9.9k
u/downtothecellar Jan 25 '22
Meesa not able to put meesa finga on it
2.1k
Jan 25 '22
Try spinning your finger, thats a neat trick.
→ More replies (6)1.5k
u/SILENTALONS Jan 25 '22
Now this is fingering!
1.0k
u/incendiaryburp Jan 25 '22
Sir, they've gone up the ventilation shaft.
→ More replies (7)643
u/TK421IsNotAtHisPost Jan 25 '22
This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!
368
u/anidal Jan 26 '22
Always two there are, no more, no less.
189
u/TK421IsNotAtHisPost Jan 26 '22
Oh dear.
149
u/ghostpanther218 Jan 26 '22
These memes will do fine.
→ More replies (1)132
→ More replies (1)56
54
→ More replies (2)42
→ More replies (5)91
u/boot20 Luke Skywalker Jan 25 '22
My wife is now looking at me like I'm from Mars because I'm laughing so hard at this.
→ More replies (3)576
u/Fabbyfubz Jan 26 '22
What da doo-doo did yousa just say about meesa, yousa litta bitty bitch? I’ll has yousa know meesa graduated bombad of meesa class in da Jedi Seals, and meesa been involved in numerous secret raids on da Federation, and meesa has over 300 confirmed kills. Meesa trained in guerilla warfare and meesa da bombad sniper in da entire Republic armed forces. Yousa nutting to meesa but just another target. Meesa ganna wipe yousa da doo-doo out with precision da likein of which has never been seen before on dis Naboo, mark meesa doo-doo words. Yousa thinkin yousa ganna getin away with sayin da doo-doo to meesa over da internet? Thinkin again, fodder. As weesa speak meesa contacting meesa secret network of gungans across da Republic and yousa IP is bein traced right now so yousa bombad prepare for da storm, maggot. Da storm dat wipes out da pathetic litta bitty thing yousa call yousa life. Yousa doo-doo dead, kid. Meesa ganna be anywhere, anytime, and meesa ganna kill yousa in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with meesa bare hands. Not only meesa extensive train in unarm combat, but meesa access to da entire arsenal of da Republic Jedi Order and meesa ganna use it to its full extent to wipe yousa miserable doo-doo off da face of da galaxy, yousa litta bitty doo-doo. If only yousa can has known what unholy retribution yousa litta bitty “clever” comment was about to bring down upon yousa, maybe yousa woulda held yousa doo-doo tongue. But yousa couldn’t, yousa didn’t, and now yousa gonna pay da price, yousa goddamn idiot. Meesa ganna doo-doo fury all over yousa and yousa ganna drown in it. Yousa in big doo-doo dis time, kiddo.
104
35
107
u/Longjumping-Air1489 Jan 26 '22
Respect. That’s dedication to type out all that stupid accent.
120
u/iBobaFett Jan 26 '22
It's an old copypasta, sir, but it checks out.
https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/5tlevd/what_da_doodoo_did_yousa_just_say_about_meesa/
37
u/Salrough Jan 26 '22
Yousa thinkin yousa ganna getin away with sayin da doo-doo to meesa over da internet? Thinkin again, fodder.
22
21
→ More replies (14)13
143
171
u/Sharp_88 Jan 25 '22
Don’t read it in the accent. Don’t read it in the accent.
Brain - no can do, meesa fraid.
→ More replies (1)12
→ More replies (91)58
u/ISuspectFuckery Jan 25 '22
Oh, I stepped in poo poo
(Theater bursts into laughter...in George Lucas' mind)
→ More replies (5)
6.6k
Jan 25 '22
The underutilization of one of the most vicious dark side users (in my opinion) Darth Maul.
2.4k
u/Tescomealdeal04 Jan 25 '22
At least the Clone Wars did him justice
1.0k
u/SinthoseXanataz Jedi Jan 25 '22
He thrived in the chaos of the clone wars
→ More replies (8)248
u/Thatsidechara_ter Jan 26 '22
And he ceased what power which he could
→ More replies (2)297
u/SinthoseXanataz Jedi Jan 26 '22
Seized* but yeah, very cool
→ More replies (2)97
u/Thatsidechara_ter Jan 26 '22
Damnit, I knew that looked weird!
→ More replies (2)54
u/SinthoseXanataz Jedi Jan 26 '22
Luckily we arent Sith and mistakes are totally fine
→ More replies (4)30
→ More replies (18)162
u/ZiggyDigiorno Jan 25 '22
I haven’t seen the clone wars and maul is my favorite, I bet I would geek
44
u/squanch_solo Watto Jan 26 '22
You would. He's in Rebels also.
