The Phantom Menace 25 Years Later: A Star Wars Retrospective 

Can we all agree that Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best did not deserve the level of harassment that they received.

This was the first movie I ever saw in the cinema. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace will always have a special place in my heart.

I grew up on this film. I never found reason to hate it upon my rewatches through the years. Besides, pod racing is great. That alone was a labor of love.

I recall a lot of people being upset Anakin was some kid and not protoVader. But they seem to forget everything we knew Anakin Skywalker in the OT. In Episode 4, it is Obi Wan tells Luke his father was a great Jedi and a good friend, slain by Darth Vader, which is the motivation for Luke to finally leave Tatooine and begin his Jedi training. It is in Episode 6 where Obi Wan then explains how Anakin’s lust for power turned him into Vader, more machine now than man, which ultimately killed person/identity/principles that were once Anakin Skywalker. So it only makes sense we start the story with a seemingly innocent Anakin that way we can watch him grow into one of the greatest Jedi before being brought down into the mechanical shell that is Vader.

My first conscious memory is sleeping on my parents fold out couch and waking up randomly in the night to see Maul taking his stance and igniting his saber. I’ll never forget that

As a kid, if you asked my what my favorite Star Wars movie was, I would have said the Phantom Menace. As I grew up , that answer changed, but now I think it has come full circle again. It's a movie that I still find new details in every time I watch it.

Casual moviegoers: Can we just watch the movie? George Lucas: No, you can't just watch the movie. You won't enjoy it on as many levels as I do.

An incredible fact is that Darth Plagueis was alive during the events of the film. He overheard the conversation between Darth Sidious and Maul in Coruscant, and even for a brief moment considered asking Jabba to attack Padmé's Ship and capture the queen.

Phantom Menace is no longer hated, ESPECIALLY not hated as much as the sequels. Especially Episode IX.

The prequels were fire

Prequel respecter bros, not only are we so back, but it appears that we may only be more and more back as time goes on.

My uncle took me to watch this the 2nd week into its release. He became obsessed with Darth Maul's lightsaber while I became interested in the space battles. I kinda miss him sometimes.

I loved it from the start. Great analysis, especially regarding Anakin's character.

Rewatched all three of the prequels recently as part of my chronological rewatch from phantom menace to Ahsoka and I regret nothing…

I went with my brother to a re-release of this, mainly because he loves star wars, but I still had fun

I enjoy watching the prequels. I had no issue with the movies at all. I had no idea Ahmed Best was getting hate from his role as Jar Jar. I'm glad to hear Jake Lloyd is doing much better after all these years. Neither deserved the hate

No matter what many others say, I really liked The Phantom Menace from the start!

Finally a man of culture who appreciates episode 1

I remember watching episode I back when I was 7 and I’m pretty sure this sparked my love for Star Wars

I'm an OG Star Wars fan, saw Star Wars in the theater at 10 years old. And unlike a lot of my peers at the time of the prequels release, I absolutely loved it. I will say episode 2 and 3 or even better than I expected. Because I was one of those fans that never in a million years thought we would get episode 1 2 and 3 or 7,8,9. So when I heard we were getting the prequel story I was so excited and I didn't take it for granted when they got here. And I quickly realized that it was more of a political story, that truly set up the fall of the Republic. I think the only disappointment I had, wasn't really disappointment it was just understanding the new lore especially when it came to the Jedi. Because up until then we didn't know anything really about them other than what we had the red in the EU. Either way, I'm glad I was able to share my love of this franchise with my kids, and even though I may not agree with all of the content being put out, I can honestly say I don't hate any of it I like some of it less but again I never expected to get all of the content that we have today and in the future❤❤

George Lucas’s ability to time everything out so well with his work is something I will always respect. He truly knew what he had and was willing to wait for what he needed to tell his stories the way he wanted.

I left the movie theater in 1999 feeling disappointed but happy that Star Wars was back. 25 years later I love this movie.❤

OOM-9 is an underrated battle droid.

The planet settings were epic.

I really like this film, because I am not old enough to be disappointed of it.

25 years ago today? Dang that is crazy!

I was 14 when The Phantom Menace came out and I Loved it. It was my Generations time for Star Wars and I was down. I liked Star wars before as I watched the OG films as a kid so I was already there lol. I liked Jar Jar then and I still do now and all the other nitpicks I could care less cause I enjoyed it for what it was and not what I expected it to be.

