Will bad reviews affect AOTC $ and fan opinions?

[Mandalorian Candidat]

This past weekend I've come across several reviews that have more or less trounced EP2. I believe SSG right now has a negative review from either Variety or Hollywood Reporter. Ebert also panned it on his Chicago Sun Times web page (I didn't catch Ebert and Roeper this weekend so I don't know if he gave it a thumbs up or down) totally dissing the dialogue and saying that the CG backgrounds were not that great and it was difficult to make out details. I also just went on the Entertainment Weekly website and they gave it an average of C+. Granted it wasn't taking into account of several reviews yet to be published, but it seemed that they too were giving it a thumbs down. On the other hand I've heard reviews from radio DJs who've seen it and really liked it. Since they're more like the average joe and probably because they're giving a good review I tend to take their side more.

I remember the exact same thing happening for EP1, except the review didn't seem to be as negative. Perhaps this was due to people being so hyped for the movie they didn't care as much for plot problems and other stuff until the dust settled.

How is this going to affect your movie-going experience? I for one would still go to at least see it once even if G. Lu. said it was crap just because it's Star Wars. Will you see it repeatedly even if it is worse than EP1? Have you even been checking the reviews, dismissing them as irrelevent to your desire to see the movie?

[InsaneJediGirl]

Originally posted by Mandalorian Candidat
Ebert also panned it on his Chicago Sun Times web page (I didn't catch Ebert and Roeper this weekend so I don't know if he gave it a thumbs up or down)

They gave it a huge thumbs down,calling it "woody" whatever that means:rolleyes: I dont know how Roeper can call it woody when I believe she gave Crossroads a better review:eek:I have seen good reviews,many calling it a return to the orginal saga and the best one yet.What do film critics know anyways!

Moving on..This will not effect me seeing AOTC.In fact,it makes me
want to see AOTC more.I wont have long to wait though:DI think fans will be the driving force this weekend,and once word of mouth gets around,it might pick up.

[stillakid]

After being disappointed by TPM, I've tried to remain cautiously optimistic about AOTC. It's difficult to not get excited about it when viewing one of the action packed trailers, but it's important to remember that that is what trailers are designed to do. We are currently seeing the most riveting (?) shots from the film, but there are two hours of other shots connecting those to keep in mind. Undoubtedly it will be a visual feast, as Star Wars films are known to be, but after TPM, many people are on guard.

The reviews won't dissuade the fans and casual movie-goers from seeing it at least once, so that money is in the bag. It's the repeat business that's in question. If AOTC even hints at some of the poor filmmaking that was witnessed in TPM, there will be an audience revolt and the box-office numbers just won't be there.

[2-1B]

Why wasn't there an audience revolt when TPM came out? :confused:

I don't see the point in press screenings. Most of the people who've seen and reviewed it are no more insightful than those of us right here. I've read reviews that equate the film nearly with garbage, and others that hail it as the best yet. Who's right? Nobody, since my opinion is all that matters to me in deciding how many times I will watch it.

[eliwankenobi]

After the TPM letdown, I've been very cautiously anticipating AOTC. I'll see it at least once on opening weekend, and I'm sure several times to follow over the next few weeks just to digest everything.
I too have noticed that the majority of "professional" movie critics have been bashing this latest SW film. This doesn't have much of an effect on my opinion or anticipation. I decided to dislike TPM on my own after about 15 viewings (didn't stop me from buying the DVD though).
What I'm finding ironic about many of the reviews I've been reading is that one has said that Chris Lee's performance was the best and Ewan MacGreggor's was the worst, yet another claims the complete opposite. I personally don't think that any of these "professional" critics know squat. After all, when you make a living out of picking the bad out of everything, only occaisionally finding the good, I would think that would tend to make one jaded about everything.
Screw the critics! I'll decide for myself!

[JediTricks]

Man Can, to answer your thread's question, I think it'll have a slight impact, but nothing earth-shattering. And IIRC, Roger Ebert gave Episode I a thumbs-up back in '99.

As for "I for one would still go to at least see it once even if G. Lu. said it was crap just because it's Star Wars", every time Lucas says "it's just a kids' movie", it feels like he's saying it IS crap. That "kids' movie" comment feels like an excuse to make poor-quality, dumbed-down movies at the expense of an all-ages, fully-accessable film.