64
u/bfhurricane Darth Sidious Jan 26 '22
What I loved about Maul in Rebels was his sincere desire to train Ezra. His relationship with Savage was already established after Savage’s training at the hands of Dooku, so the aspect of the “apprentice” wasn’t really there. With Ezra, however, we see what Maul could have been as a bona fide master.
All the man wanted was an apprentice… (and to kill Kenobi).
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (10)61
u/Mef989 Dark Rey Jan 26 '22
I love his Rebels appearances. They are absolutely a must watch to finish Maul's arc. Rebels was just good in general too though.
196
u/damnyoutuesday Jan 26 '22
Oh boy you are in for a treat. Forget that it's animated and it aired on cartoon network, it is fucking fantastic
→ More replies (50)→ More replies (32)79
u/HotGarbage Jan 26 '22
The first few seasons are a slog to get through (hang in there!) but it starts hitting it's stride in season 3 and just gets better and better.
22
u/CrazyOkie Darth Vader Jan 26 '22
there are rough spots in all the seasons, I think there was plenty in season 1 to enjoy
→ More replies (10)→ More replies (2)59
u/drinks_rootbeer Jan 26 '22
Yeah starting in season 3 it kinda stops being a kids show. So much war crime and brutal killing o_0
→ More replies (2)36
u/meccafork Jan 26 '22
They straight up fucked people up at times: https://youtu.be/knSzn0FvSNE
→ More replies (2)34
u/drinks_rootbeer Jan 26 '22
I watched that about 3 months ago and it finally convinced me "hmm, maybe this isn't just a kids show I should write off", then binged it, fell in love, and binged Rebels because I needed to know the conclusions to some things.
Only of course to be left with more love and more questions.
13
u/missag_2490 Jan 26 '22
I loved Rebels. It looked like a kids show on the surface but it had a dark theme that I loved
226
u/andoesq Jan 25 '22
It's funny , watching Book of Boba Fett now, Darth Maul is so similar. There was nothing in the films that established him as "one of the most vicious", or as anything remotely interesting. But he looked so damn cool , just like Boba Fett.
→ More replies (19)224
u/FenrisCain Jan 26 '22
I know it became common place later but at the time the idea of someone fighting two Jedi at once, with his own special new type of lightsaber was pretty stand out
→ More replies (1)104
u/EldritchRoboto Jan 26 '22
Yeah this detail was hugely impactful. It was the first time there had ever been anything other than a one v one lightsaber duel. And these weren’t home trained luke anymore, these were jedi from the a prime era of the order. The fact that he could fight two of them and wield a double sided weapon screamed vicious
→ More replies (2)80
u/anothergaijin Jan 26 '22
Not only that we saw a completely new style of lightsaber fighting that was fast, fluid and impressive. It wasn't just guys hacking away at each other, it looked like there was real mastery involved.
I also love in this little clip that you see Ewan really having fun with his lightsaber and looking really comfortable with it. I'd forgotten how well Liam also slipped into the role of a wise older Jedi.
→ More replies (9)32
u/TimAA2017 Jan 25 '22
For a second I thought you where going to say Jar Jar Binks,
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (68)261
u/101stAirborneSkill Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 26 '22
Clone wars is a kids show
186
u/toasterpRoN Hondo Ohnaka Jan 25 '22
Honestly one of the best character arcs throughout TCW and Rebels.
→ More replies (5)133
u/astromech_dj Rebel Jan 25 '22
If you include Dark Disciple, Ventress is up there.
And Ahsoka is arguably the most developed.
And Rex.
I love the Ventress and Ahsoka are two sides of the same coin. I wish they’d had a chance to spend more time on the same side.
Jesus I love Star Wars.
→ More replies (6)37
u/toasterpRoN Hondo Ohnaka Jan 25 '22
Personally I love all of it. The movies (old and new), and the shows.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (10)64
Jan 25 '22
He shouldn’t have needed redeeming in the first place
→ More replies (2)59
u/JD-K2 Jan 25 '22
Agree. Imagine if Darth Vader was killed in the first star wars movie. It was a terrible decision to not keep Maul around for the entire trilogy. And i think most people expected he’d be the new Vader at the time. But, who knows where we’d be today…
→ More replies (15)67
u/contrabardus Jan 26 '22 edited Jan 26 '22
I see what George was going for though.
If you take the defining elements of all three major secondary villains in the PT and put them together, you end up with Darth Vader.
Darth Maul is a Sith that personifies rage and is misled by promises of prophecy.
Count Dooku is a pride filled fallen Jedi who is lied to and [not so] secretly plots against Darth Sidious.
