I saw the oft-maligned film in theaters for its 25th anniversary, and it was a surprising experience
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is historically significant for many reasons: it was the first Star Wars movie in nearly 16 years, the last Star Wars movie shot on film, and a polarizing, pulpy entry in the storied space fantasy franchise. It debuted on May 19, 1999, 25 years ago almost to the day, and earned over $1 billion at the box office, despite mostly mediocre reviews.
Its legacy is an interesting one: One of its characters, Jar-Jar Binks, was so detested that the actor who portrayed him, Ahmed Best, faced what he told The Hollywood Reporter was “the first textbook case of cyberbullying.” Several racially insensitive aliens featured in the film remain a mark on the series to this day. The dialogue is weak and often incredibly grating.
Yet its late-stage lightsaber battle is the stuff of legends, its production and costume design is intricate and beautiful, and the infamous podrace scene is exhilarating. It is a Star Wars movie full of contradictions, so when my partner asked if I wanted to go see The Phantom Menace at our local Alamo Drafthouse, I jumped at the chance.
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But despite all that is cringe and problematic in The Phantom Menace, watching it in theaters instilled in me a newfound sense of respect for the film.
The clone wars series did so much to redeem the prequel trilogy. I remember watching the phantom menace in theater. I loved it. But as i grew older, the flaws and the holes, the cgi,l and clunky dialog really came to the forefront and i fell out of love. But the clone wars gave the star wars universe depth that helps flesh out and maintain relevance of the prequels. I know the novels and old canon comics are the og heros of the star wars universe, but to see something in a television media format really brought it together for me. Ffs, they made maul relevant. And interesting and conflicted too!
I dont think that the prequels would be remembered as fondly without the clone wars series.
I think episode 1 is my favourite of all the prequels. I like both the others, but episode 2 is, well episode 2, and 3 was pretty great but the character transformation of Anakin was so bizarre to me that it takes me out of the movies completely. Like the relationship between Anakin and Padme feels so weird knowing what we know, it just throws me through a loop every time.
Episode 1, huge warts and all, felt like a complete experience, had a weird and interesting aesthetic, and characters acted like a consistent version of a character. I can't help thinking all the pushback to this movie is what turned the others a bit offtrack, they felt a little less from the heart than 1 did.
God I wish someone else had directed those movies like George wanted, he knew his strengths and weaknesses.
As I've said before, seeing it in the cinema for the first time in 25 years was interesting because I didn't go in with my original high hopes, that were comprehensively dashed. Instead, I've chewed over the films failings for decades which had the effect of inoculating me against the worst of it, so I could kick back and soak it all in and there is a lot to enjoy.
I feel like I make a comment everytime this gets brought up I should just have a copy and paste.
I grew up on the prequels. Yes they've got weak spots but they built a world that I love and with enough depth to sustain other strong shows off of it. I think 1 and 3 are great and I'm not bored for a second watching them. 2 is always the rough one for me, with the largest amount of cringe. Star wars wouldn't have held up for so long for newer generations if it wasn't for the prequels IMHO.