Hello everyone, I like most people have been on a Star Wars high for a while now, I live and bleed Star Wars. So I have decided that I shall review the Star Wars films in order, starting with the infamous Phantom Menace. I will be releasing a new review every week of the Star Wars films, just in time for The Force Awakens.
Right well let’s get started with the Phantom Menace, I personally don’t hate this film as much as most people, to me it is the second worst Star Wars films, now while I say I don’t hate it as much as most people doesn’t mean I really like the film, I will go so far to say that the film is decent. I was born in 1997 so I don’t remember the hype for this film but I had grew up watching the original trilogy so I love them, but I’m not here to talk about them. Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace, to me this film is a some what enjoyable film, there are parts that are quite entertaining and parts that make me want to tear my eyes out. The problem lies mostly with George Lucas, now while I pray at the altar of George Lucas I will also point out problems and George Lucas is not an actor’s director to him the actors are an necessity, he make his story in post with the editing and visual effect. The story of the Phantom Menace is not the problem of the film, what one of the many problems of the film is the acting for one everyone is bland and when you can make actors like Liam Neeson, Samuel Jackson and Ewan McGregor seem stiff and like they are not trying then you know something is wrong. Lets face it the acting in this film is terrible. A lot of what I am going to say in this review is going to be very cliche but it needs saying, the film is very very dense and by that I mean there is too much going on, take almost any one scene there is too much happening, George tried to fascinate us with the special effects and he did, the effects in these films are brilliant (while they may not hold up as well) they amazed us back in 1999. There was too much happening and yeh another cliche but the film looked too clean, now I get it we are in a high point of the Republic and the Jedi but it was too clean, there was nothing that made the film feel like it was lived in.
One of the problems with the film is again another cliche but we didn’t need to see Anakin as a 9 year old, we could have started the prequels from the beginning of Attack of the Clones but I will get to that in that review, I am not going to start blaming Jake Llyod, like most people he was just a child in these films, honestly I don’t blame any actor in these films, they had a bad director to work with, the sets where just above their heads and had nothing to work with, everything was added in post.
The film has some enjoyable parts in it, like the podracing scene I actually enjoy this scene but then we get a scene like are you an angel, so the film is very up and down. I like most people really like Darth Maul (and I am glad they brought him back in the canon) he was a silent character he very rarely spoke but he spoke through his actions, in the final fight in the film he uses the force to throw some debris at the door to open it while fighting, this was something that we hadn’t seen in a Star Wars film, I really like the fighting in this film, now while it does look like a dance, I feel like it works and this fight is one of the top 5 Star Wars Duels no thanks in small part to John William’s soundtrack, the soundtrack Duel of the Fates gives me an nerdgasm, that soundtrack is something special but his music is almost a character in the film.
I have been putting it off but everyone knows what or who I am going to be talking about next the infamous character who will forever be the but of the jokes, Jar Jar Binks, Jar Jar is the epitome of what is wrong with these films and that is that there was no one around George to tell him no, he surrounded himself with yes men, everyone was too scared to say no George that is terrible, unlike in the original trilogy people told him no George that is stupid but he had become the Emperor and no one said no. There is famous footage after George and the producers had sat to watch the first full cut of Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace and when the film finished the faces on the producers say everything, they knew how bad it was but couldn’t say anything.
I honestly feel like this film is not as bad as most people feel like it but I won’t sit here and defend it all day long, I am more on the side of I don’t like it, but when I do a marathon of them I will watch it, next we have Attack of the Clones, I am not looking forward to that (a little hint), so ultimately if I had to give this film a score out of 10 I would say 5 & 1/2 there are some redeeming moments of the film but it is surrounded by the rest of the crap, I will do a longer and more in depth if you want me to but for now, I will see you all next time, thanks.
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