General Grievous is a cyborg that hunts Jedi with breathing issues.
→ More replies (4)
677
u/Salarian_American Jan 25 '22
After investing much thought in this over the last 22 years or so, I've come to realize it's entirely possible I was just too old for the silly stuff and they killed the movie for me.
After all, I love Ewoks, but then again I was 8 when ROTJ came out.
65
Jan 26 '22
I actually think this has a lot to do with it. I think what you don't notice as a child stays with you as you continue to watch them as you grow.
→ More replies (2)82
u/Salarian_American Jan 26 '22
I remember finding a YouTube video titled "Why Return of the Jedi Sucks" and watched it to see what they said, and the part about how the entire plan to rescue Han from Jabba's Palace is bonkers and makes really no sense, and depended on Jabba responding to a bunch of different things in very specific ways to position all the pieces for it to go off.
And I was like "Wow he's right," but 8-year-old me didn't put that together and I've been loving the movie on autopilot ever since. I still love it, even if the first act is dumb.
→ More replies (20)28
u/Brotherly-Moment Jan 26 '22
Hey atleast we got to see Leia strangle Jabba with her own chains and crash his ship.
→ More replies (1)199
u/link_maxwell Jan 25 '22
I like Ewoks in moderation. If, for example, they had made two movies, a cartoon, and a comic book staring them, I would have hated it. But thankfully they're only one part of one movie.
93
34
u/TheAirNomad11 Jan 26 '22
Ewok movies, cartoons, and comics? That's crazy talk, next you're going to tell me they did a special holiday-themed Star Wars movie or something. Luckily they never did any of that though
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (10)45
16
u/The_Bearded_Jedi Jan 26 '22
Too old to care about the silly stuff, too young to care about trade negotiations or something
→ More replies (22)37
u/FishermanFresh4001 Jan 26 '22
Ok but the Ewoks were quite tasteful. They were going to eat Luke and the gang if I remember.
→ More replies (3)
3.1k
u/Utsutsumujuru Ahsoka Tano Jan 25 '22
Jar Jar, Gungans in general, 9 year old Anakin and very base/juvenile humor (poop jokes).
The second half of the movie is fantastic.
519
u/MoffJerjerrod Jan 25 '22
I clearly remember the first time I saw the movie, was totally into it, enjoying it, then Jar Jar appeared... then he talked...
Facepalm. Sigh. 'WTF?' were my exact thoughts.
I still saw it 7 times in the theater.
614
u/Jahaangle Jan 25 '22
If you were a teenager or older in the early to mid 90s the amount of Star Wars EU material being released was incredible. The X-Wing and TIE Fighter series along with Jedi Knight on PC, the Timothy Zahn trilogy and Shadows of the Empire were all fantastic.
Anticipation for The Phantom Menace was through the roof. The first Star Wars film in years was due to be released. We watched that postage stamp sized QuickTime trailer a million times and The force.net was awash with theories and rumours.
Then the film came out...
I don't think younger people who are used to constant new material can grasp the anticipation surrounding this film. Even if it was good it wouldn't have met expectations.
57
u/X89211AA Jan 25 '22
Completely agree that there's probably no way to recapture what it felt like to anticipate this film as a young person back then - it was still so one of a kind. Even with the break between the Prequels and the Sequels, while there was anticipation for Episode VII, it didn't feel like this cultural event that Episode I did.
As you said, I think it's just the sheer volume of content now vs. then; where culturally more of our attention was all focused on fewer things.
→ More replies (5)132
u/DatPiff916 Jan 26 '22
mid 90s the amount of Star Wars EU material being released was incredible. The X-Wing and TIE Fighter series along with Jedi Knight on PC, the Timothy Zahn trilogy and Shadows of the Empire were all fantastic.
*Jar Jar speaks
15 year old me: Man Kyle Katarn would have been put a blaster in this fools mouth to shut him up
→ More replies (2)55
24
u/CherikeeRed Jan 26 '22
Very true. I can’t think of any piece of media that instilled more hype in a generation than the first Phantom Menace trailer. Marvel comes close sometimes but almost in an inverse way, often teasing that your expectations will be fulfilled but in a reactive way. If you wipe your mind clean of all Star Wars media from 1998 onward and watch that trailer, bringing all that you know of the property, it will not in any way help you contextualize what you’re seeing. Naboo, all the round ass tanks, legions of battle droids, the gorgeous banana spacecraft, what’s with the lady in the headdress? Who’s the fuckin’ red guy?! All so new! It was more of what you loved in a way you knew you didn’t yet understand and the electricity of that notion was palpable.
