The Phantom Menace THE MOST FUN?

I will say this much:

I do find myself pining for Jar Jar a little as Revenge of the Sith gathers pace. Once Anakin makes his pledge and the film turns dark, TPM seems like a distant memory - a happier time that's gone forever. I do think the prequels scale remarkably well, and like it or lump it, TPM's more whimsical tone (albeit with dark undercurrents) is vital in their ability to do so.

 

actually, i'd probably attribute more of it to internet piracy. consider this. for all of the star wars fans, those of us who are actually in this site, we've probably gone to see each of the PT movies several times at the movies. if you look at the box office haul from each of the three movies, you'll see that there is a considerable gap between TPM and the others. also, i think that there is perhaps something missing in eps 2 & 3 that TPM still had. TPM still had that "rough around the edges" feel/look to it. you'll notice a GRAND difference in the filming/photography in the two films. AOTC and ROTS had WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY more CGI, which detracts from the smaller aspects of the story telling, IMHO, and TPM still had the feel of a small story that would inevitably affect the entire universe. it has more emotion, feeling, etc. the last two, while visually stunning and crisp, were missing that "farmboy/smuggler/rogue princess" feel. TPM still has that, and it is not OVERDONE with the CGI. that's just my opinion though.

however, let me acknowledge both points and agree that both could also be the case of the box office returns.

 

I agree that TPM had a very distinct, actually, very pleasing feel and look about it...as far as how the movie looked. I guess I feel like CGI is not my fav, but for some things like Coruscant it seems to work out pretty well, and not seem too distracting. I think the real problem is when you start CGIng things you could have done other ways, like Geonosis or Clone Troopers, but whatever, that is sort of Lucas's thing.

I guess like many things TPM will always be a subject that brings about different opinions. I have to say, I was SOO into the tone and style of ROTS, I never once wanted more Jar Jar, and I hated his scenes in AOTC, I think his antics should have stayed in TPM. The Senate is NOT the place for "dellow felligates".

I think it is interesting that so many people here like it so much, I was kind of under the impression that it was generally disliked, oddly enough, in most circles I end up defending it, as I still enjoy it on some level. But like I said, for me it ranks just above the Holiday Special on the list of any Star Wars property ever, TV or Film.

 

Great post. I know what you mean. Visually TPM is great. Bright, fun,energetic, Darth Maul etc. For me still the worst movie but I still love watching it.

Also I think your sense of realisum is unique.

 

The Phantom Menace was the First Star Wars Movie i liked, I got hooked on the Story the plot the whole idea, I loved it then i was able to go back and watch the Classic Trilogy and not be completly bored below i will list my Favorites.
1. Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith=When i saw this movie it became my Fave movie of all time!
2. Episode 1 The Phantom Menace=This movie got me into Star Wars, Qui Gon Rules!
3. Episode 2 Attack of the Clones=Very Underrated, I actually dig the Love story!
4. Episode 6 Return of the Jedi=My Favorite OT movie Better Light Sabre action then the other's
5. Episode 5 Empire Strikes Back=Good movie in Farthering the Characters, Good plot
6. Episode 4 A New Hope=This movie had Old Ben in it and had a nice little plot going on.


My major problems are as followed
1.Episode 1=Qui Gon Jinn is supposed to be 2nd only to Yoda with a Light Sabre yet losses to Darth Maul on a cheap move, The story drags a little bit as well.
2.Episode 2=No Qui Gon Jinn is seen while yoda is meditating, Obi Wan Gets Owned By Dooku too fast, Its a little slow paced.
3. Episode 3=I loved this movie ...if i had to pick something to dislike it would be again No Qui gon jinn who in my opinion is important to show in Spirit form and i wish they would have included it on the DVD.
4.Episode 4=This movie was a little slow and in my opinion there wasnt enough action and the Plot was a little thin.
5.Episode 5=I thought Han Solo Should have died in this movie, that would have made this movie a classic and it would have moved up to #2 on my Favorites list
6.Episode 6=A whole Empire gets beat by little Ewoks? Millions of troops,Ships all get beat by some little Ewoks....I would have liked to see maybe Vader take on the Emperor with a little Sabre action , maybe Luke and his Father V.S. Palpatine.

 

I honestly dont know if I would like TPM much if not for the fact that I was a Star Wars fan. I mean, I am sure I would still enjoy it to a certain degree, but I am one of those people who either really gets into something or sees it once and more or less lets it go.

But I guess it is good that Star Wars is varied, and perhaps people are a little harsh on it, especially fans BECAUSE of how important it is to us. I mean, lots of other intellectual properties have elements that are not as loved or popular, but they dont get bashed in the same way. Maybe part of having such a broad and diverse universe is having some parts that dont agree with you. I think I was just not ready to have criticisms for Star Wars, because in all honesty, I would not change a single thing about the OT, literally nothing. So TPM kind of was a kick in the head, though again, I do appreciate it and am glad it was made.

 

Man I hate when people say that.

FACT: the Ewoks didn't destroy the Empire. The Rebellion did. And Vader took out the Emperor.

