Yesterday I went to the cinema for the first time in a good few months, because it was the final nights showing of The Phantom Menace.

It was back in cinema's because it was the 25 year anniversary of the film, and it was a great chance to see it again on the big screen.

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Seeing It Again

It had been a while since I watched this one, and while it gets a lot of flack, and hate from the fanbase - especially upon release - I think many people have warmed to this film in particular.

When this released in 1999 I was around 7, and was just about the demographic they were going for with this installment to the franchise.

By time it came around I was already a huge Star Wars fan, and can still remember my dad buying us the 1997 Special Edition re-release boxset on VHS. I actually still have it, although, the box has seen better days and the tape is probably worn out due to religious viewings.

There are so many aspects of this film that I loved as a kid, and still love upon watching it again.

The Pod Race sequence for example will never get old, and the duel at the end of the film was done really well and was one of the first times seeing something of that magnitude, also I always loved the battle too.

A snap from the theatre itself, as we were waiting for it to start.

Being able to watch the opening crawl on the big screen, and with the cinema sound system was amazing.

I'd love to be able to bring Kaleb to these films in the future when he's a bit older and if they re-release them for the cinema.

Maybe by time the 30th anniversary of the film comes out he'll be old enough to enjoy it.

The Pod Race

Having watched so many documentaries about George Lucas and his life before film, I have an insight into his mind and putting that knowledge to use I noticed something about the pod race in particular.

People usually say that the pod race is one of the best things about the film, and that's because it kind of is.

The attention to detail when showing off the pods, the drivers (or pilots?) and the commentators, as well as the crowds reactions are all so well done.

Tension throughout rises as we see crashes, and get to understand just how dangerous this sport is. Every time there is a crash the commentators kind of make a joke of it, and the crowd seem to lap it up, as though they are blood thirsty, watching - what is essentially - a blood sport.

We're fearful for Anakin's safety, and understand that there is a lot riding on this race in terms of the bet between the main characters and Watto.

This is where George Lucas really shined, most likely due to his own passion in fixing up hotrods, and street racing, which he partook in as a teenager.

His passion for it shines through in this sequence, and it takes up a good 20 minutes of the runtime.

Use of sound design, and in general the look and design of each pod, and racer is amazing, the music is great and fits it so well, and the use of no score is used well too, to build up tension. It actually kind of reminded me of the 'trench run' in the first film.

The film falls when it comes to other aspects of it though, and sadly this sequence alone isn't enough to hold up the entire film.

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The Dialogue

There are so many aspects of the dialogue that really lets this film down, and a lot of it seems to be amateur level mistakes.

I have no idea if George Lucas continued to write and learn the craft in the years leading up to this film, but I do know that extended periods of time not writing - or practicing any art form - can make you rusty. So, I'd be curious about whether he kept up with it at all leading up to making this movie.

There are many times that characters speak for no reason.

Examples

Two characters stand in the desert, as a dust storm rages.

Character 1: "This dust storm will slow them down."

Character 2: "Yeah, it looks pretty bad."

The problem with this scene is, we've already been told there's a dust storm in the previous scene, and Anakin offered the main characters shelter from it.

The battle droids start to deactivate and fall to the ground.

Character 1: "They must have blown up the control ship. The droids are deactivated."

Character 2 pushes one over.

Character 2: "They're broken."

The problem with this is, 1/ you're telling us the same thing in two different ways, and 2/ we've already seen Anakin destroy to control ship, so you're telling us what we already know.

All that needed to happen here is show the droids fall, and everyone cheer, or in fact, make it funny by having the droids fall, and make Jar Jar take credit for it in some way.

Thinking about it too, I don't think the Gungan's were actually told about the plan to send pilots up to take out the control ship.

Queen Amidala essentially tells her generals that they're using the Gungan's to divert most of the army away from the city so they can go in and capture their leaders. That was a bit weird, because it's almost like they're knowingly using the Gungan's as canon fodder.

This kind of stuff happens so many times throughout the film.

I think the issue with it is that while trying to pander to little kids, he alienated a lot of the older audience members.