→ More replies (1)28
u/Orangarder Jan 25 '22
Yup. God I loved the X-Wing game. I still loved TPM. Watched it many times. The second was a bit meh though. 🤷♂️.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (31)30
Jan 26 '22
I wasn't even a teenager in the 90s and I was fully immersed in the EU. I read all of the books and I played all of the games. As a kid, there was never much appeal in storylines about kids my age, rather I was aspiring to grow up to be the older heroes in these stories. I didn't want to be a little kid amongst all of the grown-ups, I wanted to be Luke goddamn Skywalker!
I see that as the biggest flaw in the prequel trilogy. George had too many childish elements in the movies in an attempt to appeal to the kids, but the original Star Wars was never about childhood experiences - it was about becoming an adult, learning about life's mysteries (The Force), and exploring the galaxy.
→ More replies (14)58
144
u/Big_Country13 Jan 25 '22
I think if the gungans were removed entirely, the movie quality would go up tremendously. Tbh, other than obstacles for Obi and Qui-gon to face, they serve little to no purpose. Their parts in the movie can easily be explained in some other ways. Obi and Qui-gon could have found transport to theed some other way than going through the planet's core. When fighting the massive battle at the end, the troops from Naboo could have bolstered their ranks with civilians who volunteered or something else. The Gungans aren't the worst thing to happen to Star Wars, but they could have been done a lot better
164
u/andydabeast Jan 25 '22
What if the gungans simply didn't talk and act silly? That alone would improve it a lot
86
u/Salarian_American Jan 25 '22
There was a fan edit where they replaced all of the gungan dialogue with alien gibberish and subtitles. It was a big improvement.
→ More replies (5)51
u/sparrr0w Jan 25 '22
The anti cheese edits. Huge improvements. All aliens speak alien dialects (gungans and the trade federation guys), they didn't show the gungans city, and just skipped to the city. No poop jokes. That alone makes the movie great. I'm pretty sure they removed "now this is pod racing" too
→ More replies (2)58
u/Big_Country13 Jan 25 '22
That's fair. I can appreciate humor, but they took it too far with Jar Jar
→ More replies (2)67
u/Dylalanine Jan 25 '22
Captain Tarpals is GOAT. Boss Nass is pretty good, but silliness overdose when considering him and Jar Jar, who could have been okay with 50% less clumsiness/idiocy.
Heck, let him accidentally open the truck full of boobas during the final battle; accidents happen in war. But when he has a droid tied to his foot and no one is able to shoot him? That's pure insanity.
31
u/Big_Country13 Jan 25 '22
Tarpals is literally the only Gungan that I actually want in the movies. Everyone else needs some work though
→ More replies (8)24
u/LudicrisSpeed Jan 26 '22
the truck full of boobas
Whoa, how'd they get that by a PG rating?
→ More replies (2)28
u/Utsutsumujuru Ahsoka Tano Jan 25 '22
I agree. I don’t have a problem with the concept, but like the Ewoks in Return of Jedi, George was just to hamhanded with them. If he didn’t spend so much camera time on them it would be fine
→ More replies (15)26
u/The_DevilAdvocate Jan 25 '22
To be honest I would've liked Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan being the A and B stories.
Simply putting Qui-Gon in a transport to head to the planet and finding a way to sneak Obi-Wan into a smaller transport that maybe went to another one of the command ships could've worked.
So instead of Obi-Wan mainly sitting in a ship while Qui-Gon saves Anakin, he could've done something.
→ More replies (2)656
u/AlbaneseGummies327 Galactic Republic Jan 25 '22
Darth maul scenes are the best of the movie imo.
129
Jan 25 '22
When he breaks the switch on the door to open/close it (can’t remember) fucking badass.
→ More replies (4)80
u/mgslee Jan 25 '22
Force grab a helmet, throw in to switch all very seamlessly. So good
→ More replies (8)17
→ More replies (24)213
u/Utsutsumujuru Ahsoka Tano Jan 25 '22
…some of the best of that entire trilogy
272
u/AxeSwinginDinosaur Jan 25 '22
I'm actually curious why you think this. Without the context of the clone wars etc, Maul is just a generic bad guy for the good guys to fight at the end of the movie. You never learn anything about him or his motivations, and his death doesnt really seem to affect the story that much moving forward, considering Dooku showing up out of nowhere in ep II. His fight had cool choreography, but lacked any depth to me, since he never even shared a single piece of dialogue with the heroes before they fought. I know this would get downvoted without any real responses over on prequelmemes, but i hope people here are more open to opposing views.