Literally my comfort film. I watch it so often. In fact. Im gonna watch it tonight

Attack of the clones and the phantom menace have been my favorite films since before I can remember

I grew up watching the original trilogy in the 80s, and I also love the prequels. The Phantom Menace is a gem. My only criticism would be that we should have seen more of Maul and shortened the pod race.

Well, Im glad to see you officially join the defenders with HISHE Geets

I saw this movie in the theater when I was 8, I loved it then and I love it now

I grew up watching both the prequels and the original trilogy. And the prequels trilogy is just so unique, like a whole different era that stands out. That trilogy never deserved the hate it got, and that hate is unbelievable in every way.

This is my 3rd favorite movie in the entire series, only behind Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith

Spectacularly good video, man. Honestly changed my view of the movie tremendously.

I was 9 years old when I went to see this movie My mother called me out of school early for a doctor appointment and that's what I thought i was going But then we pulled into the theatre and saw Star wars episode one

This is not only my favorite Star Wars movie, but my favorite motion picture in the history of cinema. I saw it at 5am opening day at about two months shy of 13 years old, and it was a religious experience for me. I later watched the VHS so much that the film strip turned blue.

25 years, holy hell 😢….

Just watched the 25th anniversary in theaters and it looks wayyyy better than movies today! The Political sub plot in the background of who “The Phantom Menace” was also enjoyable as an adult. Def the most underrated Star Wars movie! It’s my favorite

The Phantom Menace up until A New Hope (and that includes the tv show Obi Wan Kenobi) shows Obi Wan going from a dedicated Jedi to the hermit who realized that the Jedi Order got played by Darth Sidious and were wiped out.

Your analysis is amazing. I’m a Star Wars fan who doesn’t recognize Disney Star Wars as cannon. I grew up with the Prequels and saw each release in the theaters. I’ve been revisiting the Dark Horse comics/EU and stumbling upon your channel has been an impeccable find. Cheers 🍻

You can thank the media for all the hate this film received. I loved it. Always have

I just rewatched the phantom meance. I thought it really good❤❤. I noticed a few issues here and there but they didn't weight down the film plus the strengths of this movie outweight them❤❤❤. Im not gonna go into detail on the things I loved about this movie or all the things this movie does well, but I will say if it wasn't for this movie or the prequels in general, I would not love star wars as much as I do. There was something about the story and the world of the prequels that caught my attention more than the originals did❤❤❤

This is a great analysis! I liked the character analyses and the comparison of the parade music with the Emperor's theme blew my mind.

Palpatines ability to launch this entire series, but repeatedly show up when the plot was established and someone (a jedi), needed an action scene.. it's just so good to see him back at it again, in the beginning.

I've only ever loved The Phantom Menace, more & more as I get older.

