Am I the only one who DOESN'T hate The Phantom Menace?

Question

Bear with me here. I understand that fans who went in expecting the newer releases to be just as good  as the original trilogy came out disappointed. In fact, I agree that Episodes 2 and 3 suck (thanks to hayden christensen, a nice piece of eye candy that absolutely sucks at acting, and the continued appearance of the monstrosity known as Jar-Jar Binks). But I personally have things I enjoyed about Episode 1.

I read a lot of complaints about the child who plays Anakin on the internet, but I kind of like him. I think he does an alright job, and the pod-racing scene (in addition to being one of the coolest scenes) actually makes you want to find out more about him and root for him. I guess some people are let down that the best villain ever had such a mediocre, normal past. But I like it. The Anakin shows promise and (at least, in my opinion) is likable, so it's tragic knowing that he'll eventually turn to the dark side.

Darth Maul- yes, he has no character development. Then again, I don't think that he necessarily needs it. The real conflict in this movie is with the invasion of naboo and that struggle/war. Darth maul isn't supposed to be the central conflict, just, literally, a "phantom menace", since the sith are supposed to be extinct. I'm not disturbed that no one knows who he is, his motive, or whatever. I feel like that makes it more mysterious when he dies, and you don't know if he was the master or apprentice. I'm perfectly fine with him not talking and not having an explicitly stated backstory. Plus I'm kind of impressed with Ray Park's crazy gymnastic skills- I can't help but be impressed with the lightsaber duel.

So I'm not arguing that it is as good as the original trilogy. It's just, after watching some recent movies, I went back and watched this and was actually kind of enjoying it for what it is. At least I wasn't wincing and cringing like I do when I watch episodes 2 and 3.

Am I the only one? Because the internet really makes me feel like it.

? · Accepted Answer

The only reason I like (not love) the prequel trilogy is Ewan McGregor's portrayal of Obi-Wan, that's it. Episode 3 was the best of the prequel trilogy, episode 2 the worst and episode 1 was okay. I mean, there are a few very enjoyable scenes, like the pod race and Obi-Wan and Qui Gon vs Darth Maul (that being my personal favorite scene of the entire film), but I honestly prefer the original trilogy.

Still, at least episode 1 isn't awful like episode 2. And yes, the actor who plays Anakin really let us fans down.

mlauralkb · Answer

Well, the reason why I 'didn't like it' (aka: hate it) is because they used or better said, 'abused' of the special effects. It was way too much. I understand that there were better times and everything was better than when the empire came, but still, there's not one scene without special effects. That makes no sense when you watch Episode IV. You wonder why are they flying those terribly old ships and wearing those out of fashion clothes if they are in the 'future'??? Let's face it, Queen Amidala wears a different costume in each scene while Leia used 4 (top) during the entire trilogy...o.O?!
Plus, the space battles and the pod racing scenes make you wonder why Luke drives such an old and slow car...¿?
I understand that George Lucas tried to do what he wanted to do decades ago and couldn't, but to me it was way too much.
And I got a question for you that you might answer...
In Ep. III when Padme dies giving birth, she barely looks at her children before dying, right?
Then why Leia tells Luke about their real mother and the memories she had of her from when she was a child...?????!!!!! And she was talking about her 'real' mother, not her adoptive mother, so...O.O?!
Anyway, I still don't like the Phantom Menace because I think they abused of the special effects, plus Ja Jar sucked and Anakin's origins  (no father?, a spontaneous pregnancy by the force itself?) are no clear to me, or believeable. Sorry!

Hope it helps! ;)

? · Answer

Darth Maul gets 10 minutes on screen and Jar Jar Binks gets 3 hours.

enough said, the movie suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked A!

I un-apologetically HATE this POS so incredibly much, that it made me HATE with a f´n passion STAR WARS as a whole, one single movie ruined the whole saga for me.

I never watched Episodes II nor III, nor have I ever watch the original trilogy again since the day I saw this waste of film

Anonymous · Answer

I like The Phantom Menace, I just hate to admit that I do. I Darth Maul was a great villain who just didnt get enough screen time or back story. I thought it had too much of Anakin`s backstory actually.......most of Ani`s backstory was important but the fine detail and some whole sequences just weren`t and could have been cut. The first act spent too much time at the podrace. .....however, I liked the amount of time spent with Qui Gon Jinn and the insight provided on his influence on Obi-Wan. They spent much time explaining who Jar Jar was and why he was spending time with us but he was not really necessary at all. ..........and really, who didn`t enjoy the final lightsaber battle with Maul. Other than a few points that I didn`t like, I did like the film. Episode II was lame--even the inclusion of Christopher Lee as Dooku couldn`t save that one. I really like Epsiode III though.

Luke · Answer

Don't listen nor believe everything you read. The film itself i do like, why? Because its my opinion and just like me you have your opinion on it also. I Do complain about Natalie Portman's acting. and Jar jar binks, but that's it.  Everything in it is why i own it on DVD.

You know critics have bashed things for bad reasons. One critic hated one of my movies because it simply had too much tie-ins (Stuff that's on sale at your local market or toy store) But that's the only reasons Geez that's IT!!!

The film did what it needed to do to be a good part of the series. It wasn't an academy award winner, but it made my top 20 of good films as number 17, still its on the list :)

? · Answer

I think it was the best prequel film of those three

novisha · Answer

Nope...Love all of them for what they were!

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Am I the only one who DOESN'T hate The Phantom Menace?

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