PT Saga The First 20 Minutes of The Phantom Menace Set the Tone for the Saga

On my most recent rewatch of the Prequels, I was really wondering why I like them so much. What makes them stand out from the Originals and Rogue One, which are also incredible films. And the answer is in George Lucas's distinctive vision for this trilogy as a whole. Right out of the gate in the first 5 minutes of the trilogy, Lucas tells shows that the Prequels are Star Wars as we have never seen before.

In the Originals, the heroes would have tried to run away from the danger, and it would have been cool and exhilarating to see how Luke, Leia, and Han escape. However, in the Prequels, the Jedi are here, and they are at the top of their game and coming in to kick absolute ***. Instead of running, the answer to all problems in the first 20 minutes of TPM is simple: WHIP OUT THOSE LIGHTSABERS

Poison Gas? Killer robots? No problem, just UNLEASH Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan!



Ruler of an entire world held captive? No problem, just whip out the lightsabers.



Have to get past an entire army to escape? No problem. Lightsaber porn!



Even though this type of attitude is dialed back after the escape from Naboo, it really does a terrific job of establishing that the Prequels are a completely new era of action-oriented and innovative Star Wars filmmaking.

Thoughts?

 

The tone of the PT is lightsabers?

 

Lol.

I thought Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s first conversation set up the mythical tone of the film myself.

But the lightsabers first igniting within the gas indeed brings back memories.

 

No, the tone is that we are getting to see galactic civilization at its pinnacle and see how greed and corruption slowly manage to bring this utopian society down through the cracks beneath the surface.

So, it's two themes: one of glory and one of decay over time.

 

I like the way the Jedi are framed here, it's a nice inversion of your average "monster coming out of the fog" scene, to show just how powerful they are. And it echoes the opening of ANH.

 

For me, it was Qui-Gon sticking the lightsaber in the door, with the score hitting ("They are still coming through", "This is impossible!"). That's the moment that really sold the idea that 1) This is the age of the Jedi that Obi-wan talked about, and 2) Star Wars is back, baby. A Top 10 Star Wars moment for sure.

 

The tone of the PT is the friends we made along the way.

 

The naivety of Sidious giving the order to kill them. Hapless robots v 2 powerful Jedi..
Was he really holding his breath when he gave that order? Lol

 

Yes, all the scheming behind the scenes and trying to figure out if our heroes, the Jedi, will get through this. We know in the end it will be very sad, but how did it lead to the OT? It was enough to get all of our attention.

 

The First 20 Minutes of The Phantom Menace Set the Tone for the Saga

You just said a mouthful there.

 

Nute Gunray’s “This is Impossible!” always cracks me up.

The way he exclaims it, the sheer panic on his face. He is such a weasel, it’s glorious.

 

nah, it's easily the dullest opening of all the Lucas movies

 

It's odd-- On one hand, I feel that they crammed way too much stuff into too short a time, and yet, as you said, it still somehow manages to be dull. I think it might be because despite how much stuff they crammed in, they didn't bother to establish the characters, so I didn't really care about what was happening. Also, the antagonists are quickly proven to be completely ineffective, so while there's plenty of action, there's no sense of danger.

I disagree with the OP about it setting the tone for the saga, but I guess it did set the tone for the prequels. Unfortunately for me, that isn't a good thing.

 

... what? What do they cram in? it's like "Hello, can we get you coffee?" And then they sit down and have the dullest conversation ever,

 

I guess it depends on what you count as the opening. But within a very short time after the film starts, they go from being attacked on a federation ship, to running through a forest, to swimming to an underwater city, to riding a submarine, to arriving at the palace. Compared to the openings of the other movies, a lot happens across a lot of different terrains within a very short span of time, and yet, none of it really grabbed me. TROS had a similar problem. Generally, I think it works better to keep the opening simpler, let us get to know the surroundings and get invested in the situation before jumping around.

 

A New Hope accomplishes more tone setting in three minutes than any other Star Wars movie does at all.....

 

Like - I watch TPM and I think: wtf, this is directed by the same guy that directed ANH .


c'mon. seriously?

 

I really dislike the big clunky robes Jedi wear when in the midst of lightsaber flailing.

not only is it impractical, it just doesn't look good visually.

That's my useless contribution.

 

Against a bunch of cannon fodder battle droids, they can afford to wear the robes. But when Maul shows up itching to kill Jedi, the robes come off.

 

Nah, that would be The Empire Strikes Back

 

I always found that a bit comical myself,

"wait! before we begin, you mind if we just...?" -all parties starts to strip the extra weight-

so civilised.

 

It was a more civilized age...on the surface.

 

First of all, TPM is my favorite of the prequels, ESB is my favorite of the originals.

Save the hate for the film that deserves it, Return of the Ewoks.