MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Discussion > The split personality of this great but ...

The split personality of this great but terrible movie

posted 4 years ago by ManToTrust (1663)
11 replies | jump to latest

Here’s the thing about why TPM is gaining a following that will always be somewhat perplexing: it has a great plot, but terrible script.

It’s almost unique in that way. Not only in sci-fi or fantasy, but in any film! Think about it. Most films with poor plots also have poor scripts.

This film defies the odds though. The script is bad, the individual lines of every character is excruciatingly cringe. But the plot, the plot is genius.

[–] Wuchak (8857) 4 years ago

the individual lines of every character is excruciatingly cringe

Exaggerate much? It's space fantasy.

[–] kuatorises (7467) 4 years ago

Not exaggerating AT ALL. The dialogue is awful in the prequels.

[–] Wuchak (8857) 4 years ago

I could see someone describing the dialogue as "bland" or what have you, but "excruciatingly cringe" is absurd overkill (unless you were shooting for hyperbole). Anyone who's seen the movie knows it's not that bad.

[–] Cognoscente (2778) 4 years ago

Too bad that George Lucas was above getting a script doctor to iron things out.

[–] mcqueen (1150) 4 years ago

he wasn't

[–] Cognoscente (2778) 4 years ago

I know. I'm just describing his ego.

[–] mcqueen (1150) 4 years ago

gotcha, that was one that carrie fisher supposedly helped out

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Ace_Spade (9658) 4 years ago

I was going to say this, too!

The film wanders around between the story of a boy slave and some vague, ill-defined political economic action. It can't pick a main character for more than a few minutes at a time. It can't keep its plots focused. The plotlines aren't well-integrated, either. Anakin's story isn't really connected to Amidala's. They're loosely tied together by the Jedi, but those two aren't the main character of either of the other stories. It's a mess.

Oh, but the dialogue is mostly really appalling.

[–] rateater (10247) 4 years ago

the plot or basic storyline is good. a good adventure film. i like the way it unfolds.

[–] Karl Aksel (1498) 4 years ago

The plot doesn't make any sense. For example, it doesn't make a spit of sense that the Trade Federation to blockade Naboo in the first place. Sure, it was at the behest of Palpatine, so he could play on his people's suffering to gain sympathy and political leverage. But this would mean using the Trade Federation as a scapegoat, to be portrayed as the bad guys and subsequently the fall guys, and why on earth would they agree to this? What was it the Trade Federation hoped to gain from their blockade of Naboo, or their secret collaboration with Palpatine?