Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D

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Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 10/2/2012 12:31:06 PM

Empire Admin

Posts: 26334
Joined: 29/6/2005

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Post #: 1

Strange - 10/2/2012 1:27:42 PM

Ledbowie

Posts: 23
Joined: 18/2/2006
From: Ireland

I remember Empires review of this film in 1999 when it was first released - I think it got at least 4 stars! This dropped a star on the blu-ray release, but now only 2!

Anyway I don't think its that bad (as with all Star Wars Movies, Mr Lucas's involvement is the lowpoint), and I enjoy the dignity brought by Liam Neesons character.

3 out of 5 for me!

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Post #: 2

Not soooo Strange! - 10/2/2012 8:01:43 PM

garypleace

Posts: 3
Joined: 11/4/2009

My mate went to the states JUST to see Phantom before the original UK release all them years ago - raved like a loon about how it was the best thing he'd EVER seen etc etc and seeing it a total of SIX times.
By the time Clones was released he didnt even go to see it in the cinema - watched a pirate dvd and moaned: "Well its not as good as the original Star Wars with Luke Stryker is it"
HO HO!
A pure victim of the relentless "Brand new half-hearted Star Wars is better than No Star Wars" hyperbole of the time.

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Post #: 3

RE: Not soooo Strange! - 10/2/2012 8:12:20 PM

Evil_Bob

Posts: 2866
Joined: 1/5/2006
From: GGGAAAHHH!!!

Oh come on. two stars???? it hasn't gotten worse in 13 years.
If anything time should have allowed you to sto, look back and realise it was never THAT bad. Just a bit too long and dull.

_____________________________

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Post #: 4

Moaners - 10/2/2012 9:11:02 PM

jeditommo

Posts: 4
Joined: 5/10/2005

I am fed up of all the moaners going on about how poor the prequels were and how annoying it is that George Lucas keeps tinkering with them. Well why not just ignore the wooden acting and poor directing and just enjoy the story. This is star wars and it is where the story begins. For me any chance to see any Star Wars movie on the big screen is to be cherished I would have gone to see it without the 3D. The only bit of Empires review I agree with is about the 3d transfer as for me it adds nothing to this movie or any other, it's just an excuse to charge higher admission.

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Post #: 5

Come on! - 10/2/2012 9:23:51 PM

Phoenix22758

Posts: 12
Joined: 16/10/2005
From: Hadfield

I thought you guys wouldn't fall into the trap of a 2 star - look at us we're cool - review. This is a good movie in the shadow of s couple of great ones. Glad we have it. Miles better than most dreck. Could live without the 3d but it certainly doesn't make it worse.

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Post #: 6

Garbage - 10/2/2012 9:58:05 PM

J_BUltimatum

Posts: 109
Joined: 20/1/2007
From: Edinburgh

Poor acting, poor story and not the greatest 3D I have seen in the movie. Wonder what George Lucas will do to milk the Franchise for more money.

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Post #: 7

13 years too late - 11/2/2012 3:34:24 AM

The_Monkeyboy

Posts: 5
Joined: 21/2/2011

Shame you guys didn't have the balls to give it 2 stars when it first came out.

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Post #: 8

RE: Moaners - 11/2/2012 3:36:43 AM

The_Monkeyboy

Posts: 5
Joined: 21/2/2011

quote:

ORIGINAL: jeditommo
just enjoy the story.

Ha-ha! Good one.

(in reply to jeditommo)

Post #: 9

Usual Empire tailgating - 11/2/2012 12:04:42 PM

Sambora

Posts: 56
Joined: 3/10/2005

This constant revision of the Star Wars prequels is pathetic - have Empire ever downgraded another film / films like this? Just serves to highlight how over the top Empire's original, star struck coverage was. Reviewers should spend less time playing to the galleries (then and now) - Phantom Menace was best of the bunch and is never a 2 star film.

(in reply to Empire Admin)

Post #: 10

People review films - 11/2/2012 12:11:20 PM

Robinkerman

Posts: 3
Joined: 9/12/2009

Surely a film review is written by a person not a magazine and the person who wrote the review when the film came out is different to the one reviewing it here. Hence, different star ratings. Not very complicated, is it?

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Post #: 11

RE: People review films - 11/2/2012 3:13:23 PM

JediBobster

Posts: 4813
Joined: 30/9/2005

Too a degree Robinkerman, but the star rating is now there and represent Empire's rating on The Phantom Menace, at least in 3D. The 3-star review is still to be found (the 4-star one isn't) but for how long?

It's a shame because anyone coming to this site looking for reliable review is going to see that The Phantom Menace is equal quality to Van Helsing, a star less than The Thing (2011) and only HALF as good as The Transformers. Yeesh, despite everything that has been said about the film these statements just are not true.

Also, it suggests that the 3D conversion makes the film a star less good than the 2D version. That the extra dimension detracts from the film. Not so, it's a good 3D conversion, at no point did anything looked mangled or off - this was not like Clash of the Titans or Thor - this added an extra dimension to many of the shots and really made some stuff stand out, funnily more in the background rather than the foreground- that previously was not noticed. Sure that aren't many in-your-face moments but then there wouldn't be would there?

I went with a selection of people, and apart from one Negative Nelly who complained that the 3D didn't have the lightsabres poking you in the face or the podracers racing above your head, everyone enjoyed it, in a couple of cases those who had been down on the film before said that it was better than they had remembered.

JEDI BOBSTER

(in reply to Robinkerman)

Post #: 12

RE: People review films - 11/2/2012 4:34:51 PM

annicka1804

Posts: 6
Joined: 31/7/2006

I think this is a fair review of the film, The pod racing and light sabre sequences are exciting, however the rest of it is quite dull. Who would have thought tax restriuctions on trade routes could be so dull... oh wait everyone.

Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor do the best they can with fairly clunky dialogue, and as for Jake Lloyd and Jar Jar, they have actually managed to become more grating in the years that has passed. A missed opportunity for Lucas.

Also, just because people criticise a film doesn't make them moaners or miseries, in this case they are just being realistic. I just watched A New Hope, even with Lucas's tamperings its still heads and shoulders (and stomachs) above Phantom Menace.

(in reply to JediBobster)

Post #: 13

RE: Usual Empire tailgating - 11/2/2012 5:06:39 PM

Cool Breeze

Posts: 1625
Joined: 9/11/2011
From: The Internet

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sambora

This constant revision of the Star Wars prequels is pathetic - have Empire ever downgraded another film / films like this? Just serves to highlight how over the top Empire's original, star struck coverage was. Reviewers should spend less time playing to the galleries (then and now) - Phantom Menace was best of the bunch and is never a 2 star film.

They originally gave Batman and Robin THREE STARS! (Hard to beleive isnt it?)

Of course it was swiftly downgraded to one star when they reviewed it for the vhs release.Wonder why?

(in reply to Sambora)

Post #: 14

RE: People review films - 11/2/2012 5:10:19 PM

JediBobster

Posts: 4813
Joined: 30/9/2005

To a degree Robinkerman, but the star rating is now there and represent Empire's rating on The Phantom Menace, at least in 3D. The 3-star review is still to be found (the 4-star one isn't) but for how long?

It's a shame because anyone coming to this site looking for reliable review is going to see that The Phantom Menace is equal quality to Van Helsing, a star less than The Thing (2011) and only HALF as good as The Transformers. Yeesh, despite everything that has been said about the film these statements just are not true.

Also, it suggests that the 3D conversion makes the film a star less good than the 2D version. That the extra dimension detracts from the film. Not so, it's a good 3D conversion, at no point did anything looked mangled or off - this was not like Clash of the Titans or Thor - this added an extra dimension to many of the shots and really made some stuff stand out, funnily more in the background rather than the foreground- that previously was not noticed. Sure that aren't many in-your-face moments but then there wouldn't be would there?

I went with a selection of people, and apart from one Negative Nelly who complained that the 3D didn't have the lightsabres poking you in the face or the podracers racing above your head, everyone enjoyed it, in a couple of cases those who had been down on the film before said that it was better than they had remembered.

JEDI BOBSTER

(in reply to annicka1804)

Post #: 15

RE: People review films - 11/2/2012 5:27:02 PM

JediBobster

Posts: 4813
Joined: 30/9/2005

(in reply to annicka1804)

Post #: 16

Unreliable Empire! - 11/2/2012 9:01:24 PM

dannyfletch

Posts: 585
Joined: 25/5/2008
From: Bromley

Once again Empire don't have the balls to stick to their reviews. On release they gave this 4 stars, and now 2! It really doesn't deserve that much stick as it's great fun ( with the exception of Jar Jar of course! ). These re-reviews are pathetic and should be just disregarded. I no longer go by Empire reviews much as they are very uneven, Total Film seem to have the better reviewers!

