Would the PT have been better without Natalie?

I AM NOT ALONE!!!!!!! THANK THE MAKER!!!!!!

PEOPLE AGREE WITH MY VALID POINTS!!!!!!

I liked the bottled water comment, cause thats how I think she is exactly treating star wars. Look at her walk to anakin when he is outside the homestead...she walks in a straight line with no expression on her face...When she sees anakin meditating walks up, turns around walks away....when she kisses him....just sits there and takes it! No return NOTHING!

WHAT DOES ANAKIN SEE IN HER!

 

yet....I still buy it for the sake of the movie.....I love AOTC...but like them all...they have their faults.

Off to get lunch
take it easy guys!

 

I thought Natalie did a great job and she showed lots of emotion in certain scenes. I can't imagine the PT without her.

 

okay... can not diss Nat too much.. its not her fault. its Lucas's directing... Its not Over yet. just wait 3 more years... gah... whatever...

 

I don't like her because she was not a fan of Star Wars when she got the job for the Phantom Menace, and she still doesn't seem to like Star Wars all that much!

 

what the hell does being a starwars fan have to do with it? completeley irrelevant. it's not like that anakin guy was a great actor either.

 

Absolutely it'd be better!

 

the only GOOD actors in the whole series are ewan Mcgreggor (however it's spelled) and Harrison Ford

[a bit late -- 2 weeks -- in reply, sorry ...]

Alec Guiness.
Ian McDiarmid.
Christopher Lee.
Peter Cushing.
Liam Neeson.

I'd think these qualify as good actors.
And I'd say that they all did a good job.
Wasn't Alec nominated for an award (Oscar) for Obi-Wan?

 

Would the PT be better without Natalie Portman? YES YES a THOUSAND TIMES YES! What other actresses would've been better? Look, I'm an actor and famous or otherwise, there are lots of beautiful girls out there that can ACTUALLY ACT. It would have been great if GL had looked a little harder.

 

Would the PT have been better without Natalie? NO NO NO!! Leave her alone. God. there's still ep3. PLEASE. Go Pick on Jar Jar for godsakes. We havn't seen all of her acting in the star wars movies. Ep3 EP3

Just calm down... relax... breathe...

Yoda: feel the force around you. Yes... hmmmm.

 

She could have been better but I think many people are being way too harsh on her. I thought she was hit and miss throughout the film but her performance is good enough for me. If anything, it's GL's fault for considering her acting in said scenes (need I elaborate on them?) to be good enough when he could have gotten more. Oh well.

Between Hayden, Ewan, Lee, Oz (well I know he doesn't exactly count but hey!), McDriamid... I am more than satisfied/pleased with the acting in AOTC. I think there was a definite improvement between TPM and AOTC and if Lucas gets a similar improvement out of his actors, esp. Natalie please George, Ep3 will be fine.

 

You're right, the real problem with NP is GL's taste. But after seeing Ewan's scene with Dex in which he as an actor gives credibilty and history to his relationship with what is essentially a piece of tape on a blue wall in what was an expository scene, it's clear how much imagination is required of an actor to pull of the magic of digital cinema. NP may be a wonderful, sweet, and inteligent person. But an inspired actress, she is not.
This statement may be very unpopular, but I have found her work in these movies to be more objectionable than Jar Jar's.

 

Lucas had said it himself that he's not a very good director. DOn't blame Natalie... Lucas is the blame. Just wait til ep3 comes out and then you can judge... cause we haven't seen all of Padme's character yet...and it'll be very interesting what Natalie does with her role in ep3, yet its going to be very dark and sad-but tragic. So, y'know... heh..

 

I always thought that NP was too delicate for the role. Don't get me wrong, she is a lovely person to look, and she looks wonderful in all of the twenty or so costumes she wears (Well, except for that freakish black corset thing), but she doesn't seem to have any fire. Her voice is too high and childlike. When I watch AOTC, I get the feeling that she is not a strong senator falling in love, but a coquette. Now, I don't think the script dictates this. She seems very...flat. Like it's not really her. Just a cardboard cut-out that got animated by the FX department.

Yes, I think her acting is judged very leniently by all the fanboys who think she's the hottest thing since Leia and the iron bikini.

Well, that is my opinion. I sure y'all will just tear it to pieces now.

 

Perhaps. There are many talented (and beautiful) actresses out there - especially in England/Australia.

I think the PT would have been better if Natalie had tried harder and been more imaginative. She is not extremely bad, she has some good scenes - the meadow in particular, IMO - but in many other scenes she comes up short. She is just not very believable. She is great as HOT NATALIE PORTMAN, but not as wonderful role-model Padme.

I would like to defend GL a little, since many of you think that Ewan's and Hayden's good acting have nothing to do with him but Natalie's less-than-perfect acting does. Perhaps GL does not bring out the best in someone who is not trying hard. But IMO, he is trying to salvage the situation as intelligently as he can. He signed her up for the three films, even before she had seen the script (from TPM DVD). He found her acting to be lacking in TPM. So, in AOTC, he gives her the least on-screen time of the three principal actors, dresses her as gorgeously as humanly possible and truly utilizes her wonderful looks. As a result, she is visually stunning whenever she makes an appearance - each of her outfits elicits a drool response. She LOOKS so stunning in fact, that her acting can be glossed over, mostly. The cut scenes with Padme's family MAY have been cut because of her less-than-stellar acting and increased on-screen time. We don't know - perhaps the DVD will have them. Certainly a cut scene in TPM had a piece of truly horrible acting by her - GL even said that he cut it partly because of the acting.

