Tuesday, June 11, 2002

On a lighter note, I liked both Spiderman and that movie by George Lucas.


I suppose with all superhero movies, the first one is the easy one. The 'origin story' ends up being a decent chunk of the movie and is very character driven. The second movie is harder, as you need to fill 2 hours without the obvious hook,but I think Raimi provided a nice foundation for it.

As for Star Wars, I thought this one was quite good. Though many have commented on the blackboard-screeching effect the dialogue had on them, it didn't bother me so much. Even the love chitchat, though silly, wasn't so far from the equally silly stuff that might pour out of your average crush-affected teenager. Goofy, but not entirely out of place given the characters I guess.

The problem with this trilogy is that Lucas failed to create characters that we really give a damn about. I think casting named actors, even ones I like, was a big mistake. The dialogue was totally goofy in 'A New Hope' but for some reasons the actors managed to run with it and make it believable. The actors here never quite manage to pull that off.

But, on the other hand it was a much better crafted movie. I think it was wrong to send Obi Wan off on his own for much of the movie - didn't give him anyone to interact with. But, still, had Phantom Menace been this good people would have been thrilled I think.