The Worst Possible Movie Thing Has Happened

**Janszoon** · 11-01-2012, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Well, first of all, Qui Gon Jinn was the only good character in all three of the movies. Everyone else was a two dimensional cardboard cutout. That's not necessarily their fault, since the dialogue could have been written for Days of Our Lives (in content and quality). He was the only character in any of those movies that I actually enjoyed watching on screen, and who therefore gave any of those scenes any semblance of immersion.

Secondly, as poorly made as Phantom Menace was, it still had a recognizable plot that had some semblance of a flow. I honestly have problems recalling what even happened in the other two, because it just seemed to be characters going to do arbitrary things that supposedly advanced the plot, but were just excuses for cheesy CGI effects shots or just poorly executed dialogue scenes meant to get us to the cheesy CGI effects shots.

And lastly (I could probably come up with more, but I'm lazy), Phantom Menace worked as an entertaining children's movie, while the other two movies failed as teenage fluff that remind me of Twilight movie commercials. Phantom Menace may not have been a good Star Wars movie, but I can at least watch it and derive some form of enjoyment out of it.

Well, I guess we just feel completely opposite about these movies. To me Qui-Gon Jinn was not a particularly memorable character since he was basically a clone of Obi-Wan from the originals. The best characters, imo, were Obi-Wan, the Emperor and Yoda, and one of the most interesting things about the prequels was the way these three evolved and slowly turned who they were in the first trilogy. As far as the plots go, Phantom Menace is the one with the story that I found the least memorable and least relevant—some poorly explained trade dispute that has nothing to do with in anything in the larger story aside from getting the characters all together in one place. The other two were actually key pieces of the larger storyline and much more entertaining movies.

FRED HALE SR. · 11-01-2012, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

How about not having a dumb teenager be converted by two or three conversations with some old guy. Anybody dumb enough to change their entire worldview in that short a space of time isn't an interesting hero/villain. A slow, subtle transition to the dark side over all three movies would have been far preferable. And is it just me, or did Palpatine look kinda like a creepy old man trying to seduce a teenage boy?

Well that was the lure of the Dark Side, its not supposed to be subtle and strung out over three movies. Its not a World View its a disease that takes over your soul. I guess I can't enjoy long drawn out melo-drama, I feel that they spent plenty of time developing the transition. Palpatine was a creep, i'd never take a piece of candy from that freakshow. I think we're gonna have to disagree on this one.

bob. · 11-01-2012, 10:08 AM

so many quotable things in this thread!

Fred your pic literally had me laughing out loud....thank you

and i agree

the first three Star Wars films will always be important to me....and i take out my (original) vhs copies and watch them at least once a year with my nephews....and honestly i did not mind any of the new movies....so why not?

besides this whole franchise was destined to be whored out from the very beginning

The Batlord · 11-01-2012, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

As far as the plots go, Phantom Menace is the one with the story that I found the least memorable and least relevant—some poorly explained trade dispute that has nothing to do with in anything in the larger story aside from getting the characters all together in one place. The other two were actually key pieces of the larger storyline and much more entertaining movies.

I don't think any of them did anything to advance any larger storyline. In order to not ruin my love of the original trilogy, I've basically just written the new trilogy off as non-canonical, and ignored them as far as continuity is concerned. So, I'm left with judging them on their individual merits, and...well I've already covered that territory.

**Janszoon** · 11-01-2012, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I don't think any of them did anything to advance any larger storyline. In order to not ruin my love of the original trilogy, I've basically just written the new trilogy off as non-canonical, and ignored them as far as continuity is concerned. So, I'm left with judging them on their individual merits, and...well I've already covered that territory.

Really? I mean, whether you like the prequels or not, it's pretty hard to say that the creation of the empire, rise of the Emperor, destruction of the Jedi and birth of Darth Vader aren't crucial parts of the story.

FRED HALE SR. · 11-01-2012, 10:49 AM

Now we just have three years to wait for Disneys pile of Chewbacca **** to come to life.

