Wing Commander the Movie Compare And Contrast.
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WildWeasel
Spaceman
I liked the movie. Don't you think it was interesting to see a new Wing Commander adventure? If you really want to see the same plot as the games on the big screen, get a bigger monitor and buy The Kilrathi Saga.
Changes can be expected when you make a movie out of something. The Kilrathi didn't bother me (because we see so little of them). I wish they had used the ship design from the game, though. I guess I'll have to wait until the next Wing Commander movie for that...
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Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
[This message has been edited by WildWeasel (edited November 08, 2000).]
Changes can be expected when you make a movie out of something. The Kilrathi didn't bother me (because we see so little of them). I wish they had used the ship design from the game, though. I guess I'll have to wait until the next Wing Commander movie for that...
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Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
[This message has been edited by WildWeasel (edited November 08, 2000).]
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The Punisher
Spaceman
Weasel what's "THE KILRATHI SAGA"?
And I am sorry but I really don't see how a movie with Freddie Prinze Jr. could ever kick ass, unless of course the movie had him getting his ass kicked....back into acting school.
But before anyone rushes to argue with me and start stating all these points why the movie was so great. I will just let you know that I haven't even seen it all the way through yet. In fact I've probably seen about 20 min. of it total, around towards the end I think.
So of course I know I should "see it before I knock it" or whatever, but my point is that I am not knocking the movie per se', I am just saying.......That it will be a cold day in hell before I ever admit to Prinze having enough acting ability to accurately portray the part of anything above an amoeba.
Now that I am done with that I will say that I really must rent the movie one of these days because I think it must be pretty cool to see Mathew Lillard as Maniac. (Keep in mind I am just guessing thats the role that he played since I only saw about 20 min. of the end.)
"DROP IT, PUNK!"
THE PUNISHER!
And I am sorry but I really don't see how a movie with Freddie Prinze Jr. could ever kick ass, unless of course the movie had him getting his ass kicked....back into acting school.
But before anyone rushes to argue with me and start stating all these points why the movie was so great. I will just let you know that I haven't even seen it all the way through yet. In fact I've probably seen about 20 min. of it total, around towards the end I think.
So of course I know I should "see it before I knock it" or whatever, but my point is that I am not knocking the movie per se', I am just saying.......That it will be a cold day in hell before I ever admit to Prinze having enough acting ability to accurately portray the part of anything above an amoeba.
Now that I am done with that I will say that I really must rent the movie one of these days because I think it must be pretty cool to see Mathew Lillard as Maniac. (Keep in mind I am just guessing thats the role that he played since I only saw about 20 min. of the end.)
"DROP IT, PUNK!"
THE PUNISHER!
And you'll never be able to find it. Like me.
I don't watch the WC movie for its acting, I watch it for its action and the plain fact that it's Wing Commander. And, yes, Matthew Lillard does play Maniac. (speaking of Maniac, I was reading a book today and there was a guy named Tom Wilson... not relevant or interesting, really, but I felt like sharing
)
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If I'm locked on, there's no such thing as evasive action!
I don't watch the WC movie for its acting, I watch it for its action and the plain fact that it's Wing Commander. And, yes, Matthew Lillard does play Maniac. (speaking of Maniac, I was reading a book today and there was a guy named Tom Wilson... not relevant or interesting, really, but I felt like sharing
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If I'm locked on, there's no such thing as evasive action!
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The movie was really good for a scifi film of 27 million. In fact, the only other scifi film of low budget that came out recently that I enjoyed was Pitch Black. For a major movie release though the movie was only average. It had good points and some really bad ones, but for a first directorial debut and mediocre budget it was well done. It wasn't the movie I thought they could have (or should have) made but it is definatly worth a rental.
