I was only seven years old when I first watched The Phantom Menace in the theaters. I remember loving the action, enjoying Jar Jar Binks, and being deathly afraid of Darth Maul. As I grew up I started to disassociate myself with the prequel films, as it seems most people did. As I re-watched the films over the years I found Jar Jar Binks to be a worthless character and I felt The Phantom Menace was weak compared to the films before it. It has been 13 years since I last saw the film in the movie theater. 13 years later the film resonated something inside of me. I felt my childhood flash before my eyes.
To put it simply, I was a fool to dismiss this film and fall in line with the opinions of so called "Star Wars fans". This film may not be A New Hope or The Empire Strikes back, be why should it be? It is supposed to be the first movie in the saga introducing key elements to the overall structure of the six films and it effectively does so. So what that Jar Jar Binks is in the film? When you actually think about his actual on screen presence he only occupies a small space of the entire film. This film has all the elements of the original trilogy except it adds more depth. When George Lucas decided to explain the Force by the way of midi-chlorians it was met with major backlash. Growing up I understood the argument and completely agreed, but after viewing the film again so many years later, I feel that people were being irrational. Why is George Lucas being condemned for explaining things. To me his use for the explanation of the Force is very well done. Lucas is able to answer many lingering questions fans had. The problem lies in the answer he gives. However this problem is only for the fans. After viewing the film this time I realized that Star Wars is not for me or for you, it's for George Lucas. This is his movie and he can do is he wishes. While I may not support him 100%, this is still his film. If he wants Jar Jar Binks in it then you can have Jar Jar Binks in it.
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| Yes people, he becomes Darth Vader. Deal with it. |
While we are on the topic of criticisms, let's get something straight, there is no reason why this film needed to be released in 3D. Compared to most post-3D films, this one ranks among the best, however this conversion suffers something all 3D films suffer from. 3D films are automatically darker due to the polaroid glasses, but when you combine that with most theaters not projecting bright enough causes the darkness to truly destroy the projected images. One of the magical elements of the Star War's universe is it is full bright colorful environments, however they are completely lost once the 3D comes into play. I'm sure Titanic will be the same way. It just puzzles me why films that were not shot in 3D, with no intent to be shown in 3D are now being converted. It's all for money. It's only a matter of time before they re-release the Harry Potter films or every other blockbuster franchise out there. It is sad to be honest.
The action in this film is still spectacular, and so is the pod race. I never realized how intense the pod race actually was until I experienced it again inside the movie theater. The pod racers rip and roar throughout the theaters surround sound speakers. It felt like watching NASCAR on the big screen. Speaking of new things Lucas brought to the Star Wars franchise, Lucas brought complex and unique light saber duels to the saga. Go back and watch your favorite Star Wars films of the original trilogy, and see how lacking in technique the light saber duels are. The argument of course is in the original trilogy, the light saber duels had story behind them with less action. And in the prequel trilogies the action was heavy but there was no story behind it. How could this be so? When Qui-Gon Jinn(Liam Neeson) gets killed by Darth Maul I was heavily involved. It was like losing Ben Kenobi in A New Hope. Everything Lucas did had a purpose. Even an Anakin stumbling upon the shield generator in the final space battle.
I could go on and on about how after so many years I finally defend this film but I won't. To put it simply, Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace is a film that deserves the Star Wars moniker despite what most people believe.
3.5/4 Muffins
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