The Batlord · 11-01-2012, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Really? I mean, whether you like the prequels or not, it's pretty hard to say that the creation of the empire, rise of the Emperor, destruction of the Jedi and birth of Darth Vader aren't crucial parts of the story.

Well, a twelve year old can put up a Star Wars fanfic on the internet about the Clone Wars and the rise of Darth Vader too, but unless it's any good, I'll just write it off and move on. The fact that this just so happened to have been done by George Lucas doesn't really have any relevance to the Star Wars universe in my head.

duga · 11-01-2012, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Well, I guess we just feel completely opposite about these movies. To me Qui-Gon Jinn was not a particularly memorable character since he was basically a clone of Obi-Wan from the originals. The best characters, imo, were Obi-Wan, the Emperor and Yoda, and one of the most interesting things about the prequels was the way these three evolved and slowly turned who they were in the first trilogy. As far as the plots go, Phantom Menace is the one with the story that I found the least memorable and least relevant—some poorly explained trade dispute that has nothing to do with in anything in the larger story aside from getting the characters all together in one place. The other two were actually key pieces of the larger storyline and much more entertaining movies.

I actually think the plot is pretty intricate...it's a shame the script was so poor because the whole thing was pretty clever (and the one thing George did right...if he even though of it).

Nerd moment coming...

Palpatine was the Ambassador for Naboo. Obviously, he was also a Sith lord. Galactic domination isn't easy. His first task was to be elected Supreme Chancellor for the Republic, which wasn't going to be simple since Naboo is pretty much a bum**** planet. Using his dark side powers, he convinced the Trade Federation to create a "trade dispute" with Naboo (which they were really just going to turn into a full blown war regardless). The Republic had no standing army so there was nothing they could do to help. This also made the current Chancellor look bad and created sympathy for Naboo...perfect time for Palpatine to move in and get elected (I'm sure with a little help from the dark side). The Trade Federation loses, they get pissed, and they and many other planets are convinced to join the "Separatist" movement by Darth Sidious (who is obviously Palpatine's apprentice). The reason behind creating this movement was so that Palpatine could convince the Republic that they needed an army. Queue the clones. Now the Army of the Republic is fighting the Separatists...both sides which Palpatine has orchestrated. He designed the war to go on and on until eventually he could pin the whole thing on the Jedi, kill them, and then declare himself Emperor. This is funny, too, because if you remember it was Jar Jar who gave Palpatine emergency powers to declare all this stuff in the first place...so really he's the one who screwed everyone over.

~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ · 11-01-2012, 12:43 PM

I laugh every time I think about that. According to the ever expanding Expanded Universe, Jar Jar suffers no repercussions and goes on to start a family and die of old age. The one character whose brutal death would have been met with thunderous applause gets the best deal of all.

FRED HALE SR. · 11-01-2012, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

I laugh every time I think about that. According to the ever expanding Expanded Universe, Jar Jar suffers no repercussions and goes on to start a family and die of old age. The one character whose brutal death would have been met with thunderous applause gets the best deal of all.

I know i'd give my life savings just to punch Jar Jar in the throat and shut him up.

11-01-2012, 10:08 AM	#63 (permalink)
bob. Still sends his reguards. Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Trying to get out of the cat town.... Posts: 5,039	so many quotable things in this thread! Fred your pic literally had me laughing out loud....thank you and i agree the first three Star Wars films will always be important to me....and i take out my (original) vhs copies and watch them at least once a year with my nephews....and honestly i did not mind any of the new movies....so why not? besides this whole franchise was destined to be whored out from the very beginning __________________ A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism. Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

11-01-2012, 10:49 AM	#66 (permalink)
FRED HALE SR. Neo-Maxi-Zoom-Dweebie Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: So-Cal Posts: 3,752	Now we just have three years to wait for Disneys pile of Chewbacca **** to come to life.

11-01-2012, 12:43 PM	#69 (permalink)
~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4,538	I laugh every time I think about that. According to the ever expanding Expanded Universe, Jar Jar suffers no repercussions and goes on to start a family and die of old age. The one character whose brutal death would have been met with thunderous applause gets the best deal of all.