The Phantom Menace cellar review

Jokerman on 5/4/2010 at 02:18

You probably know this already (I'm usually the last to know :(), but it rocks too much to let it the chance to slip you by. Yes, I did search before posting.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI)

It's a bit long but you won't regret it.

If you liked it- The AotC and Avatar reviews are equally good.

ETA: NSFW

fett on 6/4/2010 at 03:14

At first I thought, "Uh, not another quasi-funny/serious TPM review," but some of the stuff in parts 2 and 3 had me lolling. Good stuff, even if the film is a decade old.

Muzman on 6/4/2010 at 08:13

These are great. They do seem a little daunting and clunky and just crude Family Guy-esque cutaway jokes with silly voices at first (I mean, 90 minute Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones reviews? Now?) But there's a lot in them, it's not just MST3k wannabe snark #4301. They add up to more than the sum of their parts, unlike the prequels.
The guy's schtick is set up by his Star Trek Next Gen movie reviews which are also very funny. They also set up that, despite being clunky and convenient wth plot and characters, the Star Trek NG films generally have nowhere near as much wrong with them as the prequels.

Geez the AotC one could get another 90 minutes worth. There's something wrong with nearly every scene in that movie. He doesn't even touch the Obi-Wan and Dooku scene, for instance, wherein none of the lines or motivations actually make any sense. But we all gave it a pass at the time because it's that cliche sort of scene where we all know what's going on, so you just tune out any actual attempt at comprehension.

Over at (http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122528) CHUD there's an amusing trip down memory lane. You can do the same thing here. Most people were jazzed by AotC when it came out and thought it worked pretty well in most respects. How times change. Although over at the force.net, not surprisingly, people are still saying the films are well structured works of genius ( People do that a lot lately, I've noticed. Highly sophisticated stuff about how Transformers 2 actually makes sense and is ingeniously clever plot wise. Strange times we live in).

If nothing else it's something to see the grabs from Empire side by side with AotC. There's really no other way of saying it; Empire is a fucking amazing looking film. The Dagobah scenes alone are extraordinary. AotC by contrast is all orange sunlight creeping into every day shot, three point lighting crap. Totally sophomoric by comparison.

Dresden on 6/4/2010 at 10:36

The AotC one is out. Make sure you check that out too. He points out a lot of weird stuff that I hadn't even thought about really. Mostly because I didn't want to tempt being insane. Just as great as his Episode 1 review, even if the cut-aways are too forced.

Jokerman on 6/4/2010 at 10:37

Quote Posted by Muzman

They add up to more than the sum of their parts, unlike the prequels.

So true. I guess it's called the soul of the creation, and the prequels were most definitely devoid of it... hell, I felt devoid of soul myself at the end of each of those three.

Quote Posted by Muzman

Geez the AotC one could get another 90 minutes worth. There's something wrong with nearly every scene in that movie. He doesn't even touch the Obi-Wan and Dooku scene, for instance,

I hoped he would dwell on Boba Fett. Cos it seems that Lucas, same as he didn't understand what made Yoda magical, also failed to understand what made BF cool and mysterious, which was a nihilistic, roguish aura that was shattered by the father-son, grief and loss thing and all that jazz.

Enchantermon on 6/4/2010 at 14:31

I'm surprised anyone can watch those videos with that horrible voice...ugh.

Trance on 6/4/2010 at 15:12

It's a Joel impression, what's not to like?

Enchantermon on 6/4/2010 at 15:25

Maybe the fact that Joel had a non-grating voice while this guy sounds like he's talking with marbles in his mouth?

Jokerman on 6/4/2010 at 15:51

Brando had marbles in his mouth. Should I assume you passed on The Godfather for that affront?

Stitch on 6/4/2010 at 16:15

Defending this guy's decision to hurf away in novocain-lipped monotone isn't going to do you any favors here. Regardless of justification, the result is utterly cringe-worthy, as are the failed attempts at dark humor.

Luckily, the actual content of his review is spot on and effectively deconstructs why The Phantom Menace's characters and narrative fall flat. Had the guy applied the same critical eye to his own review and trimmed accordingly, the review would be required listening for aspiring screenwriters.

Also: I'm glad this has been given its own thread, but it was also very briefly mentioned (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109739&p=1952461&viewfull=1#post1952461) here.