The Ewoks helped the Rebels win a ground battle against a small Imperial Battallion that had been stationed on the Endor moon to guard the Shield Generator. Which resulted in a squad led by Han Solo blowing up the aforementioned generator.

The Rebel Fleet led by Lando, Wedge and Ackbar destroyed the Death Star and the Executor.

I don't recall seeing any Ewoks piloting x-Wings or commanding the Rebel Capital Ships. Nor do I remember seeing Chief Chirpa lob the Emperor down the Reactor Shaft.

 

The Phantom Menace is not my favorite but...

QUI-GON JINN is Awesome, hes my favorite Jedi, and the reason TPM is high on my list of the Star Wars movies.

Ewoks didnt even beat the stormies, they DISTRACTED them, they didnt win at all. Ewoks are cool though.

 

Interesting topic. I can see where you're coming from with TPM being 'fun'. It always surprised me that Menace received so much criticism from fans. To me (though it's my least favourite film) it seemed the one that most retained the spirit of the OT out of the prequels. It has that glossy 'space adventure' feel to it, with comfortable locations such as Naboo and though there's a villain, everything is still relatively safe. It isn't anywhere near as dark as Clones or Sith.

Though there is something lacking in the fun side. The originals had the amusing banter between characters (Han and Leia, anyone?)even in ESB which was the darkest of the OT. Clones and even the beginning of Sith had the humorous dialogue between Obi-Wan and Anakin. This isn't present in the Phantom Menace. Had the film focused more on the relationship between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn (not vital to the saga, but still) we might have had something. Instead, it's aimed more at children so the humour changes. We have to endure Jar Jar Binks running around and gabbling nonesense as the comedic high point of the film, which anyone over the age of ten won't enjoy if they have a grain of maturity.

But I do agree there is a fun element in Menace. The galaxy is still safe (more or less) and the storyline has a very linear sequence with everything (virtually) wrapped up comfortably at the end. This doesn't happen in AOTC or ROTS (if you're looking at them in order).

 

i say that the Phantom Menace. i'd still remember when TPM first came out. the Promos, Video Games... i sure miss those days.

 

I hear you. Nothing compares to that Spring/Summer of 1999 when everything was Star Wars.

TPM will always be my favorite of the saga.

 

yeah, i remembver that summer like it was yesterday. yyou had promos every day, you had people waiting in line, anticipating the movie that would explain how their favorite characters came to be. the commercials for action figures for Mace Windu, Legos, Etc...
i'd say that was the best summer i ever had the pleasure to get.

 

...everyone is entitled to their opinion. But when I hear people say that TPM is their favorite, well I am just baffled. It makes me rethink my criticisms of Lucas, because it obviously the fanbase is really diverse so he could NEVER have made everyone happy I guess.

 

To be honest, I'll admit to having pirated RoTS the day after I saw it in the theatres. (That probably won't make me the most popular person around, but I'm not going to pretend I didn't.) I did the same with AoTC. There were a couple of shots in the films that I wanted to be able to pause to look at closer. Those Garbage Screeners were NO substitute for seeing the films in the theatre. I never watched the pirated version all the way through and returned to the theatre to see AoTC a few times (Twice the day it came out) and also payed to see RoTS three times total. I didn't pirate TPM and only saw it once in the theatre. I also purchased the AoTC and RoTS DVD's shortly after release.

My point is not trying to condone piracy, but use it to suggest that piracy probably did not affect the Box Office draw a very noticeable amount. In no way did having a pirated copy dictate how many times I would see it in a theatre. If someone pirated the movie in lieu of seeing it at the theatre, I would guess that they didn't care about STar Wars enough to go to the showhouse anyway.

Carnage

 

I mean to be honest, its not like lots of people did not go. And LUCAS has ****loads of money so whateves

 

Piracy definitely affected the box office of AOTC and ROTS, there's no denying it. That and the quicker DVD releases. TPM was still playing at theaters eight months after its release! AOTC and ROTS were both on DVD long before that time. That's why the "worst" prequel earned the most at the box office.

As for TPM being more fun, I don't really see it. The last half hour of AOTC and the first half hour of ROTS have more fun than the whole of TPM. TPM does have a more childlike perspective, though, for better or worse.

 

Loved the Phantom Menace when it first came out. Loved When it was released on VHS. Loved it when it was released on DVD. I even watched it tonight. Guess what? I still love it.

 

In my opinion The Phantom Menace followed the original Star Wars template the best.
AOTC and ROTS jumped from scene to scene way too much. ROTS is still my favourite out of the PT but TPM feels more like Star Wars to me.

 

yeah. Phantom Menace kinda had the "ANH" look to it. it was a good movie to get our kids into Star Wars.

 

In some ways I do agree that it might be a good movie for kids, but I am not a kid, so I dont know. But I think like I said, I have to be happy that so much of Star Wars has generally been enjoyable to me. I would say that TPM is the only thing on TV or Film to ever really offer signifigant dissapointment. And really, that was ONLY because of Jar Jar. But he was just so present that even scenes that I would have enjoyed I cant watch. I also notice that I dont really see that many people that liked 1 but hated Jar Jar, so maybe there is a connection there as well. But I may have just missed these people.