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There is no God but myself. No destiny but what I deem for me. I walk my path and no others, for I am free.
http://www.ntr.net/~vondoom
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There is no God but myself. No destiny but what I deem for me. I walk my path and no others, for I am free.
http://www.ntr.net/~vondoom
The Punisher
Spaceman
HAhahahaa....Crapthom Menace....definitly what they should rename the movie. God what a friggin joke that thing was. Your right though WC must have been better than that...
ACTUALLY you know what just comes to mind as an interesting ironic comparison especially about giving Chris Roberts the "Phantom Junks" buget is that good ol' Mark Hamil started out in the Original Star Wars and was actually good. Alot of people really low ball him when they say he is washed up and that kind of stuff. He's just an older actor. I mean he really made me love the WC stuff, I started with WCIII and thought it was just awsome. He may not be as trim as he used to be but in my opinion he is still great. Anyway what I thought was kind of Ironic was that Mark Hamil was in the "Good" star wars and when they took him out they stunk up the place, and then Hamil goes onto WCIII and so on and does a friggin' great job with so much less than anyone had in The "Phantom Spankathon"
I doubt that makes a whole lot of sense but...
later
THE PUNISHER!
ACTUALLY you know what just comes to mind as an interesting ironic comparison especially about giving Chris Roberts the "Phantom Junks" buget is that good ol' Mark Hamil started out in the Original Star Wars and was actually good. Alot of people really low ball him when they say he is washed up and that kind of stuff. He's just an older actor. I mean he really made me love the WC stuff, I started with WCIII and thought it was just awsome. He may not be as trim as he used to be but in my opinion he is still great. Anyway what I thought was kind of Ironic was that Mark Hamil was in the "Good" star wars and when they took him out they stunk up the place, and then Hamil goes onto WCIII and so on and does a friggin' great job with so much less than anyone had in The "Phantom Spankathon"
I doubt that makes a whole lot of sense but...
later
THE PUNISHER!
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
Gah. First up, be wary, lest this turns into an "X vs. Y" debate which I would have to stop dead.
That having been said, while I like the WC Movie more than The Phantom Menace, I really wish people would stop knocking that 'un. The Phantom Menace's plot fell short of the earlier SWs, but in the end it was no worse than them. Just because it was targetted at a less mature audience doesn't automatically mean that it was bad.
That having been said, while I like the WC Movie more than The Phantom Menace, I really wish people would stop knocking that 'un. The Phantom Menace's plot fell short of the earlier SWs, but in the end it was no worse than them. Just because it was targetted at a less mature audience doesn't automatically mean that it was bad.
When you make a sequel (or a prequel in this case) it always has something to live up to. And while PM was a descent movie, it fell short when you compared it to the previous movies. Yes, the movie was targeted at a different audiance, 10 year old kids. Even though most of the SW fans are the ones that were on this world when the first movie came out.
Lucas was trying to cash in on the success of the original trilogy without trying to do anything more than a descent/average movie IMO.
Lucas was trying to cash in on the success of the original trilogy without trying to do anything more than a descent/average movie IMO.
The Punisher
Spaceman
Awwww...where's the fun in life if we can't make fun of George Lucas and his dumb ass ego.
But seriously folks no debate here, I simply think it could have been better, albeit, ALOT better.
Well I am going to bed, so good night all.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR"
THE PUNISHER!
But seriously folks no debate here, I simply think it could have been better, albeit, ALOT better.
Well I am going to bed, so good night all.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR"
THE PUNISHER!
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Oh come on. If the WCM had had the same budget as SW:TPM would it really have made a significant difference? OK so you get more space battle scenes, CGI Kilrathi & the traitor sub plot but does that really make the movie so vastly superior to what we have now?
As for Earthworm's comment about Lucas' intentions - if Lucas just wanted to cash in on SW then why didn't he make the Prequels straight after SW:ROTJ? Why did we have to wait until now for all those novels?
