Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is historically significant for many reasons: It was the first war of stars Film for almost 16 years, the last one war of stars shot on film and a polarizing, sensationalist entry in the famous space fantasy franchise. It premiered on May 19, 1999, almost 25 years ago to the day, and grossed over $1 billion at the box office despite mostly mediocre reviews.
His legacy is interesting: one of his characters, Jar-Jar Binks, was so loathed that the actor who portrayed him, Ahmed Best, took issue with what he told The Hollywood Reporter was “the first textbook case of cyberbullying.” Several racially insensitive aliens appearing in the film continue to shape the series to this day. The dialogue is weak and often incredibly annoying.
But the late lightsaber fight is legendary, the production and costume design are elaborate and beautiful and the infamous podrace scene is thrilling. It is a war of stars Film full of contradictions when my partner asked if I wanted to watch it The Phantom Menace I jumped at the chance at our local Alamo Drafthouse.
The Phantom Menace‘s flaws, 25 years later
I was nine years old at the time The Phantom Menace First released, and although I insisted on playing Natalie Portman’s Padme Amidala on Halloween this year, I never saw the film in the theater. At 34, I would see it on the big screen for the first time. As I settled into my chair, the opening lyrics, complete with John Williams’ iconic fanfare, played on the screen and I felt my stomach turn with excitement.
Just seconds into the opening scene, I cringe when I see the Nemodians and their questionable accents (which… was accused of racism against Asians), the first of many faces I’ll see during its two hour and eleven minute running time. I cringe when I see Jar-Jar Binks’ characterization, at his tone, which reads like a corruption and mockery of the Black Caribbean accent, at the delightfully unfunny punchlines of which he is the subject. I cringe when I see Watto and his anti-Semitic undertones.
I cringe at young Anakin Skywalker’s dynamic with Natalie Portman and wonder why Lucas didn’t just cast Hayden Christensen, since it would have been much easier to believe that an overly confident young drifter from a sandy garbage planet would get the attention could a queen if he had.
I cringe when I see Shmi Skywalker’s revelation that Anakin was conceived immaculate, or when I think of the pseudoscience of “midi-chlorians.” Or the CGI Yoda, which brings back memories of the original, terrifying Yoda puppet that Lucas replaced her with in later versions of the film.
I laugh uproariously at Podracer Sebulba being massaged by several alien women, muttering under my breath that he’s the only human fucking in this largely neutered film.
During the massive third-act battle between the Gungans and the Separatist droid army, I cringe at how much the bright green grass field and impossibly blue sky look like… Halo 1 Map. My partner tells me later that it’s because we saw the DCP (Digital Cinema Package) version of the film, which denoised the original’s graininess and toned down its warm color palette, making the 25-year-old CGI version even worse looks.
The fantastically good film
But despite all this, this is frightening and problematic The Phantom MenaceWhen I saw it in the theater, it gave me a new sense of respect for the film.
Firstly, if you can ignore the DCP quality and look at the actual composition and set design, The Phantom Menace is a beautiful film. The warm orbs of the Gungan city floating in the night-blue depths of an alien ocean, the towering marble columns of the Romanesque city of Naboo, the bisexual sunset on Coruscant – there’s a style and substance here that we don’t see in the sequel trilogy.
Seeing Scottish designer Trisha Biggar’s costumes for Padme Amidala (and her decoy) on a 26′ x 11′ screen was an almost spiritual experience. The massive plume of her feathered headdress during the evacuation of Naboo, the sunrise ombre of the Handmaids’ robes, the almost bioluminescence of her white and pink parade dress – watching them shimmer, flow and glow on the big screen took my breath away.
Secondly, when the film moves away from unfunny, childish humor and towards action sequences, it sings. The Podrace scene makes my heart skip a beat even though it is marked by the CGI quality even though I know it in every detail. The final battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul is extremely impressive Ewan McGregor’s head is a fake to the anxiety-inducing wait as he is separated from Ray Park’s mouth by a timed force field. Can I have some more, please.
And finally, it’s incredibly moving to see in retrospect The Phantom Menace I know exactly how tragic Anakin Skywalker is. Even though he’s so young (and can be very annoying thanks to Lucas’ inability to write clunky dialogue), his concern for his mother is devastating, especially when you know he’ll never see her alive again. There have been several times when my partner and I found ourselves staring sadly at each other after a sentence or clutching our knees when the foreboding felt like a punch in the gut. That poor boy and the Jedi who led him astray.
The story of Anakin Skywalker is somewhat distorted by the pacing and dialogue problems of its predecessors, but it is one of the most poignant tragedies in modern films. Seeing the beginnings of the film on the big screen was an incredible experience, and I felt far more respect for the obvious flaws dark threat than I expected.
Now The is podracing.