Originally posted by InsaneJediGirl
They (Ebert and Roeper) gave it a huge thumbs down,calling it "woody" whatever that means:rolleyes: I dont know how Roeper can call it woody when I believe she gave Crossroads a better review:eek:I have seen good reviews,many calling it a return to the orginal saga and the best one yet.What do film critics know anyways!What show were YOU watching? Ebert didn't like it (and I think you're thinking of "wooden", not "woody"), but Roeper really seemed to like it! It was a big "split decision" (Ebert: thumbs down; Roeper: thumbs up), not a huge thumbs down. Roeper and Ebert got into a yelling match about how Yoda looked *and* behaved at one point, Roeper was taking the "fanboy" side of things IMO.


Like Stilla, I too am being "cautiously optimistic".

[Runobot]

It is not possable that this can be worse than TPM, and I saw that over 10 times in the theater, but the reviews just are disappointing to me know. (Yes, I am a dork.)

[Beast]

I put no stock in so called movie critics, or the oscars. The true test of a film are who it's made for, not some stuck up hollywood bigwig that decides what people should see or not see. I've seen plenty of movies that were critical disasters, box office bombs, and oscar losers, become huge fan favorites. Just look at films like Ace Ventura, a huge disaster with critics. But the people that really matter, the movie going public loved it. Heck, on the recent Bravo Spotlight on Jim Carrey they had Henry Kissinger talking about how much he loved Ace Ventura. And in the case of the Oscars, look no further then LOTR's at this years. :D

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[Darth Nihilus]

The only reason I take notice of critics is to look for aspects of the movie that might displease me. So far no negative critique has written anything dissuasive at this time and people I know who were not looking forward to this film are now getting interested. I just hope that the majority of people are independent enough in their thoughts to want to judge the movie themselves. As for me - 38 hours and counting.:)

[stillakid]

Originally posted by Darth Nihilus
I just hope that the majority of people are independent enough in their thoughts to want to judge the movie themselves.

Read through this thread then decide how many of those people really are out there.

http://www.sirstevesguide.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6622

In general, people are lemmings, and have some strange desire to be told what to think. Hence: laughtracks. Studios know how much stock the audience puts into "professional critics," that's why they spend thousands of dollars to whoo them with screenings, junkets, premieres, and goody bags everytime a film opens. Ain't It Cool News even showed up the radar prompting some studio ***-kissing.

[2-1B]

JT is right about Ebert giving TPM a "thumbs up". He voiced concerns about character development (I'll quote that his eyes "drank in" the effects) but he admittedly overlooked certain aspects because he hoped it would pay off in the next two films. Guess not, eh Roger? :D

stillakid, there was not an audience revolt ($ wise) at TPM, so why would they revolt if AOTC shows just a hint of TPM's mistakes? :confused:

[Wolfwood319]

I'll see it at least once. After that, its Kazaa for me. Unless its truly a very excellent film, I think once is enough for me.

As for the general movie going public, I think that they, in general, will definately not see the movie multiple times, if at all. Too many bad reviews, the memory of TPM, etc, will keep them away. The overall general hype on this isn't very high. Hell, a coworker of mine is a Star Wars fan, has been since '77, and he's not even interested in AOTC that much.

[Lord Malakite]

I 've already seen the movie and I liked it. If you have any questions about anything concerning the movie just head on over to the spoilers section and ask in the thread I started over there. Just remember their are *SPOILERS* present.

[Eternal Padawan]

To put things in perspective, Entertainment Weekly gave The Scorpion King a C+ and Crossroads a B+. I take critics' reviews as serious as I take their assesment of whether a patient needs open heart surgery. Keep in mind most (and by most, I mean all ) critics have zero medical training sufficient to make an important surgical decision like that. Likewise their "review" holds about the same amount of libation for me.

[stillakid]

Originally posted by Caesar
JT is right about Ebert giving TPM a "thumbs up". He voiced concerns about character development (I'll quote that his eyes "drank in" the effects) but he admittedly overlooked certain aspects because he hoped it would pay off in the next two films. Guess not, eh Roger? :D

stillakid, there was not an audience revolt ($ wise) at TPM, so why would they revolt if AOTC shows just a hint of TPM's mistakes? :confused:

The thing about Ep I is that it's predecessors were all well received both in the popular arena and critically. Expectations were high for valid reasons. There was no reason to suspect that the storytelling would be so sub-par, at least relative to the previous films. As a result, everybody went to see it at least once. There are enough "fans" who wanted to "give it a chance" who purchased tickets 2, 3, and 4 to deliver the high box office numbers.

