It's not really shocking anymore to see something I loved as a kid turning 25 years old in just a few months.
My relationship with Star Wars has changed a lot in the last 10 years. It was a franchise I loved growing up and I even loved the prequel movies as a kid because, of course, I didn't really see all of their flaws until I was older. Star Wars has become something that I don't really care too much about these days with it being one of the two Disney properties that's been overused since they acquired it. But that's what happening now, today I want to look back at how the franchise was seen in 1999 and the quality of the first Star Wars movie after the original trilogy.
It had been 16 years since Return of the Jedi had hit theatres and audiences had been waiting over a decade and a half for a new movie to finally be released. 1999 was the year, as The Phantom Menace was set to be released in the early summer window. Fans were so excited to see this movie that many even bought tickets to see a movie in the theatre just to watch the new Star Wars trailer and then leave before the actual movie started (Imagine buying Tickets to see "Never Been Kissed" just to see the Star Wars trailer). This was maybe the most anticipated movie of all time at that point. The day finally came to watch the big movie and audiences were left... confused? I think the excitement for the movie was so big that a lot of fans were left just wanting to defend the movie because there's no way they waited all this time for a mediocre movie like this. There are certainly true defenders of The Phantom Menace, but most fans will tell you it's probably the worst Star Wars movie out of all of them, though there have been some contenders for that title after its release. But just how bad is this movie?
Look, there are certainly moments where this movie shines, but those few times aren't enough to keep this from being a bad film overall. Pretty much everyone always says that the final fight against Darth Maul is what saves this movie from being a total disaster and they do have a point, but we'll get to that later. I want to actually rewatch the movie and see what holds up and what doesn't. Also, I want to try to maybe remember the things I liked as a kid and if I still feel the same way or not. So here's my review of the classic film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace!?
I must admit the opening seconds of the movie where the main theme plays just before the iconic word crawl begins got me pretty excited despite knowing the movie isn't good. That excitement faded quickly as the text crawl just goes on about trade and tax disputes, how exciting. That leads me to my first big problem with the movie... the Trade Federation. As a kid, it's something you just sit through while waiting for the action sequences or seeing more Jedi. As an adult, it's somehow even more boring when you can actually understand what they're talking about. It's all a big struggle that has to do with blockades and the growing tension between the Trade Federation and The Republic. This was the spark that would eventually lead to the Clone Wars in the second movie and beyond. This movie starts with the Jedi finally being asked to get involved only to almost be assassinated immediately before the peace talks even begin. The two Jedi, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, easily escape the assassination attempt and they now need to warn the Republic of the army that's being prepared to attack Naboo. The stakes are set pretty early and at least the movie starts off with some action, though they make it known pretty fast just how useless the droids are against the Jedi.
So Jar-Jar is introduced very early on in the movie. He has become a notorious character for his annoying dialog and stupid hijinks that bring the story down and don't work well with the other characters. I thought maybe it had gotten overblown over time, but after watching the movie again I can say that he is in fact, incredibly annoying. Just twenty minutes into the movie I wanted him to stop talking and go away. The point of his character was to keep the kids entertained throughout the boring Trade Federation dispute and act as a comic relief like C-3PO in the original trilogy. He was so bad that they just brought back C-3PO in the next movie to be the comic relief again. His main problem is how he just never stops talking and how he annoys everyone around him by being clumsy and rude to his "friends". But Qui-Gon seems like he's just keeping him around out of pity and because it's given Jar Jar's life some meaning. He just never feels like he belongs in this story.
Something I loved as a kid and still love now is the great use of practical effects, real sets, and good costumes. Everything looks like it took forever to make with great detail and I still appreciate it and how it makes the world feel more real. It's really nice to see the actors interacting with actual props and sets instead of just green/blue screens. The special effects are mostly good too, obviously dated but a lot of it still looks quite good even after all these years. The only things that stand out as outdated are some of the CGI characters like Jar Jar who is often around the actors and it makes it stand out a lot more. One of the things I missed was the puppet version of Yoda that was replaced by the CGI Yoda to match his appearance in episodes II and III. It makes sense, especially when you see how hideous they made the puppet Yoda in Phantom Menace compared to the original movies. After seeing the pictures of the original puppet Yoda, I have to say it's a good thing they replaced him with CGI because he was one hideous puppet.