So, Natalie is OK and AOTC is great - but I think if she had tried harder, we would have been in for a treat and the critics would have been kinder.

 

"So, Natalie is OK and AOTC is great - but I think if she had tried harder, we would have been in for a treat and the critics would have been kinder."

Agreed. And if Lucas hadn't edited the film to near death... sheesh, he better release an extended version of AOTC for the DVD like he did with TPM. At least I hope he does...

 

forever_jedi: What scene in TPM was cut for the acting, anyway?

I agree that the half dressed costuming causes many people to excuse the acting lapses. I've talked to so many guys who keep saying she did a wonderful job in AOTC, but all the details they give are: "She looked great. Yeah, she really looked hot. Acting? I didn't really notice that; I was looking at her [lack of] clothes. But I'm sure she did great. Man, she looked hot."

I'm hearing conflicting reports here. So, is Lucas just great at editing, even though he can't direct anything that isn't made of pixels? Or did he edit everything to death?

 

I think it's the "dawn before the race" sccene. It was pretty bad...

 

I thought she was great in AOTC. I agree it was somewhat hit or miss, but I personally think there were way more hits. The very first scene (the death of Corde') was really well done, and Natalie showed lots of emotion there. The confession scene and the arena scenes were also great. "I've been dying a little each day since you came back into my life" really worked for me.

As far as the inevitable Padme/Leia comparison goes, how about the scene on Tatooine when Padme insists that they save Obi-Wan? Definitely a spunky Leia-like moment there. Or the "aggressive negotiations" line in the arena? Or the "infamous" scene in the meadow where she's defending the Republic ("that's exactly what we do")? Slightly less sarcastic than Leia, sure, but not necessarily a bad thing IMO.

Last but not least, my perception of Padme is that she's the anti-Palpatine. She has dedicated her whole political career to helping people, and that's a major part of her character. And I totally buy that in AOTC.

Anyway, her performance worked for me - if it didn't work for you, I respect that (NOT )

 

Actually, I feel that if GL hadn't cut out some of Nat's scenes from the movie, she would have gotten a more positive response overall. Those deleted scenes really could have shown other parts of her character, and given her more depth and chances to prove her acting ability. However, because the scenes were deleted, most of her performance was during the romance scenes, which people didn't seem to be very fond of in the first place.

While ATOC may not be Nat's greatest performace ever, she did pretty good and seemed to fit the character. I don't see anything offensive about her performance, and certainly don't think it hurt the movie. And those that say that ppl who defend her performance based on Nat's looks are only refusing to hear the arguements on her behalf.

 

I didn't say that everyone was; I said that the majority of male fans that I spoke to who thought NP was hot said that her acting was wonderful because she was hot.

Offensive? Who said her performance was offensive? I want to know what they thought was offensive about it. I mean, she wasn't the next Ingrid Bergman or anything, but she wasn't that bad.... Or was it some ultra-conservative person who thought she should have stayed totally covered up like in TPM?

And personally, I hated the "aggressive negotiations" line. Too...coquettish. But I'm sure I'm the only person that thinks this way....

 

I wasn't attacking you personally, Lessa, its just that some ppl on this board have made that assumption and I don't want them jumping to conclusions.

Nobody has flat out said she was offensive, but some on this board seem to be leaning in that direction.

 

For all the people that say that Natalie's performance in the movie was terrible and that she can't act, I take a different approach to viewing things, since I'm somewhat of an actor (not professional, mind you, but I act).

You see, if a performer does a bad job onscreen, I don't blame the performer themself, I blame the DIRECTOR. I know, they're trying to make the best of the actors they have to work with, but COME ON. The blame is not solely upon the actor themselves. When an actor wins an Oscar, why do you think they thank their director?! Because the director directed them to a good performance! I have been in scenes onstage where I know how to improve a scene (or at least I think I do). I know of a better way to play the scene, but I get shot down by the director, because they want it the way they envision it. It's not Natalie's fault her character was dry. GL wanted the character of Padme acted a certain way, and that's how Natalie acted it, the way GL wanted her to!

If it were up to the actors how they wanted to act a scene, Hayden wouldn't have had to compromise with GL on the "confession" scene. The PT reeks of raw talent! Just WAIT until Ep.III (where I hope GL lets them loose emotionally).

Speaking of "The Flanneled One," I believe stories I've heard about GL not being good with directing actors. Cuz lets face it, I'm not calling George a bad director, but he may not be so gifted in steering an actor to an Oscar-worthy performance (even if he did do that exact feat with Sir Alec Guiness-R.I.P.-in ANH). Besides, the film that's regarded by critics as being the best of the saga is, ironically, the movie GL didn't direct...ESB.

 

Anyway, I love Nat Portman, and I can't imagine anybody else portraying Padme







ST

 

I don't think people forgive Natalie's acting just cause she looks hot. At least I don't. Kim Basinger is hot - I hated her in Batman and most other films. Julia Roberts is hot (according to some people, anyway) but I can barely stand to watch her in a film.
I think the worst you can accuse Natlie of is acting somewhat bland in the prequels, but maybe that's Padme's character. She spends most of the time hiding her emotions, but Episode III should finally see her cold exterior fully dissolve (I'm hoping, anyway). Really, the only scene of hers I didn't like in AOTC was when she half-heartedly hugged Dorme, but all her other scenes were at least adequate.
In a way, Natalie is a bit like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. Neither of them is gonna get nominated for an acting award, but they both look good and are convincing in the action scenes. That should be enough