Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) - Written Review

Over the years, The Phantom Menace has gained a reputation of being the movie mistake you don't want to make with your franchise. Despite being a Prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy and containing all of the characters you'd want to see in a Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace was hated by many fans, and has since been mocked, parodied and referred to as "when Star Wars went horribly wrong". Is it really that bad though? Is it worth all of this negativity?

Well, looking at it objectively, many years after I last saw this movie, I can safely answer those questions "no". No, The Phantom Menace really isn't that bad. Heck, I don't think it's even a bad movie. It's...actually, alright.

But, let's first address the main criticism: Jar Jar Binks. People don't like Jar Jar Binks. Some people absolutely despise the character. The thing is though, his reputation is worse than the actual character. Yes, he's kinda annoying, and no, I didn't even find him funny when I was younger, but if he'd had a less prominent role in the film, and maybe been less of a cartoon character (to the extent that he's even animated), maybe Jar Jar Binks would have been okay. He takes too much attention away from everyone else, yes, but this is the character's main problem. Jar Jar may not be "the key to all this" as George Lucas once said, but he's certainly not the worst thing in the Universe.

This also nicely leads in to my next point - the Visual FX. Now, there's a lot of CGI in this movie - in some instances, perhaps too much - but it's really not that bad. Sure, it looks a bit dated by today's standards, but they were experimenting with a relatively new technology at the time. It doesn't look appalling, and in many cases actually gives the Universe George Lucas creates a bit more character to it, being able to create lots of new creatures and environments that just wouldn't be feasible with practical effects.

The CGI also helps to bring to live the awesome pod-racing sequence in the second act of the film. It's a really great sequence and adds to the excellent world-building George Lucas develops in this film, particularly with the betting element. The pod-racers all look pretty awesome, and it's a really well visualised sequence. You even get some cameos from A New Hope in there as well.

Oh, and let's not forget the incredibly awesome fight sequence at the end, with Darth Maul facing off against both Qui Gon and Obi Wan. Without the digital enhancements, the scene probably wouldn't have the same dramatic weight it has. It was the first time in Star Wars that you really get to see just how powerful the Sith and the Jedi were back in the day. Sure, it's a bit cheesy and the music is really dramatic, but on the whole it's such a cool scene that it's difficult not to like.

I also really like the whole sequence of Anakin and R2 helping to destroy the Trade Federation control ship. It's a nice parallel to the climax of A New Hope with Luke, even if it perhaps feels a bit contrived into the film for this very reason. Meanwhile, of course, we have the Gungan versus Droids battle - one that pretty much no one can invest in. You either want to support Jar Jar and his buddies or a load of emotionless and rubbish-looking droids. Though, you're probably just wanting to see more Jedi versus Sith action while all that's going on.

So, the Visual FX really aren't that bad, they're actually quite good, and the practical effects all look pretty good as well. The Yoda puppet moves around like a real creature, even if he looks really weird, and the practical pod-racers blend in nicely with the CG ones.

What really drags this movie down though is the pacing. It's a rather slow movie and there seems to be a lot of padding in there. Many have criticised the over-reliance on gibberish political elements, but actually the problem lies with how these elements are executed as to them actually being there in the first place. I mean, the original trilogy was about a bunch of rebels going up against an Empire in essentially a Civil War...

Also, I'm not sure what the deal was with the Queen's decoy. Why did Padmé need to pretend to be a maid in front of the Captain, Qui Gon, Obi Wan and everyone else? Sure, it makes sense in political meetings, but there isn't even much of an explanation for this in the movie. It just...happens.

Perhaps if the film had had a major re-write from someone other than George Lucas, they could have sorted out the execution of these elements and some of the padding in the film.

It's also odd that despite being chronologically the first Star Wars film, there isn't much in the way of an introduction to this Universe. For anyone who hasn't seen the original trilogy, the Jedi aren't really explained properly, and neither are the Sith. There isn't much explained with the Force or these...Medichlorians? What the hell are they?

Perhaps George Lucas wanted to just drop everyone straight into the action, but he...kinda didn't. It takes a few minutes before any kind of action starts, and it doesn't hold a candle to the main action sequences in both the original trilogy and later in this film.

You know what though, I find the whole film pretty entertaining. It's maybe a bit slow in places, the acting is a bit flat and perhaps it needs a re-write in quite a few places. It is rather odd that the story is focused so much on Qui Gon and less on Obi Wan. I would have thought it'd be the other way around, given that Obi Wan and Anakin's story is the main crux of these Prequels. Don't get me wrong, I like Qui Gon, but it would make more sense for Obi Wan to fill in his role in the film. Also, wasn't Yoda Obin Wan's master? Oh well. I also like the way that Senator Palpatine is set up as a manipulative figure in the Star Wars universe, and sets up the future films quite well. Darth Maul is a much more threatening villain than the Trade Federation and Droids, but doesn't really get much of a character, despite being the main villain's own Padawan apprentice. There could have been a nice parallel between Obi Wan and Maul, given that Obi Wan is also a Padawan at the time.

Overall, The Phantom Menace is...alright. There's more good than bad, but the whole thing does have some fairly large problems that need addressing. There's quite a lot I like in here - heck, I even like the younger Anakin - and perhaps its nostalgia talking, but I actually like the film. It's not bad, but it's not quite good. I give Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace a 6/10.