Finally Saw Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2

[TicklingDuo]

Ann and I watched Star Wars Episode 1 - "The Phantom Menace", and Episode 2 - "Attack of the Clones", this week.
After all the bad press I heard, Episode 1 was actually pretty decent, all except for Jar Jar Binks(Sooooooo annoying!) and the kid who played Anikin, couldn't act for squat. Episode 2, which we just finished watching was AWESOME!!!! Too bad it's gonna be three years before the next one comes out.


Drew😉

 

[Moses25]

Yeah, the bad press at least prepares you for the worst in Ep.I, and let's you enjoy the movie for what it is. (a big hunk of Binks!!)

Won't go into anything else here (hands slowly clenching into fists; eyes filling with venomous blood) except to say that Ep.II was only good compared to Ep.I...and that...if I had Lucas in a room, alone, for 5 minutes...you see, I'm a die-hard...must not give in to the dark si...

What is thy bidding, my master?

(now, you're gonna get it, Lucas!!)

Cheers, and die, Lucas, die.

 

[primetime]

despite the popular opinion, i didnt think Jar Jar was that bad. once you see it like 100 times, then you get used to it.

in Episode 2, man i love that movie. i just got it and i have watched it again and again. the only thing i didnt like was that the Padme/Anakin romance didnt seem "real". i mean, i know they hook up, but i was hoping for a little more romance. oh well.....

like you Moses, if i got a chance to talk to Lucas, he woul dhave to explain why it is going to take 3 years for the next one. i mean, Harry Potter AND Lord of the Rings are coming out with theirs, about a year apart. but NOOOOOOOOO, us Star Wars fans have to wait till 2005. makes no sense at all.....

 

[Phineas]

...at the age of nine, how well are you SUPPOSED to act? I mean, really. I've seen children who acted far worse than Jake Lloyd, and they weren't even acting.

...and I didn't find Jar Jar annoying at all. some people just get too uptight over some things...

 

[BellaRisa]

[B
...and I didn't find Jar Jar annoying at all. some people just get too uptight over some things... [/B]

Phineas hon, I gotta back people up on this-Jar Jar made my colon clench, I really disliked his character-and I'm usually a sucker for cute comic relief 🙄 I was soooo glad they downplayed and matured his in the second film.

Each of these movies has annoyed me, only because I'm a diehard fan of the originals (and they need better scripts), but each has had a scene or two that made it worth my money-the pod race and fight scenes in the first, and watching my man Yoda open up his wee can o' Whup-ass in the second 😎

Bella

 

[ForgottenTcklr]

Yeah,

Though I know many are unwilling to admit that anything could beat the old Star Wars movies, two was equal to the originals in most every way (my opinion I guess). I think it brought Star Wars back to life!

 

[Dave2112]

I have to agree that AOTC was at least equal to the original trilogy. Nothing is ever going to top "The Empire Strikes Back", so I wouldn't look for that. I just try to enjoy the new films for what they are...continuations of the story. I guess I'm one of the few who didn't find Jar Jar that terribly bad, although I can see how folks that aren't huge fans could find him annoying. I think that the whole point with Gungans, Ewoks (the really annoying little things in the saga) and other species is that the galaxy is made up of all kinds of characters that have to find a way to live together. I did find it a bit easy plot-wise to have Jar-Jar inadvertantly start the Clone Wars, though...

I didn't find Jake Lloyd's acting in TPM half as annoying as Natalie Portman's in AOTC. First off, Lloyd was nine. Second off, I had a hard time believing that Padme even gave a shit about Anakin until she thought she was going to die. Also, in the scene after she falls out of the Republic gunship (a good thirty feet or so), she gets up, brushes herself off and starts giving orders...not even out of breath. I just didn't find her acting at all inspired in this installment. It was almost like she completely abandoned any depth of character in favor of becoming Lara Croft with a blaster. Carrie Fisher did a much better job with Harrison Ford in the belly of the Falcon in ESB...you could really see the walls come down as she fell for everyone's favorite pirate.

On the flip side, Hayden Christensen did a fantasic job. You could see the formation of evil in his eyes every time something stressful happened. He really portrayed the tormented soul very well. Additionally, Ewen McGregor has taken over the role of Obi-Wan. In TPM, you spent a lot of time trying to get Alec Guiness out of your head and making subtle comparisons. Now, you accept him in the role, and he's done a great job of portraying the exasperated mentor...not to mention the quiet but ass-kicking Jedi.

The one-on-one fights were pretty awesome, too. I don't think anything is going to compare with the awesome display of swordsmanship between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul...although I read where Hayden is started physical training as early as December to bulk him up into "pre-Vader", and that the final duel between him and Kenobi is going to be quite personal and intense.

