PhilR8
Apr 19th, 2001, 07:15:48 PM
This post is mega-ass long. Read at your own risk.
I can respect that you all love Episode 1, I enjoyed it, to an extent, as well. But to say it was a great movie is not the truth. The original Star Wars was a cultural event that EVERYONE was involved in. People from every race, creed, etc watched and enjoyed the re-invention of science fiction in the form of Star Wars. the Empire Strikes Back was a phenomenal sequel and benefitted from the massive popularity of the first movie, as the fan base was already formed and Lucas could take some liberties with the format, like no introduction and a much darker tone with an end that had no resolution. This kept fans wanting more, and Lucas realized he could not only make bookoo bucks from the film but also from liscensing the characters as well in the form of toys and whatnot. I think this is ultimately where Lucas turned to the dark side, making the movie for profit instead of enjoyment of film. The ewoks were a blatant ploy to draw in a new generation to love Star Wars. I do not disagree with him doing that, as it was very shrewd of him to include a hook for those who may have been too young to have enjoyed the first movies. Ultimately, though, this could have been done, I think, without "dumbing down" the content for children. The entire battle on Endor was sanitized for children. Of course, ROTJ is still a great movie because it did incorporate mature and epic moments in the form of the SPace battle, the awesome lightsaber fight, the twist at the end that nobody saw coming, and of course, Leia's fantastic bikini. That said, the original trilogy is a masterpiece in film-making.
Episode 1, however, is far from a masterpiece.
The sanitization of star wars, while controlled in ROTJ, runs rampant and is uncontrolled in Episode 1. Episode 1 relied on the fan base, the vast fan base, to bring in revenue, as Lucas realized everyone was anticipating this movie to the extent that they would have loved anything he put on the screen, just because it was new material. yes, Episode 1 is incredibly beautiful and a treat to look at. The environment is realized with great beauty and craftsmanship. The story, the acting, and everything else, in my opinion, is definately not up to the standard of the original trilogy. I know, I know, this has all been written before, the annoyed fanboy who was disappointed with Episode 1, etc. But the fact is that Episode 1 did not have the same effect on the population as the original did. I realize it would be a bit presumptuous to expect Episode 1 to duplicate or surpass the original's impact on society, as it was truly revolutionary. But would it be too much to ask for Lucas to have spun a mature and competant story with good acting? Look at the cast, the cast of Episode 1 is truly phenomenal. So many great actors were pulled together to make this film. And yet, noone can deny the acting isdecent at best. I would venture to say the acting is bad. Ewan Mcgregor and Liam Neeson, ususally commanding on screen, looked like they were sleep-walking through the film. Samuel L Jackson was in the movie very briefly and did not add anything that could not have been added by anyone else. The only thing he brought to the table was facial recognition so the older fans in the audience could giggle. Natalie Portman, while a pretty face (a VERY pretty face) also monotonely recited her lines as if reading a cue card. Why was this veritable pool of talent wasted?
I think Anakin was the worst aspect of the entire movie. I realize the kid is just a, well, a kid, but many child actors could have done a better job than he did. It was just painful to watch. And Jar Jar. DO any of you think Jar Jar contributed ANYTHING to the movie? Jar Jar took AWAY from the movie. Every time he spoke made me cringe. Every time he clumsily stumbled over something stupidly it made me wince. Jar Jar was an unforgivable addition to Episode 1, put forth by Lucas solely to make the kids laugh. I can understand that like the Ewoks, Lucas was trying to hook the new generation of children to enjoy star wars with the ridiculous antics of Jar Jar, with the fact that a little kid saves the day, with the fact that the robotic army looked like rejects from Keystone Kops.
