Yeah it's interesting how deeply Star Wars is engrained into society and how people can know the quotes and memes and then discover the source. It's fun to watch.
@@VKunia Yeah it's interesting how deeply Star Wars is engrained into society and how people can know the quotes and memes and then discover the source. It's fun to watch. Thanks for letting us relive vicariously through your first time reaction experiences.
"imagine bullying a child" That's literally what happened to Jake Lloyd after this movie came out. Grown ass adults harassing a child. He had to retire from acting to get away from it. He didn't deserve the hate
George Lucas told the Character Designer for Darth Maul "Come up the the Scariest thing you can think of", and he did such a good job that George said "Okay, give me the Second Scariest thing you can think of" since his first designs was seen as too frightening for young kids.
Lol this still ended up terrifying me! I would never go into my dad's office as a little kid because he had a portrait of Darth Maul and I was so scared of it haha
"He's at this man's funeral, and he's like 'Alright, but what about me?'" It kind of surprises me that you would interpret it in that way, Anakin before Qui-Gon was a slave who had nothing but a loving mother to watch over him, Anakin asking that question was less about him being full of himself and only being self-serving, and more of real fear about what was going to happen to him now that the man who freed him and was going to train him is dead. By the way, the song that was playing during the duel was called "Duel of The Fates", so named because Maul and Qui-Gon were fighting, even if they didn't know it, for the fate of Anakin Skywalker, had Qui-Gon lived, Anakin would have had a great mentor and likely would not have fallen, but Maul won, ensuring that Anakin didn't have a more experienced hand in training him, the snow ball effect of this battle was very real.
@@tristanpetty7173 Probably both. Back then they took 3 years to film and the last year was effects. So she would have been 12/13 during the filming years.
Ep1 was shot in the late Summer of 1997, making Portman 16 and Knightly 12 at the time of shooting. They were about the same height, as Knightley was quite tall at the time for her age.
I legitimately love it when people react to the Prequels, go in without any preconceived notion or anything, and end up liking them. They've been so maligned for so long, and they *really* aren't that bad- it's downright cathartic to see people having the proper reaction to the various little moments and beats. (By "proper" I mean "intended"- y'know, laughing at Jar Jar, finding little Anakin cute, being generally invested in the conflict)- I'm very happy to see them finally being unironically enjoyed!
I agree. I love it when people watch the prequels and enjoy them. I was in line when the originals were released and saw them multiple times over. Lots of people were put off because the prequels were not the same as the originals. So long had passed and people had built up a certain nostalgia for the originals and hype for the new ones, that would never be matched. I shielded myself from all that. I knew how I felt about the original movies, and I knew I had to turn down the hype machine. Yes, there is wooden dialog, and bad acting, but at the heart of these movies is a great story that was important in order to fill out all the questions. I always felt bad for George Lucas though. There was never any way he could satisfy everyone. Personally, I think Lucas did a fine job. But he ended up selling the whole IP to Disney, and he was extremely proud of it. It was mostly because of the hate, but the money didn't hurt, I'm sure. But there are also reactors out there that are aware of the negativity and react accordingly because they believe they need to agree with everyone else.
ive noticed that people who have never seen star wars enjoy the prequels the way they were intended as you said. i grew up with the originals and i still liked the prequels. I think people were so hyped that they were finally back, it was a let down to them, but not me. i enjoyed learning how it all came to be as the new generation seems to as well.
The droids being stupid is one of my favorite details in Star Wars because it's so real. The reason they're stupid in this movie is because they're all controlled by a single ship in orbit because the trade federation is so cheap they didn't even want to put the proper electronics into the droids individually, so they're basically just transmitters and receivers. In following movies, seeing the tactical flaw of having them be controlled from a single source, they invested into individual controls for each droid. Along with this, in order to make them more self reliant, they gave them basic personalities, but again because they were so cheap, the droids' personalities are incredibly basic and stupid because they wouldn't invest into better parts per droid. Working in a military related industry, this is the most realistic thing in all of Star Wars. I absolutely believe this would not only be likely if such a thing was possible in real life, I believe it's a guarantee.
You would think with the Trade Federation (portraying Asian Dignitaries) the droids would symbolize the advancement of asian technology. But i guess their galaxy differs from ours.
@@firestriker3580 the basic B1 battle droids are far from intimidating. They're a bunch of bumbling idiots and have always been. The only droids that are are actually scary are the Supers, Droidekas, and Grievous' Magna Guards.
I cant believe she keeps it in low two digits... I expected at least a hundred from the first movie alone. I thought that literally EVERY line from those 3 movies were adopted as some meme 🤣
@@Wolfer1OOO For some scenes it was the same actress for other scenes there 2 of them. They did this to try to fool the audience as well as make it understandable for the characters to be confused.
@@darthrevan1712 indeed, but when the actresses and even one of their mothers say they aren't even sure which is which at times it's a bit bold to claim 'it's very easy to tell it's the same actress' don't you think
Regarding Watto being angry about the dice roll: He knows Qui-Gon used the force to cheat and make it land on blue. But he can't call him out on it without outing himself for using loaded dice.
Darth Maul is actually an amazing character nowadays. He was already amazing as a villain in this movie, but he was underutilized as a character. He's actually one of my favorite Star Wars characters now, thanks to his very extensive character arc in The Clone Wars TV-series. He's up there with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano as my top three Star Wars characters of all time. :)
"Anakin straight just MURDERED A MAN!" Also Anakin: *blows up the trade federation ship single-handedly. Thousands of droids and several Neimodians go down in a fiery blaze. Us: Well his killstreaks started at a young age. XD
This Sith we’re wiped out several thousand years earlier during the old republic era, and only largely reappeared recently as part of Palpatines plan, canonically making Obi-Wan-Kenobi the first Jedi in over a millennia to engage a Sith in combat and defeat him.
Lucas and his designers do this sometimes. They designed as sith witch and the initial design was nightmarishly scary. They couldn't use it and went with a less frightening design. Look it up. It's pretty gnarly.
I had a Star Wars themed party at my sister's place for my 40th birthday. They were all uber Christians and so dressed as the good guys; I went as Darth Maul. My only disappointment was that I wasn't pulled over by the police on the way there and back again.
You don't need to worry about comments, you're very forgiving of these films whereas fans of the original trilogy are highly critical of the prequels lol. It's very refreshing to see someone able to pick out the weaker points and accept the differences, while also still enjoying the film. To answer some of your non-spoiler questions; the name Skywalker is kind of an arbitrary one. Lucas' original last name for Luke was Starkiller, but he felt it was a little too aggressive for the main character. So he came up with Skywalker. Also the reason there was big gap in time before Lucas started working on the prequels is because he felt burnt out with Star Wars after Ep VI. Star Wars was originally meant to be a 9 film epic (three trilogies), that would end with the destruction of the Death Star. It was destroyed in A New Hope only because Lucas didn't know if they were going to ever make more films (which is why the Death Star is brought back for V and VI). After Empire Srikes Back, they were to introduce Luke's sister as a new separate character that would have her own trilogy. But Lucas felt he didn't want to do 9 films anymore and shortened the story to finish with Return of the Jedi; that's why he turned Leia into Luke's sister, to tie it all together (they weren't originally siblings which is why they kiss in Empire lol). By the time RoTJ came out Lucas wanted to focus on being a father and was dealing with a divorce, on top of the burnout. By the mid 90s things started settling down again and he felt like he was ready to tell Anakin's origin story, and technology also started getting more advanced to produce bigger scale FX and make life easier. If you weren't aware, the filming process for A New Hope was a complete nightmare and the film barely made it to release. I think that experience really planted the seed for Lucas to favor digital FX over hands-on practical FX.
Hey Chris. I admit I was one of the haters for the prequels. I grew up on the OT and felt really hurt when they changed it so much. But you guys were right. I have really changed my mind on the prequals over the years. Admittedly a lot of that is because of things like the clone wars. But I just wanted to be the guy to apologise for all the hate the PT got...... P.S it was mainly Jar Jar if were all honest lol :D
@@KingXenos Those of us who saw the OT in the theaters were massively disappointed in the PT. But then something happened that raised our opinion of the PT...Disney bought the franchise and began pumping out horrible movies under the "Star Wars" name. Suddenly, the PT films didn't seem so bad. Still no where near the level of the OT, but their stock definitely went up. Lucas received $4 Billion from the sale to Disney, but in reality he got something out of the sale even more valuable: OT fans re-targeted their ire away from the PT, and put it squarely on the abysmal ST Disney films. And deservedly so.
@@Cosmo-Kramer Well if I'm honest I started to change my opinion on the prequels before the Disney buy out. It was actually Filoni's work on the Clone wars that retroactively seemed to improve the story of the movies for me. That guy just seems to get Star Wars.
Scary thing about Qui-Gon, if he had survived, he would’ve trained Anakin whether the council agreed or not. He would’ve been willing to train him in all aspects of the Force, and even show him some dark side techniques. He was a powerful man but he never let his power lead him downwards
Yeah, after watching someone curse their way through Star Wars reactions yesterday, I much prefer this reaction, and she is quick witted and very funny. I'll watch her career with great interest. ;)
Mosst of the reactors I see give mostly positive reactions to the prequels. It could be a generational thing, but I think a lot of it is never fans tend to watch them close together without the high expectations of a 15 year wait and then expecting that somehow Lucas was now going to make a masterpiece. I think people who discover Star Wars now look at it as part of the whole Star Wars experience and are able to just enjoy it for what it is.