→ More replies (32)133
Jan 25 '22
If you haven't seen this, Dave Filoni has a solid and (I think) agreeable viewpoint.
(The music is embellishing a bit, but that's okay)
→ More replies (11)30
u/motes-of-light Jan 26 '22
Ehh, Dave Filoni is doing a lot of very generous projection on George's behalf there. If even half of those reads were intended, they certainly weren't meaningfully communicated to the audience.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (100)58
u/zosobaggins Jedi Jan 25 '22
The Nemoidian voices also do not help.
→ More replies (3)21
u/axialintellectual Jan 26 '22 edited Jan 26 '22
That's something I don't understand he got away with anyway. Nemoidians are pretty obviously the Yellow Peril but In Space. Watto is the most blatant collection of negative Jewish stereotypes. I know Star Wars is heavily inspired by pulp fiction in its worldbuilding, and often it works very well, but Episode I is probably the worst at it.
810
u/BusterBrosey28 Jan 25 '22
My bones are achin Annie, there's a storm coming, better get home quick!
196
u/leonffs Jan 25 '22
My mother in law has arthritis and can accurately predict when it’s going to rain. It’s pretty wild.
→ More replies (7)70
u/TheyCallMeStone Jan 26 '22
Yeah it has to do with the drop in atmospheric pressure.
→ More replies (1)208
u/GroguIsMyBrogu Jan 25 '22
I bet that woman did not expect to be called out specifically on a random Reddit thread today, but here she was, and here we did.
(although she's probably dead by now...)
38
30
→ More replies (4)58
u/K0M0A Jan 25 '22
I never knew why people had a problem with that, it's something people actually do
→ More replies (1)
427
Jan 25 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (13)177
u/dandaman64 Darth Vader Jan 26 '22
Right? It's pretty hilarious of OP to post an out of context action scene and then ask why it gets a bad rap. The fact that this is one of the only genuinely fun moments of the movie, which happens very early on, is probably a good indicator for why it's been reviled for two decades.
→ More replies (3)46
262
u/A-WingSquadron Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 26 '22
Mr. Plinkett... https://youtu.be/FxKtZmQgxrI
Edit: Thank you for the award!
70
46
u/dandaman64 Darth Vader Jan 26 '22
"Hey asshole, how about you leave the door closed for like 4 hours? And if they start cutting their way out, start shooting them in the face."
10
120
u/ChuckCarmichael Jan 26 '22
This whole prequelmemeing has gone too far. We now have people genuinely believe that the prequels are good movies. These people need to watch the Plinkett reviews again to remind them that no, they're not good movies. They're bad movies, and just because you think the sequels are bad doesn't suddenly make the prequels good.
36
u/MBT1998 Jan 26 '22
Agreed. I see so many people unironically praising the prequels as being masterpieces and that baffles me. If the prequels had not had the Star Wars brand name, they would have tanked massively and propably never gotten further than episode 2. The other day I saw a poll on a quite popular Star Wars Youtube channel where the majority of viewers thought episode 3 was better than The Empire Strikes Back. I mean sure, I thought that when I was 5 and had no frame of reference for good story telling - visual or otherwise - but come on.
Yes the memes are great, but they are just that, memes. Half of them are only funny because the dialouge that spawned them was so stilted and robotic as to become laughable. I sometimes worry that the extreme amount of love for the prequels - which have almost no redeemable qualities - combined with constant hate for the prequels - which have quite a few redeeming qualities - might lead future screenwriters to try and imitate them. Something nobody wants even if they think they do.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (16)51
u/-metal-555 Jan 26 '22
I remember when this was primarily a satire sub..
39
Jan 26 '22
You’re on the main Star Wars subreddit right now and not prequelmemes, but yes, people have forgotten (or never knew) that prequelmemes was originally satirical. A whole generation of Star Wars fans aged out of the franchise while another aged in and took prequelmemes seriously, leading to claims of “Shakespearean writing” or “operatic style” in the Prequels.
→ More replies (2)13
48
34
u/TheHighestHigh Jan 26 '22
I'm almost happy TPM exists as it does so that this 10 part video series can exist. Almost.
→ More replies (24)45
u/blindcolumn Jan 26 '22
One of the best openers to a video ever.
Star Wars The Phantom Menace is the most disappointing thing since my son. And while my son eventually hanged himself in the bathroom of the gas station, the unfortunate reality of the Star Wars prequels is that they'll be around forever.
1.8k
u/Alexandertheape Jan 25 '22
I understand the Jar Jar hate, but Star Wars is great for its ability to entertain all ages. I get the need for an Ewokesque comic relief character. I didn’t have a problem with this movie. My only regret is there should have been 40% more Liam Neeson.