The fight between Yoda and Dooku was fabulous. We'd seen the "old master, dark lord" fight in Star Wars, the "father, son" thing in the other two of the first trilogy and the first two-on-one in TPM. This time, we got to see a confrontation between the two most actively powerful beings in the galaxy. I was watching the extra stuff on the DVD about bringing Yoda to life, and it's amazing the lengths that were gone to in order to make the fight not seem silly.

 

[ForgottenTcklr]

Dave... we knew you wouldn't be able to resist posting here!

Well, my opinion on Jar Jar is that well... ok. I mean he didn't do much, and he was annoying, but he doesn't deserve all the criticism. People say he made the movie for kids and that his humor was bad. And it was... but C3PO has been know to make a few bad jokes (and puns) in the trilogy! So we can't say anything is too new!

 

[ForgottenTcklr]

And as far as Portman goes in AOTC,

Lucas tried to make Anakin and Amidala's love look real. It was supposed to be a love story in the middle of all the action. So naturally, as love does, it had ups and downs. It did add to the movie, but it also took away in other aspects!!!

 

[Dave2112]

Oh, it wasn't the story that bothered me...it was Portman's acting. The story was fine.

And you are so right about 3PO. He had the dumbest lines in AOTC, escpecially in the arena battle...enough to make Jar-Jar look like Sir Lawrence Olivier.

remember that these are CG characters, too. Just the fact that they even appear on screen is a milestone in filmmaking. There is so much involved in trying to direct an animated character...these are the formative years of a technology that's going to be widespread soon. Just watch the DVD extras on getting Yoda's facial expressions right in the last scene alone...and you can see how what you intend and what turns up on the screen can differ a bit.

 

[TicklingDuo]

Dave, I was hoping you would reply to this post so I could hear your opinions. Looking foward to Aninkin and Obi-Wan confronting each other. Even though we have a wait.


Drew😉

 

[Phineas]

Okay, first off, Natalie Portman's acting in AotC was like Shakespeare compared to her deadpan monotone throughout most of TPM.

Secondly... about Jar Jar... yes, he was clumsy, annoying, impulsive, stupid, and prone to trouble. THAT'S WHY HE WAS BANISHED FROM OTOH GUNGA. His own PEOPLE didn't even like him. But what happened to him by the end of the film? He had done some pretty important things, enough that Padme felt she could trust him as an aide and the representative in the Republic. Nobody would have ever given Jar Jar that chance if they'd all given up on him because of his faults, as his own people did.

Of course, the intelligence of Padme's decision pretty much single-handedly caused the Clone Wars, but there's something to be said for having faith in someone long after everyone else has given up on them.

Anakin and Padme... well, there was really never any opportunity for Padme to display any sort of growing affection for Anakin. She may have felt some attraction initially, but the way Anakin kept eyeing her predatorially probably turned her off, enough that her attraction wouldn't show. Still, they did have the opportunity to get close while they were on Naboo, so we did get to see that she liked him. Being a Senator, though, she could guard her feelings outwardly a lot easier than most. Especially not an emotionally volatile Jedi. When they were about to die, she figured "hey, I have nothing to lose, may as well tell him."

I don't see Jar Jar's proposition of emergency powers as being convenient to the plot; it was perfectly natural given the situation. The Military Creation Act was under debate. The Senate has already proven to act too slowly to be of any real use in emergencies (re: the Naboo Blockade in TPM), so one of Palpatine's aides suggested to give the chancellor the capability to "cut through the crap" and take immediate action to save the Republic. By making it seem like something Amidala would do (even though it prolly wouldn't be, seeing as she's opposed to dictatorships), the goal of getting Jar Jar to THINK she would played him right into Palpatine's hands. Trying to be an opportunist and prove to Amidala he was capable, Jar Jar took the initiative without the forethought (which he doesn't have) to think of the longterm ramifications of his actions.

I love Star Wars.😀

 

[primetime]

yeah, it was Jar-Jar who basically got the Empire rolling, but it really isnt his fault. for some strange reason, i think Palpatine knew it all along. remember, it was because he was behind her assasination attempt, that the Jedi told her that she needed to go back to Naboo. she was going to vote against the military creation act. if she remained, good ol' Palpatine woul dhave never been able to get his supreme powers. Palpatine knew what he was doing. you dont get to be Emperor by being stupid. Jar Jar just fell into it like everyone else.

damn, i love this series.....

 

[Michigan J Frog]

I hate that fact that we have to wait so long for the next one myself.
As for Jar-Jar, the only thing I liked about him was when he said
"How Rude" my girlfriend and I both liked the way he said that.

Henry