What was the reaction to The Phantom Menace like in 1999?
I started cooming in the theater
hated by critics. hated by audiences.
>>221082955I liked it
>>221082976Audiences forgave it because they thought despite its flaws the next would be better (it wasn't)
I saw the first showing opening day and there were multiple groups of people arguing. Right outside the theater, in the lobby, and even in the parking lot as I was leaving. And they were all arguing about Jar Jar Binks
A general sort of "That's it?" feeling. It was a spectacle and interesting to see, but everyone felt disappointed and it's hard to understate the hatred for Jar Jar. The marketing towards kids was insane too, there were so many toys of all the robots and shit.
I don’t know man. I was a little shit scrubber back then so thought it was pretty sick. The highlight of the entire movie is Darth Maul and the double saber.
>>221082955theres actually video tapes of peoples' reactions when leaving the theater on youtube
>>221083023No there isn't
>>221083023The footage from before they went in is really funny.
>>221082955Hated by the manchildrenLoved by children
>>221082955
>evian bottle
>>221082955someone post the edit, you know the one
Fans were hyped out of their minds before the movie came out, then when it turned out to be disappointing they spent most of their time coming up with rationalizations to justify it. It's the first one in a new trilogy, it's laying the groundwork for the sequel which will be incredible for sure, etc.Basically the exact same reaction as Force Awakens.
>>221082955Why is this picture so funny
>>221082955Go read the 1999 user reviews from imdb.
>>221083011>had this toy and a Jar Jar>used to run over Jar Jar with it all the time
The hype from the originals being back in theaters and the Pepsi/Taco Bell merch is unmatched. Battledroids saved the movie.
>>221083180i had the four taco bell posters that formed one large poster.
>>221082955Why have you removed the peestains form Neeson
>>221083108Liam Peeson
>>221082955huge anticipationthen a creeping let down
Children barely liked it, because they didn't know any better. Everyone else was really confused, mainly about Jar Jar.
>>221083180>Battledroids saved the movie.I had so many of those toys it was unreal.
>>221083480It's a kid's movie. Why the fuck would an adult watch episode 1?
>>221083180The ramp up to it with the OT re-releases was huge too.
>>221082955Most people basically liked it well enough except for a few sticking points like Jar-Jar, the kid actor, the whole pod-racing side quest . . .Basically, almost everybody had something to nit-pick, but mostly people were happy to see lightsaber duels on the big screen again.Very few people either completely loved it or completely hated it. Most people gave it mixed reviews. "Oh, I like this and that, but I hated that and this. This part was dumb, that part was cool, I hated it when they did this, I loved it when that happened."
>>221082955Gen X manchildren hated it, everyone else loved it
>>221083501Episode I toys were the best. I always wanted the Naboo Starfighter, but I never asked because I figured my dad would say no. The only Star Wars toy I ever got was Obi-Wan's lightsaber (picrel). It was fun swinging it around in the backyard for a few minutes in 2006 before never touching it again.
>>221082955I spoke with a guy that was defending it as best he could but then I asked about Jar Jar Binks and he went quiet. There was no justification for Jar Jar, he was like the 2nd nuke on Japan.
>>221082955It was a huge deal leading up to it's release, then a few weeks of copium, then everyone agreed that it sucked
>>221083630>I always wanted the Naboo StarfighterBased, I had one of the tiny toy ones (hull made of metal and that tail end was plastic, crazy high quality) and also a pretty big plastic version that was about the size of my chest. I loved that shit despite not loving the movie, also the N64 games were great too.
>>221082955whenever i see images of neeson irl my eyes immediately pivot to his crotch
>>221083778Be weird if you didn't.
>>221082955Widespread copium that it wasn’t so bad. Then everyone slowly accepting it was a disappointment.
>>221082955Was 7 at the time. I can tell you my reaction. >see a new Star Wars movie coming out via toy commercials >I barely understood the series but had watched it several times on vhs>want to see it but my family didn’t go to the movies>more interested in the fact that they are making Star Wars Legos >get Legos from parents>most of them were the OT sets because I didn’t watch phantom menace>think the battle droids are cool lego figures though>friends and cousins have the episode 1 sets I did end up seeing it but not until the next year on vhs. I don’t remember talking about it with people.>when it comes out on vhs I ask my parents if we can rent it at Hollywood Video>they get it for me>watch it alone>don’t really get it>don’t know who anyone is>names are confusing>aliens are weird>like the pod race>think the Jedi are kinda stupid compared to Luke who I miss>maul is scary lookingOverall I was confused. Not disappointed or disliking it. As a child I didn’t actually dislike movies. I didn’t realize. Unless they were in black and white, which did bother me. But I didn’t want to watch it again. Unlike the Original Trilogy which I would pop in the vhs several times a year
>>221082955When I saw it I thought, was the Nintendo game made for the movie or was the movie made for the game. I suspect the game movie was made to sell the shitty game.