I find it funny how Star Wars was able to create a more useless army than the Stormtroopers with the new droid army. People make fun of the original trilogy and how bad the Stormtroopers were at hitting any target, but the droids are so weak that a Jedi can just lightly push them over and they stop working. The basic droids are so small and weak, it's impossible to see them as anything other than a joke. The movie also uses them as comic relief as they constantly mess things up in battle and have a hard time doing simple tasks. At least some of the other models look cooler and deadlier, but we don't get to see as many in this movie. From what I remember, Episode II makes the droids look more threatening, but in this first movie, they are a joke.
Before I go back to the story, I wanted to mention how much I like the cast in this movie. I mean, the cast was mostly made up of great established actors or actors who would go on to be really great in other movies like Portman and McGregor. The one unfortunate casting was poor Jake Lloyd as young Anakin. He got a lot of hate over the years for this movie and it's sad to see because I really don't see it being his fault entirely. The writing they gave him was pretty awful and I'm certain the directing didn't help him either as we saw many great talents put on poor performances in the prequel trilogy. The way a lot of the characters talk to each other often just feels unnatural, especially when it comes to romance... but that's more of an Episode II problem.
I really think having Anakin introduced as a child was a big mistake anyway because it really takes away from his story of eventually becoming Darth Vader. A lot of the qualities he has in this movie, like being a great pilot and really tech-savvy, aren't really expanded upon in the following movies much. That's why this whole story felt like it should have started when he was at least an older teen and already a Jedi training with Obi-Wan. Meeting his future wife Padme as a little kid was also pretty weird, not helped by the overly cheesy dialog that foreshadows their romance.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan finding Anakin in the first place feels like a huge coincidence as they find themselves stranded on the desert planet Tatooine trying to fix their ship. We're introduced to the beautiful Watto and all his charisma. He is a sleazy slave owner who owns Anakin and his mother and has them work at his shop. He's one of the more interesting side characters in the prequels, but mostly just because of his connection to Anakin and his memorable design. The whole Tatooine part of the movie is there to show Anakin's background and skills before he eventually gets to become a Jedi. I actually forgot how they completely sideline Obi-Wan for the entire Tatooine section of the movie, leaving him on the ship to do nothing. It feels like a missed opportunity to not have Obi-Wan and Anakin interact more in this first movie to build on their future friendship. I wonder if the story would have been slightly better if the Qui-Gon role was erased and Obi-Wan just took over his role.
Anakin is shown to be a selfless boy genius and Qui-Gon immediately takes a liking to him and senses something special in him. To prove his point he agrees to let Anakin race for him in the Podrace coming up to win enough money to repair their broken ship. This leads to one of the scenes that many Star Wars fans despise... While fixing a cut Anakin got while fixing his racer, Qui-Gon decides to take a small sample of his blood to get tested by Obi-Wan. This results in Obi-Wan scanning his blood for midi-chlorians and finding out he has the highest count he's ever seen. A new twist was added to the Jedi lore that made it so certain people are born with special blood cells that give them the potential to become stronger with the Force. The more midi-chlorians the more potential to be a powerful Jedi. It made it so that certain people were born to become Jedi and not that it was something anyone could do with training and dedication. It felt like it was just created to have a way to tell audiences that Anakin was a one-of-a-kind prospect to be a Jedi. I guess Qui-Gon could have just said he feels the Force from Anakin more than he's felt from anyone else his age? Would that not have been good enough?
One small side note: Jar-Jar becomes doubly annoying throughout their stay at Tatooine. They should have left him there.
After an hour of mostly mediocre scenes, we finally get to one of the standout parts of the movie, PODRACING. It's still a lot of fun, though the CGI does look dated at times, it's easy to look past. There's a great sense of speed in these scenes that really makes it look like it's incredibly dangerous. The Podracer designs mostly look cool, some being a little too silly. The only awkward part is when they show Anakin's face during the race and it looks pretty bad, unfortunately. It's all fun though, a part of Star Wars that wasn't ever really touched on again in the movies but it was fun to see what a sport in the Star Wars universe would look like.
After another couple of boring scenes building up to the big finale we finally get to see the battle of Naboo. The battle is separated into three major parts: the Gungan army vs the Droid army, the space battle where the Republic army is trying to destroy the Droid command center, and the battle of the Jedi vs the Sith. We get a main character to take us through each battle with Anakin in space, Jar-Jar with the Gungans, and of course, Obi-Wan and Qu-Gon taking on the Sith. Actually, there's also Padme leading her royal troops to take back the throne. The movie cuts between those four battles going on as they all affect each other. The epic music does a lot of heavy lifting as "Dual of the Fates" is one of the most iconic songs in Star Wars and probably movies in general. I think a lot of the battles don't really feel that interesting because it's mostly showing characters I don't really care too much about and the battle I want to see the most (Jedi vs Sith) is interrupted a lot.
