Last night myself, Lindsay & Megan went to the cinema to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and I loved it.
Look I know it gets a lot of hated but it has always had, and always will, held a special place for me.
First up, it was the very first “new” Star Wars I ever saw in the cinema, ok I saw the Special Editions when they were released, but they don’t count cause they weren’t “new”.
And sitting in the cinema in Ipswich with my friends all cosplaying characters, the moment the fanfare hits, was a special moment, and it was so exciting, we waited months, counting down the days, consuming as much as the early Internet reported about it, and frankly we weren’t disappointed.
I know it’s not the strongest of the movies, but if you see it for what it is, a kids film, a film made for kids to enjoy then it’s far better and more enjoyable.
It just feels like everything about it worked for me, the soundtrack is beyond epic, literally one of my favourite movie soundtracks of all time, the slow transformation of Anakins theme into the slow tease of the Imperial March, and of course Dual of the Fates, just hits hard!
The special effects might have the odd bit of roughness these days, just in one or two areas where stuff is composited, but they still hold up, the CGI is of a very high standard and the brilliance of the physical effects works so well.
The costumes are all amazing, Queen Amidala’s outfits are so extra, so extravagant and over the top, they just make her character feel so regal. Also a fun game is trying to guess when she is Kiera Knightly playing Sabé pretending to be her, and when it’s Natalie Portman. Also in the comics, Sabé has an interesting story after the Revenge of the Sith.
My favourite part though is how the lightsaber fights were improved upon, in the original trilogy, they were kind of static and a bit stiff, but since The Phantom Menace they have been elevated into real feats of athleticism with jumps and intense fighting.
Look I know it’s not a popular film in the series, but I will always enjoy watching it, and 25 years has not made it less special, if anything it’s made it more special, because I will always have a massive grin on my face when Darth Maul activates his dual bladed lightsabers.
Plus let’s not forget, the prequel era has given us some of Star Wars best media, The Clone Wars, Rebels and The Bad Batch are some of the best stuff ever made for the franchise.
Anyway, don’t at me, cause I am not gonna change my mind on this one!
