Penguin, I think you make a very good point about the movie being part of a larger whole. While the original Star Wars movie can stand on it's own, none of the others, particularly my favorite, The Empire Strikes Back, would have been a good movie without Star Wars to build on. I think Lucas has a trciky problem in that we all know how this triology will turn out. Anakin becomes Vader, the Jedi mostly get exterminated, Luke and Leia are born, Obi-Wan helps hide them and then hides himself on Tatooine (which has to be the busiest out of the way backwater ever
), Yoda gets to Tatooine. Any of us could tell that story and outline it in a page or two. It is the filling in and fleshing out of the story that makes it special. What causes Anakin's fall? Had Qui-Gon survived would Anakin perhaps have not fallen? The Phantom Menace laid the groundwork for why the Republic fell, and introduced us to a number of the characters we would see throughout the rest of the triology. I'm sure most of us with an interest in the Star Wars universe have answers to the questions I mentioned, I know I have my ideas, though this probably isn't the forum for us to discuss them, or this thread will make the Nephillim thread look pretty tiny.
That being said, there were elements of the movie I did not like that that fact would not have bearing on. For example, I think George should have gotten Steven Spielberg to help him with his direction of Jake Loyyd. Spielberg does very well with children and I don't think it was Jake's acting that was the problem, but the direction he was given. I also thought it a tad too gimmicky and circle of lifeish that Anakin builds C-3P0. I found the novel helped flesh the story out a bit better than the movie, and to get back on WC, I've heard several people mention they felt the same about the WC novel and movie.
I've menioned my unhappiness with certain apsects of the movie (the Pilgrim concept) in other places here. I like things to fit together, and I feel the movie doesn't fit as well in the WC universe as it could. It is not a terrible movie and the acting was okay though I don't really like Lillard or Prinze. In Lillard's defense though, a little Maniac goes a long way and there was a lot of Maniac in that movie. Prinze seemed too puppy dog looking throughout the movie, but in the few movies I've seen with him, that seems to be his look. Maybe I'm just getting old.
[This message has been edited by Shane (edited November 10, 2000).]