>>221082955it was shit and nobody liked it.All mainstream media mocked it
>>221082976>>221082998These nigger faggots weren't there
>>221083505Everyone watched episode one you fucking retard.
>>221083956Kino
>>221082955I was 9 and looking forward to it. I was super excited by the tv trailers, I remember telling my parents that the robots must be the "clones" mentioned in reference to the clone wars line in A New Hope. My dad, in a bemused and patronising manner, explained that there was a difference between robots and clones. But I was inwardly seething because he didn't realise I was speaking metaphorically, I knew what a robot was but my point was that all the robots were similar to each other so in the minds of the fictional characters they'd be like clones.It turned out I was incorrect in this prediction, but from that day onward I realised I hated my genetic forebears.Anyway I can't remember the specifics immediately after watching it but it sucked, I was disappointed and I felt foolish being so hyped for it. I also somehow watched the Matrix after Phantom Menace (maybe late in it's run?) and thinking it was far better and I should have been looking forward to that instead.I won't tell you how I reacted when Matrix Reloaded released after a long period of anticipation ( I was also really excited for Mass Effect 2 btw)
>>221085111Got lost on your way to Reddit I see.
>>221082955I liked it, didn't mind any single bit of it. Fuck the haters.
>>221085263>didn't mind any single bit of itReally? Are you sure?
I’m pretty sure that the Darth Maul duel accompanied by the beautifully orchestrated Duel of The Fates is what ultimately carried the movie in people’s minds. That had to be what stuck with them, dual blades, the music, and the improved effects (lightsabers looked really goofy in the originals).
>>221085297The Obi Wan and Darth Maul fight is pretty much the first thing that always comes to mind for that movie. Or the first positive thing anyway.
>>221082955I wasn’t a Star Wars nerd. I didn’t realize the annoying kid was youngDarth Vader until someone told me days later, I may have enjoyed it more. I remember people complaining about useless jar jar. The racing scene was a waste of time, unnecessary. The audience erupted when r2d2 appeared.
>>221085111>didnt like phantom menace, matrix sequels or mass effect 2Man of genuine discerning taste. Identity fandom losers cannot comprehend your power level.Your thoughts on Alien3?
>>221083180I still have the darth mal big gulp lid somewhere
>>221085374I have a few Pez dispensers around. People on eBay are selling that shit for retarded prices.
>>221082955I was around 12 at the time and I loved it. Yeah there’s some dumb shit (“Yippee!!”) but the pod race was flashy with cool sound design and the duel is undeniable. I’d watch it again. RotS however, is the only movie I’ve ever fallen asleep while watching in the theater. If I watch that again it’ll be to leer at Padme
>>221082955If you were a kid it was great.If you were a neckbeard it sucked.
>>221085297I agree. It was undeniable the lightsaber fights were amazing.>>221085360I've lost track of the versions, I've seen at least 2.I think it's quite good. Looks beautiful, the short scene outside is exceptionally good. Good atmosphere, good mix of a cast of characters that feel plentiful enough to be chaff whilst also being distinct and mostly memorable. You don't know their names at the end of it (except Dillon, IIRC) but you still keep track of them and begin to root for the dirty bastards.It's brutal in the treatment of Hicks and Newt, but something like that would be necessary to keep Ripley as the protagonist.Aliens is very good, but I think it's the closest thing to Alien 2.
>>221082955I was 9 and I loved it. I was obsessed with pod racing and battle droids and Darth Maul.
>>221085271Jarjar is based
>>221083108KEKfirst thing I did when I saw OPs image was zoom in to see if he pissed himself in that pic
>>221082955Star wars merch as fae as rhe eye could see.
>>221085297>lightsabers looked really goofy in the originalsOnly in A New Hope.
>>221083630
>>221082955People mostly liked it until Kevin Smith or some other fat, sarcastic Gen X turd had a manchild tantrum about it.
>>221082955Upset that Anakin would say "whee" like a child would.Absolute shitting on JarJarOutrage at whatever stereotype Watto presented.Midichlorians. lolwat?
>>221082955why aren't Neeson's pants pissed?
I'd say my friends and I were a little surprised with the first one about the childish tone of it with jar jar, pod racing etc but didn't think it was bad. Just unexpected.
>>221086674>People mostly liked itlolololol
Otherworldly hype followed by crushing disappointment
You have to understand, it was SUPER hyped for a long time before it came out, and it seemed like it was going to be rad. It was going to be about how Vader was made. Then we saw it and it was pod racing.Imagine if they were making a movie about Hitler as a child and made it out like it was going to be gritty and introspective, but then you find out child Hitler is played by Home Alone-era McCauley Culkin.
>>221082955>taxes? wtf. Oh cool light saber fights, maybe next movie makes up for this overhyped shit.
>>221082955Did they...?
>>221082955I bought 3 sets of tickets for the first day of release to see with friends. I was in shell shock after the first midnight viewing I thought it couldn't possibly be as shit as I thought it was and I must have been missing something. After a sleep and 2nd viewing I realised it really was irredeemable garbage, I didn't use the 3rd ticket, I haven't watched it since.
>>221087718You weren't even alive back then.
>>221087859You suck cock and eat cum
i was 9 when star wars: the phantom menace came out, and i was never interested in any of these movies. i remember watching stuart little and going to see the matrix and shallow hal with my friends, but none of us were interested in star wars
>>221087440yeah this is pretty much it. the idea was that we were going to get movies about Darth Vader's origin story, which before these movies came out seemed like it was full of interesting possibilities, then we got taxation of trade routes and jar jar binks and it was a shitshow
>>221082955i saw it and thought wow that was fun!
>>221082965I got on my knees and opened my mouth.
>>221087075I should say the target audience mostly liked. 25 year old, pot smoking, misanthropic, angry-for-nothing Gen Xers hated it. But what don't they hate... except random liberal platitudes?
>>221083145Dasa rude!
I loved the podrace yippee!
>>221087996Gen X grew up on the original trilogy. Expectations were high and then this new movie was kind of lame.
>>221082955a lot of schoolyard chants about Jar Jar Binks and homosexuality
>>22108560613 year olds don't have neckbeards.
>>221087996>reee genx reeeeeeeeno one over 13 liked tpm. so that's half of millennials. and just think, two months earlier said 13 year olds would've watched the matrix in theaters.
>>221082955Saw it in theaters three times. I was eleven, and while I recognized it as a mess, I thought it was an entertaining mess. Honestly, a lot of my initial views on it parallel how I felt about The Force Awakens: I was willing to look past the flaws because I naively assumed they would be ironed out as the trilogy progressed.That pod race was pretty cool though. Wish i could get the game running right on my PC.
>>221082955EVIANED
>>221082955>What was the reaction to The Phantom Menace like in 1999?Everyone was copemaxxing. I walked out of the theater pissed, and my friends were making the most pathetic arguments about how it wasn't actually that bad. It was. It was so fucking bad. One of the top 5 worst movies I've ever paid money to see in a theater. 27 years later, and I'm still fucking mad.
>>221082955Every male below the age of 12 enjoyed it.
>>221082955Massive disappointment. But people held out hope for the next one, they thought Lucas would learn from his mistakes.....
Did Phantom Menace have the biggest merchandise campaign ever created for a single movie? Nothing comes close.
>>221089548wouldn't surprise me if it did, it was everywhere
>>221083059I was in school at the time and it was definitely not universally liked by kids
>>221083108>>221083457Schindler’s pissed
>>221083505Because they were kids when the originals came out, obviously
>>221082955I watched it the same weekend I saw The Matrix so I thought it was garbage.
>>221083533The pod race was one of the few things that was widely liked. Darth Maul, the lightsaber fight, and the pod race were the only things everyone seemed to agree on being good
>>221082955Well, I always only 9, and the anticipation before it was quite insane. Sort of on par to the anticipation for Force Awakens, but moreso. And contrary to popular belief, RLM did not spark criticism of the Phantom Menace and prequels. At most, they reignited the criticism after people were finally starting to move on and accept them. People hated Jar Jar, criticized Jake Lloyd's acting, and felt George Lucas used too much CGI (even though this woukd become the norm in filmmaking, moving forward). They were very controversial. Popular media at the time parodied and ridiculed the prequels.9 year old me loved it of course. I saw the movie many times. Even today I think it's a comfy watch, much moreso than AotC which I didn't even enjoy that much as a kid.