The Robotic Army really showed how much Lucas has bastardized the Star Wars universe. The original movies were not afraid to show the violence of war. War is not funny. Showing the frank reality of war (which was done very competantly in the original trilogy even though the heros used laser guns and swords, things that almost seem absurd to most of the people today) made us care for the plight of the heroes. Leia was interrogated and tortured! The Stormtroopers killed the poorly equipped members of the rebellion! Vader not only murdered those in the rebellion but also did not hesitate to kill those in his own army that showed the least bit of incompetance! The empire destroyed an entire peaceful planet! All of these elements really made the Empire seem evil and a force to be reckoned with, definately something to be afraid of. While thise fear was diluted somewhat in ROTJ, it was still present in the form of Vader and the Emporer, the pinnacle of all evil. In Episode 1, none of these elements are present. the Trade federation is not a scary name. The EMPIRE seems ominous even when you just say it. The Trade fedeartion? And their group of bumbling remote controlled idiots, whom even JAR JAR can defeat? I did not fear for the lives of any of the characters in Episode 1. I did not fele the tension, the feeling of urgency that was present in Star Wars: A New Hope as the Death Star destroyed Alderaan and was about to destroy the rebel base on Yavin IV. Those moments MADE Star Wars, all the evidence and build up that led you, if you had not seen ANH before, to wonder if the rebels would be saved. it was a nail-biter, to be sure. The Empire Strikes back took this feeling to the next level, having the entire movie based on the fact that the Empire was winning. The enitre movie, the Rebellion never won. At the end of the movie, a feeling of disbelief was instilled in the audience. Lucas truly succeeded with ESB: it is his greatest work to date. After Star Wars turned science fiction on it's head, ESB did it AGAIN. ANd to counter the depressing and unbelievable ESB, Lucas made Return of the jedi, which wrapped up all the loose end and had the Rebellion kick some major ass. A truly epic, truly inspiring end to a fantastic trilogy that made you go home feeling good, feeling fulfilled that the heros you so dearly cared about were safe and victorious. THe original trilogy was AWESOME.
None of that is present in Episode 1. My main point of this post was originally to shame those who contributed to the massive success of Episode 1, but I got a little carried away. osrry for the massive length of this post, but those of you who contributed to the massive success of a BAD MOVIE have just given Lucas all the more reason to continue making these bad movies. He sees that fanboys will see a bad movie 20, 30, even fifty times and pay for it every time. Lucas made mad cash off of Episode 1, and will most likely off of Episodes 2 and 3. I will see both upcoming prequels, and still remain optimistic that Episode 1 was just the hook to re-ignite the flame that may have dwindled in the 20 years between the new material. Maybe Lucas did not want to take any chances with the parents of America to make a wholesome movie for children. That is fine for Lucas, he is the billionaire and he owns the property, he can do with it as he wishes. But had Episode 1 not flopped but struggled, like it SHOULD HAVE, Lucas would have learned that fan boys want competant and mature movies. But Episode 1 did awesomely, and Lucas has no reason to divert from the sacharrine kid-friendly formula that made Episode 1 a box office success and a critical failure. If that turns out to be true, we have only ourselves to blame.
Thanks for letting me get that off of my chest.
I can respect that you all love Episode 1, I enjoyed it, to an extent, as well. But to say it was a great movie is not the truth. The original Star Wars was a cultural event that EVERYONE was involved in. People from every race, creed, etc watched and enjoyed the re-invention of science fiction in the form of Star Wars. the Empire Strikes Back was a phenomenal sequel and benefitted from the massive popularity of the first movie, as the fan base was already formed and Lucas could take some liberties with the format, like no introduction and a much darker tone with an end that had no resolution. This kept fans wanting more, and Lucas realized he could not only make bookoo bucks from the film but also from liscensing the characters as well in the form of toys and whatnot. I think this is ultimately where Lucas turned to the dark side, making the movie for profit instead of enjoyment of film. The ewoks were a blatant ploy to draw in a new generation to love Star Wars. I do not disagree with him doing that, as it was very shrewd of him to include a hook for those who may have been too young to have enjoyed the first movies. Ultimately, though, this could have been done, I think, without "dumbing down" the content for children. The entire battle on Endor was sanitized for children. Of course, ROTJ is still a great movie because it did incorporate mature and epic moments in the form of the SPace battle, the awesome lightsaber fight, the twist at the end that nobody saw coming, and of course, Leia's fantastic bikini. That said, the original trilogy is a masterpiece in film-making.
Episode 1, however, is far from a masterpiece.
The sanitization of star wars, while controlled in ROTJ, runs rampant and is uncontrolled in Episode 1. Episode 1 relied on the fan base, the vast fan base, to bring in revenue, as Lucas realized everyone was anticipating this movie to the extent that they would have loved anything he put on the screen, just because it was new material. yes, Episode 1 is incredibly beautiful and a treat to look at. The environment is realized with great beauty and craftsmanship. The story, the acting, and everything else, in my opinion, is definately not up to the standard of the original trilogy. I know, I know, this has all been written before, the annoyed fanboy who was disappointed with Episode 1, etc. But the fact is that Episode 1 did not have the same effect on the population as the original did. I realize it would be a bit presumptuous to expect Episode 1 to duplicate or surpass the original's impact on society, as it was truly revolutionary. But would it be too much to ask for Lucas to have spun a mature and competant story with good acting? Look at the cast, the cast of Episode 1 is truly phenomenal. So many great actors were pulled together to make this film. And yet, noone can deny the acting isdecent at best. I would venture to say the acting is bad. Ewan Mcgregor and Liam Neeson, ususally commanding on screen, looked like they were sleep-walking through the film. Samuel L Jackson was in the movie very briefly and did not add anything that could not have been added by anyone else. The only thing he brought to the table was facial recognition so the older fans in the audience could giggle. Natalie Portman, while a pretty face (a VERY pretty face) also monotonely recited her lines as if reading a cue card. Why was this veritable pool of talent wasted?
I think Anakin was the worst aspect of the entire movie. I realize the kid is just a, well, a kid, but many child actors could have done a better job than he did. It was just painful to watch. And Jar Jar. DO any of you think Jar Jar contributed ANYTHING to the movie? Jar Jar took AWAY from the movie. Every time he spoke made me cringe. Every time he clumsily stumbled over something stupidly it made me wince. Jar Jar was an unforgivable addition to Episode 1, put forth by Lucas solely to make the kids laugh. I can understand that like the Ewoks, Lucas was trying to hook the new generation of children to enjoy star wars with the ridiculous antics of Jar Jar, with the fact that a little kid saves the day, with the fact that the robotic army looked like rejects from Keystone Kops.
The Robotic Army really showed how much Lucas has bastardized the Star Wars universe. The original movies were not afraid to show the violence of war. War is not funny. Showing the frank reality of war (which was done very competantly in the original trilogy even though the heros used laser guns and swords, things that almost seem absurd to most of the people today) made us care for the plight of the heroes. Leia was interrogated and tortured! The Stormtroopers killed the poorly equipped members of the rebellion! Vader not only murdered those in the rebellion but also did not hesitate to kill those in his own army that showed the least bit of incompetance! The empire destroyed an entire peaceful planet! All of these elements really made the Empire seem evil and a force to be reckoned with, definately something to be afraid of. While thise fear was diluted somewhat in ROTJ, it was still present in the form of Vader and the Emporer, the pinnacle of all evil. In Episode 1, none of these elements are present. the Trade federation is not a scary name. The EMPIRE seems ominous even when you just say it. The Trade fedeartion? And their group of bumbling remote controlled idiots, whom even JAR JAR can defeat? I did not fear for the lives of any of the characters in Episode 1. I did not fele the tension, the feeling of urgency that was present in Star Wars: A New Hope as the Death Star destroyed Alderaan and was about to destroy the rebel base on Yavin IV. Those moments MADE Star Wars, all the evidence and build up that led you, if you had not seen ANH before, to wonder if the rebels would be saved. it was a nail-biter, to be sure. The Empire Strikes back took this feeling to the next level, having the entire movie based on the fact that the Empire was winning. The enitre movie, the Rebellion never won. At the end of the movie, a feeling of disbelief was instilled in the audience. Lucas truly succeeded with ESB: it is his greatest work to date. After Star Wars turned science fiction on it's head, ESB did it AGAIN. ANd to counter the depressing and unbelievable ESB, Lucas made Return of the jedi, which wrapped up all the loose end and had the Rebellion kick some major ass. A truly epic, truly inspiring end to a fantastic trilogy that made you go home feeling good, feeling fulfilled that the heros you so dearly cared about were safe and victorious. THe original trilogy was AWESOME.
None of that is present in Episode 1. My main point of this post was originally to shame those who contributed to the massive success of Episode 1, but I got a little carried away. osrry for the massive length of this post, but those of you who contributed to the massive success of a BAD MOVIE have just given Lucas all the more reason to continue making these bad movies. He sees that fanboys will see a bad movie 20, 30, even fifty times and pay for it every time. Lucas made mad cash off of Episode 1, and will most likely off of Episodes 2 and 3. I will see both upcoming prequels, and still remain optimistic that Episode 1 was just the hook to re-ignite the flame that may have dwindled in the 20 years between the new material. Maybe Lucas did not want to take any chances with the parents of America to make a wholesome movie for children. That is fine for Lucas, he is the billionaire and he owns the property, he can do with it as he wishes. But had Episode 1 not flopped but struggled, like it SHOULD HAVE, Lucas would have learned that fan boys want competant and mature movies. But Episode 1 did awesomely, and Lucas has no reason to divert from the sacharrine kid-friendly formula that made Episode 1 a box office success and a critical failure. If that turns out to be true, we have only ourselves to blame.
Thanks for letting me get that off of my chest.