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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 1:37:25 GMT
And Devil-Man’s dead too. Wow. We’ve just met these two.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 1:41:20 GMT
Prime Minister Ian McDiarmid, who’s gonna end up as an emperor somewhere between Julius Caesar and Nero, should just wear a sign around his neck saying, “I’m EVILLLLLLLL!”
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 1:45:14 GMT
It was fun. The ending ceremony clearly mirrored Star Wars but had a touch of Return of the Jedi in it as well, with the aliens blowing the horns. It didn’t feel very Star Wars-y, something I know I’m not the best judge of, but it just didn’t feel like the others. Dino-Man got less relevant as it went on, and he certainly didn’t ruin it for me.
I think I liked all three of the originals better, though. I don’t really feel like I’ve gone on a grand adventure with this one. Again, it feels serviceable, but nothing more than that. @forceghostackbar’s idea was the kind of thing I’d wanted and expected—and I think it would have been better, too.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 1:52:35 GMT
Actually, it reminds me of another Lucas film I did love as a kid, Radioland Murders (’94). Visual grandeur, all this size and scale and color, in search of a good story. And, like this one, also fun without being great. (I think I like Radioland Murders a wee bit better than this, if only because the characters were more likeable.)
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Post by President Ackbar™ on Sept 21, 2018 2:01:59 GMT
"You've just taken your first step into a larger world."
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 2:02:42 GMT
"You've just taken your first step into a larger world.” Didn’t I do that when I saw the first one?
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Post by President Ackbar™ on Sept 21, 2018 2:05:22 GMT
"You've just taken your first step into a larger world.” Didn’t I do that when I saw the first one? An even larger one!
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 2:08:00 GMT
Didn’t I do that when I saw the first one? An even larger one! IT GROWS!! IT GROWS!!!! IT’S ALIVE! ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 2:09:41 GMT
Oh, curses, @forceghostackbar, how do you have the ability to write down my thoughts far more clearly and succinctly than I do? TPM is a gorgeous film (visually). I will give it that. The cinematography and golden age style directing are both stellar. It is also brimming with creativity and imagination. So far so good. I wish TFA and the other two prequels had those things going for them. BUT... The story is a mess. Who is the protagonist here? It's not Anakin. He's not introduced until well into act two. Is it Padme? It is after all the story of her planet yet she is often the least important character on screen. So it's Qui Gonn then. But WHY? He dies at the end and has no part in the next two movies! What an odd choice. The pod race, while visually magnificent, is a self indulgent diversion from the story. Is it about Naboo anymore? Or is it now about Anakin? How many things are they trying to do in this movie?? WHY is Anakin a child?? How can you build a trilogy when the main character switches actors?? WHY is Obi Wan so unimportant here??? How bout that dialogue? Wooden and flat. And I must of course mention the Gungans and Jar Jar. Infantile and cringe worthy. Still, year after year I find myself watching this again because of the pros I mentioned up top. If only the script could match the visuals and imagination this would've been a masterpiece.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2018 4:18:25 GMT
Oh, curses, @forceghostackbar , how do you have the ability to write down my thoughts far more clearly and succinctly than I do? TPM is a gorgeous film (visually). I will give it that. The cinematography and golden age style directing are both stellar. It is also brimming with creativity and imagination. So far so good. I wish TFA and the other two prequels had those things going for them. BUT... The story is a mess. Who is the protagonist here? It's not Anakin. He's not introduced until well into act two. Is it Padme? It is after all the story of her planet yet she is often the least important character on screen. So it's Qui Gonn then. But WHY? He dies at the end and has no part in the next two movies! What an odd choice. The pod race, while visually magnificent, is a self indulgent diversion from the story. Is it about Naboo anymore? Or is it now about Anakin? How many things are they trying to do in this movie?? WHY is Anakin a child?? How can you build a trilogy when the main character switches actors?? WHY is Obi Wan so unimportant here??? How bout that dialogue? Wooden and flat. And I must of course mention the Gungans and Jar Jar. Infantile and cringe worthy. Still, year after year I find myself watching this again because of the pros I mentioned up top. If only the script could match the visuals and imagination this would've been a masterpiece. Trust me, my friend, I've had practice. I've been reviewing Phantom Menace over and over for decades! Like many Star Wars fans, I am slightly obsessed with it in a very weird way. In fact, my relationship with this movie is completely unique. Overall, I find it lacking, but I return to it again and again, year after year to enjoy the things I like and agonize over the things I don't, followed by an unhealthy dose of fantasizing about what I wish it was! I don't love it. I don't hate it. But I can't let it go.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 4:40:35 GMT