It's difficult to make something that caters to kids, while also staying interesting for adults.

So much of the film is taken up by political talk of trade routes, Politian's, corruption, then Jar Jar steps in poo, it's kind of all over the place tonally.

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The Political Talk

I didn't feel lost with all the political talk, and if anything I think it does make sense, and is a decent way to show the rise of tyrants.

Problem - The emperor sends the trade federation to invade Naboo.

Solution - Talk politics and rally support to aid Naboo.

Problem - The council of planets are kind of corrupt, and won't act.

Reaction - Queen Amidala votes no confidence for the current chancellor, and that gives rise to Palpatine.

Since Palpatine knows how asking for aid will go he knows that they won't get anywhere, and he even whispers in Amidala's ear as all of this is playing out, forcing her to rule no confidence in the current head.

It makes sense, and is good to see that side of things, especially knowing how things will go in the following films.

Civil War breaks out, during the chaos absolute control is taken, and then all the loose ends are tied up and killed, leaving only rebels and dissidents to fight the new regime.

Also, it's not like there was none of this sort of talk in the original films. Many scenes revolve around Tarkin talking with people about their regions, and attempts to squash the rebellion.

But, due to the tone shift from silly kids film, to political intrigue, it's a little bit jarring, and doesn't really fit.

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The Film As A Whole

There are a lot of issues, don't get me wrong, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it, and do like this movie.

Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, but I don't think it's as bad as people say. Yes, just about everything Jar Jar does is irritating, but there were many times I laughed at him and his absurdity.

Much of it doesn't feel like Star Wars.

Everything on Tatooine is cool, and in general the entire sequence there is interesting.

Having watched the behind the scenes of this film, I can also appreciate just how much of it was practical. Real sets, real ships, models, and all of that mixed with CGI, works well.

Even Jar Jar looks great, and has some good texture to his skin. But, I did notice that some of the Gungan's warriors in the final battle have very dated CGI, which shows them as being copy and pasted low-ish resolution models.

However, for a film that is sporting SFX that are 25 years old, it holds up pretty well.

Some films are difficult to review. They might have been reviewed so thoroughly by more resourceful, more analytical and generally better reviewers and the author of this review often feels that he hasn’t anything new or original to add. Or, in some cases, the author of this review is quite aware that his judgment and general perspective will be under influence of his emotions and experiences the readers are unlikely to fathom or understand. I encountered some of those challenges when I first wrote about Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999 science fiction epic written and directed by George Lucas.

Episode I represents the first part of Star Wars saga, but it is actually the fourth film that was produced and released. It is the first part of the trilogy of prequels to original Star Wars films, starting with 1977 Star Wars, which was retroactively renamed into Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The first film of the original trilogy might not be among the best, but it is certainly the most important film ever made in last half a century. It displayed new levels of film technology and, more importantly, etched the summer blockbuster paradigm into Hollywood DNA, creating an example almost everyone else, within and outside Hollywood, would follow. It was also immensely popular film, which used the relatively simple story to create new world of wonder which would be enjoyed by adults and children alike. And, most importantly, together with its sequels – brilliant The Empire Strikes Back and not so brilliant Return of the Jedi - it was commercial success of such proportions that its creator George Lucas would become object of Hollywood envy for next two decades. Needless to say, an idea of making another trilogy was enough to cause huge anticipation among the original film’s hundreds of millions of fans, which was masterfully exploited by George Lucas and his marketing machine, creating perhaps the greatest hype in the history of cinema. Not even the author of this review, despite his subsequent education, change of taste, new critical standards and increased scepticism of Hollywood and its machinery, was immune to that. When I saw the famous words “Long time ago, in a galaxy far away…” I felt the shiver down to my spine just as I have felt it two decades earlier.

