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As I write this, we stand on the brink of the first Star Wars 3D release. It's a bold move from Lucasfilm to offer up The Phantom Menace first, but it makes sense when you consider that it's largely the most reviled film in the saga. It's almost as if they are saying, hey, if you don't pay to see the movie you hate, then you can't see the ones you love.
Except I'll be seeing it opening weekend, and I'll be damn excited about it. The Phantom Menace, in my opinion, gets a bad rap for being a "travesty," an "outrage," and, my personal favorite, "childhood rape." While I'm the first to admit that Anakin Skywalker is certainly annoying (but then, isn't his son, too?) and the movie suffers from some odd pacing and stilted acting, there's also a lot to love about it. A movie not living up to the most astronomical expectations known to man and actually being a travesty are hardly one and the same.
Surprise!
While I've heard that enjoying Episode I, or any of the prequels, is because of a generational gap, I don't think that's true. I may have been 15 when the movie came out in theaters, but, just like the rest of the people who had their childhoods beaten to death (allegedly), I enjoyed the original trilogy as a little kid and continue to enjoy it (changes and all) to this day. Similar to the recent outrage about DC Comics' decision to offer a prequel story to their graphic novel classic Watchmen, I don't understand the rationale that something existing separately tarnishes the impact or greatness of the original.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D
The Phantom Menace still holds a lot of positives that I think are consistently outweighed by the negativity of critics focused on trivial continuity issues or silly/melodramatic lines of dialog that are every bit as present in the original trilogy ("But why must you confront him?" anyone?). But first and foremost, before Episode I, there was no portrayal of a living, breathing Jedi Order on screen.
While the Expanded Universe (in comics, novels, and video games) was already massive in 1999, the most we had seen of the Jedi on screen came from Obi-Wan and Luke in the original trilogy, neither of whom was in their prime. The Phantom Menace offers a glimpse into how their world works, including the Master/Padawan relationship, the Jedi Counsel, the scope of their power, and, most notably, their skill with a lightsaber.
If people are ready and willing to pick apart Phantom Menace for its follies, why not point to the terrible choreography of the original trilogy too? And you can't say it's a lack of "technology," considering two things. One, the dogfight sequences in the original trilogy are still exciting to this day, and two, Hollywood had a long history of exciting sword fight choreography up to that point, none of which translates into the original trilogy.
While Empire's Luke vs. Vader fight is a classic in cinematic history, it is only so for its emotional impact; certainly not its role as an action sequence. At the same time, I realize the argument could be made that Episode I (and the other prequels) lack emotional resonance and instead is all eye candy. While I could agree with that argument in some instances for the later prequels (the droid factory sequence in Episode II, for example), Episode I is the only film of the prequels that works thematically and emotionally on its own merits, without a reliance on knowing what is to come in the other films.
The real success of Phantom Menace is not the story of Anakin, but the relationship of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan, their partnership, and the loss that sends Obi-Wan into a mentor role far before he is ready. It is this relationship that makes the final three-way lightsaber duel so epic (well, that and John Williams' "Duel of the Fates"), and leaves Phantom Menace with an impact all its own. The later prequels rely not only on the knowledge of what happened in Episode I, but on the events of the original trilogy and the sort of peripheral knowledge of Darth Vader's downfall. The Phantom Menace establishes the Star Wars Universe on a grander scale that the original trilogy was never able to do, due both to technological limitations and the story as it was being told.
Creepy puppet Yoda is an exception. He will never be welcome.
In addition, Episode I expands on one of, if not the central aspect of the Universe that had long been ignored up to that point cinematically: politics. Look, an evil Empire and an opposing Rebellion is really cool, but there needs to be a reason they are at odds aside from "because the Emperor is evil." Seemingly trivial things like the taxation of trade routes are indeed the seeds of war, and I love Phantom Menace for broadening the scope of the Star Wars Universe not just with Jedi and new creatures, but with a real, fault-ridden political system that is ultimately the cause of its own destruction. Palpatine's plan, as we come to learn, is actually pretty impressive: to use his power to manipulate the politicians into creating an Empire, essentially electing him as a dictator. However convoluted that plan becomes in later films, in Phantom Menace it's an interesting real-world twist on sci-fi politics.
It's also worth noting that Phantom Menace is, at least structurally, similar to A New Hope. It opens on a political mission, gets some unwitting passersby involved, gives a young kid a new outlook on life, results in a grand adventure and a battle or three, the mentor dies, and the rest of the cast is left to carry on. Whether or not you care about the characters beyond Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan is a different story, but thematically Phantom Menace operates on the same level as A New Hope does.
By now you're observing that I've avoided discussing the two big elephants in the room: midichlorians and Jar Jar Binks. Well, there's a reason. I'm fine with both of them. These are plot points that are less relevant to the thematic content that I think makes the movie so engaging. They are things that depend on your personal tastes.
Sebulba FTW!
I find Jar Jar far less annoying than C-3PO, and I think midichlorians serve the same purpose that politics do: they give an explanation to something that was only brushed over in the original films. Some could be fine with the Force just being "a living energy field," but I enjoy that there's a bit more to it than that. I do understand the critics of both, however, and it's something I expect no one will ever be able to agree on.
Whatever your thoughts on Phantom Menace, I urge you to try and put your personal feelings of "George Lucas somehow personally has it out for me" aside and give the movie a watch on its own merits, not in comparison to the films that came before it. It's a perfectly enjoyable action adventure that pulls its influence from A New Hope in a way none of the other prequels (or even Empire and Jedi) did.
Sure, it's got Jake "Pumpkinhead" Lloyd spouting drivel like "I'm a person and my name is Anakin," but it's also a vast exploration of a galaxy that we never thought we'd see again on screen, and has since given birth to even more, using the planets and races introduced in this film.
Oh, and one last thing, perhaps the ultimate nullifier: Darth f****ing Maul.
'Nuff said.
I'm sure there will be plenty of differing opinions, so please sound off in the Comments below! And just remember, the Internet doesn't have to be a wretched hive of scum and villainy; if you love the Phantom Menace, let your voice be heard.
http://movies.ign.com/articles/121/1218394p2.html