I saw The Phantom Menace in theaters more than any other - 11 times, to be exact. Was at least part of it because it ended up being perfectly timed for me? Perhaps, I was 11 when it came out, and before that, I had caught a screening of the Return of the Jedi Special Edition, so I was hyped for seeing an entirely new Star Wars movie. Now, there was a lot I enjoyed about the movie. Obviously, seeing Jedi in full action was and still is kickass. It felt cool to see Obi-Wan before he was the wise old mentor we knew him as in the OT, and seeing him learning all that he would share with Luke from quite possibly the coolest Jedi Master he could have had was awesome. There was also all of the "new" tech for Star Wars, which served pretty well at worldbuilding - yes, I enjoyed us getting more scenes for the pod race over the years. The one scene that blew me away in awe, though, is one I had gotten a lot of flak for. It was when Qui-Gon had Obi-Wan do a midichlorian count on Anakin's blood sample. When I first heard the request being made, I was caught off-guard, which was partly because I had started showing interest in biology, and I was already passingly familiar with the mitochondria. When it was immediately followed with Obi-Wan seeing the results and sharing them with Qui-Gon, I freaking lost it. I was all, "OH MY GOD! The Jedi actually studied the Force enough that they developed a way to measure if someone has the potential to become a Jedi!? *_AWESOME!!"_* Why was I like this? Because think about it: if you are an organization that has, as Obi-Wan put it in A New Hope, existed for over a thousand generations, and you have the tech you would expect Star Wars to have as you studied and practiced this mysterious seemingly supernatural power, you would have been freakin' stupid to have not spent some amount of time on figuring out what could be causing some people to have this power, and if there is a cause behind it, there has to be a way to try to measure it (or at the very least have been making attempts to measure it, whether or not those attempts failed). The fact that midichlorians existed meant that this power was not supernatural at all, which to me, made the Force more awesome. It is no different from the saying of "Truth is stranger than fiction" and all of its variants, and this detail made the Force even more awesome than it already was with all of the uses of it by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, when they were more trained and practiced with it than Luke is ever shown to be in the OT alongside Vader and Palpatine. And of course, there was the final battle of Naboo. With the Gungans, it demonstrated that there is even more kinds of technology in Star Wars than we could even imagine, and we had the revelation of midichlorians before that. And yes, the duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Maul will never be anything less than totally awesome, and Duel of the Fates proves that John Williams is quite possibly the grandmaster of movie music soundtracks (yes, even at 11, I was a huge fan of Williams' works, and I still am). Now, as for the characters, well, I already did Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, so I will move past them for here. As for Padme, I did not think much about her back then, neither positively nor negatively, but I was appreciative of her by Attack of the Clones. That made me reexamine her in TPM, and I came out of it liking her. I felt a slight chill running down my spine when she first called out Palpatine's name when the transmission was jammed, and I eagerly anticipated seeing more of him pre-Emperor. Sure, as a kid, most of the political stuff flew over my head (and I had since come to appreciate and understand it as I got older and started recognizing all of the painfully similar parallels to politics here on Earth), but watching him guide Padme through her direct appeal to the Senate, I felt an even greater chill down my spine as I thought, "Oh yeah, he is definitely the Emperor" (and you can imagine my surprise when I learned that it was the same actor - yeah, I had memorized all of the main actors' names from the OT by then, so you should have seen my face when I saw his name again in the credits). On the whole, every character was what I wanted. But wait, what about the controversial ones: Jar Jar and Anakin? Well, I cannot say that I was ever a fan of Jar Jar, but I also never truly hated him - disliked, sure, for a while, but never hated. I guess it because I had watched Forrest Gump several times before TPM, so Jar Jar felt kind of like a Star Wars version of that: someone regularly regarded as an idiot yet was there at key events and somehow had major impacts in a lot more of them than most thought. Was Forrest Gump fictional? Sure, but then you start learning of all the stories of real people who, by all rights, should not have been able to go through or do what they did (if you want examples, look up Lewis Millet, Jake McNeese, Willis Lee, and Sergeant Reckless), and suddenly, Jar Jar does not look so bad. Did it make his lines any better in the process? Absolutely not, but the point still stands. Even so, I, like many, was glad to hear less and less of Jar Jar over the course of the prequels, but again, I never truly hated him. As for Anakin, well, I never had any problem with him, and certainly not of his story starting with him as a kid. It served well as a reminder that evil, like good, can come from anyone. Seeing that he started as such a wide-eyed hopeful kid, the kind one would want to see grow up and being one of the greatest heroes ever - and really, that is what happens over the prequels - and that there were some people who, quite possibly, could only see the potential for evil (always going on about how he was too old and that all they could see of his future was clouded), it really emphasizes that Anakin's eventual turn into Vader was a real tragedy, one that was likely, if not undoubtedly, only made possible because the group he idolized could only see evil for him. The whole course of the prequels, as well as side stuff like the two different Clone Wars series, was Anakin basically trying to prove to the Council that they were wrong about him, that he could be the Jedi they wanted, even if he did not conform to their frankly unrealistic ideal, but that dogmatism set him up to be manipulated by Palpatine, who they also could not see coming from their position of comfort and arrogance. Really, even back then - though it took me years to properly contextualize it - Anakin's story is one of a classic hero, one commonly found in Greek mythology. He starts from the lowest and most humble of origins but has the capacity for future greatness, a painful moment in his life (in his case, having to separate from his mother, the only source of hope and home in his life up to that point) sends him onto that path to greatness, he goes through all sorts of trials that most would not be able to, proving over and over and over that he belongs where he is, and the whole time, he still has relatively simple - and in some respects, humble - desires, which consist of having what he never did: a full loving family with no specter of oppression hanging over it. Him being able to become a Jedi gave him a manifestation of that hope he had, and it makes how that gets exploited by Palpatine as he experiences ever more hardship in the later prequels even more tragic. Side note: I saw an edited clip of the scene from AOTC where Anakin saves his mother from the Tusken Raiders only for her to die in his arms, and the music was completely removed from the scene; the whole sequence felt even darker, with the lightsaber sounding even louder and heavier when he began his slaughter. Seriously, it was chilling to watch, and it really hammered home the point that, for all intents and purposes, the Jedi Order, through their arrogance, not only allowed but effectively pushed Anakin towards his fall. Now, do I think the movie was flawless? No, and some of the reason why were pointed out (Jar Jar's lines - and not as much Jar Jar himself - being one of them). However, what I think was the worst part of the movie was tied to what blew me away in the first place: the midichlorian info dump that Qui-Gon gave Anakin right before they left Coruscant. Even at 11, the info dump felt like the worst thing that could have been done. Before that point, the movie had what I said about midichlorians going for it. That detail sat perfectly in the background, explorable if desired but not truly needed, so to bring that forward and just dump pretty much everythinf big about it out felt awful. Granted, the fact it started by Anakin asking about it was not an issue for me, mostly because he was a kid, and kids his age are not exactly known for timing when they should ask questions, whatever they may be about (and I know this because _I was a kid_ and *_I asked questions with the same kind of timing as Anakin did there,_* so shut up, haters). Still, even at 11, I felt like they could have done that much better. So yeah, while I consider it to hardly be flawless, The Phantom Menace is a flawed masterpiece. And let's be honest, a masterpiece needs a flaw or two. Flawless might be fascinating to see in that very moment, but once it has passed, it becomes incredibly boring and even disturbing, just like how it was demonstrated that despite ads and apps saying otherwise, no one actually finds a perfectly symmetrical face to be attractive; if anything, such a face ends up falling squarely into the uncanny valley. I am glad that this movie, along with the other prequels, are getting the respect they deserve.