For those of you out there who like bashing the SW:TPM - try reserving your judgements until after the remaining 2 episodes are released. Lucas has already stated that they are meant to be a trilogy. A lot of stuff isn't going to be explained until those movies are released. And in the end SW:TPM might just make more sense or be more meaningful once viewed with the rest of its sequels. You can't judge a trilogy by its first volume.
And what's wrong with Freddie Prinze? He's not that bad.
As for Earthworm's comment about Lucas' intentions - if Lucas just wanted to cash in on SW then why didn't he make the Prequels straight after SW:ROTJ? Why did we have to wait until now for all those novels?
For those of you out there who like bashing the SW:TPM - try reserving your judgements until after the remaining 2 episodes are released. Lucas has already stated that they are meant to be a trilogy. A lot of stuff isn't going to be explained until those movies are released. And in the end SW:TPM might just make more sense or be more meaningful once viewed with the rest of its sequels. You can't judge a trilogy by its first volume.
And what's wrong with Freddie Prinze? He's not that bad.
Mad Hatter
Spaceman
IMHO, any actor who takes his job seriously enough can`t be that bad. Unless the actor does an extremely poor job, and you can clearly see that his mind is somewhere else, I will not criticize him. I could never do a better job than he/she, and I would not dream of telling him how to do his job.
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).]
), 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).]
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Crusader11
Spaceman
I can see both sides on this one.
I agree that Lucas did work hard on the production, but I believe that his choice of target audience was very ill-advised. Star Wars is by on means Foundation or Stranger in a Strange Land, but it is certainly not Pokemon, either.
And I think that Lucas really insulted the intelligence of the vast majority of the fan base by leaning in that direction. I think there may have been an element of cashing-in involved, as someone trying to make an even remotely serious SF epic does not center it on the desires of 10 year olds. Hollywood insiders always say that the reason this second trilogy was delayed so many times (the first of the movies was orignially supposed to go into production in 93 and be realeased in 95...I rember how exciting it was), so consitently is because of Lucas' fear of failure. He feared he could not reproduce the sort of cultural impact that the original SW trilogy had. So far...well, yeah...
On the other hand, I agree that the plot is definitely a stage-setter for the following two movies. I certainly hope that the next two movies make Phantom Menace's stage setting worth while.
And Phantom Menace itself definitely had some good moments; the final lightsaber duel was really impressive, and I liked the portrayal of Qui-Gon and Obi Wan.
In the end, I think how well PM is looked upon will really be dependent upon how well Episodes 2 & 3 pick up from where it left off.
I agree that Lucas did work hard on the production, but I believe that his choice of target audience was very ill-advised. Star Wars is by on means Foundation or Stranger in a Strange Land, but it is certainly not Pokemon, either.
And I think that Lucas really insulted the intelligence of the vast majority of the fan base by leaning in that direction. I think there may have been an element of cashing-in involved, as someone trying to make an even remotely serious SF epic does not center it on the desires of 10 year olds. Hollywood insiders always say that the reason this second trilogy was delayed so many times (the first of the movies was orignially supposed to go into production in 93 and be realeased in 95...I rember how exciting it was), so consitently is because of Lucas' fear of failure. He feared he could not reproduce the sort of cultural impact that the original SW trilogy had. So far...well, yeah...
On the other hand, I agree that the plot is definitely a stage-setter for the following two movies. I certainly hope that the next two movies make Phantom Menace's stage setting worth while.
And Phantom Menace itself definitely had some good moments; the final lightsaber duel was really impressive, and I liked the portrayal of Qui-Gon and Obi Wan.
In the end, I think how well PM is looked upon will really be dependent upon how well Episodes 2 & 3 pick up from where it left off.
Hm, lets see. Yeah, of course it does. With the traitor subplot the movie has much more story, space battles are always cool to see, more money for the ship desing would have meant that we could actually see some of the ships from games, and even the Kilrathi would look like the game ones.Penguin said:
If he was just trying to show his vision, why did he wait so long? I don't know why he would wait almost 20 years, but he did.