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Post #: 17

First time for the kids - 11/2/2012 10:13:02 PM

gurnblenston

Posts: 8
Joined: 23/12/2009

For someone my age, this never held a candle to the first 3 (as for many) and don't get me started on attack of the clones. But....for this kids this was the first time theyd seen a star wars movie in the cinema and for them it was pretty special.

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Post #: 18

The film is what it is, but the 3D was rubbish!!! - 11/2/2012 11:30:28 PM

jkemal

Posts: 18
Joined: 7/6/2010

While Phantom Menace could and should have been so much better I still kinda like it. However the really sad thing about this latest release was the 3D - absolutely rubbish. most of the film was still in 2D - I expected to see pod racers and space ships flying out of the screen. Instead I got a 3D table, spanner and er that's about it. What was the point in releasing this in 3D if they weren't going to include any 3D in it. Can't believe I am saying this but the best 3D in the film was the opening title crawl.

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Post #: 19

RE: The film is what it is, but the 3D was rubbish!!! - 12/2/2012 11:38:44 AM

BelfastBoy

Posts: 452
Joined: 30/11/2005

Saw this yesterday, and am going to avoid discussing the film in depth as it's strengths and weaknesses are already well known. However, the film's highpoints are the Darth Maul / Qui Gon / Obi Wan duel (still the best lighsaber action in all the SW films) and the podrace, which was mindblowing in 1999 and still technically dazzling today. I do, however, want to discuss the 3D conversion, and obviously it goes without saying that this is cynical barrel-scraping of the highest order! However, any chance to see SW on the big screen is always welcome, and it means that my 5 year old son will get the opportunity that I never got until the special editions appeared.

Personally, I think that the conversion is poor and distracting in the wrong places. When the action is frenetic, my eyes didn't appear to comprehend any noticeable variation from the original film I'm so familiar with - even when onscreen, ships and objects are approaching. (The most obvious use of 3D is during the podrace when Anakin points his tool straight at the screen and, just for a moment, the effect works.) For me, the 3D was much more apparent in dialogue and character scenes, when layers of background or foreground have been poorly manipulated. Subtitles always seem to float and the opening crawl was also nicely done. But, am I correct in suspecting that Lucas has yet again tinkered with his films or just looking too hard? It seemed to me that, perhaps, alternative takes may have been used with different camera angles to accentuate the 3D effect?

Star Wars doesn't need 3D. I can tolerate this if it means seeing the films in the big screen again, but in 2012, is the future of entertainment really wearing silly uncomfortable glasses while the studios ransack their back catalogues to cash in with re-releases of converted films that were, let's face it, quite popular when they were originally released - WITHOUT 3D?!

(in reply to jkemal)

Post #: 20

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:06:30 PM

captainrentboy

Posts: 678
Joined: 16/3/2008
From: South Wales

Re-watched it last week on Blu Ray and IMO 2 stars is about right, as it's largely awful.
As I hadn't watched it for years I'd forgotten how truly terrible the acting was, I'm not sure it's actually possible for a human to portray any less emotion than Portman did in this film.
The plot is super dull, (these are supposed to be for kids too, right? What kid gives a flying fuck about the taxation of trade rout..zzzZZZZ) and the ageing CGI is overbearing.

Credit where credit's due, the soundtrack is still fantastic, as is the sound editing in general throughout the film. Neeson and Mcgregor aren't toooo bad either, they at least look like they're trying, even when they're spouting utter nonsense.

Most annoyingly, after 2 hrs of pure bollocks, even the 3-way light sabre fight has lost a little something over the years, it looked far more staged and less fluid than I remember, and the constant cutting away to Portman firing a plastic laser gun doesn't really help matters.

So yeah, to sum up, it's pretty shite.

Episode 2 on the other hand actually kept me entertained, (I don't like sand, indeed) and I'm looking forward to my re-watch of Episode 3 tomorrow too.

< Message edited by captainrentboy -- 12/2/2012 5:18:17 PM >

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Post #: 21

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:06:38 PM

captainrentboy

Posts: 678
Joined: 16/3/2008
From: South Wales

Double bloody post...

< Message edited by captainrentboy -- 12/2/2012 12:07:29 PM >

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Post #: 22

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:06:43 PM

captainrentboy

Posts: 678
Joined: 16/3/2008
From: South Wales

... And again.

