, it's overall one of the best documentaries about SW fandom, or any fandom, I've seen.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Right, I definitely think Clone Wars takes all the plot-holes and mysteries from the other six films and answers them.

Did you see the Star Wars Lego film?

*Huntington although Sam Worthington would have been very interesting. I loved it. I felt it really captured what it was like in 1999.

No, I haven't seen it.

[jedi-harkness.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, Sam Huntington! Told you my memory is fuzzy! ;)

I did see that Lego film, and thought it was really cute. I think it could be a regular series. I'm really curious about that SW sitcom Seth Green has in the works. I was watching the first two SW Robot Chickens yesterday; those are so damn funny! :D