When I last rewatched Phantom Menace, when it was back in theaters last month, one of the biggest things I noticed was just how well Shmi's actress Pernilla August did. Her portrayal and nonverbal acting was right up there with Ewan and Liam's.

Wow, I’ve never seen someone voice my views on this movie so eloquently. Fantastic work. I think you’ve put into words what so many fans of this movie feel.

I wonder if star wars hadn't been sold and George hadn't made any sequel trilogy of his own, would the prequels have still been re-evqluated as they have irl. Imo probably, as the then young audience would have becime more vocal regardless, but idk.

honestly i loved them all... I know people dislikd them especially thee upgraded orginals, but it gave those who weren't alivee 2 see them on the big screen... Im refering 2 the 1rst 6

I like the nod with the "Heroes" quote from the Revenge of the Sith novelization, which is so insanely good.

You can blame all the old school star wars “fans” for the hate that the prequels and the actors got. I was indeed around at the time and 99% of it came from them.

I saw this in the theater this May 4th. Honestly it’s not as bad as I expected it to be.

I loved this video. I remember watching this movie for the first time in 1999. My brother bought a "pirate" copy. I think it did not have spanish subtitles so I could not understand it. I thought it was great though. I was only 13. Nevertheless, when I came to watch it with english subtitles, during 2000 summer, it made a lot of sense to me. I am from Chile so my mother language is Spanish, not English.

I LOVED it from the start and even saw it twice that day because I missed the beginning! I defended it for years and always will!

Episode 1 was always my favorite ❤️

*Dunanun dun duna dunadun*

Great analysis. Have really grown to appreciate the movie more over the years now that I've really looked at.

I went and watched it in theaters last Monday(matinee, so only me and 3 or 4 other people), and even though I can watch anytime @ home on Disney+, I somehow re-felt the excitement and magic of the first time I saw it 25 years ago, since I was able to enjoy and appreciate it with the knowledge and experience of the Star Wars universe I have now.

20:24 nice clone wars Qui gon art.

To be blunt, Original Trilogy tells us What(happens) and Prequel Trilogy tells us Why(happens). It is beginning that was needed, Empire couldnt just "be", it would make no sense, Darth Vader shouldnt be just "villain", he, too, needed beginning, and his starting as a hero, not a villain, was amazing.

The people that hated this movie fail to understand that is kids movie but it also holds a special meaning and you have touched on it

I never hated this film

I haven't seen the video yet, but I always love the Star Wars prequel trilogy films no matter what and I completely agree with you that the prequels were ahead of their time. In fact, I've been saying for a while now that the prequels were not only ahead of their time but that the prequels remain ahead of their time even today. I didn't hate the politics of the prequels as a kid, but I didn't understand it and therefore didn't care for it. Now that I'm much older and have more of an understanding of politics, I appreciate the politics a lot more. I love the fact that Star Wars has always been a story about two conflicts existing simultaneously, a political conflict between liberty (represented by an idealised version of the Republic) and tyranny (represented by the Empire) and a greater spiritual conflict between the Light Side of the Force (represented by the Jedi) and the Dark Side of the Force (represented by the Sith) with some overlap between the two conflicts. The prequels were warning us of increasingly totalitarian governments in the future here in the real world and the very real possibility of people accepting those increasingly totalitarian governments 'with thunderous applause' (in the words of Padme). Like I said, the prequels were ahead of their time. The prequels gave us a glimpse of OUR future.

I didn't really appreciate this movie until Disney got a hold of the franchise. It forced me to take another look at not just The Phantom Menace but the prequels as well. While I do still have issues with some things, they are ultimately small matters against the overarching story. And I had no idea there was such an issue with Anakin starting out as a kid. I always thought it made sense to start there.

Here is another legendary 25th anniversary that’s going to happen this autumn the BBC’s walking with dinosaurs a.k.a. my favourite TV show ever because this documentary got me interested in dinosaurs because it was years later when I found out what Jurassic Park(which is in the tiebreaker between a new hope as my favourite movie) was

Took my nephews to go see the release in 4K recently we loved it!

What a great explanation. You truly have done a great job here. I love the Star Wars story and each time I watch the films, I like them even more and I like them equally. If I need a Star Wars fix, this is the order I watch them in, which was recommended to me : 4,5,1,2,3,6 . I really like this order. You find out that Vader is Luke's father, then watch how Anakin becomes Vader, and you end on a high with Return of the Jedi.

they had me sold at the duel of fates. that single track has been instrumental ( get it?) in conveying context in the star wars series ever since.

Me Yesterday: Okay, Geetsly should be getting a long form video out tommorow. Regardless of what it is, I'm going to leave a comment asking if we're not getting videos on Tuesdays and Fridays anymore because the last two weeks after the Bad Batch ended we got none. Nothing is going to distract me from that. Me the next day: Oh dear Arceus it's an epic and great review on Episode 1. I am completely distratced and focused on this and giving my two cents now with my comment. Well played, Geetsly. In all seriousness, well I was kind of being serious about wanting to ask if the schedual of video uplaods has changed, this is a great video and you really captured the best parts of Episode 1, both stuff I already thought of and even new stuff I didn't think of until this great review. I grew up with the Prequils, kind of. You see I first got into Sstar Wars as a little kid watching the VHS's of Episodes 1, 4, 5, and 6 that my parents had. Then I watched Episode 2 in theaters with my mom when it first came out(maybe not first like maybe a few weeks after, but that's just be needlessly trival) it was the only Star Wars movie I watched in theaters because I'm not a big movie theater fan their too loud for me, and then I eventually got Episode 3 on DVD to finish watching the saga. As a little kid I loved all 6 movies, espically the Prequils. As I grew older through I began to notice the flaws in the Prequils a lot more. However, despite that I still greatly enjoy Episode 1 and especially Episode 3. My relationship with Episode 2 is a bit more complicated, but this isn't about Episode 2 right now it's about Episode 1. And like I said I agree with and thought the same about a lot of points like how the Jedi were still aw inspiring heroes and one of the things the Republic had going for it despite it's flaws, and showing the slow errision of the Republic via how much power the Trade Federation has. Both good strong points of the movie, ones I myself noticed in later years, espically thanks to The Clone Wars as the heroics of the Jedi and the corruption and failings of the Republic became more obivous in that series. I also like what you talked about at 35:59-36:06. There is a great disconnet from the members of the Jedi Order and many of it's leaders on the Council. The Council for all their attempts to good, ultimatley was bogged down in too much procedure, just like the Senate, and thus they limit how much good the true Jedi heroes can do in the galaxy. We've seen multiple times in Prequil material, not just the movies, that there are many great Jedi who are kind and caring heroes in The Clone Wars, in the Stark Hyper Space wars, and so on. Even some memebrs of the Coucil are great heroes who do a lot of good like Plo Koon. Ultimatley, it wasn't the Jedi themselves that failed the Jedi Order, it was the Order or rather some of the Jedi Council who failed all these great Jedi heroes and led them to their unfortunate dimisses. Lastly, there was one new view point I got from you're video that I never thought of before. It was you're ending statement. Despite still liking Episode 1 even after all these years, I was one of the ones who agreed that the movie was to disjointed and all over the places at times, not focusing on one thing. However, it seems that just like the characters in the movie, I too was distracted by all this and missed the point that you so elegantly pointed out. The entire point of the events of the movie is meant to distract everyone with other things so none of them, characters or fans, notice the true point and message of it all, that beign Palpatine's subtle rise to power. Like I mentioned earlier in the comment I noticed this stuff during the Clone Wars because of how much more obvious it is, seeing Palaptine's rise to power from their and how everyone was too distracted by the clone Wars to noitce, but I ironically didn't notice it in Episode 1 until now because I too was distracted, until you shed light on the truth, Geetsly, just like a Jedi. Well done. :)

Folks hated the politics in the Phantom Menace, but the political intrigue going on, was central to the plot. As it was taking place in the twilight of the Republic. A republic doesnt just become an empire over night. The Roman Republic was seeing its sunset over the course of a couple hundred years up until the death of ceasar and the civil wars of Sulla, Ceasar, and the Triumvirate. Another guy here on youtube has an almost hour long video called "How Liberty Dies", that goes into great detail about the fall of the republic. The sheer fact that the _trade federation_ has representation in the senate, shows how corrupt it already got. But before the internet and a general increase in media literacy, folks just thought that was stupid

Great video!

I liked this movie upon release. I still wish George hadn't bowed to pressure, however, and ended the Darth Jar Jar storyline.

I love this movie so much, and it forever holds a special place in my heart as being among my first exposures to Star Wars as a whole; I believe it may have even been the first one I saw in theaters, but I was very young at the time. Definitely a sorely misunderstood masterpiece that, after watching this, you realize the hidden brilliance of the narrative that was sadly overshadowed by such hate. It's no doubt in my personal top 3 or 5 Star Wars films, actually second only to Return of the Jedi I'd say. So glad 25 years later, it's getting the love and respect it so desperately needed and deserved, as with the entire Prequel Trilogy.

Always have and always will love TPM.... If for no other reason... There's only one you need... Qui Gon Jinn 💙

I was 6 years old when I saw this movie My first ever Star Wars film Is a beautiful masterpiece It’s up there with the best in the franchise I remember collecting the Tazos in Doritos and walkers crisps 😀 An amazing time to be alive 😊

Thanks for this video! I loved Ep1 as a child, then bad voices got loud and declared its fans idiots. Now that I am older and more grounded in my opinion I am highly pleased to see that others defend it as well. The prequels are quite entertaining to watch and have more to them than lightsaber battles or CGI aliens, although I love those elements.

Amazing video

The entire Republic politics section hits the nail on the head

I've always loved the prequels they've ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVS of the space opera. BUT NOW everyone else can appreciate them LOL !!! ITS A FAIRYTALE it was NEVER meant to be anything but.....

I never realised the end music in TPM was a sped up version of the Emperors theme. And I always enjoyed TPM. It was better than second prequel.

I don’t know episode one has always been my favorite since it came out. I saw it in theaters and most people I talked with liked it. When episodes two and three came out, people started talking more about episode. One was their least favorite, but everyone loved the double sided light saber Darth Maul QuiGon, and most people I talk to was just goofy not bad. I’m glad people are coming around to seeing it as a good film!

All of the prequels are definitely over-hated historically. There are problems with them that you can point out, but many of the criticisms they have received over the years have been pretty unprompted and unfair. For example, saying that the introduction of midichlorians “ruined the force” just seems like a silly accusation, and some of the awkward lines such as the famous “I don’t like sand” really do make sense in the context of the story, awkward as they may be. I understand those who say they were disappointed by them, as they certainly have a different feel than the originals, but to say they are among the “worst movies ever” is just asinine. They delivered greatly on many fronts, especially in terms of world-building, and they ended up creating what I find to be the most interesting era of Star Wars. Again, there are plenty of valid writing criticisms you can levy against them, but to act as though they are bottom-tier movies or somehow ruined the saga is just not true. The one good thing about this new era of horrible movies such as the Star Wars sequels or pretty much any new Marvel movies is that it has shown people what real bottom-tier, downright incoherent movies look like lol.

I went to see this the first night it came out here in NY. I remember extreme excitement, it was the first project done since the trilogy, and folks was really happy. I remember a hand few of folks did t like but majority loved it. It wasn’t until the third or a little after did the hate on every Star Wars project start and only has gotten worst. I know you guys are trying to rewrite history but it’s a little to early, you still have folks who was alive back then 😂

The politics in Episode I become more and more interesting to me as I grow order. Sure, it's boring, dull and confusing to kids but yeah, once you hit 30+, it becomes way more fascinating how the entire plot unfolds behind the scenes.

A movie that is underappreciated a lot of the time. I remember buying & reading the novelization of Episode I and how much it impacted how I saw the film well after I saw it, something I still feel today. It's sad that people still consider this one of the worst films when I like to point out that if it weren't for Phantom Menace we wouldn't have had the content we have now-good or bad. And it is all thanks to this movie reviving the franchise which was beginning to stall out. Looking back on it now after seeing it in middle school and taking into account current events makes this film hit a lot differently than it did then.

My fave SW movie.

Honestly, I think the best way to watch Star Wars is IV, V, I, II, III, VI. You get the full impact of Darth Vader's twist, followed by Anakin's backstory and downfall, and ending off with how he redeemed himself.

16:10 Padme clearly using the force to aim

Man I love the prequels. I wish I wasn't so hard on them when I was 20 years old..... Sorry George.... ❤

The dialog was weak in spots (it has never been Lucas’ strength) but the story was powerful and ahead of its time. The film was hated in 1999 for three reasons: 1. People wanted the same feelings they got from watch Episodes 4-6. That was never going to happen. In 1977, NO ONE made films like Star Wars. In 1999, EVERYONE was making films like that. 2. People wanted their monsters born…not made. The idea that Darth Vader started out as this very likeable, very kind kid? Made a lot of people REALLY uncomfortable, and it got angry pushback. Hit too close to home (literally) for some. 3. We had just won The Cold War a few years earlier, and Sept. 11th hadn’t happened yet. ALOT of people resented the mirror Lucas held up to our own society. They knew that we were the corrupt and dying Republic…and the hated him for telling us an uncomfortable truth Twenty-five years later you’d have to be blind and deaf to not see that Lucas had been right all along. Our government is as broken as the Galactic Senate. Only the dark influence is corporate money. Not a Sith Lord.

Without this film, Star Wars today wouldn’t even exist!

I thought it was good then and still do now. Might watch it with my kids this weekend

Awesome overview

Watched this in the theater for the first time and I don’t rewatch this movie as much but seeing it on the big screen I actually really enjoyed it. I thought the pacing for the most part was good and I had a ton of fun. It certainly isn’t a great film but it’s fun and I think that’s all you can really ask for in a film

I feel for Jake and Ahmed. That was rough.

Growing up episode 1 was my favorite, and still is. Though as a kid I just liked podracers and cool alien designs. As an adult, the subtle political maneuvering and grey uncertainty humming under the surface really sells it.

you know, Phantom Menace is unironically my second favorite Star Wars film. It will never beat Return of the Jedi, nothing will, but I just have so much fun watching it that I can't in good faith put it below the objectively better movies in the saga

I understand it wasn’t the ‘best’ in terms of filmmaking - that i think goes to Empire. But it has, since my first watching of it, been my favourite. I love the politicking and the droids and especially Maul. I think it’s made Naboo my favourite planet in all of Star Wars, it’s so earth like and yet also has amphibious aliens (Gungans) some absolute giant monsters (that are thankfully a small part of the film rather than anything major) and the beautiful N1, not to mention the fact that the most evil character in the originals comes from this beautiful paradise world is so interesting.