Unprecedented marketing campaign for Episode I actually began years before. Sequel was always going to be in the works, but Lucas, then firmly established as one of the most successful and powerful names in Hollywood, deliberately postponed it in order to further improve new CGI technology, as well as new techniques of bringing audience to the theatres, including relying on the emerging phenomenon of Internet. Two years before Episode I, as some sort of warm up for the real thing, the most loyal fans and new generations of viewers, got the opportunity to see Special Edition versions of the original three film, with special effects being enhanced via CGI, but also with couple of controversies when Lucas’ new versions strayed from what fans have remembered in original films. And, as the final date of new chapter of Star Wars release was approaching, Lucas got additional reason to boost its marketing campaign. Surprise success of Titanic, which had dethroned A New Hope from being the film with highest gross of all time, made Lucas determined to do the same to James Cameron’s film with the his new film. All that led to even higher expectations that were very unlikely to be met, both in terms of box office and artistic qualities.

The plot of the films begins four decades before the events depicted in the original trilogy. Instead of Galactic Empire, most of the known universe is ruled by its predecessor, the benevolent and peaceful Galactic Republic. Its authority is, however, eroded due to economic crisis, which, in turn, leads to disputes over trade tariffs between various entities within Republic. One of such disputes, between Trade Federation and planet of Naboo, led to Naboo being blockaded by Federation fleet. Republic tries to settle the matter peacefully and two of of its emmissaries – experienced Jedi knight Qui-Gon Jinn (played by Liam Neeson) and his pupil Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) – are sent to diplomatic mission. On their way they are ambushed by Federation droids and forced to seek shelter on Naboo, where they would be helped by Jar Jar Binks (played by Ahmed Best), member of local amphibious race of Gungans. He leads them to planet’s capital from where they rescue Queen Amidala (played by Natalie Portman) from Federation captivity. They decide to bring her to Coruscant, capital planet of Republic, where she would have plead the case in front of influential Senator Palpatine (played by Ian McDiarmid). While fleeing Federation spaceship, her own spaceship is forced to land on desert planet of Tatouine. Qui-Gon there finds Annakin Skywalker (played by Jake Lloyd), 9-year old slave boy who dreams of freedom and career of pilot. Qui-Gon notices that the Force is strong within the boy and is convinced that he would become formidable Jedi one day. While Qui-Gon tries to use Annakin’s skills in a race that would allow spare parts for Amidala’s ship, Darth Maul (played by Ray Park), Sith follower of Darth Sidious who practices dark side of Force, comes to the planet to confront Qui-Gon and his party.

In case of The Phantom Menace the good news for the fans of original Star Wars and the rest of the audience start with special effects. Even those critics who didn’t like the original film were willing to admit that George Lucas mastered art of film illusion like nobody before him and, subsequently, his company Industrial Light and Magic dominated Hollywood in subsequent years. The budget for The Phantom Menace was ten times higher than in A New Hope and that clearly shows on screen, mostly in scenes featuring special effects that make distant foreign worlds, exotic creatures and spectacular space battles look real and truly bring viewer to completely different world. Even the production design is top-notch and the costumes and make-up, like in the case of Queen Amidala, are quite memorable. Composer John Williams, who contributed to the original trilogy so well, does another excellent score with “Duel of Fates” theme becoming one of the most recognisable pieces of 1990s film music. Lucas’ skill is at its best in middle of the film, during the spectacular race scene which is breath-taking despite most of audience being quite aware how it would ultimately end.

Good news for the audience end when the topic of discussion switch from technical issues to the script. A year earlier Lucas and his fans has made fun of Ronald Emmerich and his overambitious Godzilla being advertised with slogan “Size does matter” by launching an ad with slogan “Plot does matter”. This, ironically, only brought another attention to the issue that hurts Lucas’ film the most. The plot is really weak and serves mostly as glue that tries to connect elaborate scenes featuring special effects, while all the characters are undeveloped. Many characters come and go only to satisfy the hunger of the original trilogy fans, often at the expense of film’s plausibility. The Phantom Menace, for example, would likes to believe that C3PO, R2D2 and Jabba the Hutt would just happen to bump into each other, making the galaxy made of thousands of planets looking unusually small. Another issue, which is shared by many prequels, is that the fans know what would ultimately happen with some of the characters – Annakin would one day become great Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi will be his master and, knowing that, the fate of Qui-Gon Jinn becomes quite predictable.

Unlike A New Hope, which mostly relied on then unknown actors, The Phantom Menace features cast made of already established stars and those who became household names as prolific character actors. Charismatic Liam Neeson does solid job as Qui-Gon Jinn, but can’t fill the blanks about his character’s past. Another disappointment comes from Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor whose uncle Dennis Lawson played Wedge Antilles in original trilogy. He deliberately plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the gestures and speech patterns that mimic Alec Guiness in A New Hope, but fails to comprehend that Guiness played elderly character and that such performance doesn’t look right for someone playing much younger. But even that looks wonderful compared with almost criminal miscasting of Jake Lloyd as Annakin. Even the most devout and the most charitable among the fans criticised the lack of his acting ability, leading the child actor to end his career even before it properly began. His performance leads to even worse scenes in which otherwise dependable Natalie Portman must play character who is for some reasons impressed or infatuated over 9-year old child, thus bringing possible and completely unnecessary accusations of paedophilia towards the film.

Even such weak script, however, brought attention of those who were seeking some hidden meaning and some messages that had to do with current politics. While A New Hope was often interpreted as reflection of 1970s general distrust of government and Vietnam War experience, Lucas’ new script was apparently, at least in part, influenced by new geopolitical challenges. Trade Federation, which is introduced as villainous entity, looks like collection of Yellow Peril stereotypes, with their representatives speaking with accent that sound Asian, which, at least on subconscious level, gives away not only somewhat racist sentiments but also fears that China and other robust Asian economies might undermine American hegemony in 21st Century. Accusations of racism in that regard were, however, dwarfed with Jar Jar Binks, arguably the most hated of all Hollywood fictional characters. Introduced to serve as comic relief due to his clumsiness and malapropisms, he was interpreted as Star Wars version of Uncle Tom, and despite being CGI-rendered alien, seen as embodiments of all negative stereotypes relative to black people. If we disregard “political correctness” and see Jar Jar Binks as merely comical alien, the character actually looks much fuller and someone the audience can sympathise, unlike often wooden and underwritten humans. More problematic, however, is film’s muddled political message in which republican model of government on galactic level coexists with constituent planets being ruled as monarchies and institution of slavery, while the political establishment of Republic with its constitutional procedures proves to be more harmful than secret Jedi elite that functions as some sort of Deep State.

The Phantom Menace predictably divided the audience, especially the fans. It was mostly on generational level. The old were disappointed, while the young, those who had experienced Star Wars for the first times, were pleased. The huge success at the box office was also quite predictable with The Phantom Menace easily becoming the most popular film of the year, although The Phantom Menace failed to dethrone Titanic, leaving many to believe that Lucas couldn’t compete with the likes of The Lord of the Rings and emerging world of superhero films. It is nevertheless entertaining, well-directed film that looks much better with passage of time, especially after the even more disappointing new 2010s trilogy, which made prequels, despite their flaws, look like masterpieces. But, arguably, the greatest praise The Phantom Menace should receive is for inspiring the most entertaining film review ever made.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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A long time ago in distant America, George Lucas came to the conclusion that after the phenomenal parts of saga IV-VI time to show how it all began.

The world was ready to trust, because the Internet did not prosper so much among people in the world (I did not have one) and many reviews appeared in newspapers or film magazines a few days or weeks after the premiere.

I was one of those people who did not wait with bated breath for the new part of the Trilogy. One day my brother got a VHS cassette with the movie Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace.

In my opinion it was a very well made film we meet a young Skywalker who likes racing and creating robots.

We as viewers do not realize that in a few parts the mighty Darth Vader will grow out of him, but in the first part nothing indicated that. Obi Wan Kenobi also appears, who decides to teach Anakin to become a Jedi Knight because he has great power.

Qui Gon Jinna, who taught the arts to Obi Wan, is also an episodic role in the film. The film is gentle, but it has the darkness from part IV. Of course, there is also the main opponent, which is Darth Maul, who I personally consider to be one of the worse characters of the SW universe.

Movie focuses on Anakin's teenage years and how he tries to get good, while the dark side of the knights covers the congress more and more and Princess Padme is in danger.

