Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D

[Michaelvk]

What about Ledger and Gyllenhaal?

[TordelBack]

What about Ledger and Gyllenhaal?

That's a different type of sword-fight.

[mogzilla]

personally i'm holding out for "empire" just to see it on the big screen again...imagine when lucas remakes the originals all the kids who grew up with phantom wil be on message boards bitching how its not as good as "their" star wars films

[von Boom]

imagine when lucas remakes the originals

Madness.

Don't give Lucas any ideas. The Special Editions are bad enough.

JvB

[bigjobs67]

To right. Lol.

[Spikes]

imagine when lucas remakes the originals

Madness.

Don't give Lucas any ideas. The Special Editions are bad enough.

JvB

Its already on his to-do list.

[TordelBack]

Just back from a viewing, and I really enjoyed it.

I'll get the negative stuff out of the way first.

This is the first time I've seen the extended edition on the big screen, and while the lengthier podrace is quite spectacular, and certainly engaged the Boy throughout, it was too long in the original release and it's way too long in this.  This is a problem made worse by it coming right after the terrible unbroken sequence of talking heads scenes that precedes it.  People give out about the 'taxation of trade routes' elements, but they take up about 2 minutes of the running time - it's actually Act 2, The Tatooine Conversation Act, that kills all momentum, and just when the podrace looks set to pick things up it hangs around for 10 minutes more than is necessary and slows everything down so that when more conversations loom in its aftermath, even I felt like stretching my legs. 

After that things pick up considerably, and I enjoyed the added Coruscant taxi scene, and the great CGI Yoda.

The other bad thing was the failure to address the unwanted effect of the bloody 3D glasses.  Being unversed in the technicalities of cinema, I don't understand the problem:  you're effectively watching the movie wearing a pair of sunglasses, so why not just brighten either the print or the projector?  Maybe it was the cinema I saw it in, but certain parts of the film were so dark I could barely make them out - the characters in underwater scenes were virtually silhouettes, and some of the space scenes were distinctly murky.

And there end the negatives - everything else was groovy.

The 3D looked great, particularly on the characters, be they human, practical make-up or CGI.  Sebulba (CGI), the battle droids (CGI) and the Neimodians (practical) were all entrancing to watch - as was Neeson's magnificently huge nose, and Portman's genuine beauty.  Interiors were also fascinating - the depth in ship cockpits and corridors and Anakin's home was captivating, as were the real locations - Casserta and Medinine looked amazing.  I didn't feel much was added to the wider landscapes, except where they were practical models (like Theed and the Podrace Arena).  I got a lot of pleasure from peering into the backgrounds and control panels, and some of the overly-busy clutter in the Mos Espa scenes really shone when separated by apparent depth. 

The design work in Phantom Menace is really astonishing, and has aged very well - to my surprise the 3D actually did add to my appreciation of it.  On the other hand I don't think it added much to the action, although some of the longer shots of the assault on the Trade Federation control ship and the Gungan plains battle were quite spectacular. 

As to the rest... well, I've never minded Jar Jar at all, and after his considerable rehabilitation in the Clone Wars cartoon I (and the Boy) actually thought some of his pratfalls were a good laugh.  He certainly isn't the dominant figure that people make him out to be.  Jake Lloyd's Anakin I've never warmed to, but his final scene with his mother was actually mildly affecting for a change (the perils of being a parent).  I thought Portman's Padme was great, both lovely and decisive, and not at all the flat whiny creature she becomes by the time of Episode 3.  The two Jedi are great value, my love of Neeson's headstrong Qui-Gon is no secret, and McGregor's conformist Obi-Wan is a nice contrast, and a good start-point for the character.  The two droids are pretty pointless in TPM, as is Jackson's Mace Windu.  McDiarmid's Palpatine seemed more pantomimey than I remembered, but it's still a good performance.  The new CGI largely saves Frank Oz's lacklustre work on Yoda.

Terribly saggy middle aside, it works better as a movie than I remembered, and its strong points (intense detail and art direction) are accentuated by a cinema viewing, and yes, by the 3D. This viewing didn't change my view that Phantom Menace is a heroic failure whose huge ambition is crushed by bad pacing and a plot that relies on external knowledge to decipher, but it definitely reminded me why I still love it. 

Oh, and despite being terrified of Darth Maul (who really is barely in it at all), the Boy's first cinematic Star Wars was a great success, with him hopping up and down and shouting with excitement at several points - the bits with the Gungans being his favourites.

And I may sneak off to see it again if I can find some money to do so. 

[von Boom]

imagine when lucas remakes the originals

Madness.

Don't give Lucas any ideas. The Special Editions are bad enough.

JvB

Its already on his to-do list.

I say we take off and nuke Skywalker ranch for orbit. It's ONLY way to be sure.

JvB

[dweezil2]

Tordelback. You missed out, "some of the worst dialogue ever committed to film, delivered with all the passion and dramatic reasonance of a speak and spell" in your review. 

[radiator]

Exactly in what way are Qui Gon 'headstrong' and Obi Wan 'conformist'? Did we watch a different film?

We're told that Qui Gon is something of an outsider and hippy, but we're not given anything to back that up in anything he actually does. He chooses to go against the council and train Anakin, but only because of some laughably vague plot device prophecy.

Him and Obi Wan are both blank slates with no discernable personality or believable motivation at all. They are the two of them dull as dishwater, with Qui Gon only being memorable at all because he is played by a charming and charismatic actor.

I think you're just projecting personalities onto them.

[Spikes]

imagine when lucas remakes the originals

Madness.

Don't give Lucas any ideas. The Special Editions are bad enough.

JvB

Its already on his to-do list.

I say we take off and nuke Skywalker ranch for orbit. It's ONLY way to be sure.

JvB

You'd only get the one chance though, because if you missed he'd go into full-on Hugo Drax mode, and retaliate with his own personal Death Star that he had ILM build him

[bigjobs67]

 The new CGI largely saves Frank Oz's lacklustre work on Yoda.
TKE THAT FUCKIN BACK RIGHT NOW!!!!

[dweezil2]

In the interest of balance I will say though that John Williams' scores for the prequels were consistently brilliant, as they are for the entire saga.

Sadly they were the priceless jewel set in a crown of mediocrity and disappointment.

[von Boom]

You'd only get the one chance though, because if you missed he'd go into full-on Hugo Drax mode, and retaliate with his own personal Death Star that he had ILM build him

I'd get a second shot at least since ILM would only issue him an Early Bird Certificate for the Death Star. Payback's a bitch.

JvB

[Spikes]

 

...and it would be an CGI certificate at that.