Yea i agree i think he was soo happy and excited to part of the star wars world its just unfortunate how it overall turned out his portyal as Ben kenobi was the only thing i really enjoyed
Liam Neeson should get more praise. McGregor loved the saver fighting. He was young and very excites about the movie. Whereas Neeson was more of an older and already established actor.
***** Speed doesn't make the fight. Maul's actor is a martial artist IRL. His movements are so gracious and he's just a joy to watch. Also I feel the camera work here is better, and they were shooting in larger sets. RotS was using more Blue Screen environments than Phantom. There was this side shot of the Sith duel in the special features that is not in the final film, and that was a great shot. It's how I feel.
TS Prism I was just feeling the same actually cx I really enjoy watching Maul, I mean damn he may be a dark knight but he can really pull off a beautiful fighting sequence. He's easily one of my favorite Sith ^~^
***** I beg to not agree. Thre's a lot of good intentions in Phantom Menace, and a lot of really cool set and some practical effects not seen in Clones or Sith. While that doesn't make Phantom "good", it is at least, better than Clones, and the main reason is how bad the dialogue gets in Clones. They want to sell us the idea of Obi and Anakin being friends, yet they are always so mean to each other. Hyden is just really bad in that movie. I've been re-editing the precuels (like many fans have) and after a fairly successful edit of Phantom, I ragequitted Clones because it's just that bad. That's what I've discovered with those re-edits.
***** Well that's your opinion :) I loved all the prequels, but I think III would have to be my least favorite (I mean I love it, but if I had to choose between the 3 prequels, that would be my choice, I think it was kind of hallow at some parts. Idk, but god the fiht between Anni and Obi was amazing)
I will never understand why some folks don't like the swordfighting in the prequels. It was when the Jedi and Sith were in their prime, so of course they would be faster and more skilled. Yeah, sure, it's choreographed. I think people forget the Jedi and Sith use the force while fighting. They can sense moves ahead of time and really know what they're doing. But hey. They choreograph all fights. I don't hear anyone complaining about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and those fights were choreographed to death!
The real problem I have is that they are clashing swords, not trying to hit each other. Some of the swings they block would never have hit. That is not something that can be explained by the force. Also they never try and exploit the lack of a cross-guard, except for ducu once, and kanobi against grievous.
I think you're totally right man. In Phantom Menace it was a genuinely huge deal that Anakin could pilot a racing pod, as it requires a reaction timing that few non-force sensitive humans could so easily accomplish. For Jedi who are so intuitive about their surroundings and dangers, so much so that they teach their trainees to stop relying on their eyes, that incredible speed and fluidity is only logical.
+EUROPA Many people consider them TOO perfect. As in, there's not really any tension since, as you said, they know exactly what they are doing. In the Originals, fights were much slower, and you could actually see what was going on. Plus, we could clearly see Luke struggling too keep up with Vader. In the Prequels, fighters are pretty much equally skilled, resulting in fights that doesn't really give of that much tension. And of course, many people say the Prequel fights are devoid of emotion, and are more about the lightsabers than the characters wielding them.
Say what you will about the Phantom Menace but the Darth Maul fight is AWESOME! Edit: HOLY SHIT I came back 4 years later and I never thought this comment would blow up like this!😱
John Williams' score is an unmatchable attainment in the Star Wars Multiverse. =D This fight scene in particular gives me serious fuzzies on me insides, lad.
At a small Star Wars convention my brother and I met Ray Park (Darth Maul). He was VERY nice and humble, (For example during a conversation him and I accidentally started talking at the same time and he gestured for me to go first - so of course I had to throw in some extra compliments to him in my following statement Haha). But yeah he was talking about how this was one of his first acting jobs and what it was like putting his real training in to the movie. Also how he liked what they had done with Darth Maul in The Clone Wars and how it was a different interpretation. (I was starstruck the entire conversation).
The one thing Phantom Menace got absolutely spot on, I was enthralled watching this as a 6 yr old when it came out, definitely made me a Star Wars fan for life.
I really did love the choreographed lightsaber fights, and really loved the logic behind this energetic fighting style at the time when the Jedi were all fighting and Sith were not waiting to find and kill Jedi.
The fight is supposed to feel like a dance. The fights in the original trilogy were very stiff and focused on lukes aggresion/struggle with the dark side (which was fantastic in a different way). Here, it shows trained jedi using the force to help guide their movements in combat, which can help explain why they set up to block attacks before they happen. Easily my favorite fight in all of star wars and not just because its flashy. Having a trained swordsman actually in the fight really makes a difference when it comes to the choreography.
+joejoejoe532 I agree, I think after Qui'gon died the fight should have turned more into a braul with Obiwans aggression instead of continuing with the finese the fight started with. Reguarding the Kylo Ren fight it took me a while to get it but all in all I liked it.
I wish darth maul stayed in the series longer, he had so much potential and was, in my opinion, the top sith lord. He had no changing emotions, he was badass and truly evil. he also had the most movement, like flips and karate moves. That is awesome and provides a sense of how talented he is as a fighter as well as entertainment for the viewers.
Come 2019 The Prequel Lightsaber battles are still unparalleled. I paid five times to see Episode One, the Obi-Wan Darth Maul battle alone was worth it. Excellent work!
At least it's better than what Game of Thrones did- cast a sword fighter as the main villain (Night King) early on in the show (in anticipation of the series climax), build up a rivalry with the protagonist (Jon Snow) over many seasons, and then get woke in the final season and have a 16 year old girl anti-climatically teleport in and kill the villain rather than the epic sword fight with the protagonist everyone was waiting for.
@@Sam-ey1nn bro the writers weren’t trying to be “woke” they just didn’t give a fuck about what they did and thought that would be the easiest way to end it, got didn’t turn to shit cause of “wokeness” you’re making up an enemy. there’s real shit to worry about like hack writters phoning it in for a check, if anything people need to be held accountable
Even though, dissing prequels is fashionable amongst nerds these days; let's not this trilogy gave us awesome moments like this swordfight scene, and memorable characters like Darth Maul, Qui Gonn Jin and Count Dooku...
To be fair to nerds, they’ve been dishing the prequels since they were first released. The prequels had a good background plot, about Palpatine’s machinations to start a war and gain total control of the Republic, but the dialog was horribad and the lightsaber fighting was flashy but flawed (eg they weren’t trying to kill each other, but just hitting each other’s light sabers instead of body parts).
+jonvegard31 The clone wars ruin his whole character. to much is revealed about him, and he becomes to well known as opposed to no one having any idea where he came from. Plus he looses all the epic gymnastic attributes seen in the first movie. they shouldn't have killed him off, but they shouldn't have brought him back in the way that they did
Tyler Morefield I guess it's to each his own. I can see both points. Having him be a dark and mysterious character is one way to go about it, and I like it. But I also liked seeing more of him. But he definitely shouldn't have "died" in Ep I. He could've been a great recurring villain, kind of the Vader of the prequels, who would be Obi-Wan's rival of sorts.
TheSorrel he was the only character that actually felt genuine. And that you can easy just drop him in to the originals and he'll fit, no problem. Well Ob One did well to.
+Keith Murray (Knightmove) It kind of made sense though. He was a very cocky fighter. Very flashy in his own right. He could have quickly killed Obi-Wan when he was hanging in that tube thing. His own over-confidence is what defeated him. Shows just how the dark side can lead those who follow it into thinking they are more powerful than anyone else. In my opinion it was the perfect death for a Sith. Wouldn't make much sense if Qui-Gon died that way though.
This film was good just because of the presence of Darth Maul (Ray Park) and his fight with his double sable laser at the end of the movie. The moment when the doors open, he appears with the hood, opens his eyes and Duel of the fates starts........fan!
I always wished that you could find the whole fight with effects before they cut it up for the movie version cuz like in the end of this you get glimpses if scenes that didn't make the final cuts and they look amazing and seem like they could add more idk context to the duel sequence
Nick would be outstanding to direct fight sequences in an old republic series or movie, the way he manages the speed of the fights in the prequels were outstanding
I believe George Lucas said some odd 30 years before a new Hope. Because if you try to market accurately the timeline is off if you go by 30 years exactly.
Ray Park such a great talent, Darth Maul such a great Sith and a great character wasted, I liked the prequels, but he deserved the spotlight as the main villain for the entire prequel trilogy.
This is a very large part of why I love the prequels! I agree with George! Every light saber fight scene I see in the prequels makes me want to watch the whole way through and then do what they just did!
Think of it like dancing. If you break from the dance to make an unexpected move, the predicted move you were supposed to block would of killed you already. Out sword-playing the other person is how jedi fighting styles were intended, exactly like martial arts.
If Obi Wan and Qui-Gon were smart, one would have done the actual fighting while the other could just use different Force powers on Darth Maul. Like throwing things at him or pushing/pulling him etc.
Neeson and Mcgregor were cast perfectly.That fight with Maul is by far the best fight in the films. Sad for Qui-Gon tho, dies to the first Sith he meets lol >.
I just wanted to say I've seen every movie since 1978 about 10 times at the theatres and owned all the toys, models, games, puzzles, I literally grew up with Star Wars want to raise my 2 yr old watching 'em, Used to love the old Errol Flynn type movies, swordfighting....I want my own Millenium Falcon and R2-D2 to live in and R2'd be better than a dog for a little girl..........THANKS MR. LUCAS
It was a great idea to cast a martial arts expert- that’s what makes the fight scenes so good. You don’t get this with CI, you need real people to do it!
I just had the opportunity to work with Nick Gillard on set and aside from being such a nice guy with the best stories and being very generous with his time ... he is also bloody brilliant at his work and a joy to watch at work!
in the special features disc that came with my 4-6 movie set, George specifically stated that originally the entire lightsaber was supposed to be extremely heavy like they were wielding battle axes, but he changed that at the beginning of a new hope to being extremely light.
+fremenchips Count Dooku is a badass character. I just don't like the way Darth Maul could be killed being on the high ground. Not just that, but the amount of time Obi Wan Kenobi left his guard open as he jumped over Darth Maul... Crazy how that was agreed to be the move that caused Darth Mauls death. He need something much more deserving.
The Originals are better. Without a doubt. But I'm no hater of the Prequels. The Phantom Menace is okay, Jar Jar Binks doesn't bother me as much as other people seem to be bothered. Attack of the Clones I haven't watched recently. Maybe I'll re watch it some time. Revenge of the Sith is a good movie. It really is. Definitely the best of the Prequels. Still not as good as the Originals though.
When I watched the movies casually I though the lightsaber fights were cool and fasts and I liked that, but also I thought they were just clashing their sticks together without trying o hit each other. Only now that I watch slow motions and the make off of how the choreographies were made I see how extremely accurate and realistic these fights were.
I agree with George, that the fights needed to be faster and more energetic, however, the fights looked way too rehearsed. There are moments where you can see a Jedi go to block an attack that the Sith hasn't even swung for yet. I want the fights to be fast, but I want it so you can actually see the two trying to hit each other's bodies, because there are way too many moments where you can see a Jedi or Sith purposely just strike the opponent's blade and not their body.
TheMamsies Not only do Jedi have superhuman reflexes but they also seem to have at least a bit of precognition. So it makes sense that they would move to block ahead of time, because they're predicting each other's movements.
TheSorrel Precognition would work both ways, so they could change their attack to counter your opening. Also, if you look at how frantic prequel fights are, you'll see why it's not so simple as "I'll redirect my attack". Just because you know where an attack is coming from wouldn't necessarily mean you'd physically be able to exploit that knowledge. It's also a matter of risk-reward: if you choose to try and exploit their "opening" rather than block, if you don't kill them instantly they'll kill you with their attack. So unless you're confident you'll kill them, it's smarter to block. But here I am debating fictional sword fighting.
