Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Member since:
November 2003
November 2003
With the original trilogy being released onto DVD on Sept. 21, I decided to write reviews for the prequels, so here it goes:
First of all, this movie exceeded my expectations but, compared to the other films it is probably the worst one. But I think the creators knew that, and that's why they did Episodes 4-6 before 1-3. Anyway, the strengths of this film are as follows:
1. Great special effects and CGI
2. Awesome performances by Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Samuel L. Jackson
3. AMAZING lightsaber fight scenes
4. Pretty good storyline that manages to occasionally tie in to the original series
The weaknesses of this film:
1. Mediocre performance by Jake Lloyd (Anakin) and Natalie Portman (very monotone, but improves as Padme)
2. Jar Jar Binks- a poor excuse for comedy relief, but most of the other Gungans were OK
3. Darth Maul- overhyped character that only appeared for about 15 minutes
4. Not enough screen time for certain characters- Yoda, Mace Windu, etc.
5. Too much politics, negotiations, etc.
Many of these weaknesses were improved in Episode II, which I think is far superior to this film (See my review for Episode II for details). Many people had too-high expectations of these prequels. People need to realize that almost nothing will be as grand and amazing as the original trilogy, for that was truly something special. Although this is the worst of the Star Wars films, it is still better-than-average sci-fi and fits well into the series.
I wonder though- Why does it take so long to make these prequels if the stories are already written? Is George Lucas pulling our leg? Maybe he just wrote the prequels in a basement after the success of the originals. Is it true that there was also a planned Episodes 7-9 that has now been scrapped? I don't know if this original trilogy box set will just be a stunt, and that there may be an ULTIMATE box set of Episodes 1-6 with MORE special features, but I hope not.
Anyway, I highly reccomend this film and I agree with the review here at DVDtown.com
MY RATINGS:
Film value: 7
Acting: 8 (Jake Lloyd acting: 4) Liam Neeson and McGregor rule!
CGI/Special effects: 9
Lightsaber fights: 10
Story: 8
Sound/picture quality: 9
Special features: 8
First of all, this movie exceeded my expectations but, compared to the other films it is probably the worst one. But I think the creators knew that, and that's why they did Episodes 4-6 before 1-3. Anyway, the strengths of this film are as follows:
1. Great special effects and CGI
2. Awesome performances by Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Samuel L. Jackson
3. AMAZING lightsaber fight scenes
4. Pretty good storyline that manages to occasionally tie in to the original series
The weaknesses of this film:
1. Mediocre performance by Jake Lloyd (Anakin) and Natalie Portman (very monotone, but improves as Padme)
2. Jar Jar Binks- a poor excuse for comedy relief, but most of the other Gungans were OK
3. Darth Maul- overhyped character that only appeared for about 15 minutes
4. Not enough screen time for certain characters- Yoda, Mace Windu, etc.
5. Too much politics, negotiations, etc.
Many of these weaknesses were improved in Episode II, which I think is far superior to this film (See my review for Episode II for details). Many people had too-high expectations of these prequels. People need to realize that almost nothing will be as grand and amazing as the original trilogy, for that was truly something special. Although this is the worst of the Star Wars films, it is still better-than-average sci-fi and fits well into the series.
I wonder though- Why does it take so long to make these prequels if the stories are already written? Is George Lucas pulling our leg? Maybe he just wrote the prequels in a basement after the success of the originals. Is it true that there was also a planned Episodes 7-9 that has now been scrapped? I don't know if this original trilogy box set will just be a stunt, and that there may be an ULTIMATE box set of Episodes 1-6 with MORE special features, but I hope not.
Anyway, I highly reccomend this film and I agree with the review here at DVDtown.com
MY RATINGS:
Film value: 7
Acting: 8 (Jake Lloyd acting: 4) Liam Neeson and McGregor rule!
CGI/Special effects: 9
Lightsaber fights: 10
Story: 8
Sound/picture quality: 9
Special features: 8
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Member since:
March 2002
March 2002
it takes a while to do the computer effects for every movie. if you read interviews with lucas and mccallum, they admit that at least 75% of these new movies are done with CGI. that kind of imaging takes hundreds of thousands of man-hours.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Member since:
September 2004
September 2004
Yeah, but that didn't seem to stop Peter Jackson and WETA who managed to release 3 much longer movies with equally elaborate special effects in just over 2 years. Jackson obviously had the advantage because he and New Line had the no brainer idea of doing most of the photography for all 3 films at one time. I never understood why Lucas didn't do that. It's not like he wasn't guaranteed of getting the whole prequel trilogy made.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Member since:
March 2004
March 2004
Equally elaborate they may be, but SW contained much much more CGI. LOTR used real life locations in New Zealand for a lot of the primary shooting.
LOTR and SW both used CG where needed, it's just that the settings in SW required them to be fabricated out of thin air hence CG being used as core element in creating the settings. LOTR's setting was much more classic fantasy which allowed for real life locations. The movies runtime may have been much greater, but it's still less time consuming than the time it takes to create the stuff done in SW.
As far as shooting all 3 simultaneously, who's to say Lucas had a script for eps 2-3 near completion during the shoot? If you watch the extras on the recently released trilogy he expressed how stressful it is multitasking in a movie production. He even thought he was having a heart attack due to the stress load. He just didn't want to bite off more than he could chew knowing what can happen from past experiences. Peter Jackson's task was overwhelming and defied all odds. But just because he was able to accomplish such a daunting task does not mean it's the best approach.
LOTR and SW both used CG where needed, it's just that the settings in SW required them to be fabricated out of thin air hence CG being used as core element in creating the settings. LOTR's setting was much more classic fantasy which allowed for real life locations. The movies runtime may have been much greater, but it's still less time consuming than the time it takes to create the stuff done in SW.
As far as shooting all 3 simultaneously, who's to say Lucas had a script for eps 2-3 near completion during the shoot? If you watch the extras on the recently released trilogy he expressed how stressful it is multitasking in a movie production. He even thought he was having a heart attack due to the stress load. He just didn't want to bite off more than he could chew knowing what can happen from past experiences. Peter Jackson's task was overwhelming and defied all odds. But just because he was able to accomplish such a daunting task does not mean it's the best approach.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Member since:
March 2002
March 2002
Plus the CGI is of a different nature. Jackson and his people used MASSIVE, which was literally just armies of character duplicated over and over again. Lucas and his people were creating individual elements for everything that was presented. Those are two quantitatively different approaches.
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