Maybe it’s the just-falling-short-of-greatness bit that’s exactly what inspires your inability to let it go? And, as for the fantasizing about what could have been, I think your idea was just great, @forceghostackbar. The more I think of it, the more the Three Musketeers plot works perfectly. 20-year-old Anakin in the D’Artagnan role. Slightly older Obi-Wan, played like Liam Neeson’s pseudo-Obi-Wan in this movie, in the Athos role. Two other new characters in the Porthos and Aramis roles, Natalie Portman’s princess in the Constance role, Sen. Palpatine as Cardinal Richelieu… Lord! This thing practically writes itself!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2018 4:53:59 GMT
Maybe it’s the just-falling-short-of-greatness bit that’s exactly what inspires your inability to let it go? And, as for the fantasizing about what could have been, I think your idea was just great, @forceghostackbar . The more I think of it, the more the Three Musketeers plot works perfectly. 20-year-old Anakin in the D’Artagnan role. Slightly older Obi-Wan, played like Liam Neeson’s pseudo-Obi-Wan in this movie, in the Athos role. Two other new characters in the Porthos and Aramis roles, Natalie Portman’s princess in the Constance role, Sen. Palpatine as Cardinal Richelieu… Lord! This thing practically writes itself! BRILLIANT! I'd also replace the Gunguns with Calamari and Jar Jar with a young Ensign Ackbar
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2018 4:58:10 GMT
Truth be told, I've actually written treatments for my versions of Episodes 1-3. Nerdy, I know. But I had to do it!
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 21, 2018 5:00:56 GMT
Truth be told, I've actually written treatments for my versions of Episodes 1-3. Nerdy, I know. But I had to do it! Hey, I’d never criticize creativity in a good cause! And, honestly, I’m halfway tempted myself to flesh out that Three Musketeers concept—after that Batman-meets-Lovecraft tale I pitched somewhere around here, maybe…
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Post by Tristan's Journal on Sept 21, 2018 5:07:40 GMT
Prime Minister Ian McDiarmid, who’s gonna end up as an emperor somewhere between Julius Caesar and Nero, should just wear a sign around his neck saying, “I’m EVILLLLLLLL!” him in his double role as Sith and Senator invading his planet (via proxy) and plying the victim card to get Chancellor is some of the most inspired writing in the saga. He and his manipulations gets better per movie.
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Post by Tristan's Journal on Sept 21, 2018 5:15:57 GMT
And Devil-Man’s dead too. Wow. We’ve just met these two. the stakes and deaths make this duel great - it's lethal and has severe consequences (especially Anakin and Obi wan). I did not like it at first because Qui Gin died but on repeat viewing it's the best next to the Empire fight.
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Post by Tristan's Journal on Sept 21, 2018 5:20:37 GMT
So many questions. Why doesn’t Mom just tag along? Who’s gonna stop her? And what’s up with the fact that they still allow slavery here? she would die, they have sensors implanted that explode (they mention it during the dinner). Tatooine is not part of the Republic and the anti-slavery acts Padme discusses do not apply there. Mom staying back is the central impetus that will promp Anakin's character development. As Yoda said: "Fear (of loss) leads to anger. Anger leads to hate (Ep II). Hate leads to suffering (Ep III). "
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Post by Tristan's Journal on Sept 21, 2018 5:26:53 GMT
Samuel L. Jackson’s in this? Huh? EDIT: Cross-posted with Primemovermithrax Pejorative ’s comments about Jackson. While I agree that Freeman might have been better, I actually think Jackson has fit it so far. It was just jarring to see him pop up here. He does. The urban legend that Freemen was a better fit stems from an incompetent video rant everybody quotes. Freemen would have been fine but uninspired a choice for the role; and I doubt he could have handled the fighting, beheading and badass stuff in Ep II and Ep III as well as Jackson.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 24, 2018 2:38:12 GMT
I’m somewhat unexpectedly watching the next one, or at least part of it… I think I’m starting to get sick or something and just need something fun to clear my head.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 24, 2018 2:40:46 GMT
The cloud planet looks pretty much amazing here.
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