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

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