Flawed, But With Plenty of Bright Spots

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2020)

Although Star Wars episodes 1-3 are often maligned and derided, they seem to be getting a bit of a reappraisal in recent years, especially in light of Disney's disjointed, unimaginative new trilogy. As someone who was never wild about "The Phantom Menace", I wasn't expecting much when I went back to re-watch it, and I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, there is a lot to like here.
For starters, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are both excellent. While Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are far from being my favorite actors, they do quite well with their respective characters very well. Darth Maul is also an interesting new villain, and the lightsaber duel at the end of the film is a highlight. The soundtrack is phenomenal, of course, and the effects, while not aging amazingly, were not as painful to look at as one might expect. There's a lot of action, and it's interesting to see the seeds of future conflict being sown by the plotline here.
On the flipside, Jar Jar is, well... you know. An unintelligible moron who distracts from the other characters and the plot rather than enhances them. Also, little Anakin doesn't quite seem like future Sith material. However, I feel that any blame for this character should not be laid at the feet of Jake Lloyd, as he wasn't written with any darker undertones. I also don't blame Ahmed Best for Jar Jar.
Despite some major failings, "The Phantom Menace" is actually refreshing coming off the convoluted, dysfunctional trio of films Disney has added to Skywalker Saga. It may have some problems, but it's still Star Wars.