>>221089585Dammit Nick
>>221083630This toy was so sick. I beat the shit out of so many kids with this thing. Fond memories
>>221083630Remember how you could unlock the Naboo Starfighter in Rogue Squadron for N64? I memba
>>221089643The “RLM created the prequel hatred” narrative is so dumb, the zoomers were too young to even remember
>>221083630>have toy lightsaber duel>someone gets hit too hard on the finger and starts crying
>>221089820Buncha slack jawed faggots My best friend and I would beat the shit out of each other with sticks all the time playing Lord of the Rings, the only rule was no hits above the neck.
I was more disappointed with the second one revealing that the clones were just some guy cloned a hundred quintillion times and the clone wars was just a regular war. I always imagined it as a high-tension, cold war period where some clandestine force was cloning important Jedi and politicians and trying to replace them, sometimes succeeding. I wasn't alone in this assumption, I later found out, as many a boomxer subscribed to the theory that Obi Wan (OB-1, his clone designation) was a leftover clone of some other powerful Jedi who turned coat and joined the Republic forces.I felt fucking cheated out of Jedi having to fight their own clones. Would have been kino.
>>221089683>>221083630The best part of this toy is that the bottom pommel is basically a plastic mace. You are never losing a playground fight if you have a backup mace, let me assure you.
>>221086122>>221086644>>221089571I was 9 when me and my best friend saw it separately and came to the same conclusion of hatred independently. Kids like us saw it and hated how obvious it was that they were marketing directly to us by using this stupid kid who acted like a slow, stupid retard who should've been chasing butterflies in a field somewhere. We knew he was chosen to sell toys to the lowest common denominator, and we weren't that, so it's insulting. But we thought, okay, fine, what toys are we getting sold? Well, Star Wars figurines sucked dick as toys. They always did. Old Han Solo figurines would show up at garage sales all the time. Like a fancy McDonald's Kids Meal toy. Star Wars toys sucked dick. We knew there was a Millennium falcon toy from the 80s that was cool, maybe the Cat walkers, but those were high-end expensive toys. The average Star Wars toy sucked and the marketing would go on for months and months, so we hated this movie. See the Return of the Jedi did a theatrical re-release in 1997 that I saw with my older brother. When I saw that shit compared to the bullshit Attack of the Clones only two years later with arguably worse special effects... fuck that. Everyone hated Attack of the Clones and George Lucas never recovered.
>>221083059i was like 8 when PM came out. even as a little kid i hated it. i watched the first 3 star wars movies on vhs 100 times each by then. i was super excited for more star wars. one of those instances as a little kid where you vividly remember not liking something.
Audiences hated it so much that episode 2 and 3 were huge flops.Oh wait, I'm thinking of Nu Wars
>>221082955I was 16. I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was a great movie. Most of us were a bit disappointed because of the hype. Still don't mind watching it when it's on and I can see how some people loved it to pieces. Still have a pepsi glass with a droid on it.The 2nd movie was far worse. At first I was a bit hyped coming out of it, but on 2nd watching it became increasingly cringy.The 3rd is absolute kino. But it suffers from being too fast-paced because the previous movie dragged its feet on anakin's turn. Probably the one I rewatched most since then.
>>221090083>The 3rd is absolute kinoi will never understand people who say this...
Empire magazine gave The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones five star reviews and they got so many angry letters that they published retractions and lowered their star rating for both films
MY MOTHER THOUGHT THAT IT WAS «CREEPY» THAT «PADMÉ», AND «ANAKIN», WOULD BE A COUPLE, AND HAVE CHILDREN.
I still have a Sebulba & Boss Nass drink cup
>>221082955Conan O'Brien and Triumph fucking with fans was way better than the movie.https://youtu.be/YKT7bx-fmtk
>>221083115Objectively it blows TFA out of the water.
>>221082998ThisPeople thought it was alright...certainly could have been worse, but alright in general. Liked the saber fights, didnt like JarJar
>>221083533Who didn’t like pod racing? You’re making shit up
>>221082955Why did they let her dress like that? And why didn't he piss his pants?
>>221083505>>221083480I was 8 when i saw episode 1 in theatres and i hated jar jar and hated the podrace and little kid anikin. I liked the last swordfight but was pissed Maul jobbed immediately especially when compared to Darth Vader who is around for 3 movies
>>221090083Pretty fair assessment. I was a bit younger than you but I think there was a massive letdown with the first one purely because the hype was beyond anything ever seen before or since. Everyone HATED Jar Jar. Genuinely the biggest fumble of all time for any media franchise ever. But the rest of the film was entertaining enough that kids liked it and bought all the toys. 2nd was cringe. The romance with anakin and padme felt melodramatic and weird which I guess kind of fits in retrospect. 3rd had some great elements and some really bad ones(“Noooooooooooo”) but overall has had the most impact of any film outside the OT.