@@dantheman8103 Very true. I've been around since the beginning of SW and like everyone was keenly awaiting the prequels when they were getting made. I thought Phantom was ok but lacked the spark of the OT films, AOTC the worst film in the franchise (which I still stand behind) and Sith excellent and fun, even with some faults. I have since come more to appreciate the world building George was doing and how its given us so much new material after the prequel films finished. So whilst I'll never be entirely in love with them (except for Sith), I can appreciate everything developed from them - stuff that we are still reaping now with The Bad Batch on its way and focussing on the aftermath of the rise of the Empire.
I saw this movie 9 times at the theater just for the epic lightsaber battle at the end. I walked out of the theater after the first time and told my buddy with me, "Darth Vader said YIPPEE."
The reaction you had to the double bladed lightsaber…so real. We all felt that way. First time I saw this as a kid I pretty much shit my pants cuz of the double bladed lightsaber.
12:35 the tuskens shooting at the racers may have been inspired by the Targa Florio in Sicily when people started motor racing in the mountain roads there the local bandits would come out and seemingly for fun would take potshots at the cars as they went by, eventually after several fatalities the organisers found an unusual solution, they started employing the bandits as race marshals.
I feel like the overall, broad strokes story of the prequels is actually very good. Just the script/dialogue lets things down somewhat. But goddamn if i dont love them anyway XD
Pacing, dialogue, direction, cinematography, acting... Basically everything. Somehow Lucas managed to get a god awful performance out of Natalie Portman within months of her filming an Oscar winning performance
@@17thknight in all I've got nothing wrong with the cinematography. Some funky VFX let down what would otherwise be good looking shots at times but for the most part the cinematography is good!
My mind would immediately go to the original trilogy; then everyone in the room would attack Anakin, and I would smile a smug little knowing smile watching the little bastard get his.
I kinda want Vicky to watch the Clone Wars series to fill her in more on Anakin's growth and for her to meet Ahsoka. There's so much that that series adds to Anakin's journey and eventual fall to the dark side.
shit like that is why I've always seen the star wars fandom as toxic, they mercilessly went in on Jake Loyed and, Ahmed Best. I think Lucas initially intended for there to be 3 trilogies but the vitriol he got for the prequels killed his interest in making the last trilogy. I still love this saga but a lot of my fellow fans are dickheads
@@Benkw1 you are actually way off base here, Jake Lloyd had problems with his classmates over the film, while best said it was the media that harassed him, neither one was by the fans and they have both confirmed this was the case
@@Benkw1 It wasn't the 30-50+ year old fanbase it was kids in school that teased him. Remember the internet wasn't even a big thing yet. Neck beards couldn't touch him. So accusing Star Wars fans as the bullies has always been bull crap. Heck it wasn't even my post OG trilogy gen fans but kids his own age. I was in highschool at the time an no one I knew who were Star Wars fans even heard of any of this. So within Fandom circles we did not know this was going on and we had the internet. Why because this was happening when he was in school some cases years after he stared in the film. When I watched the interview years after the fact he clearly says it was kids in his schools that teased him. In short it wasn't Star Wars fans but brats who found a reason to bully him like brats do.
sure the choreography definitely feels more showy than ever, but George was trying to show Jedi and Sith at the height of their powers. with Luke/Vader/Obi in the OG trilogy, it’s more of an emotional battle, like Obi/Vader testing each other and Vader not wanting to kill his son and vice versa
There really isn't an an example in the Original Trilogy of two saber wielding opponents trying to kill each other. I guess you could count Luke for the few seconds that he gives into his anger and cuts Vader's hand off, but aside from that either one or both opponents aren't going for the kill.
And that the industry of fight choreography has blossomed a lot since the 70's. More people have education about or direct training in martial arts and the general audience expectations have risen significantly. There were great fight choreographers and martial arts talents in the 70's and earlier too. Just that they did not pay them very much or value their talents in the industry like they do now. Episode 4 was "stage fencing" with minutes of practice for the actors where Episode 1 is Ray Park training with Ewan Mcgregor for several weeks before filming the scene.
@@theawesomeman9821 I thought they got an Olympic fencer for Empire and Jedi in place of David Prowse, though he returned to throw Palpatine down the shaft.
The writing has way more meaning than at first glance, like "there's always a bigger fish". That was meant to imply a bigger threat. We all thought Maul was the threat, and who the "phantom menace", but it was actually Palpatine. He was hiding in the shadoes, pulling the strings, and he was "the bigger fish"
Fun Fact: Ray Park, the actor who played Darth Maul, had his speaking voice dubbed by a different actor's voice, because George Lucas had felt that Ray's actual speaking voice was too high-pitched to fit the character of Darth Maul
"imagine bullying a child"..funny you said that! you can't imagine how much hate and bullying the kid who played Anakin got..so sad! people can be awful! "does he come back a free his mom?"...sure, in a way ;) looking forward to seeing you react to episode 3 :)
Same with Wesley Crusher from Star Trek. Child actors simply are too young and overall inexperienced to be as good actors as ones with 20+ years of experience, and it's _certainly_ not their fault when their characters are written badly. As much as I can't stand some characters, I'll never understand assholes who bully child actors... 😢
2 little theories on how Anakin was born without a father: 1) it was the force itself that created him in Shmi, to balance the force. or 2) Darth Sidious manipulated the force to spawn a child of the Sith. (He talks about a Sith Lord who could do this)
"I will make it legal" Vkunia: "How do you make it legal? It's either legal or it's not" Oh, dear sweet innocent child... were you asleep throughout 2020?
I think Episode 1 is nowhere near as bad as its reputation, especially when the film first came out. That being said, it was very refreshing for someone who had no expectations of the film to enjoy it for what it was when so many people hated with it first came out because it failed to deliver on the huge hype the film had when it was released at the time. Yes, the film was overflooded with CGI, not all the characters were as interesting (it's also nice to see someonr like jar jar when he was so hated when the movie first came out) and the story was a little boring and more difficult to follow with the added politics which probably it resulting in not being as great at the original trilogy, but I found it to be very entertaining with great action scenes and fast paced light saber fighting (18:20 loved the reaction, I also thought the double-edged lightsaber was awesome!), so I overall found it to be an enjoyable film and it’s nice to see that you enjoyed it. Now not everyone may agree with this, but the Character I actually always enjoyed the most from Episode 1 was Qui-Gon Jinn (I enjoy him even more now that I know he was portrayed by Liam Neeson). I consider Qui-Gon to be the ideal role model to becoming a true jedi and he has all the positive qualities a good mentor should have; he’s compassionate and stands up for people who can’t defend or help themselves, he’s an incredibly powerful jedi master yet remains grounded and humble, he’s very intelligent, patient, diplomatic and fully embodies the spirit of what to do when it comes to making decisions about right and wrong. And on top of all of that, he also has a very cool design to him which I think you agree since you said you may cosplay his hair (a touch of silver to both his beard and long hair along with jedi robe and tall stature gives him a very distinguished look fitting to that of a wise old wizard). IMO even though the movie is about first finding Anakin and preparing to have him begin training as a jedi, the phantom menace is really Qui-Gon’s film. Anyway great reaction to a great film (21:07 I find it funny that you’re gonna use NOW THAT’S POD RACING! As your quote of the day), and I look forward to seeing your reaction to the next episode. BTW random fact, the movie was originally going to be called "The Beginning" but was changed at the last minute.
I agree qui gon is a model jedi. Once you read the legacy novels that explain his backstory his most important characteristic is his willingness to question authority. He actively calls out the jedi council when theyre being apathetic or just dumbasses. That doesnt mean he is rebellious he just doesnt let authority supercede whats right. I think had he been anakin's teacher anakin could have been shown the right way to criticize authority and not come off as whiny or petulant. Obi wan wasnt a good teacher in that regard because he was too subserviant to authority and shut down any attempt by anakin to question the council. Qui gon would have been a better teacher of patience because thats something he himself struggles with. If it had been qui gon running the investigation in ep 2 and not obi wan, qui gon would have listened to dooku and taken his claims about a sith lord seriously.
I first saw Star Wars in the theaters in 1977. Twice. Which was unheard of for my family. But that's how much I loved it. Saw the "A New Hope" re-release in theaters also, and Empire and Jedi their opening weekends, and then some(including the 1997 Special Editions, which I mostly enjoyed). I say this, to establish that I am an "OG" fan. I was 10 years old in 1977. With that said, I never had any hatred or disappointment with the Prequel Trilogy. Of course, I was much older when they released(32 for this one), so the "politics" of the movie was something I could grasp in it's entirety. Children would either not understand that part, or ignore it because "boring". I wasn't bothered at all by Jar Jar Binks, nor Jake Lloyd's portrayal of Anakin. Call me weird if you want to, I'll wear that title as a badge of honour. Anyway, I could "read between the lines" of the political side of the story, and see just how manipulative Palpatine was, and how he was able to hide himself in plain sight from the Jedi Order. I found the subtlety of the story to be quite fascinating. It left some to the imagination, but there was definitely a logical progression you could follow, if you delved deep into it. Of course, there was also enough action and adventure to entertain those who didn't want to do the "deep dive". Were any of the Star Wars movies perfect? Of course not. But I didn't expect them to be. I did find them to be entertaining, and quite a reflection of the time in which they were made. Then again, any movie with political undertones tend to reflect the era in which they are made(or at least, the era they are set in).