AOTC is a different situation altogether. It's predecessor isn't the OT...it's TPM, which wasn't received as well as everyone hoped or critically. The saga was tainted and as a result, there is now doubt on the minds of most of the movie-going audience that didn't exist before TPM opened. People will give AOTC a first viewing, but if it doesn't appear to be better than TPM, those subsequent viewings won't happen. The audience will buy extra tickets for MIB II before coughing up another 8 bucks for AOTC.

[2-1B]

I don't know of many casual filmgoers who saw TPM more than once. Assuming most of them go back for AOTC, that base should stay the same and the multiple viewings that many fans took in of TPM will at least be replicated and probably surpassed with this film.

Is there a revisionist view of the OT?
I ask because people often refer to it as a whole, but it's my understanding that ROTJ was not too highly received. I was only 5 then, so I can't claim that firsthand. But that's the impression I get from some folks. :)

[stillakid]

Originally posted by Caesar
Is there a revisionist view of the OT?
I ask because people often refer to it as a whole, but it's my understanding that ROTJ was not too highly received. I was only 5 then, so I can't claim that firsthand. But that's the impression I get from some folks. :)

I was only like 13 or so at the time, so take my opinion with that in mind, but I don't recall too much calamity. Some minor words here and there may have popped up at that time in regards to the Ewoks, but as a whole, ROTJ didn't receive nearly the bashing that TPM deserved and got. Looking back after a few years, the nitpicking may have picked up steam on the OT, but it certainly didn't garner the critique that TPM did.

[bigbarada]

I for one never really take critics seriously, I will go to the movie and decide for myself what I like and don't like. I really don't see how any Star Wars fan can say "I don't want to see it because it got bad reviews." ALL Star Wars films have gotten bad reviews from 1977 on up to today. ANH was torn apart by critics when it premiered, as was ESB and ROTJ. So bad reviews haven't hurt the franchise yet why should they start now.

I for one already know I am going to like the film since I pretty much know the story start to finish. I don't see the need to go to the theater apprehensive about "how George is going to screw this one up." That just ruins the fun of it all.

Basically when it comes right down to it, i don't view SW like any other movie. They stand in a class by themselves.

Hey, stillakid, why can't you just let a dead horse lie? You know what I am talking about.

[2-1B]

True, even ESB got hit! :D
I was surprised last week when TF.N linked to the 1980 NY Times review that was not particularly flattering.

Regarding the individual stories of the 5 films, I can say AOTC is my favorite. As for whether it can become my favorite SW film, it will take a lot. :)

[Jedi Clint]

I don't take ANY critic's opinion as my own, whether they are paid to be one professionally or they think they ought to be.

[stillakid]

Originally posted by bigbarada
Hey, stillakid, why can't you just let a dead horse lie? You know what I am talking about.

The discussion continues in PM. JF came out of the woodwork once it was safe to not deal with his issues publicly.

I'm sorry if I brought up questions to difficult to face for some, but as my post in question implies, the ramifications of certain tendencies of people can impact society in many ways.

[Wolfwood319]

"Does anyone care what this guy thinks?" - Homer Simpson

[stillakid]

Originally posted by Wolfwood319
"Does anyone care what this guy thinks?" - Homer Simpson

;) Apparently not. I suppose opinions here are only welcome as long as everyone agrees on them. Hmm? Anybody else see a problem with that?:rolleyes:

[Mandalorian Candidat]

Wow, some valid opinions from a lot of people. I was listening to Steve Oldfield, a somewhat famous movie critic who also does reports for a SLC radio station. He said that all the movies had a majority of their reviews be totally negative. After the fans spent and spent and spent even more money watching the movies, buying the toys, and other stuff then the critics eventually became revisionist and improved their reviews when the videos came out.

It could be that because so many fans dissed TPM that the critics are now being very negative and sticking to that party line. After seeing TPM several times, I now like it much better than I did originally. I'm sure one the prequel trilogy is finished, I'll have a slightly different opinion also.

As far as AOTC goes, I really want to like it just because it is SW. I do think I will feel more positive towards it since visually, plot-wise, and action-wise it seems to be much more powerful than TPM. I'm sure Ebert's probably right-on with the dialogue being wooden, but then isn't it like that for all the movies? I don't think Lucas is really well known for his dialogue. Just gimme a couple of good quotes and that'll be fine by me.

[Beast]

All the dialogue, in everyone of the movies have been somewhat bad. Just most people overlook the horrendous OT dialogue, but enjoy blasting the prequels for it. I don't think alot of Star Wars fans will ever be happy with anything that is a prequel for Star Wars, due to how old they are now, in compared to their age when they saw the OT in theaters.