>>221083630>It was fun swinging it around in the backyard for a few minutes in 2006 before never touching it again.Sad. All my cousins loved playing with my luke episode VI lightsabre and my brothers Darth vader lightsaber with glow and sound effects. We would smack each other hard with those things and hope around on one leg if the lighsaber cut your leg off etc. Even as adults my cousin said he fondly remembers our lightsabre battles
>>221090083>>221090835the 3rd movie suffered from the "wrap it up" problem. Being a prequel it had to get to the point where it could hand off to A New Hope. And it was made in the time before the concept of "just make another movie" was invented...so they had to cram a lot into the 3rd just to get all the story elements covered setting up A New Hope.
>>221090955Dont care... still love general grievous
>>221083059Kids only liked pod racing and the Darth Maul battle. The entire movie is just waiting for those things.The hype to Episode 1 is honestly far more memorable than anything in the movie.
>>221082955It couldn’t have been more embarrassing than when The Force Awakens came out. 3rd biggest movie ever. Merchandising all over the place. Everyone loved it. You always heard people predicting the next movie and debating things like who Snoke was and who were the Knights of Ren. Anyone who dissented and said it sucked was excoriated — “come on, are you trying to say it was as bad as the prequels?” Today it’s a much different story.
>>221090987Seriously. I’ll always say it, the biggest problem with Phantom Menace is that it’s boring. Attack of the Clones even more so. Pod racing is just not enough to keep audiences invested for 2 hours.
>>221083647The purpose of Nagasaki was to show Japan that we had enough bombs in our arsenal to literally nuke them into extinction if we wanted to, even though we actually didn't. If they didn't buy our bluff they likely wouldn't have surrendered.
>>221090137>and they got so many angry letters that they published retractions and lowered their star rating for both filmsExactly. What kid is going to write an outraged letter to a magazine? It was all Gen Xers pushing 30.
>>221082955Personally? I was 7 years old and pretty stoked. I went with my dad and brother I think. I got a Pepsi out of a vending machine and won a big cardboard display of R2D2 that sat in my room for 2 decades. But I was 7 years old and not some guy who fondly held up the originals as some cinematic masterpiece because I'd never seen them before.
>>221082955I was the target market, a retarded 12 year old. I thought it was okay but preferred the originals for some reason. I wasn't all that excited for the next 2 movies. The assburgers kid in school was though, he couldn't get enough of it.
>>221091200I was a kid in school at the time and the kids who were really enthusiastic about it got picked on because the vast majority knew it wasn’t as good
>>221091264I saw all 3.Hated 1 and 2. I remember all the kids generally liked 3 and even the bullys and the nerds were arguing about it together.
>>221082955>trade federation? taxes? blockade? what?
>>221082955>Yeah. It was good. I liked it… no really, I did….
>>221082955i was 9 so i loved it
>>221091159the joke is we had already razed every larger city and military target on the island and the nips were still going "empire strong!"
I liked it a lot. Everyone liked it a lot. It was a complete success. One shitty youtube channel not liking it was all.
soft pass contingent upon the quality of the second. pass was revoked. same with TFA.
>>221091159Imagine thinking either bombing was justified.
>>221091952they were not backing down. only an extreme show of force caused hirohito to even consider surrender.
>>221091927Stoklasa Derangement Syndrome
>>221082955I was fresh out of the womb when so I don't remember
My parents took me to see it and I remember thinking it was simultaneously too loud and too boring. When the second one came out and I didn't want to see it they looked at me like I have two heads.
The prequels being revealed and coming out was a really exciting time. We obsessed over the trailers. It was fun to always catch them during commercial breaks. For kids the movie was great. People who hate fun didn't have a good time as usual.
>>221083052post it
>>221092266Ugh let people not enjoy things
>>221092266i never realized "fun" was shit acting worse dialogue and inane plot.
>>221082955what was her reaction to the evian bottle like?
>>221082955Huge, but The Matrix briefly surpassed it. Briefly.
>>221082955I want a new star wars movie with Jesse Lee Peterson as a sith.>Let the dark side flow through you, do you feel it BAYTAAAAH? HAAMAZIIN'