@@IggyStardust1967 yeah for me i never hated the plot or any of the characters. What i disliked about the prequels was the dialogue and the performance direction. I felt like there were a ton of great ideas in the prequels that just weren't well executed and that george lucas has no business writing dialogue. Those scripts should have been sent for rewrites to fix the dialogue and George Lucas should have had oversight with performance direction. I think when you compare it to the sequels what they were was a bad messy plan executed well. So it kinda depends on what you think the lesser of two evils would be.
Love your observations and appreciation for this film. The choreography in the prequels is wayyyy better than the OG movies. You're gonna love Episodes II and III. Looking forward to the reactions!
Fun fact: An immaculate conception (like the virgin Mary) in the Star Wars universe is called "A child of the force". It means he was conceived by the force itself for some much grander purpose.
Qui Gon's death is the key tragedy to the entire series. Obiwan was a brother to Anakin, but what he needed was a father, in Qui Gon. That's why the song when he dies is named Duel of Fates.
The Sand People raising their arms and cheering is definitely not from this movie. It’s from the original, if you recall they did that after ambushing Luke and immediately being terrified by an old man.
@@william_santiago no they aren't. They're a rival religious sect of Force users. Neither Maul nor Palpatine were ever Jedi. In fact, the Sith technically predate both the Jedi and their predecessors, the Je'dai.
@@1GungGung the Sith species, yes, but the Sith Order, which was formed around when the Jedi Order was formed. There was a split between their predecessor, the Je'dai Order. It resulted in the Jedi Order, and the Sith Order, which was started when the banished fallen Je'dai came into contact with the Sith species.
The sense of nostalgia that you felt during the pod racing scene prompted by your childhood of playing the pod racing video game is the same feeling I get when watching Episode IV. I was 12 when it came out and remember going to the movie theater to see it. So it's great that the nostalgia from childhood experiences for Star Wars has now crossed two generations. Hopefully we will see it cross to a third especially with kids now watching the Mandalorian series.
I seen this in the theater when it was released. After 16 years without a new movie, when the music dropped at the beginning the entire theater erupted into loud cheers.
Yeah I saw Episode I at a Midnight premiere, and they cheered at that, they cheered when the Jedi first removed their robes, they cheered when they first used their lighsabers... kind of got on my nerves actually. lol. Although it is ironic because those were probably the same people who trashed it as a monstrosity a year later.
3:58 "Is that Natalie Portman? It has to be!" Nope. Actually, a wild Keira Knightley has appeared. She used disguise. Apparently, it was super effective.
From what I've read, they had an actor who was cast as Maul... but the choreographer was so damned good, they just put him in makeup and let him play Maul instead. Somewhere out there is an actor who was totally psyched to land a Star Wars role... only to lose that role to a fight coordinator. That must be a real thorn in his side!
Ray Park portrayed Darth Maul and he is a superb Martial artist. Ray Park also played the toad character in the X-Men movie back in 2000 and he got to beat up Storm in that movie before she electrocuted him LOL!
The fight choreography was done by Nick Gillard, british stuntman. He has worked on everything from Willow to The three musketeers. Darth Maul was played by Ray Park, trained in Wushu and other martial arts. Ewan McGregor did most of his own saber fighting and impressed Nick Gilliard.
@@TazorNissen - Pretty sure Park was never "world champion" of anything. He made the British national team in his teen years, but he's been in and around Hollywood ever since. Wu Shu competition is weird... there's no fighting at all. It's basically a ballet recital.
@@Mr.Ekshin You are right, I misremembered it. I have edited my post to reflect the truth. And yeah Wushu is martial arts ballet, which is perfect for film making because you are not supposed to hit the actor, hehe.
the prequel trilogy is unironically my favorite star wars movies and the phantom menace has a special place as it was my first star wars movie. i also love how these movies actually show us the galexy and makes it a connected universe and not an empty world with no real binding factors
Great reaction! It’s good to see your wholesome and fully honest reaction to a movie that people really had too high of an expectation in 1999.TPM is a worthy start to the saga.
VKunia, this is not a spoiler. The Phantom Menace takes place 31 years before A New Hope. For reference, Empire is 3 years after A New Hope, Return of Jedi is 1 year after Empire (4 years after A New Hope).
The way she stopped and stared at the camera when he said “Now this is podracing” had me 😂 The fact that she caught on to how little sense the line makes the very first time watching the movie is impressive.
You're so sweet. You have such a genuine reaction to everything. Also : Palpatine and the Sith are "the phantom menace" because the Jedi thought that the Sith were extinct for a thousand years. Not one of them suspected even a single Sith Lord could have survived after all that time. Edit People give Jar Jar shit but I love him. He's like a giant teddy bear......with bad luck and bad reflexes lol
We usually refer to ep4, 5, 6 as the "Classic Trilogy", with 1, 2, 3, being the "Prequel Trilogy", or prequels for short. Taken together 1-6 could be called "The Saga of Anakin Skywalker" He may not be the main character in every movie, but is surely the main character of this series of films and probably has the best character development. I don't consider the "other ones" to be canon. But that's just me.
VKunia "Is that Palpatine?! It sounds like Palpatine, but It doesn't look like him Me: hihihi-heh-heh-heh-hahaha haaa!! UNLIMITED PAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"The choreography is a bit over-the-top..." EXACTLY! These are force sensitive superbeings who are using the force to see into the future, amplify their speed and strength, and are heavily trained martial artists. They can't duel like a normal human, or they would die. The flash and dazzle is needed to open a weakness in your opponent.
The Original Trilogy was all about the hero's journey, Luke's transition from a farmboy to a hero. It was about the classic mythic battle between good and evil. The Prequels are more of a Shakespeare tragedy with a gradual descent of a era of good into evil and corruption. It is Anakin's journey but not into a hero like Luke's journey. The prequels are about Anakin's corruption into Darth Vader.
And trade agreements. And an actor so wooden he should’ve been called “Mannequin Skywalker”. And let’s not forget the ridiculous reptile rabbit that is the object of such hate from fans that it burns with the fire of a thousand suns.
shakespeare is a good comparison. many of shakespeare's characters often do the wrong things for the right reasons. anakin's fall is him trying to do right by those he loves but failing and falling. after the prequels, i couldn't really hate vader anymore. i just pitied him.
@@edmontonboy99 Yeah we see that today with the sequel actors too getting stick, when they did the best they could with the material given. Same goes here. Jar-Jar is terrible, but I don't blame the actor at all for that. Also Jake Lloyd is excellent as Anakin, far better than Hayden is in the next couple.
@@promnightdumpsterbaby9553 Yeah let's sit on our couch and say someone who was just a kid deserved years of torment for doing something most of us couldn't do better, then say it doesn't matter to him because he took money likely long gone now and that his parents probably spent part of. There is a difference between criticism and hate.
Loved that reaction, you having childhood memories of games and stuff but having never watched it before, this reaction is as close to an actual child reaction to discovering the movie back in 1999, your enthusiasm shows and is very communicative :)
@@thegorn68 You're correct, although it started filming in 1997, so that's the date that I worked off of. Although looking at the exact dates, it looks like she was actually 17 when filming started. Edit: It turns out I've had a hectic enough week that I've forgotten how to do basic math - she had just turned 16 when filming started!
I remember when they put out a casting call for Padme. Portman wasn't what I had envisioned from the description, which seemed they wanted younger and more exotic, but she did a really good job and I liked her in The Professional.
@@LA_HA I think she's stilted in the first few - not her fault. By Sith though she is fine. Portman is an excellent actress, not helped by the material in the first few films, like so many of them in the prequels.
My uncle took me to see TPM and we stood outside of the theater for more than 2 hours after we watched it just gushing over the movie. I know the prequels don't do it for a lot of fans, but I honestly love them, warts and all.
@@mattrismatt nope it won't happend again for sure , firstly because there were more than 20 years between the return of the jedi and the phantom menace , and disney won't obvsioulsly never let that time between 2 movies from the franchise , plus the last ones were shit so no one expect to watch a masterpierce anymore now
@@muggensan8611 For sure? What do you know that I don't? Expecting to watch - or having watched - "a masterpiece" isn't required to be hyped about Star Wars. The fact that you - and so many others think "the last ones were shit" would make it that much more unexpected if something special did come along. BTW, _The Phantom Menace_ was released 16 years after _Return of the Jedi._
Something to keep in mind for the different tone is that the original trilogy was made when George Lucas was colaborating with a lot of different people in order to make it, even his wife at the time was incredibly involved in the editing process and responsible for a lot of changes, she even won an Oscar for her work on the Original Star Wars so the trilogy was made as a group effort by a bunch of people. But by the time of the Prequels George was totally in control, he wasn't collaborating, he was seperated from his wife and a lot of the people he now worked with believed completely in him as a creator, so he he was allowed to do basically whatever he wanted and nobody would challenge him on it or suggest changes, so it was a solo project.
In the novel " Thrawn " it is explained that Skywalker is a term used for a very unique kind of people, the greatest pilots in the universe. That is how the character of Thrawn (who is an big imperial figure) knows whoDarth Vader is, no one is that good of a pilot.