The film is good, looking at how the director spoiled the later parts, here are the effects and the whole story is quite coherent and the idiocy can be swallowed (maybe apart from Jar Jar Binks, it was the most irritatingly comedic character in the whole universe).

After a reasonably good one, he started to create a script on his knee and you want to erase each part from your memory.

One is good, a lot is happening here, and the computer effects, although they are, are done correctly.

The film is also a kind of flood of movie stars, we have Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Sofia Coppola and many others here.

Despite 22 years of age, the film is worth watching, and if you have a VCR, I encourage you to watch the VHS version, but the atmosphere from the VHS tape is much better and somehow you can get involved in stories from a distant galaxy.

I rate the film at 7/10 because we get to know interesting stories and get younger versions of the heroes we know, and it is the only film from the new trilogy that has a meaningful plot and a lot is happening here.

Imagen

It is not the first time that I talk about Star Wars in Hive and the truth is that I always do it with a little fear, it is a dense franchise that can be faced from many angles and there are many polarized opinions regarding which movies within it are good and which ones are bad.

Something that almost all fans seem to agree on is the quality of The Phantom Menace, which is probably the most hated film in the entire franchise. Although the first reviews on its release in 1999 were not really negative, you are progressively getting worse, the question is, why?

[Imagen](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2019/11/12/how-to-watch-star-wars-phantom-menace-disney-plus/2566789001/)

Although I feel that in technical aspects the prequels were revolutionary, this trilogy has a series of very big problems that cannot be ignored, although George Lucas's ability to develop an imaginative universe cannot be denied, The Phantom Menace suffers the consequences of a dissonance between what the fans want, and what Lucas wanted to offer us.

Star Wars, originally, was on adventures, there are elements of space opera that concatenate its universe to almost religious and science fiction laws, all this works incredibly well as the background for a good story, it makes everything feel tangible, like it has its own rules, it soaks us in its internal logic.

The Phantom Menace is particularly shocking because these elements that were previously part of the background are now in the foreground, and this ends up taking away the focus of the story that we really wanted to see, spending time on political and intergalactic law problems that although not boring, if they can be a bit tedious for a little boy who wanted to see action, Jedi fighting with sabers, and droids.

[Imagen](https://www.slashfilm.com/fans-react-to-the-phantom-menace/)

Interestingly, The Phantom Menace was the first installment of Star Wars that I had the opportunity to see, and although I was very attracted by this new universe that had opened before my eyes, I could not stop thinking about how screen time was being provided. to things that didn't matter much to me. The story of Anakin Skywalker while interesting, does not have time to develop properly, and efforts to make us empathize with the boy feel almost manipulative.

Nor do I want to totally deny the value of Episode 1, especially since it has sequences that are worth not only analyzing it as an individual and isolated film, but as an organic part within the entire Skywalker Saga. The battles with the lightsabers are another very good point, that although by our current standards they may be a bit exaggerated, they replicated what our parents probably felt in theaters in the 70s when they saw the original trilogy. The fighting styles take references from the real world and everything is very well choreographed.

[Imagen](https://thecomeback.com/pop-culture/for-better-or-worse-happy-20th-anniversary-to-the-phantom-menace.html)

In the field of special effects the result is mixed, curiously, the general belief is that an excessive amount of CGI is used, but in reality, Lucas used too many practical effects, including miniatures, only for publicity reasons, and to boost technology as something new, it was led to believe that most was digital, when it is not.

Like any other film in the Star Wars franchise, arguments could be made against and in favor of its existence, the truth is that each film has something to offer, and the important thing is that we all enjoy good cinema. All these films, for one reason or another, have an incalculable value in the history of cinema, and it never hurts to recognize it.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/d/da/Star_wars_episode_one_the_phantom_menace_ver2_xlg.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20161207002325&path-prefix=es Imagen

No es la primera vez que hablo Sobre Star Wars en Hive y la verdad es que siempre lo hago con un poco de miedo, es una franquicia densa que puede ser enfrentada desde muchos ángulos y existen muchas opiniones polarizadas respecto que películas dentro de ella son buenas y cuales son malas.

