We’re watching the Star Wars movies from the beginning (in chronological timeline order), starting with The Phantom Menace.
This is not a review. It’s just my thoughts after re-watching The Phantom Menace last night for the first time in at least 20 years. This isn’t meant to rain on anybody’s love for this movie – it’s an attempt to articulate my own feelings about it. Your mileage may most definitely vary.
When this movie was first released, I watched it in the theater. I remember I was blown away by the special effects, but disappointed with the story. Knowing that time can change one’s perception, I was curious if my original opinion would change upon seeing it again after all these years. It did, but not in a good way.
I really was hoping I’d have a much more positive reaction this time around. Yeah. Not so much.
I think the entire problem for me with The Phantom Menace can be summed up by saying that the movie couldn’t figure out whether it wanted to be a kid’s adventure or an adult drama, and it did neither of those things well. Considering it’s the first movie in the tragedy trilogy of Anakin Skywalker, I’d say the attempts at a “kid’s adventure” feeling were particularly egregious. Not to say that there shouldn’t have been humor. There absolutely should have been – just not the kind of humor that was actually in the movie.
Warning! Spoilers Below (if there can be such a thing as spoilers for a movie released in 1999).
What I Liked
Special Effects/Worldbuilding. The SFX were spectacular. The city on Naboo was amazing. In fact, this was even better than I remembered.
Padmé Amidala. I liked the young Queen of Naboo. She may have been the most adult thing about this movie. I liked her gravitas and I liked the empathy she showed. I wish she’d been given a larger role.
Obi-Wan Kenobi. I liked his relationship with his mentor; his emotion at Qui-Gon’s death seemed genuine. I also thought his hesitation about taking on Anakin was genuine – I’m not sure he actually liked the kid much at that point, to be honest – but he’d promised Qui-Gon and he wouldn’t go back on that.
Duel with Darth Maul. This still stands out to me as one of the best lightsaber duels ever.
What I Was Ambivalent About
Qui-Gon Jinn. I couldn’t get a handle on Qui-Gon, but Liam Neeson is always worth watching. At times he seemed warm and caring, and then other times – like the cold-blooded way he left Shmi Skywalker behind – he seemed not to be concerned with anyone or anything that “wasn’t his mission.” I think this was more a problem with the script than with the actor’s portrayal of the character.
What I Hated
The Plot. This movie is about (1) how Palpatine manipulated his way into becoming Chancellor of the Galactic Senate and (2) discovering Anakin Skywalker. Everything else is filler.
Using the convoluted setup of the Trade Federation/blockade as the means for (1) was a curious choice, and one that I don’t think worked in the movie’s favor. Trying to hide that Senator Palpatine was also Darth Sidious was just ridiculous; Lucas truly missed the mark if he thought he had another “twist” like Darth Vader being Luke’s father. Did anyone in the audience really not know Palpatine’s true identity?
Anakin Skywalker’s Backstory. Anakin and his mother are slaves, but they live in a nice house, seem to have plenty of food, and Anakin appears to be able to buy things to build his pod-racer and droid as he wants? It’s as if Lucas wants to show Anakin comes from what should be a horrible background (giving his anger an honest beginning) but he doesn’t show it as horrible – he just tells us it is horrible because they can’t leave. If you’re going to use slavery as a backstory, don’t sanitize it to make it more palatable for the audience.
This may be the reason Anakin just comes across as a bit of a “brat” to me rather than legitimately angry. I mean, the kid doesn’t show all that much concern over leaving his mother behind in slavery once he understands he’s going to become a Jedi and a pilot.
The Gungans and Jar Jar Binks. What a colossal mistake Lucas made with them! It was actually painful to watch Jar Jar’s antics. The idea of two races co-existing in a symbiotic relationship on Naboo – one of which lived in fabulous underwater cities – could have been genius. Instead, we were given the Gungans, played for (uncomfortable) comic relief (which, in all honesty, is a charitable description).
The Pod Race. Talk about using a plot device as an excuse to “do something cool with the SFX” and to pander to kids. This was the only way to get the parts to fix their spacecraft? Really??
Anakin Saves Naboo. Talk about pandering! Anakin pilots a fighter and “accidentally” blows up the Droid Command Center in space, saving Naboo, hurray! Yes, this is a cartoon.
Not Saving Shmi Skywalker. Why couldn’t they just take her with them, again? Oh, right, because “all slaves have an implant that kills them if they try to escape and no one can find it inside the body” – not even the mighty Jedi, apparently. Real reason? Because we need to set up Anakin being really angry about it at a later time (i.e. a future movie).
Palpatine and the Jedi. Are the Jedi so INCOMPETENT that they can’t sense Palpatine’s darkness? Or even that he’s just hiding a huge honkin’ secret??
The Jedi Council. I had honestly forgotten what arrogant assholes the Jedi Council members were. No explanations given for any decision. And of course there’s the fact that they were wrong about the Sith. While we’re at it – what real authority did they have, if Qui-Gon (and then Obi-Wan) could flat out take Anakin as an apprentice in open defiance of the council?
And don’t get me started on the whole “Chosen One” cliché. If you’re going to use it, then explain it. Bringing “balance to the Force” is meaningless – especially since the Council is positive the Sith – the Dark Side users – are gone. Unless it means something else, in which case – explain it. Argh!
Last, but not least, that brings us to…
Midi-chlorians. What was Lucas thinking?! The idea of the midi-chlorians and Anakin’s “virgin birth” came across as an attempt to retcon the Force from the original trilogy of movies as a cross between Christianity and Science – something that rang oh so very false.
Conclusion
This movie had so much potential, and squandered almost all of it. About the best thing I can say for it is that (1) the special effects still hold up well, and (2) it has information that explains things in later movies (and that alone makes it worth watching).
