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Reviews
Mission to Mars (2000)
Run, don't walk, away from this movie
This movie is flat out awful. There is no attempt at even developing any real plot, the movie is more about the trip to Mars than the planet itself, and the characters have all the depth of parking lot puddles. I guarantee that this movie will be up for the worst of the year. The special effects aren't even that good, and I saw it on digital projection (which, by the way, is a fabulous way to see a movie). I found Armageddon to be light summer fare, and while it would never win any Oscars, it was entertaining. This movie didn't even do that. The ending was stolen from other movies and TV shows, and DePalma must have been trying to come up with this generation's 2001. Instead, he came up with another Lost in Space. I gave this movie a 1 only because I couldn't give it a 0. Save your time for something better to do, like watch paint dry.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Critic's plight, fans' delight
The Phantom Menace is a technical breakthrough in movies, with visual splendor as its main thrust. No one who has seen this movie can deny that the special effects are stunning, and the best part about it is most of the time the computer generations go unnoticed. The viewer just accepts them as completely real, as if Gungans and droid warriors have existed all the time.
The plot has a great story that is very informative about the backside of Episodes IV-VI. Unfortunately, the misguided directing of Lucas does not execute it to its fullest. Some of the shots seem like he wanted to try to show his knowledge of directing and a vast array of shots he is capable of, but the result is a lack of consistency that is discombobulating.
Being a devoted fan of the first/last three, some of the ideas about the Force and the way that the Jedi are presented are disappointing if the movies were presented to demonstrate that we have the Force inside all of us, that we just need to discover it. Any more may be too revealing to people who have not seen it.
Ultimately, Lucas tries too hard to foreshadow upcoming events that are far too evident, and if we didn't know they were already coming, his technique would beg the audience to stick around for the next installment like a bad horror film (Jason looks dead, but maybe he's still alive).
Because I am an adult and no longer the wide-eyed kid who saw Star Wars when it originally came out, I may not have the same viewpoints as kids, who are certain to like the film.
Everything that made Star Wars eye candy to Gen-X is back, and I am certain that fans will like the movie. Critics will say that it isn't the best story, that the characters are bad, the dialogue is bad, etc., but looking at this movie as a groundbreaking achievement in storytelling would be like listening to today's pop music in the same vein as Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart.