Looking Back...

[Brian]

Had some down time this afternoon, so I was nosing around the Official Site, and had a look at some of the trailers from TPM and AOTC.  Although TPM is my least favorite of the SW films, and is generally disliked by a number of people, watching the trailers for that movie did bring back some nice memories.  When the hype was so high for the return of Star Wars, how I liked the movie when I initially saw it, maybe just because it was new Star Wars (although that lightsaber battle still is pretty awesome).  I remember being shocked and amazed and thinking how cool it was that the bad guy (Maul) had a two bladed lightsaber.  I wasn't into spoilers at that time, so it was a surprise to me seeing the trailer.  Anyways, kind of fun to look back and think about when Star Wars movies were first coming back and letting us extend this ride just a little longer.

[Morgbug]

I'm still torn on TPM.  I REALLY enjoyed it in the theater.  Sat there with a big grin on my face the whole time and darn near wet my pants at the sound of Vader breathing at the end.  It was so cool. 

I thought it started fine too, the battle at the start of the movie between Qui-Gon/Obi and the droids was pretty cool.  It didn't start to suck until Jar-Jar showed up (way too soon, way too much).  Then it sort of descended from great to what the heck is this?.  Amidala was stiff (perhaps intentionally), Padme was odd (that's how it struck me), Anakin was stilted.  I thought Jake Lloyd carried off aspects fairly well in spite of what was ultimately a wooden performance (yippee!).  There were some cool effects and that is still, IMO, the best lightsaber battle of the movies just due to the speed alone.  It also seemed the most intense.  That, of course, was ruined by a stupidly absurd death of Maul.  I understand why he died, but what bluntly retarded way to do it.  This guy that could fend off two Jedi sort of stands there dumfounded while he gets cut in half?  Uh, no. 

Still, it was cool to see it come back, I enjoyed the movie immensely the first time.  It's only after time for reflection that you tend to find the flaws and difficulties. 

[Scott]

I've been meaning for a few weeks now to pop TPM and AOTC in to the DVD player again...

I'm one who is not really down on TPM at all and actually thought AOTC was pretty good.  Call me a Prequel apologist.  Menace has some faults but for the most part is actually a fun movie.  The Tatooine Scenes drag horribly and mainly because its mostly plot building expose instead of action.  I know that's why the Pod Race is there but it still drags

Jake Lloyd is the most unforgiving part of the movie though.  And when you saw the other three candidates read lines with Natalie they actually picked the best of the three.  All in all though, it was a bad move on Lucas's part.  I have a thread elsewhere saying that both movies could have  had the OT mystique if Anakin circa Episode II was Anakin in Episode I.  He still could have been a great kid/teenager.  I realize Lucas's point is to show that good people turn in to monsters but the same thing could have been done with a teenager.  And then the fall could have happened in Episode II and III could have been lots of kick ass Vader vs the Jedi battles.  I don't mind Jar Jar either and that's probably the key to either really liking TPM or saying...eh, its OK

I remember being really really pumped for Episode I though, I can clearly remember the day that the first pics of Obi-Wan and Maul fighting in the desert first appeared (even though that never showed up in the movie)

[jokabofe]

I'm still torn on TPM.  I REALLY enjoyed it in the theater. 

I was just the opposite. The hype was huge, and I was so psyched to go and see a new Star Wars movie in a theater. The trailers looked great, and I was counting down the days. When the THX and Lucasfilm logos popped up on the screen, and the Fox fanfare started, I was giddy like a schoolgirl. But, by the time the film ended, I was just kinda... meh. I don't know what it was, but I absolutely hated it. Hated.

When I went to work the next day (after catching the midnite show, of course) all of my co-workers were amazed at how much I disliked the movie. They thought I was faking it, just so they would stop teasing me about being such a Star Wars geek (like that's ever bothered me before). It actually took a few days for me to convince them that I was serious, and that I hated the film. I still have a large amount of hatred towards it. It is by far my least favorite film in the series, with ROTJ being a distant 4th (ESB, ANH, AOTC, ROTJ, and TPM would be my rankings in case you were curious).

It is the only film in the series that I saw only once at the theater (saw all 3 originally in '77, '80, and '83 (yeah, I'm old) and then saw each of the Special Editions at least 3 times, and I think I saw the SE ESB 5 times, and went to see AOTC 3 times) and watched it only once on DVD. And I have absolutely no desire to watch it again, although I probably will once ROTS comes out on DVD and I have a Trilogy (Septology??) Marathon.

[Muftak]

I actually posted something similar on the five-year anniversary...but I'll go ahead and post here too.

I remember seeing the TPM teaser trailer shown on the local news in fall 98. I got that close-to-crying feeling in the back of my throat when Qui-Gon introduced Obi-Wan to Anakin, with Artoo looking on.

I got the novelization through Amazon a few weeks early (because it was so cheap) and after reading the first couple of Anakin chapters (that were publicized to happen before the movie), I made my girlfriend hide it from me so I wouldn't spoil the movie.

For as much as I don't think Jar Jar played well, I think Watto and Sebulba won me over for support of the digital actors. I guess I've never noticed the Tatooine scenes dragging (aside from the "fixing the podracer" part with Seek and pals) because I hang off Watto's performance every time.

At this point in time, I think I'm more a fan of Menace than I am of Clones.

[Firebat]

I saw TPM 4 times in the theater and each time I was disapointed. I bought the video when it came out and watched it everyday for awhile, just because it was a new SW movie. 