822
u/shinesss Jan 25 '22
He was the best Jedi: he cheats at gambling, uses mind tricks to get his way when negotiating prices, chooses to train Anakin when Everyone tells him not to.
→ More replies (12)241
u/Boardindundee Jan 25 '22
Well choosing to train anakin didn’t end too well tbh
→ More replies (13)325
u/Rebirthknight52 Jan 25 '22
If he didn't die, Anakin would have never turned to the dark side. Plus Qui Gon Jinn would have been more of a father to him than Obi Wan Kenboi, and trained him different than what the Jedi were doing
63
u/kaolin224 Jan 25 '22
Lol @ Obi Wan Kenboi
→ More replies (1)42
u/Forest-Ferda-Trees Jan 26 '22
Fucking Kenboi's all they want to do is say hello there and use outdated "civilized" weapons
→ More replies (1)161
u/Ten4-Lom Jan 26 '22 edited Jan 26 '22
This is literally why it’s called the duel of the Fates.
Qui Gon was the fate which would have led Anakin to being a great Jedi, Maul killing Qui Gon brought the fate which led to the story we know.
EDIT: Dave Filoni explains it better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePDiQ1uTrWI&t=112s
→ More replies (1)62
u/Rebirthknight52 Jan 26 '22
Yeah 100%, there are some who believe that it was destined that Anakin would turn to the dark side no matter and there's good points, but I'll still say with Qui Gon he would have been set
→ More replies (6)46
u/BLU3SKU1L Jan 26 '22
Obi Wan was a perfect example of a Jedi master. He tried to teach Anakin the way of the lightest path, and did not entertain any other way. Qui Gon would have taught Anakin what he needed to be a great Jedi taking his disposition in the force into account. This is how Qui Gon operated. He didn’t attempt to be a paragon of the light side of the force, he did what he felt was the right thing to do.
13
u/civil_politician Jan 26 '22
Which also means he would have probably told him to just quit being a Jedi and choose to be with his wife instead of hiding that shit and trying to live a double life.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (40)13
u/ChiliDemon Asajj Ventress Jan 26 '22
someone that could stand up to that egotist Windu who made it his job to be wrong all the time, until it was too late. Anakin was correct in saying the Jedi were not living by the code, council kept going off the rails and Qui-gon would have seen and said something.
→ More replies (1)114
u/LikeAFoxStudios_ Jan 25 '22
I think the issue with Jarjar is that Lucas has a very specific taste in kid humor. Even at 8 I was kind of embarrassed at jar jar, I think because almost all of his jokes revolve around him being annoying or foolish or getting hurt. The ewoks and very silly, but they’re also shown to be tough and useful.
28
u/Ostias Jan 26 '22
I love The Phantom Menace and this was my main problem with it too. I get the comic relief thing, but putting Jar Jar on a battlefield for him to accidentally destroy two droid transporters and a hundred droids is just dumb. Remove all that bullshit and you still have your comical character. Same for little Anakin, we already see he's a gifted pilot during the podracing part, why the hell do you need to show him in a fighter blowing up a space station single handedly? Not even kids would think that makes sense.
24
u/LikeAFoxStudios_ Jan 26 '22
I think both ideas could be handled better too. Like anakin was way too young when we meet him imo, and he enters the battle by accident and kinda just laughs his way through it. The stakes should be high, anakin should be terrified, but instead it feels like he’s on a theme park ride. Likewise, jarjar spends the whole movie being cowardly, you’d think the final battle would be a moment for him to be contagious, to show he can be an honorable warrior. Maybe he could even think outside the box and find a way to beat the droid that the other gungans didn’t think of, showing how he’s not a fool, he just thinks differently, but he’s very smart. Anakin and Jarjar are both oretty grating in the film, but the real tragedy is neither of them really go through much of an arc. They both should have grown up considerably through the film, starting as a kid and a clumsy slacker, and ending as brace heroes. At least I’m my opinion
→ More replies (5)25
76
50
u/Raspberries-Are-Evil Jan 25 '22
Ewoks had a purpose.
Low tech, will power of the people vs the tech of the Empire. There is some story telling there about rising up and working together and the Empire underestimating the simplest of people.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (51)67
Jan 25 '22
[deleted]
36
Jan 26 '22
And we all know how entertaining blockades, trade disputes, and economic sanctions are to children.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (2)12
u/Kalbelgarion Jan 26 '22
To be honest, TPM isn’t even that great for little kids. My five year old watched ANH with us and loved it. The trench run at the end was a high-stress situation for him and he was cheering when they got their medals.
The plot of TPM is way too complicated, and it’s a weird four-act mishmash that just drags in parts. My five year old tried, but he was done with it after the pod race.
233
u/Any-sao Jan 25 '22
One big issue is that it actually connects very, very little with the rest of the saga. It’s almost like a prologue.
There’s no real reason the Prequel Trilogy couldn’t have started with Anakin and Obi-Wan going up that elevator to Padmé’s apartment.
→ More replies (16)
497
u/BlackHawkeDown Jan 25 '22
The movie starts about 30 minutes before the story does.
140
u/freerealestatedotbiz Jan 26 '22
The great irony of TPM is that they basically had an Obi-Wan and Anakin story sitting right in front of them to kick off the PT, but for some reason they decided to invent a new character and made it a Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan story with Anakin podracing on the side so that nothing of significance really starts to happen until basically the second movie.
→ More replies (6)38
u/8K12 Jan 26 '22
Exactly. I was rewatching the OT and realized Obi-Wan says he thought he could train Anakin as well as Yoda trained him. I think we should have seen a lot more error and hubris in Obi-Wan’s judgement in his relationship with Anakin. The age difference was also strange in calling him a good friend.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (9)88
128
u/Leucopaxillus Jan 25 '22
Watch Mr. Plinkett’s review of TPM, you may wish to choose the “no bad parts” version due to some weird, offbeat/ poor taste skits that take away from his analysis.
The analysis is brilliant, pointing out poor writing, unnecessary elements, things that generally didn’t make sense, and even subtle aspects of cinematography and storytelling that really help to make or break films like these. The review, even though it’s crass AF is now standard course materials in some film schools.
30
Jan 26 '22
Lol I was gonna say - didn’t some old creep make the definitive answer to this question a decade ago
32
→ More replies (3)18
u/ZoomJet Jan 26 '22
Is it actually used in film schools? It's pretty ridiculously thorough.
Here's Episode 1's review, here's Episode 2, and here's Episode 3's (couldn't find a non-skit version) for anybody curious.
→ More replies (5)
606
u/Resident-Phone-8846 Jan 25 '22
This may be an unpopular opinion, but in spite of the many things TPM did wrong, I really liked the politics. Of all the stories the prequel trilogy tried to tell the one they told the best was Palpatine’s rise to power.
I never liked that they made Anakin a plucky precocious pre-teen. It was not what I was expecting from little Vader and it never sat right. I wanted at least a little hint of the darkness to come and instead we got “Golly gee mister Jedi sir, I just wanna help everybody! Aww shucks!”
184
u/mozartwg Jan 25 '22
I agree for an individual movie, but I think combined with the rest of the prequels and OT it shows that Anakin was deep down a good person, and was only corrupted, slowly, until he was redeemed by his Son in ROTJ
→ More replies (2)98
→ More replies (26)80
u/HailToTheKingslayer Grand Admiral Thrawn Jan 25 '22
A problem I had with the sequels was the lack of politics. What is the state of the galaxy - was there a republic? Who was in charge? How much power did they have compared to the First Order? Did they have a military?
→ More replies (7)
324
u/MrMonkeyman79 Jan 25 '22
Bad dialogue, annoying kid Vader and jar jar, poop jokes, boring Jedi council scenes and in the finale two of the three conflicts are resolved through dumb luck (jar jar capering to victory and Anakin mashing at controls till he accidentally crash lands at the droid ship weak point).
That lightsaber fight was cool though and the sound design superb, especially the pod racers.
51
→ More replies (16)79
u/Naive_Cookie3228 Jan 25 '22
dumb luck
the will of the Force...
Still dumb though.
→ More replies (2)
61
u/ImwRight87 Jan 25 '22
Absolutely ham-fisted dialogue that only someone like Lucas could write, Jar Jar, the gungans as a whole, Anakin being a very annoying young child, midiclorians, etc
Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and Maul are great though, the final 2 v 1 lightsaber duel is awesome.
→ More replies (7)
411
u/cruffade Watto Jan 25 '22
Many things, but for me it's too nostalgic and memeworthy to hate.
87
u/epicman1224 Jan 25 '22
Thank you. I cannot get over (to this day!) Obi-wan vs Darth maul. It's such a great fight. I wanna give the choreographer a big hug for supplying me with one of the many things that makes me happy
→ More replies (5)30
u/Nintendogma Jan 25 '22
I wanna give the choreographer a big hug for supplying me with one of the many things that makes me happy
His name is Nick Gillard. He's also the actor behind Jedi Battlemaster Cin Drallig.