The battle droids in this movie were all programmed to a singular computer, the captain droids (the ones with the yellow markings) were given some level of independent thinking in order to be able to execute direct orders. That's why they act so quirky. In later movies all B1 battle droids were given an independent thinking computer because of the disaster during the Battle of Naboo.
It’s so great to see people get to experience these films for the first time! Fun fact, Ray Park and Ewan Mcgregor practiced that last fight choreography so much and got so fast that they had to slow down for filming. And the music for that scene is called Duel of the Fates b/c Lucas saw it as Qui-Gonn and Maul literally dueling for the fate of Anakin. If Qui-Gonn lives, he trains Anakin and loves him like a father. But Obi-Wan, who didn’t really believe in Anakin and only trains him to fulfill his master’s dying wish, trains Anakin and loves him like a brother, which ultimately isn’t enough to prevent his fall.
Qui-Gon Jinn was perhaps the last true Jedi, at least true to the origins and old teachings of the Jedi before they became more and more adapted to the current political climate.
I disagree. He was constantly doing things against the Councils will, which would hardly make him a "true" Jedi. A true Jedi follows the code. I would say the last true Jedi was probably Obi-Wan.
@@jeffburnham6611 the counsel strayed away from the Jedi ways. They were know as corrupt, and is why they had a downfall. Qui-Gon kept the original Jedi ways.
@@jeffburnham6611 what is mean by true jedi is Qui-qon follow and believe the forces rather than council so he not afraid to go against them. council mingle too much in politic that make them blinded by the sith and Qui-qon did warn them many times.
Phantom Menace had one of the best finales of the whole series, it's scale was incredible, space battle at the droid control ship, field battle with the gungans, padme retaking the palace with her guard, and duel of the fates, the best lightsaber battle of all time
Being honest, with the internet being full of people constantly hating this film/trilogy and nitpicking every single detail of it, this reaction was really refreshing to see! This wasn't my favorite film, but I definitely don't think it's the worst, and it's cool to see you got some enjoyment out of watching it! Really looking forward to seeing your reactions to episodes II and III!
I saw this in high school and loved it even though the rest of the world didn’t which is why I’m so thankful this generation is showing it the love it deserves.
Actually I would argue Anakin is the one who learnt that lesson.. Obi Wan warned him it was over because he had the high ground but Anakin tried his luck anyway..
I think the fight scenes, particularly the final battle with Darth Maul, felt so amazing because it was the first time we had really seen Jedi in their prime. Not an old man, or a kid in training, or his robot father-but young and powerful Jedi in top form.
The actor playing Jar-Jar was wearing a motion capture suit. In fact, Jar-Jar was the first actor-driven/motion-captured CG character in a feature film.
Darth Maul > Jar Jar Binks
Darth Jar Jar will rule the galaxy imo.
She's lying. She said over and over in discord how much she loved and adored Jar Jar and thought he's the absolute best character in the franchise.
[Anything] > Jar Jar Binks
Yes
@@NobleRabbit1337 Ros, can we get a fact check? Lol
“I don’t want to be a problem” becomes the biggest problem in the whole universe
“No one can kill a Jedi.”
*always sunny theme*
“Anakin kills all the Jedi”
From another perspective, he saved the universe, he just took the scenic route...
Not universe... the galaxy
So from what I learn time runs backward don't ask I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that one.
@@sweetiesquad69 what
I love how going in you know nothing about the plot, but know all the memes.
such is the case with a lot of things these days lmfao
Yeah it's interesting how deeply Star Wars is engrained into society and how people can know the quotes and memes and then discover the source. It's fun to watch.
@@VKunia Yeah it's interesting how deeply Star Wars is engrained into society and how people can know the quotes and memes and then discover the source. It's fun to watch. Thanks for letting us relive vicariously through your first time reaction experiences.
And then people who have never seen the movie before the memes are all like Captain America: "I know that reference!"
🤣🤣🤣
"imagine bullying a child"
That's literally what happened to Jake Lloyd after this movie came out. Grown ass adults harassing a child. He had to retire from acting to get away from it. He didn't deserve the hate
I’ve always felt bad for him about that, it’s horrible. I always kind of looked up to him too even though I was around the same age at the time
The Anakin haters desere to be sent to chinese jail for how they treated him!
Too bad the fanbase didnt find out until later. There wouldve been incidents.
Anakin: “I will come back and free you mom.”
Vkunia: “Aww, does he come back and free his mom?”
Anakin: …
Vkunia: “Does he free his mom?”
He frees her from the ropes they tied her up with so kinda true?🤔
I saw this and immediately thought of the smirking Anakin and worried Padme meme I’m dead
-_-
Why?!??
Why did you turn this into a meme
What’s wrong with you Bruh
He did free him but sadly she died immediately
“I will make it legal” tragically missing from the meme counter.
Mye lod? Es thut Leegowl?
As was *_“A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.”_*
Is his arm going to get ripped off is an absolute valid question in the Star Wars universe!
In this movie only legs.
@@user-xx6vy9ri8p Also the lower body's rest got cut off.
Ray Park is absolutely badass. He still showcases his staff/double-saber training at conventions and loves sharing it to everybody.
And he was Toad in the first X-Men movie, and was the Headless Horseman (most of the time) in Sleepy Hollow.
@@WhiskyCanuck and snake eyes in the first g.i. Joe movies
You can videos of Ray Park playing Beat Saber with the double-bladed setup and they're insane! The guy is a true master of his craft.
What he loves at conventions is charging quadruple the amount for an autograph that Carrie Fisher did... just saying.
Meeting Ray Park while you cosplay as Maul will get his attention and will demonstrate his skills if you also have a Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Qui Gon has a particular set of skills
"No matter where you are, I will find you, and you will kill me."
Yeah, dying
lol
I believe you. But that won't save you.
He's good with lists, that's why Steven Spielberg cast him in that movie.
That's what happens when you work for the Company...
George Lucas told the Character Designer for Darth Maul "Come up the the Scariest thing you can think of", and he did such a good job that George said "Okay, give me the Second Scariest thing you can think of" since his first designs was seen as too frightening for young kids.
The 1st scariest thing became the nightsisters
Lol this still ended up terrifying me!
I would never go into my dad's office as a little kid because he had a portrait of Darth Maul and I was so scared of it haha
How do you know something is scary? George Goddamn Lucas *tells you to tone it down…*
Young kids? As opposed to OLD kids?
"He's at this man's funeral, and he's like 'Alright, but what about me?'"
It kind of surprises me that you would interpret it in that way, Anakin before Qui-Gon was a slave who had nothing but a loving mother to watch over him, Anakin asking that question was less about him being full of himself and only being self-serving, and more of real fear about what was going to happen to him now that the man who freed him and was going to train him is dead.
By the way, the song that was playing during the duel was called "Duel of The Fates", so named because Maul and Qui-Gon were fighting, even if they didn't know it, for the fate of Anakin Skywalker, had Qui-Gon lived, Anakin would have had a great mentor and likely would not have fallen, but Maul won, ensuring that Anakin didn't have a more experienced hand in training him, the snow ball effect of this battle was very real.
Maul gets cut in half
"Now THIS is podracing"
I laughed way too hard! Like waaaaay too hard! 😂🤣😂
“Anakin just straight up murdered a man.”
*those of us who’ve see AotC and RotS: 👀
@@nomadmusicbk2366 she ain’t ready
@@nomadmusicbk2366 this is where the fun begins
Stop spoiling stuff in her comments
RotS= Revenge of the Sith or Rise of the Skywalker.. i'll assume you meant the first one
@@riduanaqil1452 Episode 9 It's Tros
When you see padme standing next to the queen, the queen is played by Keira Knightley. In their mid teens the two actors were lookalikes.
Keira was 13 at the time of filming. Natalie was 17.
@@Linerunner99 I thought she was 12.
@@tristanpetty7173 Probably both. Back then they took 3 years to film and the last year was effects. So she would have been 12/13 during the filming years.
Ep1 was shot in the late Summer of 1997, making Portman 16 and Knightly 12 at the time of shooting. They were about the same height, as Knightley was quite tall at the time for her age.
@@thoso1973 The more you know
I legitimately love it when people react to the Prequels, go in without any preconceived notion or anything, and end up liking them. They've been so maligned for so long, and they *really* aren't that bad- it's downright cathartic to see people having the proper reaction to the various little moments and beats. (By "proper" I mean "intended"- y'know, laughing at Jar Jar, finding little Anakin cute, being generally invested in the conflict)- I'm very happy to see them finally being unironically enjoyed!
They watch it fresh without waiting 2 decades with their own fermented expectations to be disappointed.
I agree. I love it when people watch the prequels and enjoy them. I was in line when the originals were released and saw them multiple times over. Lots of people were put off because the prequels were not the same as the originals. So long had passed and people had built up a certain nostalgia for the originals and hype for the new ones, that would never be matched. I shielded myself from all that. I knew how I felt about the original movies, and I knew I had to turn down the hype machine. Yes, there is wooden dialog, and bad acting, but at the heart of these movies is a great story that was important in order to fill out all the questions. I always felt bad for George Lucas though. There was never any way he could satisfy everyone. Personally, I think Lucas did a fine job. But he ended up selling the whole IP to Disney, and he was extremely proud of it. It was mostly because of the hate, but the money didn't hurt, I'm sure.
But there are also reactors out there that are aware of the negativity and react accordingly because they believe they need to agree with everyone else.
ive noticed that people who have never seen star wars enjoy the prequels the way they were intended as you said. i grew up with the originals and i still liked the prequels. I think people were so hyped that they were finally back, it was a let down to them, but not me. i enjoyed learning how it all came to be as the new generation seems to as well.
The droids being stupid is one of my favorite details in Star Wars because it's so real. The reason they're stupid in this movie is because they're all controlled by a single ship in orbit because the trade federation is so cheap they didn't even want to put the proper electronics into the droids individually, so they're basically just transmitters and receivers. In following movies, seeing the tactical flaw of having them be controlled from a single source, they invested into individual controls for each droid. Along with this, in order to make them more self reliant, they gave them basic personalities, but again because they were so cheap, the droids' personalities are incredibly basic and stupid because they wouldn't invest into better parts per droid. Working in a military related industry, this is the most realistic thing in all of Star Wars. I absolutely believe this would not only be likely if such a thing was possible in real life, I believe it's a guarantee.
You would think with the Trade Federation (portraying Asian Dignitaries) the droids would symbolize the advancement of asian technology. But i guess their galaxy differs from ours.
They ain’t stupid and it isn’t really
It isn’t real, they ain’t stupid, they are intimidating
@@firestriker3580 the basic B1 battle droids are far from intimidating. They're a bunch of bumbling idiots and have always been. The only droids that are are actually scary are the Supers, Droidekas, and Grievous' Magna Guards.
*sees meme counter*
*realizes its the meme factory known as the prequels*
now this is where the fun begins
I cant believe she keeps it in low two digits... I expected at least a hundred from the first movie alone. I thought that literally EVERY line from those 3 movies were adopted as some meme 🤣
No, this is podracing. The fun is over there.
Are we blind?! Deploy the memes!!!
These movies are masterpieces compared to the Di$ney shit.
When you're posting reactions to the movies on YT "My lord is that legal?"
The speed with which Vicky realized that Padme was the queen proves she could not be fooled by a Jedi mind trick. Strong-minded, indeed!
I am weak-minded, then 😢
It is very easy to tell it's the same actress though lol
@@darthrevan1712 It wasn't though, there were 2 actresses and even they aren't sure which of them was queen at times ;)
@@Wolfer1OOO For some scenes it was the same actress for other scenes there 2 of them. They did this to try to fool the audience as well as make it understandable for the characters to be confused.
@@darthrevan1712 indeed, but when the actresses and even one of their mothers say they aren't even sure which is which at times it's a bit bold to claim 'it's very easy to tell it's the same actress' don't you think
"Imagine dedicating your life to something that a 5 year old beats you at."
That's probably similar to how the opposing team felt in Air Bud.
Gotta asume that's apply to Rey too 😂
Regarding Watto being angry about the dice roll: He knows Qui-Gon used the force to cheat and make it land on blue. But he can't call him out on it without outing himself for using loaded dice.
Darth Maul is actually an amazing character nowadays. He was already amazing as a villain in this movie, but he was underutilized as a character. He's actually one of my favorite Star Wars characters now, thanks to his very extensive character arc in The Clone Wars TV-series. He's up there with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano as my top three Star Wars characters of all time. :)
"Anakin straight just MURDERED A MAN!"
Also Anakin: *blows up the trade federation ship single-handedly. Thousands of droids and several Neimodians go down in a fiery blaze.
Us: Well his killstreaks started at a young age. XD
He's just getting warmed up.
@@shugaroony Ahhhh. Lmao. I see what you did there.
He ended up with a juggernaut killstreak 😂
"This is where the Fun Begins". 😁👍
Try spinning, thats a good trick
When she gets to Episode III: This is where the fun begins
Your “I’d be banned from Earth” comment after Jar Jar explains he was expelled for being clumsy was a 3 point swish!!! You rock! 😉👍
This Sith we’re wiped out several thousand years earlier during the old republic era, and only largely reappeared recently as part of Palpatines plan, canonically making Obi-Wan-Kenobi the first Jedi in over a millennia to engage a Sith in combat and defeat him.
I swear you're the first person I've seen who actually realises that it's Obi-Wan at the beginning. Loads of people miss it in their reactions.
Qui Gon actually calls him "Obi Wan". How could they miss that?
@@PhysicalMediaPreventsWea-bx1zm alot don't realize till about half way through
"He's running with the animals.' Qui-Gon Jinn confirmed to be a Disney princess.
My brother dressed as Darth Maul for Halloween once and took his girls to a public party. He was asked to leave because he was too scary.
The end design for Maul was the SECOND scariest design for him. Lucas wouldn't use the first one. Wish I could see it.
@@MrRezRising Perhaps not! Even the designer is still in therapy!
Lucas and his designers do this sometimes. They designed as sith witch and the initial design was nightmarishly scary. They couldn't use it and went with a less frightening design. Look it up. It's pretty gnarly.
I had a Star Wars themed party at my sister's place for my 40th birthday. They were all uber Christians and so dressed as the good guys; I went as Darth Maul. My only disappointment was that I wasn't pulled over by the police on the way there and back again.
@@LA_HA I also believe some of Maul’s early designs were used to make Mother Talzin
You don't need to worry about comments, you're very forgiving of these films whereas fans of the original trilogy are highly critical of the prequels lol. It's very refreshing to see someone able to pick out the weaker points and accept the differences, while also still enjoying the film.
To answer some of your non-spoiler questions; the name Skywalker is kind of an arbitrary one. Lucas' original last name for Luke was Starkiller, but he felt it was a little too aggressive for the main character. So he came up with Skywalker. Also the reason there was big gap in time before Lucas started working on the prequels is because he felt burnt out with Star Wars after Ep VI. Star Wars was originally meant to be a 9 film epic (three trilogies), that would end with the destruction of the Death Star. It was destroyed in A New Hope only because Lucas didn't know if they were going to ever make more films (which is why the Death Star is brought back for V and VI). After Empire Srikes Back, they were to introduce Luke's sister as a new separate character that would have her own trilogy. But Lucas felt he didn't want to do 9 films anymore and shortened the story to finish with Return of the Jedi; that's why he turned Leia into Luke's sister, to tie it all together (they weren't originally siblings which is why they kiss in Empire lol). By the time RoTJ came out Lucas wanted to focus on being a father and was dealing with a divorce, on top of the burnout. By the mid 90s things started settling down again and he felt like he was ready to tell Anakin's origin story, and technology also started getting more advanced to produce bigger scale FX and make life easier. If you weren't aware, the filming process for A New Hope was a complete nightmare and the film barely made it to release. I think that experience really planted the seed for Lucas to favor digital FX over hands-on practical FX.
Hey Chris. I admit I was one of the haters for the prequels. I grew up on the OT and felt really hurt when they changed it so much. But you guys were right. I have really changed my mind on the prequals over the years. Admittedly a lot of that is because of things like the clone wars. But I just wanted to be the guy to apologise for all the hate the PT got...... P.S it was mainly Jar Jar if were all honest lol :D
@@KingXenos Those of us who saw the OT in the theaters were massively disappointed in the PT. But then something happened that raised our opinion of the PT...Disney bought the franchise and began pumping out horrible movies under the "Star Wars" name. Suddenly, the PT films didn't seem so bad. Still no where near the level of the OT, but their stock definitely went up. Lucas received $4 Billion from the sale to Disney, but in reality he got something out of the sale even more valuable: OT fans re-targeted their ire away from the PT, and put it squarely on the abysmal ST Disney films. And deservedly so.
@@Cosmo-Kramer Well if I'm honest I started to change my opinion on the prequels before the Disney buy out. It was actually Filoni's work on the Clone wars that retroactively seemed to improve the story of the movies for me. That guy just seems to get Star Wars.
@@KingXenos Gotcha. How old are you?
@@Cosmo-Kramer I'm 40
When the meme counter isn’t as high as it should be: impossible, perhaps the archives are incomplete
Scary thing about Qui-Gon, if he had survived, he would’ve trained Anakin whether the council agreed or not. He would’ve been willing to train him in all aspects of the Force, and even show him some dark side techniques. He was a powerful man but he never let his power lead him downwards
It's so refreshing to see a wholesome reaction to the prequels. This is rarer than a shiny Pokemon.
Yeah, after watching someone curse their way through Star Wars reactions yesterday, I much prefer this reaction, and she is quick witted and very funny. I'll watch her career with great interest. ;)
Mosst of the reactors I see give mostly positive reactions to the prequels. It could be a generational thing, but I think a lot of it is never fans tend to watch them close together without the high expectations of a 15 year wait and then expecting that somehow Lucas was now going to make a masterpiece. I think people who discover Star Wars now look at it as part of the whole Star Wars experience and are able to just enjoy it for what it is.
@@dantheman8103 Very true. I've been around since the beginning of SW and like everyone was keenly awaiting the prequels when they were getting made. I thought Phantom was ok but lacked the spark of the OT films, AOTC the worst film in the franchise (which I still stand behind) and Sith excellent and fun, even with some faults. I have since come more to appreciate the world building George was doing and how its given us so much new material after the prequel films finished. So whilst I'll never be entirely in love with them (except for Sith), I can appreciate everything developed from them - stuff that we are still reaping now with The Bad Batch on its way and focussing on the aftermath of the rise of the Empire.
