The Nature of the Negative Criticism

So you're saying that the combination of bad editing, bad dialogue, and bad direction are not enough to ruin a film?! Good god.

Films have been ruined by one of those alone - the broad story means NOTHING if it is not told right!

Because it is a Star Wars movie, all rules of moviemaking have to be thrown out? I think not.

 

So you're saying that the combination of bad editing, bad dialogue, and bad direction are not enough to ruin a film?! Good god.

I am not saying this. What I am saying is that these elements, while weak at points, were not so bad overall as to bring the whole film down.

Bad editing, bad dialogue, and bad direction didn't bring the original STAR WARS down (I know everyone's tired of hearing this argument, but you can't deny that it is true). It was the thrust of the story which had us going back to the theater again and again. People have argued that AOTC doesn't have a story compelling enough to overcome its weak technical/dramatic aspects, but I disagree. The film had me riveted from the opening scenes to the last -- there's no way I can deny that feeling.

I concede that as fans, we have an emotional investment in the films already and are inclined to like them no matter what. How, then, would you explain the utter disappointment I felt upon seeing TPM for the first time? True, my opinion of the film became more positive as I came to appreciate its nuances, but the bad taste of that first screening never left me.

I take issue with the people who feel that TPM and AOTC have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and thus discount them completely as entries in the STAR WARS saga.

 

Wow. It's really interesting to come back and look at my old thread. I was so much more peaceful and controlled. Less than two months later, this forum has done little besides make me bitter, angry, and aggressive. How depressing.

 

I think, Darth Corky, you just need to find those threads that add to your experience of SW and leave the bashers to wallow in their own misery.

 

I doubt I can add much new here; there have been a lot of impassioned posts covering this from all sorts of angles. I do want to add my two cents on a few minor points, however...

(1) The criticism offered by a fan of almost anything needs to be put off in a special category... because a fan approaches the object of his/her "fandom" with a unique outlook. A fan has a special affection for something (in this case, the SW films/the SW universe), a special level of knowledge and understanding, a special connection, and yes, a special set of expectations. I think there are very few SW 'fans' who actually DISLIKED any of the films..they simply LIKED some more - maybe MUCH more - than others. Think this point often gets lost in the emotions this topic churns up.

(2) Criticizing some aspect of a film does not equate to trashing the film as a whole. I didn't care for Jar Jar very much, I found Anakin's "accidental" destruction of the control ship to be uninvolving and not convincing... but I loved Darth Maul's look, I thought Qui-Gonn was a great character, I found the closing lightsaber duel to be incredible, and I thoroughly enjoyed TPM. On first viewing of ROTJ, I found the Ewoks far too "precious", and I cringed when I heard Obi Wan explain that some things were true "from a certain point of view", but loved the loathsome Emperor, the revelation of just how clever, how truly EVIL, he was, and I thought the "salvation" of Vader was terrific. And in AOTC, I found the Anakin/Padme romance unconvincing, and some of their dialogue to induce chills, but I loved many other things about the film - the cloners, Dooku's stylish and civil villainy, Jango battling Obi Wan, the spectacular arena sequence, and, of course, butt-kicking Yoda. This is not an all or nothing proposition.

(3)It is totally unfair...but these movies will ALWAYS be judged against expectations...and often, those expectations will be unrealistic. For those of us who are real fossils, it is just not possible to forget the sheer MAGIC of those first three films, warts and all... the novelty, the new revelations (some made possible by increasing special effects technology, granted!), the seeming increasing complexity of the SW universe as it unfolded, the DEPTH added to the tale by the events in ESB and the end of ROTJ. Also recall that the world - remember, we are talking pre-Internet here! - was a LOT more spoiler-free; it was a LOT easier to be totally surprised if you really wanted to be. And a lot of folks want ALL that magic back here... even if that is absurdly impossible, because we (the older audience) are simply not in the same place we were when the first three came out. Even a child, seeing these movies today, does not really go in as a "tabula rosa" (SP? )....Yoda, Darth Vader, and company, have become part of the cultural landscape, as has SW in general. Please don't misunderstand me, I am NOT saying that TPM and AOTC are not magical; I am saying so many critics, and some fans, want this to be like their first kiss, all over again, each and every time. Could anyone EVER pull that off? *S*

Bottom line? I think there is enormous middle ground between being a "basher" and a gushing fan-boy (fan-girl just doesn't sound as insulting... ). And I think most of us occupy that middle ground... and can't wait for Episode 3 (although personally, I will see it with some melancholy..the end of SW?)...



Shadow

 

Well said Shadow