Although I really enjoyed E2(for the most part) in the theater, I can't bring myself to watch the DVD. The 50's diner seen with Dexter Jettster is just horrible, and I can't stand the CGI battle scenes on Geonosis.

Saw the trailer last night on FOX, and despite the last two prequels, I'm more excited about SW than I have been since ROTJ hit theaters.

[CHEWIE]

I saw both TPM and AOTC 10 times each at the theatre - might see ROTS 11 times.   

 

[speedermike]

It's funny.  Sometimes when I watch TPM and AOTC all I see are the shortcomings.  They're slow, the acting is stiff, the jokes don't work...

Other times I watch them and I love them.  I see all the humor, excitement and lunacy that I like in the OT. 

My TPM experience is very different than many others.  I was terrified that the movie would be awful.  Lucas was connected to some real crap in the late 80s early 90s and I feared for the worst.  I was actually surprised how much I liked TPM.

[Nicklab]

I think the progression of Anakin from good to evil is what makes the PT a tragedy of sorts.  That along with the slow decay of the Republic and the political intrigue are what make the PT interesting to me.

It's funny, because I saw or read an interview with Lucas recently.  He said that he got the feeling that a lot of fans wanted the entire PT to be basically what happens in ROTS.  I thought about it a bit, and I can see that doing so, as some fans might want, would seriously compromise the entire saga.  It would almost make the entire PT like some kind of slasher series of movies.  It would be much more one dimensional and ultimately not as interesting.

I think when all is said and done, the PT will stand up much better after ROTS is released and the PT can be viewed as a whole.  ROTS will be the payoff that people have been waiting for.  But it will have happened with Anakin Skywalker taking a complete journey, and not him being a mindless murderer.

[MommySkywalker]

Although TPM is my least favorite of the SW films, and is generally disliked by a number of people, watching the trailers for that movie did bring back some nice memories. 

TPM was initially my least favorite, as well, but I grew to embrace it as well.  I still can't stand the JarJar Binks character, but love our insight into Anakin's roots.  TPM also brought us Qui-Gon Jinn, such an intriguing Jedi; I was quite disappointed when he was killed (I, too, stayed away from spoilers then!).  Both Ep. I and II made me love the Anakin character, and it's going to be heartbreaking to watch his fall to the Dark Side in Ep. III.

[Darth Broem]

I don't hate the prequels like many people do.  However, when I saw TPM I remember thinking something like "Oh no, this does not look or feel anything like the originals."  I like TPM.  It's ok.  It's just not anywhere near what I was hoping for at that time. 

I liked AOTC much better than TPM except for that awful dialogue between Padme and Anakin.  Plus some really poor looking CGI work on that Naboo field where Anakin rides that bubble butt animal and falls off.  And some other scenes. 

However, the lightsaber duel and Maul saved TPM for me.     

[Hemish]

I was outta my mind when TPM came out
I was woohoo, had taped the trailers on tv and watched them loop for hours, the Maul Obiwan bit on the trailer was spectacular.Initially i thought the name Darth Maul sucked butt, in the end it worked.
I was also intrigued by Qui Gon , i thought his character was awesome and Liam bought the class of Alec Guiness to the table. It's just a shame the others had some shabby dialogue to worj with (yippee)?
and well you either hated or loved jarjar, me i hated him with a passion , i don't know who slipped lucas the E pill when he was thinking stuff up but jarjar was the worst idea ever. I'm talking worse than holiday special bad!!

AOTC i was again hyped, i wasn't sure on his choice of Hayden for Anakin but i thought it might work.
The thing that killed this movie for me was the NewZealand accents , dont get me wrong i have plenty of kiwi mates but think they should have dubbed over their voices ot something, jango,boba and typho were horrible, i still hve nightmares about it, fire ded geet em *shudders*
Other than that i didn't mind it

ROTS- again excited but i think  i have learnt not to expect too much from this movie, i've read the graphic novel and was well impressed and have hgh hopes but i'm going into it especting something to go wrong anf i think for me that will be The General, he looks crap!!!

[Brian]

I've been thinking about this again lately with ROTS approaching, and I agree that the PT as a whole might be looked upon a little better once ROTS is released.  Granted, we haven't seen the movie yet, but from what we have seen/read/heard it sounds like it is what everyone has been wanting, and should be one heck of a cool movie.  I do understand the need to see "the journey" of Anakin, instead of just jumping into him being a mean mofo right off the bat.  I think they could have maybe started off and also changed just a few things in TPM, and maybe people wouldn't have minded it as much.  But then again, they are George's movies, and we as fans will always see something (in our opinion) that could be better.

While discussing another topic, Jar Jar came up.  He has pretty much become the poster boy for the hatred of modern Star Wars it seems, and while I don't necessarily despise the character, it isn't one of my favorites either.  To me, the character probably could have been stomached, or (gasp) even liked a little more, if he was treated more like a "Chewbacca-like supporting alien sidekick type of character.  If he wasn't featured so prominently, and if they changed his voice/manner of speaking away from the annoying "meesa yousa weesa" type of speech, I think the character would have been liked quite a bit better.  Also, like I mentioned before, reducing his screen time a little bit more.  Otherwise, the general "idea" of the character doesn't bother me so much.  Anyways, just some random thoughts, but I do agree (and hope) that the PT as a whole will be looked upon better upon its completion in a few weeks.