



When I heard that Lucas was making a new Star Wars trilogy as a kid back in the mid 90’s, I went completely ape shit. I loved the original trilogy so much and just could not wait at all for the new movies. For many people, that was very short lived excitement. Everyone had something in the movie they didn't like. You either didn't like all of the CGI, hated the dialogue, or thought there were unnecessary additions they put in the movie…and this is why everyone hates Jar-Jar Binks.

I didn't like him when I was a kid and my hatred grows for him every day. My main reason for not liking him is because he says the downright dumbest shit. He is annoying, loud, stupid, and now thanks to blu-ray beginning to look bad. He serves no purpose until the end of the movie. But there is just a ton of oddball stunts they pull with him that just never hits and can only be found comedic to a 4 year old…and I’m pushing it with that age group. So yes…Jar-Jar Binks is still terrible.



But now lets focus more on the movie. I’ve avoided the movie for a while now. Mainly I just wasn't huge on the story. I never liked the major focus on diplomacy the movie had as well as its slow pace. I also hated the way Yoda looked in the movie. It was just looked terrible and too shiny. Yoda has now been fixed and I dont know how you could hate it. This Yoda looks so much better than the puppet used in the movie and also helps bridge Phantom with the other two prequels.



As I re-watched it, it was like watching it for the first time again. Being much older now and having a much higher education, I have more of a respect for the diplomatic part of the movie. But I expected that going into the movie. I did pick up on a lot more smaller things throughout the movie. For instance, I picked up on how much Qui-Gon used force persuasion throughout the entire movie as well as some of the dialogue that had duel meaning in the film which in the past I just took as literal.



Some characters I ended up liking more mainly and some I began to like less. I dont know why but I’ve always felt bad for Watto. Yes, he’s a asshole parts dealer and yes, he owns slaves. But two moment stick out to me that makes me care for Watto. One is when he loses the bet to free Anakin Skywalker and the other is in Episode II when Anakin visits him later. When he says the line “…take him.” in that heart-breaking tone and looks down, I feel so bad for him. I’m sitting there like “LET HIM KEEP ANAKIN! HE HELPS HIM OUT SO MUCH AND THEN WE DONT NEED HAYDEN FOR THE NEXT TWO MOVIES!” When you can make an audience feel for a character, thats when you know you did good work on a character.



But one character I ended up not liking as much was in fact Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi just didn't seem like Obi-Wan. He had the name and he had the robes and blue lightsaber…but he just didn't seem like it. Ewan McGregor is a great actor and I enjoy his portrayal in the later movies but I just dont like it in Phantom. I think the line that sticks out to me is “Why master do I get the sense that we have picked up another pathetic life-form?”. I feel like Obi-Wan wouldn't see any life-form as pathetic. I feel like he would see all life as meaningful and would treat all with respect. And why would Obi-Wan feel that Anakin is pathetic? He is far from pathetic. The only thing pathetic about Anakin is Hayden Christensen's portrayal of him…but thats another time. Queen Amadala/Padme also sticks out to me in this movie. I know Padme more for “Ani…you’re breaking my heart” and the rest of the sappy shit she says in Episode II - III. But for me its weird to see her and this deep voice, strong demanding queen. Even her as a politician in the next movie isn’t deep voice and commanding. Its just odd to me.



Overall, I will say the Phantom Menace is not bad…in fact it’s actually pretty good. I dont feel like it’s out of place anymore. The movie’s age is helping it become better due to the fact that it’s now earning nostalgia points but also hurting it because some of the blue screen effects and CGI are beginning to become dated. The new changes for this movie actually help it. The only noticeable change is the new CGI Yoda. He looks and feels so much better. The only thing I will nitpick at with the new Yoda is sometime the lip movement looks a little off. But everything looked off with the puppet so its fine. I think people should give it a watch and keep an eye open for my next review when I look at the worst of the saga, Attack of the Clones.