< Message edited by captainrentboy -- 12/2/2012 12:07:45 PM >

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Post #: 23

RE: The film is what it is, but the 3D was rubbish!!! - 12/2/2012 12:11:23 PM

jkemal

Posts: 18
Joined: 7/6/2010

Completely agree, any chance to see these films on the big screen is a must, and it is great that your son will see them in the cinema. I myself am really looking forward to seeing the original trilogy when they come out - but hate how studios just smack a 3D label on a film as if it is supposed to add something absolutely amazing to the experience. This confirms more than ever that 3D conversions are pointless. 3D only works when films are made from start to end in 3D like Avatar and even then the added dimension isn't essential. All of that said I did find the CGI Yoda in Phantom Menace to be a massive improvement on the puppet.

quote:

ORIGINAL: BelfastBoy

Saw this yesterday, and am going to avoid discussing the film in depth as it's strengths and weaknesses are already well known. However, the film's highpoints are the Darth Maul / Qui Gon / Obi Wan duel (still the best lighsaber action in all the SW films) and the podrace, which was mindblowing in 1999 and still technically dazzling today. I do, however, want to discuss the 3D conversion, and obviously it goes without saying that this is cynical barrel-scraping of the highest order! However, any chance to see SW on the big screen is always welcome, and it means that my 5 year old son will get the opportunity that I never got until the special editions appeared.

Personally, I think that the conversion is poor and distracting in the wrong places. When the action is frenetic, my eyes didn't appear to comprehend any noticeable variation from the original film I'm so familiar with - even when onscreen, ships and objects are approaching. (The most obvious use of 3D is during the podrace when Anakin points his tool straight at the screen and, just for a moment, the effect works.) For me, the 3D was much more apparent in dialogue and character scenes, when layers of background or foreground have been poorly manipulated. Subtitles always seem to float and the opening crawl was also nicely done. But, am I correct in suspecting that Lucas has yet again tinkered with his films or just looking too hard? It seemed to me that, perhaps, alternative takes may have been used with different camera angles to accentuate the 3D effect?

Star Wars doesn't need 3D. I can tolerate this if it means seeing the films in the big screen again, but in 2012, is the future of entertainment really wearing silly uncomfortable glasses while the studios ransack their back catalogues to cash in with re-releases of converted films that were, let's face it, quite popular when they were originally released - WITHOUT 3D?!

< Message edited by jkemal -- 12/2/2012 12:12:12 PM >

(in reply to BelfastBoy)

Post #: 24

RE: Unreliable Empire! - 12/2/2012 12:12:01 PM

superdan

Posts: 7227
Joined: 31/7/2008

quote:

ORIGINAL: dannyfletch

Once again Empire don't have the balls to stick to their reviews. On release they gave this 4 stars, and now 2! It really doesn't deserve that much stick as it's great fun ( with the exception of Jar Jar of course! ). These re-reviews are pathetic and should be just disregarded. I no longer go by Empire reviews much as they are very uneven, Total Film seem to have the better reviewers!

Ignoring the fact that different reviewers come to different conclusions, have you never changed your mind about a film over time?

(in reply to dannyfletch)

Post #: 25

RE: Unreliable Empire! - 12/2/2012 12:12:51 PM

superdan

Posts: 7227
Joined: 31/7/2008

Hmm, that could be my first ever double post

< Message edited by superdan -- 12/2/2012 12:13:20 PM >

(in reply to dannyfletch)

Post #: 26

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:14:24 PM

Cool Breeze

Posts: 1625
Joined: 9/11/2011
From: The Internet

Went to see it yesterday with my 12 year old nephew who had never seen a SW film before and he absolutley loved it.I enjoyed seeing it again on the big screen after so many years.As for the 3d, it was largely inconsequential,but seeing the film on a massive screen with booming surround sound made for a fantastic experience.

That final lightsaber duel is just SO good and the podrace is breathtaking.

Minus a star for a bit too much overuse of Jar Jar (Thankfully that was corrected in the next episode),but a four star experience overall.

(in reply to captainrentboy)

Post #: 27

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:19:33 PM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

Once upon a time on Empire, a 2 Star review for a live action Star Wars film would have seen a thread like this explode within the hour.

How times have changed.

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It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

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Post #: 28

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:39:28 PM

homersimpson_esq

Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Springfield

Once upon a time, people cared.

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That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne.

TREK WARS

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Post #: 29

RE: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D - 12/2/2012 12:41:56 PM

elab49

Posts: 51590
Joined: 1/10/2005

Ignore the fail message - that's the error, not the post. If you check back in the thread (without refreshing) you'll see your post.

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Post #: 30