 

I would actually have cut some moments of Jar Jar out:

- The "icky, icky goo" moment.

- The camera focusing on Jar Jar as he walks out of Watto's junk shop and momentarily doesn't know which way to go.

- The entire gag about Jar Jar getting electrocuted by Anakin's pod's energy binders and getting his hand caught in the engine.

- The "pee yousa" fart gag.

Without these moments, all of which occur on Tatooine, the film snaps along and we are spared four strained moments of humour (two of which involve a type of humour that the film is often slated for). Jar Jar is still extensively involved in the film but would no longer have as many moments where he is the main focus. He is suddenly an organic part of the film in all its locales. I think better editing would have served TPM immeasurably well. (Note: I do not advocate things like "The Phantom Edit" which go to absurd lengths and destroy the beautiful tapestry of the film).

 

Please cut down or remove the scene were Jar Jar accidently destroys 3 battledroids.

 

Now, see, I don't personally mind that so much. It's not like Jar Jar takes them out with his bear hands. His clumsiness has a positive impact on the saga here (as it does throughout the film). It reinforces a positive theme - even if it's too rich for most people (and I appreciate that it is). The moments I listed, however, are clumsy grabs for humour for humour's sake. It's enough that we know that Jar Jar is goofy and that his clumsiness results in things like the discovery of Anakin and the destruction of battle droids. He feels extraneous in the more whimsical parts of Tatooine.

 

I would say the part I could do without the most were his antics at the end in the battle, which if you watch it actually involves him a lot. I think even if you want him in the movie to offer comic relief and a light tone, shouldnt he take a back seat when the movie kind of enters a more serious point? But whatever.

 

Is "The Phantom Menace" the most fun?

It is fun, yes, but not the most (I?ll get to it momentarily, please stick with me).

If I had to argue in favor of the most entertaining episode in the sextet, I would point in the direction of the original 1977 "Star Wars," now re-titled, "A New Hope." Its vision is the most linear and elemental, unencumbered by tangential details or tricky narrative complexities; it proceeds with a deceptively simple storyline ? spun with a certain elegance - that directly invites the viewer?s involvement. The film?s central protagonist, Luke Skywalker, is positioned as a classically-formed archetypal hero; as a character, Luke is not terribly interesting, but director George Lucas uses this to his advantage by exploiting the story?s pulp mythos to envelop the audience in the film?s narrative. The viewer is thus able to project his or her own complexities onto the character, consequently allowing them to identify with Luke in a very immediate, personal manner; in a sense, "Star Wars" is as much our journey as it is his.

With its crisp editing and snappy rhythms, ANH coasts along on its illimitable energy, methodically drawing upon its director?s expansive reserve of pulp fantasies, the power of which is communicated in wonderfully conceived and executed set pieces such as the infamous Mos Eisley cantina, possibly the most inventive and delightful in the saga, and the extended passage detailing our heroes' exploits aboard the Death Star. "Star Wars" is a robust entertainment, but it is also lithe; nearly all of the picture?s extraneous details have been pared away, leaving only its most basic matters in evidence, which consequently imparts the proceedings with a sort of urgency that enables the narrative to unfurl in a succinct and controlled fashion.

It is not my favorite picture, ironically, for many of the reasons I have mentioned above, but it is, for me, the most fun.

By contrast, "The Phantom Menace" (a film I very much enjoy), is weighed down in plot machinery, which sometimes gives the picture a leaden feel, especially in its first 30 minutes. "Menace" is all political scheming and set-up, two things I happen to enjoy, but they sit in rather stark contrast to the gee-wiz escapism of the 1977 film, perhaps deliberately so; the expository nature of this particular installment, which is occasionally fraught with a kind of theoretical solemnity, prevents it from sustaining the sort of crackling energy that reverberated throughout the earlier movie. That said, in its best scenes, the film does attain a transporting ebullience that is like nothing else: despite some of its rote qualities, the pod-race sequence is infused with a vigorous energy that enables the action to unfold with a furious rush of deliverance; the Jedi?s final confrontation with Darth Maul is a visceral ballet adorned with sprawling visual flourishes and punctuated by moments of operatic grandeur; the wondrous expanse of Coruscant, for example, exudes a quiet visionary brilliance. It is in these scenes, and others, that it becomes easy for the viewer to lose his or her critical reserve, as the picture becomes suffused with a chimerical lyricism whose beauty is impossible to dismiss.

"The Phantom Menace" has meat on its bones, but that sort of storytelling richness comes at a price; some of the film?s facets are overstuffed, and those excess narrative rinds tend to ground the story in a morass of commonplace minutia. That leaves the picture in a cumbersome position, preventing it from unfolding with the sort of sure-handedness and storytelling fluidity that would doubtlessly buoy other productions.

Of the three prequel films, the one that is, curiously, the most entertaining ? fun, as it were ? is "Revenge of the Sith." A strange combination of pop artistry, science-fiction fantasy, and glorious spectacle, "Sith" is a rich, brooding epic that manages to achieve narrative and emotional gravitas without ever becoming encumbered in solemnity or plodding exposition. "Episode III" resounds with a