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[bigbarada]

I really don't believe the critical lambasting that Ep2 is recieving will really affect fans, except for those seriously turned off by Ep1. Like one friend of mine who said he wished someone would assassinate Lucas before he ruins SW anymore.:rolleyes:

The general public I think has more of a "I'll see for myself" point of view. If Star Wars is not their cup of tea to begin with, then it is highly doubtful that they would have watched it even if every critic was praising it. In fact, I've noticed from personal experience that too many good reviews can turn people off just as quickly at too many bad reviews.

IMO, people who claim that a lot of bad reviews make a bad movie, "and that's a fact," then those people are more deserving of the title "lemmings" than any other.:)

[odb]

There are very few critics that I beleive review films with an open mind. There are always critics who call anything that is not an arthouse film rubbish. I wouldn't mind critics quite so much if they had all produced universally sucessful films that the public and other critics like, but they haven't and in that respect I take all their reviews with scepiticism.

Plus it pays to remember that when Citizen Kane was released all the critics hated it, but now it hailed by critics as one of the best films of all time. Not convinced? the same thing happened to 2001 A Space Oddessey, and I remember critics panning Empire Strikes Back as not making sense and having no ending?

As for affecting the fans and $, I think it will have a slow start but word of mouth will push it to expected levels. If the product is good enough people will see it.

Anyway for a refreshing review try looking here:

http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/events/starwars_episode2/review.shtm

[Mandalorian Candidat]

Thanks for the link odb. The description given by that reviewer is the sort of personal vibe I've gotten from viewing the trailers and hearing about other movie details. I wish it had come from a more neutral source, though.

I will definitely see it at least one more time. Possibly more if it is better than TPM since I saw that one about 4 or 5 times in theaters.

[bigbarada]

Very good review! The fact that they gave TPM four out of five stars gives them much more credibility in my mind.

Steven Spielberg says Ep2 is better than ANH? Wow!!:eek: Very atypically non-Hollywood answer from him.

I don't think I will try to outdo my TPM viewing record (11 times - 7 of those at a dollar theater) since funds are much shorter this time around. However, I do hope to watch it at least three times before it's theatrical run is over.

[Wolfwood319]

Originally posted by stillakid


;) Apparently not. I suppose opinions here are only welcome as long as everyone agrees on them. Hmm? Anybody else see a problem with that?:rolleyes:

I was just trying to point out the silliness of the situation. A few of us have traveled down this path many times, to no avail. Rather than start it again, I'd just post a humorous comment (Not towards Stillakid personally, but the general perception of previous arguments/debates;) )

Anyway, critics work in the "Hollywood" world. So a lot of their business is decided on the "politics" of Hollywood, and not the actual quality of the movie, IMO. Take all reviews with a grain of salt, and make up your own opinions.

TPM rules.....!!!!! :rolleyes:

[stillakid]

Originally posted by Wolfwood319


I was just trying to point out the silliness of the situation. A few of us have traveled down this path many times, to no avail. Rather than start it again, I'd just post a humorous comment (Not towards Stillakid personally, but the general perception of previous arguments/debates;) )

Anyway, critics work in the "Hollywood" world. So a lot of their business is decided on the "politics" of Hollywood, and not the actual quality of the movie, IMO. Take all reviews with a grain of salt, and make up your own opinions.

TPM rules.....!!!!! :rolleyes:

I LOVE your new avatar! Did you make that?

[Wolfwood319]

Originally posted by stillakid


I LOVE your new avatar! Did you make that?

No, I just grabbed the pic off of a ATHF clip, and shrunk it to the correct size. I'm trying to find a better pic of Master Shake though.

Master Shake is quite possibly the greatest, most complex fictional character, ever.

[Beast]

Originally posted by Wolfwood319
Master Shake is quite possibly the greatest, most complex fictional character, ever.
Ahh, another fan of the Adult Swim Cartoon Block. Love the new avatar also, Wolfwood. But lets see how big of a fan you really are of Master Shake. :evil: "What flavor shake, is Master Shake?" :)

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[Wolfwood319]

That's easy, pistachio.

"Shake Power Activate! Now come over here and slip on it...if you dare, Rabbit!"

[Beast]

Ahh, you're right Wolfwood.
I never noticed it mentioned in any of the episodes, so I must just miss it each time. :)

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks