Defending Episode I

[lazlototh]

hot Jedi action...

oof!

I agree - I liked TPM right away - my friend had some complaints which may/may not have been legitimate - I didn't care - Maul/Kenobi/Jinn fight is still the best...

[Xana]

I agree. It's still my favorite!

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

I agree. I think Ray Parks' acrobatics really made that fight work, too; gave it more impact than the later ones. One problem with the later fights is that they're fought in darkness and with lightsabers swinging in the gloom, it's tough to connect with the actors' movements. Anankin / Obi-Wans' fight is every bit as energetic and even more emotional, but it is much more heavily edited with a lot more fast cuts. And it's dark. Like Luke / Darth Vaders' fights in TESB and ROTJ. Obi-Wan / Qui-Gon / Mauls' fight is brightly lit, so the lightsabers are more asset than distraction, especially when the action gets fast.

[lazlototh]

I think the footwork was better in EpI than III also - the fight was a great deal only upper body action - I can't see Anakin developing the power and strength of Form V without using his whole body to fight

[Schph Gochi]

Also....a great many of the lightsaber duels in AOTC and ROTS were more heavy into cg......there were notable places where the actors were replaced by cg....
The Maul duel was more the actors talents and didn't take it too far...more believable...

[tanzanlinnear]

Seeing Episode I as part of the PT, I like it as a story. It introduces the characters and the background they live in well. As mentioned before, this was also the first time that we had seen a Jedi in their prime, or the kind of damage that a lightsaber is effortlessly capable of ( when Qui-Gon starts cutting through the bridge doors with almost no resistance) Very different to when Luke swats at the skiff guards in ROTJ and they seem to jump into the pit in one piece (when in reality they would have been cut through)
However. My beef with the film is with Lucas as a director and McCallum as a producer. Lucas is not a good director, and McCallum is a spineless yesman who wouldn't tell Lucas the mistakes he was making. (the reversal of a negative during the Tattooine scenes which showed Obi-Wan's padawan braid behind his left ear, and the scene during the recapture of the palace where Padme's foot slips on the floor, but the scene continues, rather than have the scene being re-shot) These are the kind of mistakes I could not make when I was studying film-making, so it really narks me to see someone being allowed to do it on such a mainstream movie. For a good director, try Ridley Scott, James Cameron or Steven Spielberg. I know Lucas somehow gets lumped in their status because Star Wars is so popular, but the fact is as a director, he's nowhere near their standards.

[lazlototh]

I watched it again last night and was watching the pacing and found it pretty adequate - pacing was better than EpII, which had some REALLY slow points. The action in EpI seemed better distributed and left me interested throughout.

I didn't see the shooting errors that was mentioned but I wasn't looking for them. I'm no film maker so I wouldn't notice those.

[Cara Drume]

Episode I fits perfectly into the rest of the saga. Standing alone, it doesn't do very well...

But when you look at in context, realizing that the acting style is just the 1930's Saturday serial style, it's perfect.

In fact, I watched it a couple days ago. It definately makes more sense after seeing III.

Okay; I put my two cents in!

[himiko sabbrawrra]

I thought the movie was d0ne rather well. Assiding from Jar-jar I loved the whole aspect of it

[Andle Di-Ranos]

I liked E1 better than most of the others since that is the only movie that shows a good old fashion sith vs jedi fight, instead of fallen jedis and cyborgs.

[himiko sabbrawrra]

LOL.. well all the movies have there great and bad parts. I thought that this was a great movie to bring in the old heart of star wars.

[jedi12]

I loved e1 it was a good way to show the jedi at there best.It was also a great way the see another sith other than vader. I thought the whole thing very well made and the comic relief of jar jar was good.

[himiko sabbrawrra]

I still hate Jarjar.. But I see why he was in.. for the young kids to become involved with it

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

The Jedi were at their best in Ep I, not burdened with battle and war. That alone is reason for me to love Ep I.

I knew people would hate JarJar as soon as he showed up. He never really bothered me, but he was meant to be funny and he's not my kind of humor. Except for the bit with Qui-Gon and his tongue. That was funny.

[himiko sabbrawrra]

I agree.. I liked the tongue scene