I have always loved Star Trek and really just shows and movies about space in general. Star Trek: Voyager seems really different from all of the other series' of the same title. In Voyager, the crew have a much better reason to explore. The very first episode, titled Caretaker, starts with crew of the Voyager recruiting a young pilot by the name of Tom Paris to help them search for a vessel that has been lost in space. When they reach the point that they were last seen, however, they get transported 70,000 light years away from where they started their mission. Here they find a strange ship that is powering a whole civilization on the surface of a nearby planet. The crew at first seems hopeful that the mysterious ship can bring them back to their side of the galaxy. However, the being who controls the ship is dying and doesn't have enough power to get them back. The being does say that there is another a lot like him that may still have enough power to get them home. This gives the crew of the Voyager a great reason for exploring! I believe that this will set up a whole slew of great scenarios regarding strange species that have not been in any other Star Trek show and different types of planets and parts of space that don't seem explainable. After viewing the first episode of Star Trek: Voyager, I already can't wait to see what else this story has in store!
I know that people give this movie a lot of crap considering the legacy that it was supposed to live up to when it was first released. To most fans of the Star Wars franchise, the prequels are seen as mediocre at best and are panned by critics. The sad thing is, they're right. For the most part, the prequels are not good movies, and it all started with a completely useless prequel called The Phantom Menace.
When I say 'useless' I'm referring to a lot of aspects of the movie at hand. From side characters, plot points, and locations, a lot of it just seems inconsequential. For instance, the opening of the movie is all set up as a diplomatic mission. Nobody once to see Jedi being diplomats. This does introduce the viewer to scenarios that we'll see more of in the rest of the movie, such as droids and The Emperor. But it doesn't really envelope a first-time viewer into a world. Some might make the argument that it is just giving us a sample of the world but in reality it's restricting us to something much bigger. If it was just 'sampling' this huge universe it would at least mention other awesome places in the universe at hand. Instead, we visit a total three planets with little to no mention of anything outside of them. Another useless plot point is the whole premise of arriving on Tattooine. The scenario is that the crew's (Padme, Obi Wan, and Qui Gon Jinn) ship needs repairing and they are stranded on a desert planet. This whole scenario does have some much needed talk between Padme, Qui Gon, and Anakin, but that can happen somewhere else. The only reason the writers wanted Tattooine in this movie is because it is also Luke's home planet. How about instead of having Gungans on Naboo help with the resistance, you can get residents on Tattooine help so there is a reason for being there in the first place. That planet isn't even very interesting besides the fact that they still have slaves. It is useless.
One thing I do commend this movie for, however, are its fight scenes. Whether it be huge armies facing off, running from underwater monsters, or a simple battle between a Jedi and a Sith, it is always a spectacle to watch and gives a real sense of urgency to fights that the sequels didn't have as much of. The villains that the Jedi fight are well done, though I would prefer them to be a little more mysterious. The Darth Maul reveal on Tattooine for example would have been so much more effective if we hadn't seen him at all up to that point except in shots when you couldn't see his face, only his cloak. That's also a huge problem with the Emperor. The movie gives hints that Senator Palpatine is the Sith Lord but those subtle hints aren't very effective when you can see half of his face while he is playing the role of the Sith Lord. That's really a problem with all of the villains in this movie; they need to act more subtly in order to get a better reaction from the audience.
In fact, any kind of reaction from the audience would be very much appreciated as I had a blank face through the first half of this movie as I was trying my best to get through the cringe-worthy performances of Anakin and Padme. Anakin wasn't too bad, thoough, as he was just a charming and curious kid who wanted to please everybody and who can blame him? He's a slave! Padme, however, is just a bore. She gets a little more character wants it is revealed that she is actually the Queen of Naboo and she actually makes a difference in last act of the movie. In fact, it seems like the whole movie gets better in the last half. It seems like every character really gets a chance to shine and do some real good. Anakin destroys an entire army of droids, Padme kicks some butt with a task force of behind her, and Obi Wan actually does something important by killing Darth Maul a.k.a. The Phantom Menace. By the end of the movie, everybody got a chance in showing what they could do and it really gave me hope as to what was up next in the franchise. It's just too bad that the other prequels still aren't very good.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was useless!
Though I did really enjoy the last act of this "epic", most of the plots that the characters chased were inconsequential to the rest of this movie and to the rest of the prequels. It was lazy for the first half and only good enough as a whole.
When I say 'useless' I'm referring to a lot of aspects of the movie at hand. From side characters, plot points, and locations, a lot of it just seems inconsequential. For instance, the opening of the movie is all set up as a diplomatic mission. Nobody once to see Jedi being diplomats. This does introduce the viewer to scenarios that we'll see more of in the rest of the movie, such as droids and The Emperor. But it doesn't really envelope a first-time viewer into a world. Some might make the argument that it is just giving us a sample of the world but in reality it's restricting us to something much bigger. If it was just 'sampling' this huge universe it would at least mention other awesome places in the universe at hand. Instead, we visit a total three planets with little to no mention of anything outside of them. Another useless plot point is the whole premise of arriving on Tattooine. The scenario is that the crew's (Padme, Obi Wan, and Qui Gon Jinn) ship needs repairing and they are stranded on a desert planet. This whole scenario does have some much needed talk between Padme, Qui Gon, and Anakin, but that can happen somewhere else. The only reason the writers wanted Tattooine in this movie is because it is also Luke's home planet. How about instead of having Gungans on Naboo help with the resistance, you can get residents on Tattooine help so there is a reason for being there in the first place. That planet isn't even very interesting besides the fact that they still have slaves. It is useless.
One thing I do commend this movie for, however, are its fight scenes. Whether it be huge armies facing off, running from underwater monsters, or a simple battle between a Jedi and a Sith, it is always a spectacle to watch and gives a real sense of urgency to fights that the sequels didn't have as much of. The villains that the Jedi fight are well done, though I would prefer them to be a little more mysterious. The Darth Maul reveal on Tattooine for example would have been so much more effective if we hadn't seen him at all up to that point except in shots when you couldn't see his face, only his cloak. That's also a huge problem with the Emperor. The movie gives hints that Senator Palpatine is the Sith Lord but those subtle hints aren't very effective when you can see half of his face while he is playing the role of the Sith Lord. That's really a problem with all of the villains in this movie; they need to act more subtly in order to get a better reaction from the audience.
In fact, any kind of reaction from the audience would be very much appreciated as I had a blank face through the first half of this movie as I was trying my best to get through the cringe-worthy performances of Anakin and Padme. Anakin wasn't too bad, thoough, as he was just a charming and curious kid who wanted to please everybody and who can blame him? He's a slave! Padme, however, is just a bore. She gets a little more character wants it is revealed that she is actually the Queen of Naboo and she actually makes a difference in last act of the movie. In fact, it seems like the whole movie gets better in the last half. It seems like every character really gets a chance to shine and do some real good. Anakin destroys an entire army of droids, Padme kicks some butt with a task force of behind her, and Obi Wan actually does something important by killing Darth Maul a.k.a. The Phantom Menace. By the end of the movie, everybody got a chance in showing what they could do and it really gave me hope as to what was up next in the franchise. It's just too bad that the other prequels still aren't very good.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was useless!
Though I did really enjoy the last act of this "epic", most of the plots that the characters chased were inconsequential to the rest of this movie and to the rest of the prequels. It was lazy for the first half and only good enough as a whole.
Friday, July 10, 2015
