PT Kevin Smith no longer likes the prequels?

Mods, hopefully having this in it's own thread is okay. I did a quick search and couldn't seem to find a thread it would fit into. If there is one that I am unaware of, please feel free to put this post in that thread....anyways, as for the topic:

It seems that after writing GLOWING reviews of all three prequels and defending them for years, even on national television via The Legacy Revealed documentary, he now appears to have completely changed his tune.

I recall back in late summer/early fall of 2014 after having visiting the TFA set, he seemed to start to shift his stance on them a little bit, while still maintaining he liked them, indicated that JJ's movie appeared to be a true return the magic that he hadn't experienced since he was a kid. Fine...fair enough.

Now that he has seen TFA and has released his video review of it (last month), he appears to make a few comments that he doesn't like the prequels anymore on this video:



The cringe worthy part of it all is he seems to be defensive about being "the guy who likes Phantom Menace", then states he recently re-watched the prequels and his only comments towards that experience is "yikes".

It's sad to me that this once proud guy who stood up for them, seems to have caved to the anti-PT group think sentiment and flipped his view on them 180 degrees.

Am I off base here saying he appears to not like them anymore based on the above youtube link? Or am I reading too much into it?

 

watching 40 minutes of someone I've never heard of review TFA is something I'm not going to do.

If he has caved in and doesn't like PT anymore...then his loss. They still exist, will always exist whether he likes them or not.

 

Talk about "view askew." Heh heh.

Seriously though, I don't know that much about Kevin Smith, but from what I used to know, his only redeeming quality to me as a filmmaker or public personality was his outlook on the prequels. Outside of that, he always seemed mean and his movies are weird. I just don't appreciate his art. He may be my least favorite writer/director.

 

Quite sad. He has succumb to Disney and has layed his soul to them now. He used to be the chosen one because he used to stick up for them but he has turned to the mouse side.

May we all be in silence of our fallen Brother, Kevin Smith.

"There's still good him" -Luke Skywalker.

 

I never found his "defense" overly impressive.. I believe his positions have more to do with maintaining a certain ambiguity as not to offend any section of the 'nerd market' or the industry itself. In general he's a yesman and a shill for the studios.. an occasionally entertaining shill.. but a shill nonetheless. He sensed the anti-PT hysteria associated with TFA marketing and just went with the flow. But even that he has done without backbone.. His "yikes" is something he can write off later if the market demands more ambiguity.

 

So

 

Just because I like Clerks and Mallrats doesn't mean I have to agree with everything.

 

omg seriously? a shill? he's anything but. you people gotta get out more.

 

*I* certainly never called him a shill. I know he's an independent filmmaker and he seems to go to great pains to swim against the current.

 

hey if he enjoyed them great and if he doesnt anymore than fine.. let's not let others opinions soil what we love or rain on our parade. he obviously fell in love with the OT-feel of Star Wars and TFA brought him back to that so he realized the prequels were not his thing anymore

 

Doesn't surprise me, last year on his lame Comic Book Men show he made a PT putdown, and he also stated the OOT is better than the SE. I always found Keven to be a blowhard, with some of the dirty stuff he said on Talking Dead I think he is quite inmature and a perv. Though I think he said something dirty to cover up the fact he could not think of something intelligent to say.

 

How does Kevin Smith's (or anyone else's for that matter) opinion of the PT affect your enjoyment or perception of them?

 

It doesn't. Well for me at least.

 

It was refreshing that we had a voice in the realm of nerdom that didn't hop on a bandwagon and just said his honest thoughts. Oh well, it was cool while it lasted.

 

So essentially "Oh , these are good movies you guys! W-what? They're making new ones!?" AH SCREW THIS CRAP!"

Disappointing. Shows how little integrity people have to stand by their word I guess.

 

Me neither, never even seen any of his films.

 

I think Smith tends to have an overly emotional reaction to every movie he ever saw. I remember him doing a two plus hour podcast on the splendor of The Dark Knight Rises, too. I'm guessing now that the general consensus is that the film is "lacking", Smith would also back away from the praise he heaped upon it. Same with Man of Steel. It's what he does.

 

I dont particularly dislike him, but he's a nerd media shill. He tends to be a bit better (ie more opinionated) on his podcast than on his TV shows and 'at large', where he is 100% panderer, IMO

Standard post you see whenever anybody brings up a public figure's opinion.. It misses the point.. The subject is worthy of discussion in and of itself for completely different reasons than how it impacts one's own opinion.

How does the OP creating this thread affect your enjoyment or perception of Kevin Smith?

 

I'm a fan of Kevin Smith, have been since I first saw Chasing Amy back in the '90s, and it doesn't surprise me one bit to see him seemingly changing his view of the PT.

You're talking about a guy who doesn't even stand by his own films once they've recieved criticism. Seriously, he's always taking shots at Jersey Girl which is actually a great little flick that was roundly (and unfairly) trashed largely because it starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at the hight of the whole "Bennifer" thing.

So really I'm just surprised that his support of the prequels lasted this long.

 

I will say this. I like Kevin Smith, but he seems to be desperate for the love of all Geekdom. As I recall, he liked TPM when it came out and unless he changed his mind (for example, came to the realization that he was just defending it becuase he WANTED to like it or something), he should have the guts to stick to his guns. I think TPM was a very mediocre film, but I know some here love it, and I admire that they stick to loving it despite the weight of opinion against them. If Smith actually likes TPM, he should say so. If he changed his mind, he should say why.

 

Here's the relevant quote from Kevin Smith's TFA review:

"Some people be like 'Hey, I remember you reviewed the prequels and you were like Phantom Menace is just right next to Empire in that order'. Let's address that, let's address that before we go further. I'm not back-peddling at all by any stretch of the imagination but, ladies and gentlemen, I subscribe to the 'if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you with', you know what I'm saying? So, we weren't getting any more Star Wars movies, that was the Stars Wars movie, and it was made by the Star Wars master himself George Lucas so, I--you know--I was fine with them, you know if that was the only Star Wars we were gonna have, that's it, man. But this, Force Awakens, this is the Star Wars movie we were all hoping for back then. It is absolutely fun and so canonical it's crazy, man. Let's dive into it, but I just wanna put that up front because a lot of people are like '**** you, you liked Phantom Menace' and stuff like that. To be fair I recently re-watched the whole prequel trilogy before going to see this and... [pulls funny face]...yipes"

 

I think that's a bit of a weak reply. I mean, I get the "love the one you're with" comment. I certainly do that for TPM, which despite my feelings, I watch every year.... It's Star Wars, after all! But to put it up there next to Empire (I assume he ranks Empire second)? That implies he REALLY LIKED IT. That's cool if he did. And I agree with him that TFA is much better than the PT! But I never said that any PT was "up there with Empire" either. I do think Sith is about even with Jedi for me.

 

The shroud [of the dark side] has fallen, I guess... Still, who cares?

 

It's funny that he is using the analogy "love the one you are with" now, but he certainly didn't seem to be using that analogy back then. He seemed the heap unbridled love for them back then and even went out of his way to defend them in public. He ESPECIALLY loved ROTS. Now it seems as if he can't be bothered to at least single out ROTS as the "good one" at the VERY LEAST. Just like the rest of the haters, he now seems to be lumping them all three together under the "Phantom Menace" category, which is a sad state of affairs to me.

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Exactly. You don't need anyone else to validate your opinions.

I love TPM from beginning to end. Do I care if anyone else does? Of course not! Even if everyone else on planet Earth hated the movie it wouldn't spoil my enjoyment for even a second.