I saw this movie 9 times at the theater just for the epic lightsaber battle at the end. I walked out of the theater after the first time and told my buddy with me, "Darth Vader said YIPPEE."
Haha. Darth Lord. Yipee.
Shoulda added "kiyay, mofo." Now THAT would be podracing. haha
I love seeing people's first reaction to these movies when they don't know a lot going in. Makes me feel like reliving the first time.
The reaction you had to the double bladed lightsaber…so real. We all felt that way. First time I saw this as a kid I pretty much shit my pants cuz of the double bladed lightsaber.
12:35 the tuskens shooting at the racers may have been inspired by the Targa Florio in Sicily when people started motor racing in the mountain roads there the local bandits would come out and seemingly for fun would take potshots at the cars as they went by, eventually after several fatalities the organisers found an unusual solution, they started employing the bandits as race marshals.
I feel like the overall, broad strokes story of the prequels is actually very good. Just the script/dialogue lets things down somewhat. But goddamn if i dont love them anyway XD
And the pacing. Oh the pacing...
@@mattduck69er True!
Pacing, dialogue, direction, cinematography, acting...
Basically everything. Somehow Lucas managed to get a god awful performance out of Natalie Portman within months of her filming an Oscar winning performance
@@17thknight in all I've got nothing wrong with the cinematography. Some funky VFX let down what would otherwise be good looking shots at times but for the most part the cinematography is good!
@@17thknight She's overrated as an actress. The greats can elevate the material beyond its worth. Example: Raul Julia in Street Fighter The Movie.
"My mind would immediately go to the weirdest thing possible.."
Insert "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man" here.
"Ray... What did you do, Ray?" "I can't help it... It just popped in there..."
@@dracoargentum9783 LMAO! Do you think "V" gets it?
My mind would immediately go to the original trilogy; then everyone in the room would attack Anakin, and I would smile a smug little knowing smile watching the little bastard get his.
Anakin's knowledge of "Fixing things" or his knowledge of pod racing, his knowledge of piloting ships ALL COME FROM HIS SENSITIVITY TO THE FORCE
I kinda want Vicky to watch the Clone Wars series to fill her in more on Anakin's growth and for her to meet Ahsoka. There's so much that that series adds to Anakin's journey and eventual fall to the dark side.
"Imagine bullying a child" you should read about the abuse Jake Lloyd went through, so sad. Great reaction though!!!!
shit like that is why I've always seen the star wars fandom as toxic, they mercilessly went in on Jake Loyed and, Ahmed Best. I think Lucas initially intended for there to be 3 trilogies but the vitriol he got for the prequels killed his interest in making the last trilogy. I still love this saga but a lot of my fellow fans are dickheads
@@Benkw1 you are actually way off base here, Jake Lloyd had problems with his classmates over the film, while best said it was the media that harassed him, neither one was by the fans and they have both confirmed this was the case
OT sycophants crying about their ruined childhood, pathetic babies.
@@Benkw1 It wasn't the 30-50+ year old fanbase it was kids in school that teased him. Remember the internet wasn't even a big thing yet. Neck beards couldn't touch him. So accusing Star Wars fans as the bullies has always been bull crap. Heck it wasn't even my post OG trilogy gen fans but kids his own age. I was in highschool at the time an no one I knew who were Star Wars fans even heard of any of this. So within Fandom circles we did not know this was going on and we had the internet. Why because this was happening when he was in school some cases years after he stared in the film. When I watched the interview years after the fact he clearly says it was kids in his schools that teased him. In short it wasn't Star Wars fans but brats who found a reason to bully him like brats do.
Not to mention that what Sebulba does is not "bullying". It is dissing an oponent.
Yes, the same actor that played the Emperor in the original trilogy came back to play the younger Senator Palpatine in the prequil trilogy.
sure the choreography definitely feels more showy than ever, but George was trying to show Jedi and Sith at the height of their powers. with Luke/Vader/Obi in the OG trilogy, it’s more of an emotional battle, like Obi/Vader testing each other and Vader not wanting to kill his son and vice versa
There really isn't an an example in the Original Trilogy of two saber wielding opponents trying to kill each other. I guess you could count Luke for the few seconds that he gives into his anger and cuts Vader's hand off, but aside from that either one or both opponents aren't going for the kill.
I heard that it was too difficult to get a stunt man to perform sophisticated sword fights if someone was in the Vader suit
@@theawesomeman9821 that aswell as the saber props they used were fragile especially in the first one
And that the industry of fight choreography has blossomed a lot since the 70's. More people have education about or direct training in martial arts and the general audience expectations have risen significantly.
There were great fight choreographers and martial arts talents in the 70's and earlier too. Just that they did not pay them very much or value their talents in the industry like they do now.
Episode 4 was "stage fencing" with minutes of practice for the actors where Episode 1 is Ray Park training with Ewan Mcgregor for several weeks before filming the scene.
@@theawesomeman9821 I thought they got an Olympic fencer for Empire and Jedi in place of David Prowse, though he returned to throw Palpatine down the shaft.
The writing has way more meaning than at first glance, like "there's always a bigger fish". That was meant to imply a bigger threat. We all thought Maul was the threat, and who the "phantom menace", but it was actually Palpatine. He was hiding in the shadoes, pulling the strings, and he was "the bigger fish"
Fun Fact:
Ray Park, the actor who played Darth Maul, had his speaking voice dubbed by a different actor's voice, because George Lucas had felt that Ray's actual speaking voice was too high-pitched to fit the character of Darth Maul
Master Ki-Adi Mundi: "Your thoughts dwell on..."
VKunia: _Don't think weird things, don't think weird things, don't think weird things..._
Master Ki-Adi Mundi: "...how does a female of Master Yoda's species look like?"
VKunia: "I'm soorrryyyyyyyy!!!"
Yaddle: Hey, you can look at me!
@@user-xx6vy9ri8p Приветствую, товарищ!
@@user-io7fp5jv5i Дратути.
Ironically, a female of Yoda's species was in the room-Master Yaddle.
Natalie Portman was 18 during this movie. Padme was supposed to be 14 though, and Anakin was supposed to be 9 (Jake Lloyd was 10).
Natalie Portman was 18 when the film was released. But she was about 15 when she was acting her parts.
So there’s the “creepy age gap” everyone talks about.
@@Fuzz32
5 years isnt bad. Not when they're both adults anyway. 12+ starts to get a little iffy though, even 10+.
@@ViewerOnline101 I know. I was being sarcastic.
@@Fuzz32
Ah. Sarcasm doesn't always translate well in writing.
"imagine bullying a child"..funny you said that! you can't imagine how much hate and bullying the kid who played Anakin got..so sad! people can be awful!
"does he come back a free his mom?"...sure, in a way ;)
looking forward to seeing you react to episode 3 :)
Same with Wesley Crusher from Star Trek. Child actors simply are too young and overall inexperienced to be as good actors as ones with 20+ years of experience, and it's _certainly_ not their fault when their characters are written badly. As much as I can't stand some characters, I'll never understand assholes who bully child actors... 😢
2 little theories on how Anakin was born without a father: 1) it was the force itself that created him in Shmi, to balance the force. or 2) Darth Sidious manipulated the force to spawn a child of the Sith. (He talks about a Sith Lord who could do this)
"I will make it legal"
Vkunia: "How do you make it legal? It's either legal or it's not"
Oh, dear sweet innocent child... were you asleep throughout 2020?
The music, Duel of the Fates. The fate is Anakin's. Qui Gon is the father figure he needed...
Palps is like a Grandfather figure or a favorite uncle to little Anakin.
I think Episode 1 is nowhere near as bad as its reputation, especially when the film first came out. That being said, it was very refreshing for someone who had no expectations of the film to enjoy it for what it was when so many people hated with it first came out because it failed to deliver on the huge hype the film had when it was released at the time. Yes, the film was overflooded with CGI, not all the characters were as interesting (it's also nice to see someonr like jar jar when he was so hated when the movie first came out) and the story was a little boring and more difficult to follow with the added politics which probably it resulting in not being as great at the original trilogy, but I found it to be very entertaining with great action scenes and fast paced light saber fighting (18:20 loved the reaction, I also thought the double-edged lightsaber was awesome!), so I overall found it to be an enjoyable film and it’s nice to see that you enjoyed it.
Now not everyone may agree with this, but the Character I actually always enjoyed the most from Episode 1 was Qui-Gon Jinn (I enjoy him even more now that I know he was portrayed by Liam Neeson). I consider Qui-Gon to be the ideal role model to becoming a true jedi and he has all the positive qualities a good mentor should have; he’s compassionate and stands up for people who can’t defend or help themselves, he’s an incredibly powerful jedi master yet remains grounded and humble, he’s very intelligent, patient, diplomatic and fully embodies the spirit of what to do when it comes to making decisions about right and wrong. And on top of all of that, he also has a very cool design to him which I think you agree since you said you may cosplay his hair (a touch of silver to both his beard and long hair along with jedi robe and tall stature gives him a very distinguished look fitting to that of a wise old wizard). IMO even though the movie is about first finding Anakin and preparing to have him begin training as a jedi, the phantom menace is really Qui-Gon’s film.
