Wolf359

Where did he call it trash?

But to answer your question, no.

If this movie came out without the Star Wars name and history behind it, it would have been destroyed by everyone and probably would have flopped.

spainlinx0

That part had me dying, and I will watch the rest just because of that.

Don't know if you were being sarcastic. The first minute had me questioning whether I could watch it all, but after that it was gold for me.

His voice is terrible. However I still find the review, when he's not just cursing for the sake of cursing, to be pretty well done.

Supermallet

As others have said, if this didn't have some passing resemblance to Star Wars, I think it would have done about $100,000 at the box office.

DeputyDave

Normally I chalk enthusiasm about YouTube videos to hyperbole. This time, though, it is warranted. That was some sort of genius and seemed to sum up everything I didn’t realize I was feeling about Episode 1.

And the hooker chained up in the basement was perfect.

coli

If it didn't have the name Star Wars, I probably would have never seen it or even given it a shot. The movie was getting ripped day one by critics, but I shoved that off because I loved the original Star Wars movies.

The movie blows 10 years later, and the only ones who defend this movie are Star Wars fanboys who will defend George Lucas on anything! Most movie series have bad sequels/prequels, but for some reason Star Wars fanboys think the Prequels are off limits.

Rocky V sucks, Superman III and IV suck, Lethal Weapon IV sucks, and so do the Star Wars Prequels.

Jumpman

The Prequels aren't off limits by fans but let's just keep things in perspective. It's only considered the one of the worst films ever just because of the expectations of the film because of it's name.

Strip that away and look at it as any other film with modest expectations or none at all and it's a solid, kids adventure film with a lot of inventive parts to it. If people really think that this film is one of the worst films ever, they need to see more films because it's not even close.

The story arc established in this film is quite good. The visual effects, for the most part, still hold up today. Anyone saying otherwise just has an axe to grind about Lucas' use of visual effects...which is no more different than "flavor of the month" Avatar...

What does in Episode I is it's alternative version which we all have in our heads. It's the version of the film with Anakin around 14 or 15 and Obi-Wan playing the Qui-Gon character with Darth Maul being the Sith Apprentice all the way through to Episode III. Even as a fan of the film and the Prequels as a whole, I can't deny the idea still sits with me. A lot of the film's "supposed" problems could've been solved if Anakin was older. But, I understand the reasoning behind the decision.

If most of the audience knows that Anakin becomes Darth Vader, how do you counteract that? Plus, Lucas had to make these films in a way for a whole generation of people (namely kids) who have no idea what Star Wars is and who Darth Vader is. In my opinion, he had to sell the idea of how he becomes Vader and I think making him a nine year-old, earnest boy with no hint of the character we know is coming is a GREAT idea. I personally don't think anyone could argue with that. He could've tried that same idea with Anakin as a teenager but I can see why Lucas wouldn't think that idea would work, considering we all hit that rebellious streak as a teenager. Again, Lucas' logic is sound.

Still, it's in the execution. Personally, I didn't have a problem with Lloyd. He's playing a good nature kid at nine. That's about what we got. But, there are execution problems to be sure through out the film. Still, I think, as an idea, Episode I works. It does what it's suppose to do. It sets up not only the Prequels but the Originals.

We all wish Lucas' would've came to it differently but I still find it rather interesting, 10 years later, this film can still garner this much discussion. What does that say about this film...especially if it really is that bad?

It doesn't make 400 million domestically by being a terrible film. The Star Wars name brand doesn't carry that much weight. Word of mouth should've killed it if its really as bad as it's being documented.

This film and its sequels were not meant to have the same tone as the Original Trilogy. Lucas said as much in interviews in the early 80's. The "Journal of the Whills" prologue in the book clues in everyone what kind of trilogy this might turn into if it had ever seen the light of day. I think fans of the Original Trilogy really need to get over the idea that these Prequels are failures because they're not like the Original Trilogy. From their inception, they were never meant to be.

coli

Please stop with the expectations, EVERY sequel/prequel of a hit movie has huge expectations. There was alittle movie called Empire Strikes Back in 1980 who had WAY more expectations then Star Wars did that turned out to be a good movie.

Now you may argue it wasn't as beloved as Star Wars at the time, and I will give you that, but Episode I has had 10 years for fans to revisit the movie, and it is still as boring as it was in 1999.

The Matrix Reloaded has HUGE expectations, The Two Towers had huge expectations, I could go on and on.....

coli

OK, this is another BS statement that Star Wars were always kids films. Return of the Jedi is when that all started with the Ewoks, and then the Prequels with Jar Jar took it to another level.

Star Wars and Empire are gritty sci fi films, that kids CAN enjoy, but they are not made for them. Trust me I was 5 years old when Star Wars came out, and Lucas was not thinking of me when he made the movie.

