The Phantom Menace is better than Episode 2

I'm puzzled at that one. Qui-Gon lied, cheated, and stole. This is your idea of the ideal Jedi?

Didn't you watch the OT, TJ? Those guys were the image of honesty

 

Yeah, AOTC is embarrassing. The obvious problems lie in the script and with preproduction. A great deal of time was spent making the designs of TPM come together. It really shows. Doug Chiang did such a fine job. TPM is a triumph of design.

 

Its really hard for me to pick which of the two films I like better, since I like them both extremely well.

 

It really puzzles me that there are quite a few people who hate ROTJ (and TPM and AOTC).

 

AOTC is embarressing??? WTH?

It's a great modern matinee movie (just like the rest of the Saga and Indiana Jones).

 

I agree AOTC follows the Saturday Matinee Serial mold but it's not that good IMHO. The love story in terribly underdeveloped and presumptuous, and the dialogue is atrocious. On the other hand the Tusken Slaughter, the battle for Geonosis, and Yoda vs. Dooku were the saving graces of the film. The soundtrack is beautiful and haunting too and I like it very much.

Still I think TPM is much better. Liam Neeson's performance was commanding and the underlying political corruption theme was brilliant. Visually TPM is the most attractive of all the episodes. Darth Maul is the coolest bad guy since DV and DOTF may be the best sword fight scene in cinema history.(I've done 2 different polls in the past and it's won both times)

It's a weird phenomenon here in the JC. If you like TPM you didn't like AOTC. If you liked AOTC you don't like TPM. There doesn't seem to be a lot of fans who like them equal.

 

i don't think so, i like them equally (well in diferent way) and I see everyday that i'm not the only one!...

 

I don't like them equally, but I do not dislike either film. I like TPM a lot and I freakin LOVE AOTC.

 

10. The Jedi Council.. The council were remote, by the book and mysterious EXACTLY WHAT THEY SHOULD BE. They should be the elders, the overlords, the ones who tell the jedi off for doing things wrong, and give them guidnace. THIS IS COOL. in ep2 they FIGHT!!! im sorry, they should be past that be now. The Jedi should have some other purpose (suggested inTPM) like gaining some universal knowledge, pondering things and generally being monk like and all knowing. They shouldn't exist to make more jedi - power for the sake of power. They should comand enough respect by sitting down and giving an order "No, he will not be trained". Going into action SHATTERS the myth. Ep1 got this right. Ep 2 didnt.

I don't know where you got this from. GL always said Jedi are supposed to be reminicent of Samurai...not like monks...

 

(earlchinna's post)

"i don't think so, i like them equally (well in diferent way) and I see everyday that i'm not the only one!.."


I don't think so earlchinna, seems to me you're in the minority on this one!!

 

I really don't agree, everyone has a prefered film, but that doesn't mean one cancel the other, I don't there is a "war" between the 2!

 

That's not what's being said. No one said it cancels out the other if you like one episode better than the other. I love the OT better than the PT. I like ANH better than ESB and ROTJ but I like ROTJ better than ESB. Does that mean I cancelled any of those episodes out? NO.

I've read every post here and you and one other user are the only ones to mention a "war."

People are merely stating they like TPM better than AOTC, or vise versa. It's perfectly acceptable to feel that way. If you like them equally, unusual as it is, then great.

 

It really puzzles me that there are quite a few people who hate ROTJ (and TPM and AOTC).

We are in an age where you can be dubbed a "hardcore Star Wars fan" even if you consider TESB to be the only good movie in the series (yes, that includes hating ANH as well). Now that's puzzling.

 

Unlike many fans on the boards, I have no problems with the general narrative flow, pacing, individual character arcs, and George's direction of AOTC. I also think that Hayden Christensen is effective in the role of Anakin ( he is certainly adequate for the most part, and really shines in certain scenes ), Ewan McGregor is great, and Ian McDiarmid is superb as usual. I agree with some other posters, that Natalie Portman gives quite a flat performance, but I don't really have any problems with her in the role. I understand that George is consciously making the actors hold back their performances, so as not to make the films overly melodramatic.

Having said all of this, I think that AOTC is the weakest of the five existing films, for a number of different technical reasons. I am really annoyed at the way large sections of the score from TPM are used during the final reel, and other tracks that Williams wrote specifically for AOTC are horrendously edited and almost butchered beyond recognition. I also feel that some of the editing ( especially in the duels ) does seem very sloppy, and because it is so rough, it creates all sorts of continuity errors and a "choppy" kind of feel to many of the scene transitions. For instance, in the edit between the two establishing shots of Anakin and Padme at the meadow, the two characters appear to "jump" across the frame, from one shot to the next. It just looks visually awkward. In the Anakin vs Dooku duel, Obi Wan seems to disappear from the floor in one of the wide shots.
I also think that much of the blue/green screen work in the film looks very obvious, when compared to the work in TPM. This may be down to the digital format, but some of the scenes in AOTC, like the scene on Geonosis, where Obi Wan tries to send a transmission to Anakin ( with the mountainous backdrop ), look very flat and obviously fake.

It's a shame, because I think that apart from these minor technical flaws, which make the film seem somewhat sloppy and rushed, it is actually a really great film. The core story is brilliant, and it has a nice dark edge. Many of the action scenes are breath taking, and it's nice to see the characters becoming more like their classic trilogy older selves.

But I definitely agree that TPM is superior. It is expertly crafted, visually stunning, elegantly paced, well acted ( I think Liam Neeson is superb ), and it has something of a timeless quality to it. When I watch it now, it just seems more like a Star Wars film to me, than AOTC.

 

I personally like AOTC better than TPM. Though, the TPM is excellent.

 

"The love story in terribly underdeveloped and presumptuous, and the dialogue is atrocious."

What's so atrocious about it?The dialogue is very intimate and raw and it's very shaksperian,which is the template GL used for the romance.It's not your modern day romance,you have to think of it in terms of the middle ages(hince the use of m'lady through-out the film)to completely understand it.

"Still I think TPM is much better. Liam Neeson's performance was commanding and the underlying political corruption theme was brilliant."

God,I'm happy to see TPM finally getting the credit it deserves."It brings warm feelings to my heart."I love TPM(2 favorite SW chapter)but I'm afraid even it's brillance can't compete with the sheer emotional poignancy and breathtaking action of AOTC.But it's still great in it's own right.

"It's a weird phenomenon here in the JC. If you like TPM you didn't like AOTC. If you liked AOTC you don't like TPM. There doesn't seem to be a lot of fans who like them equal."

That is an odd behaviroal trait that I've observed also.It's like the fans of each movie have made a solemn pact to never make a flattering remark about the other.It's a shame really because they're both marvalous films.

Here's my obligatory rankings btw:

AOTC
TPM
ANH/ESB
ROTJ

 

"It's a weird phenomenon here in the JC. If you like TPM you didn't like AOTC. If you liked AOTC you don't like TPM. There doesn't seem to be a lot of fans who like them equal."
that's what you said bobafrank, but let me say that here, the question is not to like them equally, because every sw is different and every body has a sort of ranking, preferences...but it doesn't mean you DON'T LIKE aotc if you like tpm or vice-versa, it means you prefer tpm, and that's normal that there are preferences...so the fact is not to love them equally, but to love one a little better than the other, which is really different

 

The Phantom Menace felt like "a day in the life of a Jedi" and that makes the movie great in my eyes.

Atack of the clones was a great movie, but the ending dual was lame and Geonosis had some realy bad cgi, spesialy when Gunray is shot at, the background looks like a cardboardbox.

edit:I like them both,in different ways.

My list:

1-ESB
2-AotC
3-ANH/RotJ/TPM

 

I prefer Attack of the Clones over The Phantom Menace, but as the cliche goes, I like 'em both.

 

Well i love phantom menace but after seing attack of the clones is hard for me to choose Phantom over clones but my favorite part besides Luke i am your father and the big upset of bobbas death in episode 6 is Qui gon and Obi fighting Darth Maul now thats the most 5 minutes exicement in my life when that due staret i was drooling in the theatre and in my t.v when i bought the dvd. So i pick both.....Darth Maul::washing off drool::

 

We are in an age where you can be dubbed a "hardcore Star Wars fan" even if you consider TESB to be the only good movie in the series (yes, that includes hating ANH as well). Now that's puzzling.

I'm unaware of any such trend.

 

I'm unaware of any such trend.

Then perhaps you've never been here before. There are a few who consider TESB and the EU to be the only good things to come out of Star Wars.

Of course, that was a few months ago, and I don't know what's happening there now, nor do I care. I ditched that place as soon as I found the TFN boards. :/

 

I agree with Darth-Walken.
I like all the Star Wars movies, but some better than others.
I must say though, that TPM is film technical much better than AOTC (IMO). TPM had great editing, great visuals and designs, and I just loooove Liam's performance.
IMO, AOTC's flaws are that the story doesn't do enough to continue the events from TPM, and the editing was a bit weak. Some of the dialogue is horrible indeed, but that doesn't bother me much. The lovestory isn't that great either, but works for me.

I think TPM is a better movie, but I enjoy AOTC a lot more, because it's darker and has more action.

 

"The Phantom Menace felt like "a day in the life of a Jedi" and that makes the movie great in my eyes."

yes I really agree with that! There is this feeling of everydaylife in tpm, that's great, I truly consider it as a beautiful gift from Lucas to his fans, this is one of the reasons why I love this movie