In theory it's because of a press release embargo, but I'm sure the fact that AICN said the movie sucked didn't help. The review was almost as harsh as the one they did for "The Love Guru."
As for me -- I have some problems with the computer animation style in this movie. It looks like a videogame. I liked that Dexter's Lab guy's simple classic animation on the Cartoon Network "Clone Wars" a lot more.
One quote from the pulled review, reposted on Fark, got my attention:
"Then they introduced Baby Jabba aka Rotta the Huttlet aka Stinky."
No, dear God no. They didn't.
Getting flashbacks:
I don't like the animation either. given the quality look of other animated films, the previews looked ugly.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the toon network version, I so I was a bit surprised to hear they were redoing.
It will do tremendous business. I, or most people, could live a really good life with just 3% of the net profit from toys alone.
Also, as some of the people on the Fark thread commented, the movie is clearly made for younger people in mind -- far more than the CN Star Wars cartoon.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the trick is to see if the kids like it or not.
I dunno... is it just me or is anyone else getting just a little tired of the prequel-bashing?
ReplyDeleteYou get all these people complaining that Lucas is bereft of ideas and the prequels are too kiddie-oriented and not enough like the original trilogy.
Of course, many of these people are forgetting that the original trilogy was large;y oriented to kids, even the first one. And on top of it, we all know that if Lucas had kept the tone and such of the prequels the same as the original trilogy that we'd hear endless complaints about how we've seen all this before and why can't he come up with something new.
The original trilogy has a special quality to it, simply because it was all new and fresh when we first saw it. No matter how good the prequel stuff is, how much deeper and complex the story. it'll never have the same impact of the original trilogy because we've had over 20 years of living in a world with Star Wars since then. Sure the prequels are different than the original trilogy. Lucas is different, WE'RE different, the world is different. It's over 20 years later. Why should anyone expect it to be the same?
As for the Clone Wars itself, while I'm not a fan of this particular hyper-stylized style, I respect the fact that trying to literally recreate the actors in 3D would no doubt look a lot stiffer and in the end be less appealing. I'm glad to see at least one more prominent female character in what has been a very male-dominated franchise, even if it is a precocious little Togruta Padawan. I'm interested to see how Anakin deals with a Padawan of his own, especially one who appears to share many of his own early qualities. And I'm content to judge this film on it's own merits instead of holding it up to the rose-coloured, impossibly elevated image that we have of the original trilogy.
I was going to give it a chance...till I saw a burping baby Hutt in the trailer. Oh "lolz".
ReplyDeleteJeff -
ReplyDeleteYou're making way too much sense for the internet. Back away from your computer. ;-)
Too many critics try to ignore the facts that ALL the Star Wars movies (possibly excepting Empire) are kids' movies. The original trilogy gets a huge pass from the adults of today simply because they're looked at based on the significance they had to so many childhoods.
I think Clone Wars looks like a lot of fun. My son is thrilled that it's finally coming out and happy that we're going to see it Friday. That's all I care about.
Something I'm mystified over is why does being 'for kids' mean that its suddenly okay for something to be lacking any sort of value or story quality what so ever?
ReplyDeleteI would much rather to take my kids to see something that a bit more than just the movie equivalency of a Happy Meal.
"Something I'm mystified over is why does being 'for kids' mean that its suddenly okay for something to be lacking any sort of value or story quality what so ever? "
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that what my 9 year-old considers value and story quality drastically differs from yours. :-D
Battles? Check. Action? Check. Recognizable characters? Check. New, cool-looking ships and planets? Check.
That's who it's written for, and it's perfectly fine for them. And the parents who take them. And for any adults that aren't still clinging to the notion that anything related to SW should be akin to a religious experience.
I hate to bring up the dreaded "C" word (CONTINUITY), but my main question about this is whether or not it's invalidating anything that happened in the Cartoon Network stuff. Because as far as I know all Star Wars-related stuff that comes out is approved by Lucas, and isn't this "Clone Wars" essentially the same story/span of canon time?
ReplyDeletecosta k
http://fistfightatthearthouse.wordpress.com
Hell, I can’t pull my eyes away from “Johnny Mnemonic” any time it turns up on TV, so there’s no accounting for taste. But it always bugs me when those of us who felt let down by episodes I - III are treated like we’ve jumped on some hipster bandwagon, on par with drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.
ReplyDeleteBefore the prequels came out, I bought one of those copies of the original draft of “The Star Wars: The Adventures of Starkiller” (or whatever it was called). I would do this thought-experiment, where I imagined “Man, what if Lucas had used this lumbering, juicy turd as his shooting script?”
The Phantom Menace pretty much answered that question. The prequel trilogy could have been G-rated for all I cared - so long as the movies were actually GOOD. Instead, we got clunky storytelling, sub-Three Stooges humor that made the Ewoks look like subtle comic geniuses, awkward dialogue, meandering, go-nowhere plot-points that no one ever cared about anyway (Jedi “X-gene” mutation) and lame-ass back stories for beloved characters (the ‘most feared bounty-hunter in the galaxy’ is a storm trooper. OOOOH.)
I always thought the Dark Horse, oh-so-serious EU stories were misguided, but the few, pre-1999 SW novels I read (as an adult – more-or-less) felt more like “Star Wars” than anything in the prequels ever did.
I’d watch another made for TV “Ewok Adventure” before I’d pay to see anything relating to the prequels (except maybe a full-on reboot)
Ted, clunky storytelling and awkward dialogue?
ReplyDeleteWell yes in a way, but in a style consistent with the 1930's-esque serials that the films are modeled after and serve as an homage to. Three-Stooges humour is also consistent with this era. Indeed, we NEED more humour in the prequels as juxtaposition for the darker tone that the prequels set.
All the films, but especially the prequels, come out much better when they're viewed as what they are, namely 1930's films made with modern technology, as opposed to MODERN films.
Again, it's a problem of the films being viewed not as they actually are, but rather as a vision of what we want them to be. But in the end, it's Lucas' vision that they have to be true to, not ours. They're his kids and his sandbox to play in, he has every right to make it what he will.
Yeah this is why people love Star Wars but hate George Lucas. The man has NO clue how to entertain people anymore.
ReplyDeleteYep, Lucas has the right to make the prequels however he wants. And I have the right to say they're not very good. Now that we've established what our various rights are, here, can we move on? :)
ReplyDeleteThe newer films did for my kids what the originals did for me. If it weren't for Episodes I-III I would not have plastic lightsaber fights with my daughter. That alone is worth any Jar-Jar (or Ewoks).
ReplyDeleteWill wait for HBO release (or rental)
ReplyDeleteI no longer pray at the temple of "Star Wars" since the last 3 (or is it first 3) movies were released...
ArrrOOOooo!