My Review of Star Wars: Episode 1– The Phantom Menace · 9:22am Jul 19th, 2020
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; might not watch it again but still happy I watched it for the first time
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
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Before I even begin this review, let me share something with you guys. When it came to Star Wars, I just have a loose relationship with it; however, there was a time when I used to really like Star Wars when I was a kid. In fact, I used to have a blue lightsaber toy, and roleplayed as a Jedi Knight with two of my best friends all the way back in middle school. Furthermore, a few scenes of the prequel trilogy of this saga were my very first introductions to the entire franchise. I even watched the first season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). So yeah, I used to like Star Wars a lot. But... as the years went by... I grew bored of it and stopped liking Star Wars... for a very long time.
But now? I have a very loosely connection with it. After watching several SW films lately, I can clearly see the magic that draws people into these films. Now, as I review this first episode and the rest of them, I will not be reviewing them from a SW fan’s perspective since I’m not an actual fan but from my own “casual movie watcher” perspective. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get this started:
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Here is my review of Star Wars: Episode 1-The Phantom Menace. This movie was... okay? Average? Mediocre? Any one of the three. While I did find Anakin Skywalker’s origin and how he met the Jedi especially Obi-Wan Kenobi very fascinating, the way that the movie told the story was not exactly how I expected to unfold. I mean, the issues I have with the film are coupled by my view of how it is rather dull, boring, and rather mediocre. Before I go any further, let’s list some things that didn’t really sit well with me.
1). Anakin is so young in this film. What’s even worse is the fact that he even meets a young lady named Padme. Yes, the very girl whom he falls for in the next two prequels. Hold up for one moment... you mean to tell me that this boy is incredibly younger than she is? So she basically married someone who should very well be suited to be her younger brother? Look at her! She’s clearly older than him! That’s just so wrong on so many levels! And I’ll be honest with you guys, I found it extremely weird that he grows up so fast in this trilogy while she remains to be the same age and size apparently. Lol what is up with that?
2). Jar-Jar Binks is honestly the most annoying and stupid character of the whole film. I really couldn’t stand his nonsensical language, ridiculous behavior, and his overall irritating voice. Seriously, who the hell thought anyone would find this character “so hilarious” or "so funny!!”? At least HISHE did the honors of killing him off in their SW parody videos. That was so satisfying.
3). Darth Maul is barely in this movie. He had about four minutes of screen time in total and only fought the Jedi twice in the entire film. He barely had any lines of dialogue, and was not given any sort of personality or character for me to like him. I don’t understand what made him a fan favorite and so likable amongst the fans. Plus, he only killed one person and that’s it. Sure, he has a menacing appearance, but that’s just about it. The fight scene between him and the Jedi was really cool, so I’ll give them that. Credit to whom credit is due. By the way, was this movie named after him? Is he the Phantom Menace? If so, how come the movie didn’t focus on him that much?
3). The CGI does look amazing. The fight choreography was splendid, the story was... average, and the soundtrack was quite impressive. Most of the other characters were okay, but some of the designs of the non-humans/alien creatures looked a little creepy and weird.
4). Liam Neeson was GREAT as Qui-Gon Jinn. He was awesome as Ra’s Al Ghul in Batman Begins and he was awesome here as well. He is such a great and phenomenal actor. Also, Ewan McGregor was really good as Obi-Wan Kenobi. I loved his personality and his utmost commitment in keeping the galaxy safe with the help and guidance of his mentor Jinn and helping Anakin Skywalker becoming a Jedi for the years to come. I do wish however that Obi-Wan and Anakin had more moments together in this movie to further establish their unbreakable and solid relationship that later became so iconic and memorable in the other series (Clone Wars [2003], The Clone Wars [2008], and so forth).
Yeah... this film is just average for me. It’s not awful or terrible, but it’s really not that great either. Thus, it gets a 5/10. Still love Liam Neeson in this. Maul and Batman are the only ones to destroy him, huh? Any thoughts on this prequel?
Peace.
Thankfully, Darth Maul got a much bigger role in the later seasons of The Clone Wars.
5314690
I’ll look more into that. I’ve seen some clips on YouTube that featured him in the show especially the one where he massacred a hallway of clones.
5314695
That happens towards the end of the final season.
5314697
That’s cool. You really like the show, huh?
5314698
When it focuses on character development and worldbuilding, yes. I especially like the storylines where Clone Troopers such as Rex, Cody, and Fives are the main characters.
5314702
Huh... that’s interesting.
5314702
I remember watchin that show a bunch years ago.
Don't get why didn't they continue the show honestly.
5314808
They actually released the 7th and final season a few months ago on Disney+
Was I one of the reasons you watched this? When i told you about this.
(BTW Darth Maul had more appearences in future media. Not gonna say anything, though).
5314812
Wait, they were airing new episodes on there this whole time?
5314820
No. They just started airing the final season shortly after the launch of Disney+
5314823
I forgot how many seasons they had on CN honestly.
I didn't know they had a 7th season on there now.
5314814
I watched it WAY before you said anything.
5314964
Just wanted input?
5315016
No, just to see if Stars Wars is as good as I remember.
5315026
Ah.