Anyway great reaction to a great film (21:07 I find it funny that you’re gonna use NOW THAT’S POD RACING! As your quote of the day), and I look forward to seeing your reaction to the next episode.
BTW random fact, the movie was originally going to be called "The Beginning" but was changed at the last minute.
I agree qui gon is a model jedi. Once you read the legacy novels that explain his backstory his most important characteristic is his willingness to question authority. He actively calls out the jedi council when theyre being apathetic or just dumbasses. That doesnt mean he is rebellious he just doesnt let authority supercede whats right. I think had he been anakin's teacher anakin could have been shown the right way to criticize authority and not come off as whiny or petulant. Obi wan wasnt a good teacher in that regard because he was too subserviant to authority and shut down any attempt by anakin to question the council. Qui gon would have been a better teacher of patience because thats something he himself struggles with. If it had been qui gon running the investigation in ep 2 and not obi wan, qui gon would have listened to dooku and taken his claims about a sith lord seriously.
I agree
I first saw Star Wars in the theaters in 1977. Twice. Which was unheard of for my family. But that's how much I loved it. Saw the "A New Hope" re-release in theaters also, and Empire and Jedi their opening weekends, and then some(including the 1997 Special Editions, which I mostly enjoyed). I say this, to establish that I am an "OG" fan. I was 10 years old in 1977. With that said, I never had any hatred or disappointment with the Prequel Trilogy. Of course, I was much older when they released(32 for this one), so the "politics" of the movie was something I could grasp in it's entirety. Children would either not understand that part, or ignore it because "boring". I wasn't bothered at all by Jar Jar Binks, nor Jake Lloyd's portrayal of Anakin. Call me weird if you want to, I'll wear that title as a badge of honour.
Anyway, I could "read between the lines" of the political side of the story, and see just how manipulative Palpatine was, and how he was able to hide himself in plain sight from the Jedi Order. I found the subtlety of the story to be quite fascinating. It left some to the imagination, but there was definitely a logical progression you could follow, if you delved deep into it. Of course, there was also enough action and adventure to entertain those who didn't want to do the "deep dive".
Were any of the Star Wars movies perfect? Of course not. But I didn't expect them to be. I did find them to be entertaining, and quite a reflection of the time in which they were made. Then again, any movie with political undertones tend to reflect the era in which they are made(or at least, the era they are set in).
@@IggyStardust1967 yeah for me i never hated the plot or any of the characters. What i disliked about the prequels was the dialogue and the performance direction. I felt like there were a ton of great ideas in the prequels that just weren't well executed and that george lucas has no business writing dialogue. Those scripts should have been sent for rewrites to fix the dialogue and George Lucas should have had oversight with performance direction. I think when you compare it to the sequels what they were was a bad messy plan executed well. So it kinda depends on what you think the lesser of two evils would be.
You're right, it's ten times worse. The only reason it looks less shitty in retrospect is the next movie managed to be worse
Love your observations and appreciation for this film. The choreography in the prequels is wayyyy better than the OG movies. You're gonna love Episodes II and III. Looking forward to the reactions!
Fun fact: An immaculate conception (like the virgin Mary) in the Star Wars universe is called "A child of the force". It means he was conceived by the force itself for some much grander purpose.
Qui Gon's death is the key tragedy to the entire series. Obiwan was a brother to Anakin, but what he needed was a father, in Qui Gon. That's why the song when he dies is named Duel of Fates.
The Sand People raising their arms and cheering is definitely not from this movie. It’s from the original, if you recall they did that after ambushing Luke and immediately being terrified by an old man.
Sand people? I thought those were NASCAR fans lol
"I've been looking forward to this."
“I was about to say that”
Same here.
I'm watching all reviews together and loving it.
Will have to do the whole lot each time another review comes out.
Good, twice the pride, double the fall.
"Darth Maul is a Jedi?? Bad Jedi?"
More like the Sith minion.
If you want to get technical, she's correct. Sith are fallen Jedi.
@@william_santiago no they aren't. They're a rival religious sect of Force users. Neither Maul nor Palpatine were ever Jedi. In fact, the Sith technically predate both the Jedi and their predecessors, the Je'dai.
@@william_santiago .....
Sith apprentice
@@1GungGung the Sith species, yes, but the Sith Order, which was formed around when the Jedi Order was formed.
There was a split between their predecessor, the Je'dai Order. It resulted in the Jedi Order, and the Sith Order, which was started when the banished fallen Je'dai came into contact with the Sith species.
The sense of nostalgia that you felt during the pod racing scene prompted by your childhood of playing the pod racing video game is the same feeling I get when watching Episode IV. I was 12 when it came out and remember going to the movie theater to see it. So it's great that the nostalgia from childhood experiences for Star Wars has now crossed two generations. Hopefully we will see it cross to a third especially with kids now watching the Mandalorian series.
19:18 That moment of realization when he smacks qui-gon
I seen this in the theater when it was released. After 16 years without a new movie, when the music dropped at the beginning the entire theater erupted into loud cheers.
Same ... different at the beginning than at the end, though
The original trilogy was rereleased shortly before.
Yeah I saw Episode I at a Midnight premiere, and they cheered at that, they cheered when the Jedi first removed their robes, they cheered when they first used their lighsabers... kind of got on my nerves actually. lol. Although it is ironic because those were probably the same people who trashed it as a monstrosity a year later.
3:58 "Is that Natalie Portman? It has to be!" Nope. Actually, a wild Keira Knightley has appeared. She used disguise.
Apparently, it was super effective.
Well that shot was Natalie Portman. Keira Knightley played her decoy in some of the other scenes.
Didn't you see Jaba the hut? FACT: The actor of Darth Maul, is a martial artist, this is why the fight choreography is so good.
From what I've read, they had an actor who was cast as Maul... but the choreographer was so damned good, they just put him in makeup and let him play Maul instead.
Somewhere out there is an actor who was totally psyched to land a Star Wars role... only to lose that role to a fight coordinator. That must be a real thorn in his side!
Ray Park portrayed Darth Maul and he is a superb Martial artist. Ray Park also played the toad character in the X-Men movie back in 2000 and he got to beat up Storm in that movie before she electrocuted him LOL!
The fight choreography was done by Nick Gillard, british stuntman. He has worked on everything from Willow to The three musketeers.
Darth Maul was played by Ray Park, trained in Wushu and other martial arts.
Ewan McGregor did most of his own saber fighting and impressed Nick Gilliard.
@@TazorNissen - Pretty sure Park was never "world champion" of anything. He made the British national team in his teen years, but he's been in and around Hollywood ever since.
Wu Shu competition is weird... there's no fighting at all. It's basically a ballet recital.
@@Mr.Ekshin
You are right, I misremembered it. I have edited my post to reflect the truth.
And yeah Wushu is martial arts ballet, which is perfect for film making because you are not supposed to hit the actor, hehe.
the prequel trilogy is unironically my favorite star wars movies and the phantom menace has a special place as it was my first star wars movie. i also love how these movies actually show us the galexy and makes it a connected universe and not an empty world with no real binding factors
Great reaction! It’s good to see your wholesome and fully honest reaction to a movie that people really had too high of an expectation in 1999.TPM is a worthy start to the saga.
Kiera Knightly plays Natalie Portman’s double in some scenes.
I dropped my phone in excitement when I saw this was up lmao
AW I hope you like the reaction :)
VKunia, this is not a spoiler. The Phantom Menace takes place 31 years before A New Hope.
For reference, Empire is 3 years after A New Hope, Return of Jedi is 1 year after Empire (4 years after A New Hope).
32 years, actually.
@@FreakDaMIghet You are right. I thought the time between Ep 2 and 3 was 2 years instead of 3. 😮
@@FreakDaMIghet That’s a long time
Empire - Jedi, 6 months
@@MarCuseus The Ewok party took 6 months to finish.
The way she stopped and stared at the camera when he said “Now this is podracing” had me 😂 The fact that she caught on to how little sense the line makes the very first time watching the movie is impressive.
You're so sweet. You have such a genuine reaction to everything. Also : Palpatine and the Sith are "the phantom menace" because the Jedi thought that the Sith were extinct for a thousand years. Not one of them suspected even a single Sith Lord could have survived after all that time.
Edit
People give Jar Jar shit but I love him. He's like a giant teddy bear......with bad luck and bad reflexes lol
We usually refer to ep4, 5, 6 as the "Classic Trilogy", with 1, 2, 3, being the "Prequel Trilogy", or prequels for short. Taken together 1-6 could be called "The Saga of Anakin Skywalker" He may not be the main character in every movie, but is surely the main character of this series of films and probably has the best character development.
I don't consider the "other ones" to be canon. But that's just me.
Other ones? I'm pretty sure that there aren't any other Star Wars movies... 😉
@@kenp.7304 what about rogue one and solo other than those I can’t think of any others
It's not just you.
Ken P, he's referring to the sequels with Rey, episodes 7-9. I do happen to agree
@@4everhealthwellness344 🤦
Ah, one who knows the Wilhelm scream. You have proven yourself to be a true master of the cinema force. ^^
VKunia "Is that Palpatine?! It sounds like Palpatine, but It doesn't look like him
Me: hihihi-heh-heh-heh-hahaha haaa!!
UNLIMITED PAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
5:15 Jar Jar crashed the king’s ship.
"The choreography is a bit over-the-top..."
EXACTLY! These are force sensitive superbeings who are using the force to see into the future, amplify their speed and strength, and are heavily trained martial artists. They can't duel like a normal human, or they would die. The flash and dazzle is needed to open a weakness in your opponent.
anakins story is sad cuz being a slave and a jedi he was forced to always call people master
That name no longer has any meaning for me
@@DarthVader_x. it is your true self you've only forgotten
It is too late for me@@parnmkie
@@DarthVader_x. no it isn't iv got to save you
You already have @@parnmkie.
You were right, you were right about me. Tell your sister you were right.
The Original Trilogy was all about the hero's journey, Luke's transition from a farmboy to a hero. It was about the classic mythic battle between good and evil.
The Prequels are more of a Shakespeare tragedy with a gradual descent of a era of good into evil and corruption. It is Anakin's journey but not into a hero like Luke's journey. The prequels are about Anakin's corruption into Darth Vader.
And the sequel trilogy is all about how the writer/directors love Star Wars but don't understand it.
@@LeChaunce lmao so true
And trade agreements. And an actor so wooden he should’ve been called “Mannequin Skywalker”. And let’s not forget the ridiculous reptile rabbit that is the object of such hate from fans that it burns with the fire of a thousand suns.
shakespeare is a good comparison. many of shakespeare's characters often do the wrong things for the right reasons. anakin's fall is him trying to do right by those he loves but failing and falling. after the prequels, i couldn't really hate vader anymore. i just pitied him.
the prequels highlight the fact that Lucas writes dialogue that would embarrass a 3 year old
Fun fact: The actor playing Jar Jar got bullied so hard for playing this role. Seriously, they can't get over the hate boner for his character.
And Jake Lloyd too. I mean shit, blame George Lucas, not the actors who were just doing their jobs.
Because he sucks. He took the money. Hes fune.
Although a fact, I wouldn't call it fun!
@@edmontonboy99 Yeah we see that today with the sequel actors too getting stick, when they did the best they could with the material given. Same goes here. Jar-Jar is terrible, but I don't blame the actor at all for that. Also Jake Lloyd is excellent as Anakin, far better than Hayden is in the next couple.
@@promnightdumpsterbaby9553 Yeah let's sit on our couch and say someone who was just a kid deserved years of torment for doing something most of us couldn't do better, then say it doesn't matter to him because he took money likely long gone now and that his parents probably spent part of. There is a difference between criticism and hate.
Loved that reaction, you having childhood memories of games and stuff but having never watched it before, this reaction is as close to an actual child reaction to discovering the movie back in 1999, your enthusiasm shows and is very communicative :)
Love your reaction videos, they're so genuine and fun. Keep up the excellent content!!
Thank you so much!!❤
"How old is she": About 16
"Does she age?!" Not really.
She's 13 in this. Her character that is. Natalie Portman turned 18 the year when Phantom Menace came out.
@@thegorn68 You're correct, although it started filming in 1997, so that's the date that I worked off of. Although looking at the exact dates, it looks like she was actually 17 when filming started.
Edit: It turns out I've had a hectic enough week that I've forgotten how to do basic math - she had just turned 16 when filming started!
@@clarbri So that makes her 41 now - where does the time go!
I remember when they put out a casting call for Padme. Portman wasn't what I had envisioned from the description, which seemed they wanted younger and more exotic, but she did a really good job and I liked her in The Professional.
@@LA_HA I think she's stilted in the first few - not her fault. By Sith though she is fine. Portman is an excellent actress, not helped by the material in the first few films, like so many of them in the prequels.
I was lucky enough to watch this in the theater on its opening weekend. The sheer amount of hype was unbelievable.
I remember!! The hype - to this day - is unmatched!! 😍😍
My uncle took me to see TPM and we stood outside of the theater for more than 2 hours after we watched it just gushing over the movie. I know the prequels don't do it for a lot of fans, but I honestly love them, warts and all.
I hope a similar amount of hype can return to Star Wars soon. I have a feeling it will.
@@mattrismatt nope it won't happend again for sure , firstly because there were more than 20 years between the return of the jedi and the phantom menace , and disney won't obvsioulsly never let that time between 2 movies from the franchise , plus the last ones were shit so no one expect to watch a masterpierce anymore now
@@muggensan8611 For sure? What do you know that I don't?
Expecting to watch - or having watched - "a masterpiece" isn't required to be hyped about Star Wars. The fact that you - and so many others think "the last ones were shit" would make it that much more unexpected if something special did come along.
BTW, _The Phantom Menace_ was released 16 years after _Return of the Jedi._
Darth Jar Jar’s first appearance.
Something to keep in mind for the different tone is that the original trilogy was made when George Lucas was colaborating with a lot of different people in order to make it, even his wife at the time was incredibly involved in the editing process and responsible for a lot of changes, she even won an Oscar for her work on the Original Star Wars so the trilogy was made as a group effort by a bunch of people. But by the time of the Prequels George was totally in control, he wasn't collaborating, he was seperated from his wife and a lot of the people he now worked with believed completely in him as a creator, so he he was allowed to do basically whatever he wanted and nobody would challenge him on it or suggest changes, so it was a solo project.
In the novel " Thrawn " it is explained that Skywalker is a term used for a very unique kind of people, the greatest pilots in the universe. That is how the character of Thrawn (who is an big imperial figure) knows whoDarth Vader is, no one is that good of a pilot.
-"Now this is podracing!"
-"It's...literally not."
Your comment... is podracing.
@@Mr.Ekshin I'm trapped in a prison of logic.
@ImperialRuins "Now this comment threat is podracing!"
The horns that start every Star Wars movie are the best thing to experience in theaters. It gets you so hyped for the film!
Well... trumpets. Horns are what you hear play The Force Theme during the binary sunset in A New Hope.
@@Klffsj Sorry, I meant the horn section not literal horns. As a former band geek, sincerely appreciate the distinction though!
@@tastyneck You're fine. I just wanted to make that clear.
You're very accepting of this movie, that's great. That means you will enjoy the others. Your reactions are so funny!
The battle droids in this movie were all programmed to a singular computer, the captain droids (the ones with the yellow markings) were given some level of independent thinking in order to be able to execute direct orders. That's why they act so quirky. In later movies all B1 battle droids were given an independent thinking computer because of the disaster during the Battle of Naboo.
It’s so great to see people get to experience these films for the first time! Fun fact, Ray Park and Ewan Mcgregor practiced that last fight choreography so much and got so fast that they had to slow down for filming. And the music for that scene is called Duel of the Fates b/c Lucas saw it as Qui-Gonn and Maul literally dueling for the fate of Anakin. If Qui-Gonn lives, he trains Anakin and loves him like a father. But Obi-Wan, who didn’t really believe in Anakin and only trains him to fulfill his master’s dying wish, trains Anakin and loves him like a brother, which ultimately isn’t enough to prevent his fall.
The memes are strong in the prequel trilogy.
Qui-Gon Jinn was perhaps the last true Jedi, at least true to the origins and old teachings of the Jedi before they became more and more adapted to the current political climate.
Until a certain Padawan.
I disagree. He was constantly doing things against the Councils will, which would hardly make him a "true" Jedi. A true Jedi follows the code. I would say the last true Jedi was probably Obi-Wan.
@@jeffburnham6611 the counsel strayed away from the Jedi ways. They were know as corrupt, and is why they had a downfall. Qui-Gon kept the original Jedi ways.
@@jeffburnham6611 what is mean by true jedi is Qui-qon follow and believe the forces rather than council so he not afraid to go against them. council mingle too much in politic that make them blinded by the sith and Qui-qon did warn them many times.
A grey Jedi
Meme counter: 13
Impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete.
Phantom Menace had one of the best finales of the whole series, it's scale was incredible, space battle at the droid control ship, field battle with the gungans, padme retaking the palace with her guard, and duel of the fates, the best lightsaber battle of all time
Being honest, with the internet being full of people constantly hating this film/trilogy and nitpicking every single detail of it, this reaction was really refreshing to see! This wasn't my favorite film, but I definitely don't think it's the worst, and it's cool to see you got some enjoyment out of watching it! Really looking forward to seeing your reactions to episodes II and III!
Way better than the sequels of garbage and the maREY Sue chronicles
I saw this in high school and loved it even though the rest of the world didn’t which is why I’m so thankful this generation is showing it the love it deserves.
And this is where Obi-Wan learned the importance of the High Ground.
Actually I would argue Anakin is the one who learnt that lesson.. Obi Wan warned him it was over because he had the high ground but Anakin tried his luck anyway..
@@wadederrett6617 That's not til Episode III. I'm talking about Obi-Wan's fight with Darth Maul.
Really with the spoiler comments?
@@Linerunner99 Really with the complaining about Star Wars spoilers in 2021?
@@DAMIENDMILLS yes. Because there are people out who didn't watch every movie yet. Like the channel host lol.
Get out here
Ironically Darth Maul had the high ground.
half of him did... for awhile
I think the fight scenes, particularly the final battle with Darth Maul, felt so amazing because it was the first time we had really seen Jedi in their prime. Not an old man, or a kid in training, or his robot father-but young and powerful Jedi in top form.
The actor playing Jar-Jar was wearing a motion capture suit. In fact, Jar-Jar was the first actor-driven/motion-captured CG character in a feature film.