December 20, 2009

A Brilliant and Detailed Review: The Phantom Menace!


Some of you may remember the essay I wrote a year ago regarding the "Phantom Menace Effect". This outlined the experience one gets after seeing a film and gets kicked in the nuts afterward from sheer disappointment. The conditions are specific, you must have been very excited about the film before hand, was convinced that it had to be supremely great, and/or was completely absorbed by the huge hype of the movie marketing and anticipation during its production, its actors, promotions, and back story had you all convinced that it was the second coming of Christ. Only to be hugely disappointed by the film, but this disappointment has to come just after the viewing of the film, or the gradual realization can settle in weeks or even months or years later. Making you realize the error of your ways and see (with utmost clarity) that you were conned by the movie's producers.

We've all had that sinking feeling, that we got tricked into seeing a really bad movie! Here's the essay I had posted on the subject, telling the story of my own personal experience with the "Phantom Menace Effect" and the theories behind it.

A guy by the name of Mike has posted a 7-part review of the Phantom Menace on YouTube and it is so funny that it is far more entertaining than the film itself.

With so much to discuss with this film it had to be long so please don't complain. If you think it's too long then don't watch it. In this opening segment he discusses the major flaw of The Phantom Menace which is the characters and the lack of connection with the audience. Then it goes on into character development and story progression (or the lack there of).

I implore you to watch it, if anything, as an animator, film maker, film enthusiast, or Star Wars lover (or hater), you can learn a lot about what NOT to do, and I see it as a wonderful and articulate extension to my written essay.

Thanks to Greg Brown for the link.
So here it is! The truly epic review/critique/analysis/film making educational video of the 1999 film "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".













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