Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

A lot has been said about the prequel Star Wars trilogies, and a lot of it is not very kind. 

Star Wars fans are some of the most...ahem...passionate fans out there and they can often over-exaggerate the effect that these films have on the original three. I've seen a handful of occasions where someone claims they went so far as to ruin his/her childhood. 

Really dude? Come on now. 

Personally, I'd say I'm a big Star Wars fan too. It's such a rich and varied world (or worlds, really) that has so much room for story upon story. While I fully agree that the prequel trilogy leaves a little to be desired, I also think that, other than a few standout things, they're pretty fantastic. I have never understood all the hate and I think they bring a lot of special growth and lore to the entire franchise. 

Before Episode VIII comes out later this year, I'm hoping to get through all 6 films (outside of The Force Awakens) as both an amends for being so s****y about Retro Reviewing last year and because it's something I've always wanted to do. Between hopefully finishing up Lord of the Rings and The Godfather trilogies, I'll likely have my hands full with BIG Retro Reviews this year!

Unlike the newest trilogy, where everything is a mystery, the prequel trilogy already had something going against it: we knew that it was the "origin" story of Darth Vader and, in broad strokes, most people knew generally what was going to happen. Having that element of surprise or anticipation of plot details somewhat removed from your new set of films is challenging and more than a little daunting I'm guessing. How do you keep it exciting? How do you keep people interested? How do you do something new? George Lucas was tasked with these elements and for the most part I'd say he succeeded. In Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Anakin is arguably a side character. He's introduced and plays a pivotal role, but there's a lot more going on around him as the Federation is placing a blockade and invading on Naboo, violating "space law" in the process. Some have scoffed and said this aspect is boring, but I'd lean more toward the side that it's realistic and political, which is how a lot of people in the eventual Empire come to get their power by the time Episode IV rolls around. I'll admit, especially after watching it recently, that it seems very small scale given the other events in some of the other films, but every story has got to start somewhere. All things considered, I don't have much issue with the plot of this film outside of the fact that there's a very minimal, criminally so, focus on the Sith and what they're up to. When you have as iconic as a villain as Darth Maul and he has three lines, you messed up. 

Every little kid in the late 90s/early 00s was recreating this scene in their front lawns

Leading me nicely into my next point of defense that Episode I offered up much more "awesome" new stuff than it did "awful" new stuff. Darth Maul is the obvious first choice, alongside his double-sided lightsaber. His character design is the stuff of nightmares and it's easy to see why he was at much of the forefront of the Episode I marketing. He added a new level of threat to the newest film trilogy and many believed he would be the next Darth Vader. If I were grading the original trilogy as a whole my chief critique would be: "Why in the f**k did you not keep Darth Maul around?!?" Granted, his lore has been greatly expanded in the cartoons so his mark on the universe is substantial, but he was so cool and could have been such a focal point through the three films that it astounds me they decided to instead do a "flavor of the week" villain routine with Dooku (lame) and Grievous (pretty cool) throughout this trilogy. Getting back to my original point, another "awesome" thing that Episode I introduced was Podracing, resulting in probably the best (or 2nd best) scene of the film. Much like NASCAR would be if it had street-rulez, Podracing was instantly memorable and intense, not to mention the lengthy scene in the movie was done terrifically, with much of the film's special effects budget going there, or so I'm guessing. Let's just say that if any of the Star Wars Stories decide to go back to Podracing, I'll be the last person to complain. And on top of both those major things you have a lot of little stuff like new ships, new costumes, new armies (droids), etc. all of which are imaginative and creative. They set the stage for a new trilogy while also incorporating bits of the previous one throughout. 

Shocking how bad these
scenes look nowadays...

But there are things about Episode I that are harder pills to swallow. For as much hate as Jar Jar Binks receives, I think a lot of it is blown out of proportion. That doesn't mean it's misplaced though. Astoundingly, Episode I does not age gracefully in many regards and the Gungans are one such area. Jar Jar looks laughably awful in this day and age of CGI; almost like a cartoon character in a live action film. You can even see the other actors having a hard time interpreting where he's at in the shot as it's so obviously added in later. He's overused a lot and I think that's where the hatred stems from. If Jar Jar had 50% less speaking lines I'm not sure we'd ever really hear about him again, but because he's so consistently stupid and is featured so prominently, it's aggravating...especially when you consider how sidelined Darth Maul was. Upon my recent viewing I was shocked to see how bad the film looks for the first 20-30 minutes. Jar Jar is immediately fake-looking and pretty much everything else that happens underwater/in Gungan looks awful. I don't remember this at all which is really a sign of the times and why it behooves films to not rely so heavily on CGI. At some point or another, it will always look outdated as our eyes become accustomed to the new technology norms. It's why The Lord of the Rings trilogy will age far better than The Hobbit. In 20 years that prequel trilogy will be facing this same issue where it looks too fake to take seriously. Lastly, Episode I is where the signs of weak scripts begin to show up. It plagues the entire original trilogy and is one of Lucas's worst decisions to not let someone else come in and do them (or at least tweak them). The Phantom Menace isn't awful, but there's stilted dialogue here and there that comes across awkward.

From a technological standpoint, The Phantom Menace is a triumph for its day and age other than the horrendous CGI early on. The Podrace still looks fantastic, especially when things are crashing, and the set and costume design is iconic. The editing and cinematography are both good and John Williams turns in another memorable original score, particularly during that last lightsaber battle. 

This reminds me...how about we get a current-gen Pod Racing game, EA? Get on it!

Almost two decades later and I still don't quite understand why Episode I gets all the hate. I guess I can see where it's coming from but the constant bitching and moaning about the prequel trilogies just doesn't look good on Star Wars fanboys. I'm not as diehard as many, but I appreciate them for what they are and I actually like many of the things that they introduced. Maybe it's because this was my first in-theater Star Wars experience. 

Or maybe it's because the things that really matter are not nearly as bad as everyone likes to remember they are.

CONS

• Jake Lloyd, God bless him as a child, is a terrible actor. He should have never been the choice for Anakin
• Jar Jar should have had ~50% less speaking lines. Then he would have been a non-issue
• The Gungan world and Jar Jar himself look laughably fake. The first 30 minutes don't age well at all
• Smaller scale plot when compared to the others
• Under-utilization of Darth Maul was one of the worst decisions of the entire trilogy
• The film lacks a lot of the mystery of other Star Wars films because we generally know what's going to happen (i.e. Anakin --> Vader)
• Some script issues

PROS

• Some great casting choices all around. Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan are standouts. Natalie Portman would be too if her dialogue wasn't so consistently off
• Well-done special effects after you leave underwater. The Podrace looks great as does the lightsaber battle and space battle
• Introduces a lot of really cool, new things. Podracing was my favorite thing...
• And Darth Maul was my favorite new character. His character design is detailed and the threat of a dual-sided lightsaber Sith is enough to bring tons of interest back to Star Wars
• Good start to the story overall. I like how Anakin wasn't the absolute core focal point and instead an intervention of the Force while everything else was going on
• Establishes itself as something new and apart from the old trilogy while also sharing a ton in common with it
• The Podrace and final lightsaber battle are still two scenes for the ages. Don't think I'll ever forget either of them
• Fantastic original score

Retro Rath's Review Score | 7.5/10