h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I don't know what you think the title sounds a bit rubbishy. It also sounds like it might be like Tom & Jerry kids a kind of really ultra young version. I am 11 by the way - so I will go and see it anyway!

WAS IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!! ANYONE?????????? I HEARD IT WAS PANTS!!!!!!!




BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I have to agree... The title is a bit lame, but the trailer looks good, and I fully intend to go see the film when it opens here in the UK.

Early talk, i heard about the film, not giving away any of the film, says that it relies too heavily on the hope/fact that there is to be 2 more films in the series.

Hope you find this of some interest.

It will be good but it will also be pants. Some will like it, some won't. Many will be indifferent. Many will be disapointed. Yes the title is bad, yes the script is bad, yes its aimed at kids, but remember one inaliable truth: the same applied to Star Wars (I am now putting on my flak jacket and preparing for heavy fire). However, the original was good and so will this if you go in expecting a dissapointment. Expect the world and all you'll get is a grain of sand.


By the way the ending is a bit lame, but as they say in Scream 2,
"It's part of a sequence"

I like the title - it fits in perfectly with the style of the movies - 1930's serials writ large. Just look at the old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials and you'll see what Lucas was doing - even down to the opening 'crawl'

A lot of critics who have seen the film say it is bad, but these people know nothing!. They are looking at it for the script, acting and plot. Anyone who is faintly interested in Star Wars knows that this is not what makes it great. People only go to take part in the concept and the effects of an alternative universe, not to take it seriously as a film (like they would for Schindlers List). My Advice :- Have fun and revel in the the whole idea!

I hated the title for the longest time, but it grows on you. Or at least you become numb to it. And critics have hounded each of the Star Wars movies, bad reviews are a tradition.

I thought the title was stupid too, until I saw the poster of young Anakin Skywalker with a long and recognizable shadow falling behind him. Considering the fact that Lucas was inspired in part by the great film serials of the early 20th century, the title of The Phantom Menace is in keeping with the melodramatic yet eerily alluring episodic projects like Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Green Hornet.

It is a tribute and a tip of the hat to that which inspired Lucas in the first place. Anyone who turns their nose up at the title is not a true fan.

Lucas knows precisely what he is doing, and whether the critics or even the masses find Episode One enjoyable, Lucas is setting out to finish what he started, and he should be applauded for it.

But it is sooo much more than that. Star Wars was not only built on the tradition of Buck Rogers and other pulp sci-fi, it was built on an epic tradition that goes back as far as Homer and the Iliad. There are *very* few movies nowadays that one can actually consider "epic" in their scope, Star Wars is actually the only example I can think of. The fantasy genre just doesn't seem to fit too well to the movie screen. IMO The Phantom Menace was really named in keeping with this epic tradition of "A New Hope" et al. I hope I don't sound too pretentious or obsessive in comparing Star Wars to an ancient classic...

I think that a lot of people are harboring under the illusion that the menace in "The Phantome Menace" is Darth Vader. I believe that the title is quite a bit more than that, and Lucas has said as much. The menace could be the looming shape of the Empire to come or the downfall of the Jedi. The title is supposed to have mixed meanings.

Oh God Jim - look what you have started now ...... I can see this one will run and run..!

Yes, The Phantom Menace is supposed to have mixed meanings in much the same way as A New Hope did. Is Princess Leia the New Hope? Is Ben Kenobi? Luke? the droids? At one point in Star Wars, Leia says to Ben in the hologram recording, "you're our only hope," but never is 'a new hope' said in the film. So it can mean a lot of things.

However, predominantly in episode four, the new hope is Luke Skywalker, as the soon-to-be only true jedi. The beginning of his journey. Yes, other examples can be argued, but the most predominant and obvious example is Luke's Coming of Age and his first steps to destiny.

The Phantom Menace can mean many things, but predominantly the most obvious example which permeates the film is the potential of Anakin. What he will become. Even in the trailers you can see this. Mace Windu saying "you think the answer lay with this boy?" and Obi Wan asking his mentor "everyone else sees the danger in him, why can't you?"

Anakin casts a long shadow. That's the predominant and obvious explanation for the title. Everything else just complements the primary focus of the film.

I've Never seen the trailer. I tried to download it but it just took too long. I'll just have to watch the whole thing when it comes out in the U.K. I am probably the biggest star wars fan of you all but this is a Sci-Fi related web site so maybe im wrong?

I would not be willing to lay money on anyone here in h2g2 as being the biggest fan. No offense, but I think the biggest fans are still in the movie theater.

Actually, I think they're the ones who've started a line for Episode II (when you come out of the theater it's hard not to!). Once my finals are over, I'm taking a day just to sit in the theater and watch it all day. There's no way to gauge the biggest fan. Being a big fan of SW in itself is a glorious title.

yes, yes...at last...someone remembers the spirit of the first StarWars flick. Episode IV, I believe. Long wait for Episode I, I must say.
I am not [quite] old enough to remember Flash Gordon in the movies, but DID see reruns on TV. And does anyone remember Mighty Mouse cartoons? "Here I come, to save the DAAAAYYYYY!"
This stuff is all part of a fun genre of cliffhanger-serial-melodramas. This is adventure entertainment at it's best. It's for fun. It has it's beginning back in the days of storytelling by the tribal bard around the campfire. And did I mention it was fun?

And as I remember it, at the special starwars preview [of the original film] in my area, which I was lucky enough to attend, people actually clapped and cheered for the 'good guys'. That hadn't happened for years in the theater. And the effects were realistic! Another first for those of us who love SF but were really tired of cardboard panels with blinking lights, and magnified ants and cockroaches. It was a fun flick!!! With incredible effects. And the good guys won. The Phantom Menace is more of the same. Tune in next week for the next exciting episode.
T-t-t-t-that's all, f-f-f-f-folks!

According to my dictionary, "phantom" means something apparently sensed but having no physical reality. Doesn't this mean that there isn't really any menace at all? It could also mean ghostlike, which might make more sense. "A New Hope" was much more clearly understandable.

When you see the movie, after it is over, you will say, "Oh, so that's what they mean by The Phantom Menace." In other words, all will become clear to you. And the movie is really, really good.

After seeing the movie, the title does fit. While I did initially think it was silly, it's a very big part of the movie itself. One taking the title in mind would note that the events in the movie, from blockade to invasion to Jedi hunting, were ordered by Darth Sideous, who's only interaction with 'the players' was through his holographic image. The "menace" also alludes to the Sith (who are supposed to be wiped out but orchestrated the Naboo invasion from 'behind the scenes'), and the fact that our good old friend Palpatine is now the head of the senate. (and all good fans should know what happens to Palpatine by Episide IV)

All in all, excellent movie.