PT TPM underrated

I find that a lot of kids these days love the elements of OT SW, but struggle to actually sit down and watch the films. They've grown up in an instant world and they can't wait around for anything. You see it in all areas these days. You can't have a 30 second break in a sports game without music, dancing or whatever. Stimulation is needed at all times! It'll be interesting to see how this generation of children see those films when they get a bit older. There are a lot of classic old films that I couldn't stand as a kid but which I can now appreciate.

I think TPM is generally "rated" about right. Some people loathe it and make a lot of noise about the fact, and some people absolutely love it and defend it to the hilt. Most people I know see it as a fairly entertaining, if somewhat flawed, piece of entertainment and I tend to agree with them.

 

Yes, but are the prequels any more frenetic than the OT? There are long stretches in TPM and AOTC with nary an explosion.

If children do in fact enjoy the PT more--and I wouldn't know, as I have no exposure to them--then it's probably because they're more exotic.

 

Kids these days dont sit down to watch an old black & white disney cartoon movie do they?

The new generation of kids would much rather watch the colourful enviroment and computer animated characters of modern day cartoon movies. Modern day technology helps to stimulate our senses in a much more powerful way, such is also the case with PT vs OT.

 

I do not think TPM is underrated.

That movie received exactly the criticism it deserved, and had it not been a Star Wars film but just any other sci-fi film and had I not been a Star Wars fan, I would not have watched it more than that one time in the theatre.

In my oppinion it is simply not a good movie. True I enjoy the podrace and the swordfights and the locations, but I have to be honest and say that it is only because it expands the Star Wars universe. A universe that I love.

 

Eye candy doesn't equal good film. It's a lesson many filmmakers would do well to remember. Part of this is why I scoff at the idea of aiming any film with serious content towards children, because sooner or later, the writers and director, due to a fear of losing profits due to their targeted demographic being more attracted to explosions, scantily-clad women (or men, if it's Twilight ), and CG sets, will make these very inclusions as demographic bait.

 

Unfortunately, I know quite a few adults who have an aversion to black and white films.

Setting aside the fact that there were no feature-length B&W Disney films, the disparities between Snow White and The Princess Frog--writing style, narrative construction, characterization--are far more stark than that which divides the PT and the OT (which I would argue primarily deals with breadth).

Would a child flip over the Pod Race? Absolutely. But I can't see how the Trench Run or Speeder Bike Chase would fail to capture their interest, either.

 

My son (3 1/2) likes all three equally... but he likes the lightsaber fights even more.

 

The action sequences in the OT would no doubt still be enjoyed by kids of all ages. Maybe the difference is the lack of visual stimulation in the non-action scenes. Even in some of the explosionless sections of the PT, there's a fair bit going on on-screen from what I can recall.

 

There was a definite coolness ramp up in TESB -- from the Tauntauns and Wampa to the entire Bespin segment -- not to mention Dagobah and Yoda -- that didn't translate to the box office, but ultimately the OT sequel raked in huge amounts of revenue from the toy and clothing industry, and earned Lucas rave reviews for an intense story line and brilliant FX.

Jabba's Castle in ROTJ, with all its surprises, and the heroic finale (even Ewoks, a kid favorite) branded more than one generation forever to the SW universe, and left us wanting for more.

TPM attempted to evolve the OT SW universe, blending the successes of the OT -- kid friendly with lots of action -- along with new digital technology FX. It accomplished all of that with a stellar box office take, despite a luke warm reception by most critics and many OT fans -- self included, yet I saw the film five times in two weeks, a first for me.

Yes, the PT inevitably grew on us 'old' SW fans, and yet despite all of its excessively knit picked faults, TPM successfully set the boundaries for many new PT experiences. It also disappointed, as with the too early departures of Jinn and Maul. I for one craved more from these two characters. I will never forgive Lucas for destroying Maul, and will bear a near eternal grudge for killing Jinn.

As each PT movie unfolded, they were for me fun and entertaining. The 'buzz' from fans immediately afterward was overwhelmingly positive, even though critics remained distanced, reacting almost as if they had dated an old flame, wondering -- "what I'm seeing now is not quite what I had fantasized over for the past 16 years."

But the bonds of familiarity remained, and grew stronger. We felt the embers of the flame felt the first time we had that OT SW experience, leaving us wanting for more after the TPM credits rolled.

In that alone, TPM succeeded.

 

I always liked The Phantom Menace. I understand the criticisms, but it felt right to me from the beginning.

 

Podrace. Darth Maul.

Nuff said.

 

Well done. You've identified two major problems with TPM that made it little more than eye candy sandwiched between a nonsensical and incongruous political plot.

 

I like eye candy sandwiches. Maybe the political plot is the major problem?

 

The whole thing is the problem. The political story shot itself in the foot by being ridiculously illogical, but the podrace was completely unnecessary and Darth Maul was an astoundingly useless character. They're endemic of what became a truly mindless movie.

 

The naked truth about prequel criticism.

 

Well done. You've belittled someone else's subjective tastes.

 

I don't consider TPM to be a truly mindless movie. There is lots of stuff out there that is mindless. I don't think TPM fits that description.

 

I second the bafflement over the whining about the political plot being "incomprehensible". It's not that complicated and it's not difficult to understand. I also thought it was quite interesting, and having the very cool McDiarmid at the center was great.

I was, however, put off by the infantile scatological humor in the film. The farting, the stepping in ****, "deep doo doo"... it just didn't work, especially when juxtaposed with the interesting political maneuverings.

Having said that, I quite like the film and think it's better overall than AotC. Liam Neeson is quite good at the center of the film. (I don't get the "Qui-Gon is boring" whines - I thought he was a compelling and interestingly flawed character. Oh, he's not a colorful stereotype, boo hoo hoo.)

Another thing that's hard to fathom are the claims that it's one of the worst movies ever made. It's not even remotely close to that. One of the most disappointing, to some, maybe, but worst ever?

 

One thing that keeps me interested in the film is that even within the bounds of the cycle I really can't think of anything else that feels quite like TPM to me. It's a weirdly enthralling space adventure mishmash that contains elements of political intrigue, juvenile humor, fairly tale elements (young wistful queen) and blatantly science fictional ones (Midi-chlorians). It feels more like a prologue or even standalone Star Wars tale when compared to the frenetic and dour Episodes II and III or the grounded, lived-in passages of the OT such as Luke's farm life or Han pounding away at the Falcon's inner workings. TPM is the kind of film that can offer some wonderfully ruminative moments such as Kenobi and Jinn talking of duty while they overlook a city bathed in waning sunlight, while later on unapologetically (to the dismay of many) throws the proverbial kitchen sink when it comes to presenting the Gungans in a manner that is hard to believe the director intended to come across as anything other than sheer comic absurdism. Visually it sticks out to me as well. I can't think of many other films that captured such an effectively gorgeous balance between the old school and CGI ages of effects.

TPM won't give you the snappy/cool exchanges of Serenity and Star Trek 09 (can you imagine Padme bragging about her commendable oral aptitude?), or the familiarity and accessibility of Avatar, or the grimness of Battlestar Galacticia and Terminator. Like I said before, I don't even think it offers quite what the rest of Star Wars does. That's not to see that uniqueness equals perfection, but overall I'd be lying if I didn't say that even while acknowledging TPM's flaws I feel like the film stands out amidst its genre.

 

Great post! I have to say this sums up alot of what i feel as well. I have always enjoyed TPM, and it works as a stand alone movie just as ANH does, a result of them being the first episode of their respective trilogy of course; but still, it feels much more like a complete experience to me when i sit down and watch TPM, compared to when i watch AOTC or ROTS.

 

It's not that the politics are difficult to understand, its that they defy and spit in the face of logic and common sense. Why would the Republic legalize the Trade Federation's invasion upon the delivery of a treaty? Why didn't the Viceroy start pointing fingers after he got caught? Why does Naboo even need the Trade Federation? They look ridiculously wealthy and the Palace has that generator room that looks like it could power the universe. Are you telling me that they'd shut down completely after imports are stopped for, at most, one week? We're told that the invasion has caused famine and widespread death, but outside the Queen's staff and some security personnel, we never see these citizens. Also, the children seen celebrating at the end look like the children of Renaissance-era Venetian nobles. They look wealthier than most on Coruscant, so unless the entire planet is full of impoverished patricians, George Lucas really dropped the ball on this one.

Qui-Gon is just as much a cookie-cutter wise man as ever. "Feel don't think." Well, it's damn sure he didn't do any of that annoying thinking business. Instead of going through that insane bet-within-a-bet with Watto that freed Anakin from his clutches, he could have EASILY sold the Queen's yacht, bought a cheaper freighter, and left. Plus, the windfall from that ship's sale could have paid for Anakin and Shmi's release if he really thought it necessary. Instead, he gets suckered in by Watto's older-than-dirt sales pitch and podracing eye-candy ensues. Qui-Gon really is no fan of parsimony. If Obi-Wan and Panaka, the two most logical guys on the ship, had been sent out, they would have been off Tatooine before Maul landed.

TPM is no Twilight, Heaven's Gate, Plan 9 from Outer Space, or any of the worst films ever made, but that doesn't stop it from being a substandard film.

 

Check it out, it's Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. Didn't know he really existed.

Take it easy now. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Strilo edit: Please don't make comments like this about other fans. Discuss the films, not the fans.

 

Based on the politics I read about in the papers, the story would be far less plausible if they were making logical, rational decisions.

But we're not allowed to talk about all of that...

 

If you can't refute the points resort to insults?

I think even Lucas would agree that there are problems with the movie but it would be bad publicity for him to make his thoughts public.

 

Well I guess pineapple-flavored jellybeans aren't exactly as gross as earthworm, or earwax-flavored jellybeans either. I mean, at least the booger flavored jellybeans actually tasted like boogers. And snozzberry? Who ever heard of a snozzberry?