Algo en lo que casi todos los fans parecen estar de acuerdo es en la calidad de The Phantom Menace, que probablemente es el filme más odiado de toda la franquicia. Aunque las primeras críticas en sus estreno en 1999 no fueron realmente negativa, estas progresivamente fueron empeorando, la pregunta es, ¿Por qué?

[Imagen](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2019/11/12/how-to-watch-star-wars-phantom-menace-disney-plus/2566789001/)

Aunque siento que en aspectos técnicos las precuelas fueron revolucionarias, esta trilogía cuenta con una serie de problemas muy grandes que no pueden ser ignorados, aunque no se puede negar la habilidad de George Lucas para desarrollar un universo imaginativo, The Phantom Menace sufre las consecuencias de una disonancia entre lo que quieren los fans, y lo que Lucas quería ofrecernos.

Star Wars, originalmente, iba de aventuras, existen elementos de opera espacial que concatenan su universo a leyes casi religiosas y de ciencia ficción, todo esto funciona increíblemente bien como el trasfondo para una buena historia, hace que todo se sienta tangible, como que tiene sus propias reglas, nos empapa en su lógica interna.

The Phantom Menace resulta particularmente chocante porque estos elementos que anteriormente hacían parte del fondo ahora estan en primer plano, y esto termina quitando el foco de la historia que realmente queríamos ver, gastando tiempo en problemas políticos y de derecho intergalactico que aunque no resultan aburridos, si pueden ser un poco tedioso para un niño pequeño que lo que quería ver era acción, jedis luchando con sables, y droids.

[Imagen](https://www.slashfilm.com/fans-react-to-the-phantom-menace/)

Curiosamente, The Phantom Menace fue la primera entrega de Star Wars que tuve la oportunidad de ver, y aunque me encontraba muy atraído por este nuevo universo que se había abierto ante mis ojos, no podía dejar de pensar en como se estaba brindando tiempo en pantalla a cosas que no me importaban mucho. La historia de Anakin Skywalker aunque es interesante, no tiene tiempo para desarrollarse apropiadamente, y los esfuerzos por hacernos empatizar con el niño se sienten casi manipulativos.

Tampoco quiero negar totalmente el valor del Episodio 1, especialmente porque cuenta con secuencias que valen la pena no solamente analizándola como película individual y aislada, sino como una parte orgánica dentro de toda la Saga Skywalker. Las batallas con los sables de luz son otro punto muy bueno, que aunque para nuestros estandares actuales quizá resulten un poco exageradas, replicaban lo que probablemente nuestros padres sintieron en las salas de cine en los 70 cuando vieron la trilogía original. Los estilos de pelea toman referencias del mundo real y todo está muy bien coreografiado.

[Imagen](https://thecomeback.com/pop-culture/for-better-or-worse-happy-20th-anniversary-to-the-phantom-menace.html)

En el ámbito de los efectos especiales el resultado es mixto, curiosamente, la creencia general es que se usa una cantidad excesiva de CGI, pero en realidad, Lucas usó demasiados efectos prácticos, miniaturas incluidas, solo que por cuestiones de publicidad,y de impulsar la tecnología como algo novedoso, se hizo creer que la mayoría fue digital, cuando no es así.

Al igual que cualquier otra cinta dentro de la franquicia de Star Wars podrían lanzarse argumentos en contra y a favor de su existencia, la verdad, cada película tiene algo que ofrecer, y lo importante es que todos disfrutemos con buen cine. Todos estos filmes, por una razón u otra, tienen un valor incalculable en la historia del cine, y nunca esta de más reconocerlo.

Twitter/Instagram: Alxxssss

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I remember all the crazy excitement for this film when it was first announced and in the lead up to its release. I remember the hype machine as I waited in line opening night to see it. I enjoyed it the first couple of times I saw it and, in truth, I don't despise it the way many people find it comforting to do nowadays. It is far from perfect. Far from it, but it is not the worst of the Star Wars saga.

The Phantom Menace is the story of the beginning of the Skywalker legacy in the Star Wars galaxy, taking place in the Old Republic when Jedi were plentiful and the Sith were in hiding, plotting their revenge. Things have become chaotic around the republic and Jedi Master Qui Gonn Jinn and his Padawan, Obi Wan Kenobi are dispatched to Naboo to negotiate the end to a trade taxation dispute that has caused the blockade of the planet. Things happen and the Jedi are planet-side ahead of the curve of an invasion. They meet Jar Jar Binks and Queen Amidala, escape with the help of R2-D2 and find themselves stranded on the planet Tatooine, where they encounter young slave, Anikan Skywalker, who help them escape to Coruscant, home of the Republic government and the Jedi Council. Trade talks and Senate hearings happen and they return to Naboo to fight off the Trade Federation and Darth Maul to free the planet.

That's it in a nutshell.

The Good...

There is a lot to like here. It was awesome to see a young Obi Wan Kenobi and Ewan McGregor's performance is easily a highlight. So is Liam Neeson as his Jedi Master, Qui Gonn Jinn.

Darth Maul is awesome. The lightsaber duel between him and the two Jedi is the lightsaber duel we have all dreamed of. It is exhilarating.

I actually didn't mind some of the trade and taxation talk. It is fascinating to remember that wars are not often started by blind, naked ambition but by more quiet means that escalate. The ambition is hidden and more of a threat.

I didn't hate Jar Jar.

The Not So Good...

But I did not like the stereotyped dialogue of him, the Trade Federation characters and the Gungans. They were made too much of a joke.

The "cutting edge at the time" digital effects look a little dated now and many of the performers look awkward in front of it and, coupled with some awkward dialogue, cause some strained performances. McGregor and Neeson are fine though.

The pod race was exhilarating until it went on entirely too, too long.

I do have to note that when it was re-released in 3-D, it looked really good, especially the space sequences and the lightsaber duel in the Naboo palace.

I do not get or appreciate the hate for Jake Lloyd. He was poorly served by the screenplay and the fandom decision to blame him for the failures in this film is 110% unfair and frankly, mean-spirited.

Far from perfect but still worth watching with some draggy spots.

-all photos via IMDB.com

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I remember all the crazy excitement for this film when it was first announced and in the lead up to its release. I remember the hype machine as I waited in line opening night to see it. I enjoyed it the first couple of times I saw it and, in truth, I don't despise it the way many people find it comforting to do nowadays. It is far from perfect. Far from it, but it is not the worst of the Star Wars saga.

The Phantom Menace is the story of the beginning of the Skywalker legacy in the Star Wars galaxy, taking place in the Old Republic when Jedi were plentiful and the Sith were in hiding, plotting their revenge. Things have become chaotic around the republic and Jedi Master Qui Gonn Jinn and his Padawan, Obi Wan Kenobi are dispatched to Naboo to negotiate the end to a trade taxation dispute that has caused the blockade of the planet. Things happen and the Jedi are planet-side ahead of the curve of an invasion. They meet Jar Jar Binks and Queen Amidala, escape with the help of R2-D2 and find themselves stranded on the planet Tatooine, where they encounter young slave, Anikan Skywalker, who help them escape to Coruscant, home of the Republic government and the Jedi Council. Trade talks and Senate hearings happen and they return to Naboo to fight off the Trade Federation and Darth Maul to free the planet.

That's it in a nutshell.

The Good...

There is a lot to like here. It was awesome to see a young Obi Wan Kenobi and Ewan McGregor's performance is easily a highlight. So is Liam Neeson as his Jedi Master, Qui Gonn Jinn.

Darth Maul is awesome. The lightsaber duel between him and the two Jedi is the lightsaber duel we have all dreamed of. It is exhilarating.

I actually didn't mind some of the trade and taxation talk. It is fascinating to remember that wars are not often started by blind, naked ambition but by more quiet means that escalate. The ambition is hidden and more of a threat.

I didn't hate Jar Jar.

The Not So Good...

But I did not like the stereotyped dialogue of him, the Trade Federation characters and the Gungans. They were made too much of a joke.

The "cutting edge at the time" digital effects look a little dated now and many of the performers look awkward in front of it and, coupled with some awkward dialogue, cause some strained performances. McGregor and Neeson are fine though.

The pod race was exhilarating until it went on entirely too, too long.

I do have to note that when it was re-released in 3-D, it looked really good, especially the space sequences and the lightsaber duel in the Naboo palace.

I do not get or appreciate the hate for Jake Lloyd. He was poorly served by the screenplay and the fandom decision to blame him for the failures in this film is 110% unfair and frankly, mean-spirited.

Far from perfect but still worth watching with some draggy spots.

-all photos via IMDB.com

 So with the official flop of Solo: a Star Wars Story, the movie no one really wanted, I thought it was time to talk about my thoughts on Star Wars currently. I used to be a huge Star Wars fan, I read all the books, watched all the movies ( not as much of the prequels but usually 3-6), and talked about it constantly, much to the annoyance of my friends and family. When Disney bought the writes to Star Wars I was incredibly hopeful. I thought they could open up the Star Wars universe and make movies about all of the great stories that had been told in the EU and eventually branch off into some new ideas, like they did for Marvel. Unfortunately that was not to be.

 The first red flag for me was throwing out the EU. They should have reviewed it and used the best ideas to build a new timeline post ROTJ. By simply throwing it all out they alienated a lot of people and began the Grand Canyon sized split in the Star Wars fanbase. Then they got J.J Abrams to direct the first movie, and while he's not a bad director I didn't really see his style of movie making meshing with Star Wars. Then they announced the new trilogy would be continuing the Skywalker story and the original cast was coming back, that really made my heart sink. The main problem with the Star Wars universe is that in the official canon it is much too small. For a galaxy far, far, away the movies seem to focus on these same characters much too much. Do you really expect us to believe a member of the Skywalker family is involved in everything meaningful in an entire, supposedly rich galaxy? We need new stories, and we need to put some of the great EU stories to film. Darth Bane, The Thrawn Trilogy, even the Corellian War saga which chronicles the fall of Han Solo's son much better than anything in the Disney trilogy. So many wasted opportunities, it almost makes me sick. 

 Then they announced the anthology movies a few months before the Force Awakens and it gave me a little hope, finally a chance for some unrelated stories to be told. Then they said it would be about the Death Star (ffs). We need to do something outside of the context of the original story. It doesn't even have to be imagined by Disney, plenty of material exists that the main fanbase has never read and the hardcore fans would love to see made into a movie. With the Last Jedi killing the little enthusiasm I had left and the Han Solo movie putting the final nail in the coffin I have honestly just given up on Star Wars. The Star Wars Disney canon has all the depth of a puddle and I just can't get into it anymore. I don't even want to see Episode 9 with Jar Jar Abrams at the helm yet again. Unlike many critics of the Kathleen Kennedy era of Star Wars ( though her approach does the company no favors), I don't think it's all her fault, I think the overall direction and vision of the company is wrong and she just foolishly signing off on all of it. I don't think removing her will solve all of the problems with Star Wars but it couldn't hurt, being ignorant is really no better than being malicious. Unless a major change of vision takes place at Lucasfilm I just can't bring myself to care about Star Wars anymore. To make it clear, I've spent a lot of money on Star Wars, I mean a lot, if Lucasfilm drives enough of the mega fans off these movies the franchise will crash and burn, which I think has been proven by Star Wars toys killing Toys-R-Us and The Han Solo movie not even making a profit.

 I never imagined Star Wars would be at this point, but here we are. Squandering one of the greatest entertainment juggernauts of all time in pointless mediocrity, just stop Disney, you're breaking my heart.

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first installment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. The film is set 32 years before the original film, and follows Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they protect Queen Amidala, in hopes of securing a peaceful end to a large-scale interplanetary trade dispute. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually strong natural powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith.

You've asked for it for years. Finally... we went looking for sins in The Phantom Menace, and boy do we regret it. So many sins we had to split them into two parts to avoid causing any sin-related overdoses.