Jar-Jar proves yet again how worthless he is as he fumbles around like a coward on the battlefield, but all his clumsiness somehow ends up working for the most part as he accidentally destroys multiple Droids. All that leads to nothing as the Gungan army ends up losing the battle anyway and they are forced to surrender. You know your army sucks when you lose to the Droids, but I guess their sheer numbers are impossible to match. That all changes when Anakin accidentally flies into the Droid control center and destroys it, leading the entire droid army to shut down entirely and ensuring victory for The Republic and the Gungans. It's just funny how the entire victory was all based on an accident by Anakin who had no idea what he was doing. The fact that the entire battle would be lost if the Droid control ship was destroyed seems like a terrible plan by the Trade Federation. Having one specific weak point that your enemy already knows about is really stupid war tactics, get a grip. I guess Anakin didn't learn from this experience here when he eventually made the Death Star with the Emperor.
Now to talk about fan-favorite Darth Maul. He's introduced around the halfway point of the movie as Palpatine chooses him to take out Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. He is a Sith Lord who uses the iconic saberstaff, which I believe was the first time we saw a different type of lightsaber in the Star Wars universe. It was awesome and his design is so iconic, even in his short appearance he left a lasting impression. Unfortunately, he didn't make it past this movie because he could have been a great villain to keep around and torment Obi-Wan in the following movies. Maybe Lucas wasn't expecting him to be such a standout, but he did eventually come back in the animated series Clone Wars and even made a cameo in the Han Solo movie... which went nowhere. The battle in this movie is totally different than all the battles we saw in the original trilogy. Here it's all about flair, acrobatics, and speed, unlike the first movies where it was all emotion and power. It actually seems pretty tame in this movie when compared to what we'll see in episodes II and III.
Maul defeats Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan later outsmarts Maul and cuts him clean in half as he falls down a neverending hole. Qui-Gon was a mildly interesting character, but one that I feel could have been completely replaced by Obi-Wan as I said earlier. His character is meant to be the one who discovers Anakin and sets him on the path to becoming a Jedi, but I don't see why Obi-Wan couldn't have been the one to do that. It could have made their relationship even stronger going into the next movie and not have Obi-Wan feel like he's forced to train Anakin as a favor to his master. Considering how much they bicker and complain about each other in the next movie, maybe they could've changed that relationship completely. One of the main issues with this trilogy is how they treat the Obi-Wan and Anakin relationship, which is more of a problem in the next two movies so if I ever do those I'll dive deeper into those issues.
So the good guys win in the end and they celebrate their victory with a parade as peace once again finds Naboo. Obi-Wan is left to train Anakin as that's what Qui-Gon wants to see in the end, as he believes Anakin is the key to the future of the Force. The Phantom Menace is an interesting movie for sure, one that has a special place in my life as the first Star Wars movie I saw and a movie I loved dearly growing up. There's still nostalgia when watching this movie that makes me feel happy and remember the good times, but man does this movie kind of suck. For all the good things it does, it feels like it does 5 wrong things to make up for it. Wasting a great cast of actors by having them read boring dialog and find ways to not have any chemistry with each other. Introduce a completely useless character in Jar-Jar who does nothing but annoy his "friends" the entire movie and almost get everyone killed. Having Anakin introduced as a child also felt like a huge mistake as a lot of the qualities they showed in him in this movie don't even really get brought up in the next two movies. Not having Anakin and Obi-Wan interact outside of just saying hello to each other felt like another missed opportunity. The movie feels like it wastes too much time on things that don't really end up mattering in the trilogy and is held back by bad writing and pacing. The good things I'll remember from this movie are the great effects (that still mostly look good especially considering it's been 25 years), the score, sets, costumes, and makeup. Some great ideas with the world-building and cool iconic designs for the ships, droids, cities, and alien races. The beautiful Watto who I want to marry, Darth Maul, and Podracing. And the last thing I'll remember is Samuel L Jackson as a Jedi because that's just awesome.
So yeah, this movie is not good but it's still pretty entertaining to watch despite all its flaws. It could all just be nostalgia, but it's nice to look back at something I loved as a kid and see how different I feel about it 25 years later. Thankfully I won't have to review the even worse Attack of the Clones... unless you really want me to?
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