For my first movie review, I'd like to share with you guys my thoughts on Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.
Let me first start off by saying, my views of this movie go against popular opinion. I actually found myself siding with the lesser bit of people that DO like Episode I. Honestly, I enjoyed it quite a bit, probably more than I expected to. I went into the movie knowing of all of it's 'flaws" and bad reviews. I was going to take it with a grain of salt, so to speak but I had my mind set on not hating it. I'm not sure why, I just did not want to hate it for some reason. Thankfully, I did not. I did not grow up watching the original series a lot (in fact, none at all as a kid). So I didn't have the original storylines so stuck in my head that it was hard to look at this film objectively.
The beginning was at times, slow and confusing. It took me some time to really understand what was going on. That's honestly the biggest flaw I find in the film. The film is considered "boring" to most because the vast majority of it is Trade negotiations and Senate meetings. Honestly, I enjoyed that the film was less about the action of the original series and more about the buildup. After all, that IS what a prequel is all about True, those meetings could have been more entertaining and less confusing, though. Lucas chose to show democracy in the Star Wars universe and how politicians can be manipulative. I felt it was a good decision. Also, this showed fans of the original series Palpatine's slow rise to power, which was essential.
Now lets talk dialogue. Personally, I didn't find the lines so bad. It was the performance of such dialogue that bothered me. Almost every character gave very uninterested performances and spoke almost monotone like. I feel that the movie would have been so much better if the actors and actresses put forth a little more effort in their deliveries. Aside from the rest, Senator Palpatine is probably the strongest character in the film.
The use (or overuse) of CGI is often criticized in almost every review of the movie. Most say it has become outdated as time passes by, and that there's just too much of it. In most of the film, the CGI looks great (to me at least). There are a few instances where I noticed some not so visually pleasing effects but they weren't overly noticeable to me. Plus, if you are watching a movie about robots and other otherworldly creatures in outer space, you shouldn't expect too much. Especially not when it came out in '99.
Young Anakin was not only great to me, but adorable. Most people hate the casting of Jake Lloyd. I personally loved it. The kid was adorable and to me, he perfectly summed up what a younger version of Anakin should be. Similar to Luke in a New Hope, Anakin in Phantom Menace is just a kid living on Tatooine. Yes, he's whiny at times, just like Luke was. This is to show just how alike they really are. The prequels were supposed to show the evolution of Anakin. What better way to do that than showing an adorable, yet genius little kid who can design his own Pod Racer and C-3PO, learn he is the "chosen one" and will one day be a badass Jedi? He was a little bratty and they didn't really explain how he is so smart (other than the Jedi thing), but who cares! He was great to me. Phantom Menace didn't show Anakin as evil at all, in fact, it showed him as caring and selfless. I thought it was smart to do that as it allows the fans to fall in love with such an innocent and sweet little boy and feel some grief knowing that he will one day be the most powerful Sith lord in the galaxy.
Now to address the elephant in the room, or better phrased, the "Gungan " in the room. Jar-Jar Binks gets the most hate In the Star Wars universe (and this movie). He is immature, slightly annoying, and otherwise, not really important in this movie. However, I don't find him to be all that bad. Yes he is all of those things i just stated, but I find him to be humorous in an otherwise, dull movie. He provides the MUCH NEEDED comic relief. His voice was less "annoying" to me as it was hard to understand at times. If he had spoken a little more clearly, I would have probably liked him a little more though.
I didn't notice the ethnical stereotypes that much so I guess I don't have much to say about those, other than the fact that people probably only noticed those because they were trying to.
Does Phantom Menace have flaws, absolutely. Does it deserve the hate it gets? I really dont think so. I like to enjoy movies for what they are, not what I wish they were. I went into this movie as it's own thing and tried not to compare it to the original films so much. I honestly feel I enjoyed it because of that. There's a phrase thrown around the internet called "phantom menacing". Basically, it's what critics call it when someone says they love a "bad" movie, but eventually admit that it's bad. I honestly do not think I will ever dislike this movie. I genuinely enjoyed it.
I give it 4/5 Stars.