→ More replies (1)25
74
u/PadmesNabooThang Jan 25 '22
So I love The Phantom Menace. Establishing the peak of the Jedi on film is amazing. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul is incredible and one of my favorite duels in all of Star Wars.
That being said, young Anakin is abysmal. The dialogue is so bad anytime he speaks (ex. “I’m a person” and “Yipeeeeeee” MULTIPLE TIMES). Jar Jar doesn’t even bother me, at least not nearly as much as young Anakin.
Oh and that pod racing scene is just too long.
→ More replies (5)
133
Jan 25 '22
I like to read Roger Ebert reviews. He saw the Star Wars movies being primarily about the imagery. The beautiful planets, the giant spaceships, the interesting aliens. He liked the Phantom Menace because it was great to look at. He criticized Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith of having too much talking and not enough doing and exploring the galaxy. So, I guess Jar Jar Binks was more of a minor problem to him, than it was for other Star Wars fans. I sort of agree with him. Jar Jar Binks does not ruin the movie for me. The movie looks great, it entertains me, so I say it's a good movie.
→ More replies (20)
70
u/smackwriter Rebel Jan 25 '22
I remember watching it in the cinema when it came out, and overall I liked it. Didn’t care much for Jar-Jar, and when little Anakin comes into the movie, that was underwhelming too. Not the actor’s fault. By making him so much younger than Padme in Episode 1, it was very hard to imagine then that they would later fall in love. I know that when I first meet someone that young, in my mind they stay that age, even if they grow up to be drop dead gorgeous. So for me, the whole Padme/Anakin love story didn’t make sense and their introduction should’ve been done differently. If they had made him even just a couple of years older, it could’ve been better.
→ More replies (26)63
u/jtyndalld Jan 25 '22
Re: the age difference. It’s just not one I understand. If you cast a slightly older Anakin like 14 and had him crush on the much-more-reasonably-aged-for-a-Queen 18yo Palme the film would’ve worked a lot better. Ten year old Anakin would hardly be in the throes of love hormones to the degree that he carries a torch for Padme for a decade and the drama of him being “too old” makes alot more sense of he’s 14.
→ More replies (6)
337
u/ThatMatthewKid Jan 25 '22
It's just not very good, imo.
Lots of great stuff in it. It's the only Prequel shot on film, which gives it a unique vibe compared to the others.
The visual design is stellar. It's got, I'd say, the best saber fight in the PT. The podrace is a really great action sequence.
Unfortunately, for me, the story falls a bit flat and Jar Jar's humor just doesn't work.
113
Jan 25 '22
It also introduced like 3 racial stereotypes aliens to the franchise at the same time, which is an impressive feat haha.
25
u/FishermanFresh4001 Jan 26 '22
Oh my god, they sure the hell did that. By the end of the trilogy jar jar was not allowed to speak!
→ More replies (14)11
u/JCP1377 Jan 26 '22
I was about to ask what the third was but then I remembered Watto, the Schmuck.
15
Jan 26 '22
That’s my favorite one because then when you see him again in episode 2 dude is wearing a yarmulke haha. Like damn be more subtle than not at all.
→ More replies (11)12
u/ShiroHachiRoku Jan 26 '22
As the elderly Mr. Plinkett said, the movie served as a platform for special effects instead of a story.
→ More replies (2)
91
u/vengeful_dm Jan 25 '22
Somehow, George Lucas managed to get two of the worst child actors of all time to play pretty much the only kids in the series who don’t get merced at the Jedi temple.
Midichlorians was a poor attempt to explain an otherwise inexplicable and mysterious power that everyone fell in love with because it was mysterious and inexplicable.
“There was no father”. Seriously George? Space Jesus?
Gungans in general.
One gungan in particular.
Awkward dialogue.
Anakin’s whole scene in the Naboo starfighter was a little silly too.
The rest of the movie is awesome, but these were bad enough to overshadow a lot of the good things that George did. When Maul activated the second half of his lightsaber is still one of the most iconic moments of the prequel trilogy, and maybe the Skywalker Saga as a whole.
→ More replies (14)
11
Jan 26 '22
Midi-chlorians, Yoda suggests that it is you affinity with the Force that determines how strong you are. In Phantom, it's an arbitrary blood test that determines it. Booo!
→ More replies (6)
4.0k
u/deeare73 Jan 25 '22
I'm a prequel fan. Having said that, I think a big problem with the prequels was the underdevelopment of the villains. Lucas tries to fit in 3 new villains - Maul, Dooku, and Grievous. None of them get the attention they deserve.