Lucas advertised Star Wars at Comic con in 1976, that demographic is teenagers and 20-something comic book readers, not little 6 year old kids who will buy action figures. The ironic thing is that I could not buy any action figures in the Christmas of '77 because they didn't think there would that huge of market for them, as I had to wait for them to produce them for Christmas '78.

The Prequels, and in many ways Return of the Jedi ARE made for kiddies, Star Wars and Empire are not, they are made so kids CAN enjoy them.

Jumpman

Coli,

I never said that Star Wars were always kids films. I said this particular film is...and it's meant to be because of the protagonist of the film and the overall saga. The tone is meant to mirror the Anakin character. It's purposefully meant to be that way because of the coming darkness in the next five films.

The hollowness of the victory at the end of the Episode I was not a bad case of direction on Lucas part...

As for it being boring, that's subjective. I don't find it the least bit boring. I've never said it's the greatest film. Never said it was a really great film or really good film. I think it's a solid film with flaws...but solid nonetheless compared to films that I think are much, much worse. There's too much inventiveness on Lucas and company's part for this film to be considering one of the worst of all time.

Groucho

No, it's not. You haven't watched the video in question because it has nothing to do with expectations. In fact, none of the arguments you've made address any of the points made in the video.

Not even the "well it works as a kid's movie!" argument is valid because the movie spends a ton of time on things kids don't care about (trade treaties, politics, etc).

coli

I have no problem with you liking the film, as I say, "To each their own." But I do get mad when Star Wars fanboys tell me that the reason I don't like the Prequels is because I had unrealistic expectations, or was expecting the Original Trilogy tone.

I actually like that Lucas didn't make another 3 OT movies, so I don't have a problem with the tone. I just don't think the Prequels are all that good, and Episode I is the worst of the bunch.

But as I said, most sequels/prequels suck, as it is just normal for a movie series to get worse as you make more movies. Sure there are the exceptions: Aliens, Godfather II, and Empire Strikes Back which are great sequels, IMO, but most of the time, they are inferior to the original. And when you start getting to #5 and #6 of the movie series, they really get bad.

Groucho

I agree, Godfather V was shit. Godfather VI was okay, though.

Jumpman

coli,

I was only speaking in general terms.

Red Dog

Watched this nerd's reviews of Generations, First Contact, and Insurrection last night. Hilarious, although I still like First Contact. Still have to watch the Nemesis review - that should be gold.

Wolf359

Just watched his review of ST Generations. The whole bit of the "priceless ancient artifact" had me .

Chrisedge

You can barely get through Star Wars and ROTJ, but love the prequels?

Coral

Does this guy review any other movies besides the geeky sci-fi ones? I'd like to hear his reviews on some other films.

milo bloom

Especially Anakin's so-called achievement. This is something that Lucas should have spent a little more time on and it is a failing of the movie that he didn't. Anakin didn't take down the droid control ship. Even I used to defend his actions as "well, he was shooting to do some damage so it counts", but I realized it's a little more than that. The issue is that everybody *thinks* Anakin did it. It's the first big step on the whole journey of building this kid up as some big messiah, which gives him a big head and ultimately makes things end up as bad as they do.

Boba Fett

His pointing out of Picard turning into an entirely different person in the movies is funny too. I love how he pulls out old TNG clips to support his claims.

Superboy

It's true though, and something that die-hard Star Trek fans can't see through. The TNG films were fan films at best.

The great thing about the TOS films was how accessible they were. You could watch the movie and by the end understand the characters, the relationships, and the overall theme of Star Trek. Not so easy with the TNG films. Most of the characters just seem like ancillary card board cut outs.

Palaver

That was pretty hilarious.

He made a lot of good points on that film that I never considered before. Makes me feel bad for enjoying it when it came out.

Superboy

Okay, let's do that.

Tell me, JUST BY WATCHING EPISODE I:

1. What the force is.

2. Who the Jedi are.

3. Who the Sith are.

4. Who the Trade Federation is.

5. Why all these characters appear to be very important, but aren't very important at all to the plot.

Moleman1138

For ANH, it's just so slow and simple. At least with Phantom Menace, there were multiple character agendas, multiple Hero Journeys, much behind the scenes at work.

Jedi's only redeeming factor is Luke/Vader II and the speeder bike chase. Then there's the Ewoks.

Boba Fett

I've been arguing how awful the TNG films were for a long time. I love First Contact, but even when I saw it in theater, realized it was just a sci-fi action film with a Star Trek paint job.

Then again, many Trek fans can't bear to admit that Final Frontier is a far better film when put against Insurrection and Nemesis.

Superboy

i hated all the TNG movies. When I first saw them, I couldn't believe how bad they were. When everyone was singing praises about First Contact, i was wondering what they were smoking.