Phantom Menace retrospective

Rating: 6/10 (28 November 2017)

Star Wars Episode 1: A Phantom Menace, is almost universally considered to be the worst Star Wars movie. Many even recommend skipping it. Personally, I loved it the first time I saw it. Then I grew up a little, read that I wasn't supposed to like it, and decided that I hated it on my second viewing. I recently watched it a third time, and decided it's far too simplistic to just declare it a 'bad movie.' It deserves a deeper analysis.
First thing to get out of the way is that this movie, as part of a 6 movie series and a vast universe, both tells it's own story, and also develops the story of the Star Wars series. It's role in the overarching series plot is to a) show us the characters of Anakin and Obi Wan, and b) show the first steps towards the rise of the Empire, and the downfall of the republic. I argue that the movie actually succeeds in this goal, and also gets some other things right.
First, it expands the Star Wars Universe magnificently. It gives us a great illustration of what the Universe was like in the days of the Galactic Republic, with the Jedi Order at it's prime. It shows us the Senate and the politics of the Republic and the structure and function of the Jedi Order. It shows us several different planets and introduces us to several key characters.
The main two characters are actually quite complex and developed. Qui Gon is a jedi who does what he thinks is right rather than obeying. He is far more attached the force itself rather than just obedient to the Jedi Code. Obi Wan, despite being his pupil, is almost the opposite. He is strictly adherent to the code. This particular trait will cause a significant rift between him and Anakin in the next two films, so its a good bit of character development and foreshadowing. The backstory and foreshadowing of Anakin himself is interesting, and reasonably well done.
The movie also nails it in some other aspects. It is a visual delight. It has a very good sound track, and features arguable the best choreographed Jedi duel in the entire Star Wars series (although that fight really lacks the emotional resonance of the other duels.)
But, having gotten the good parts out of the way... It must be said that as a stand alone movie, the Phantom Menace isn't very good.
First, the plot... The plot is convoluted, uninteresting and seems to have low stakes. The entire reason for the whole ordeal is to get Palpatine to be a Chancellor, but that's probably lost on the average viewer, and it only makes sense within the context of the whole series. In the movie itself, a viewer will probably wonder why they should care, and quickly lose interest in the Trade Federation, who function as poor villains. Darth Maul is also a poor villain, as he has barely a single line in the whole movie.
Next, the side plots. A lot of time is dedicated to the Tatooine side plot. Although it introduced us to Anakin, it was undoubtedly ham fisted and boring. Anakin's relationship with Padme also could have been handled much better. As for the sub plot of Jar Jar's people... the less said about that, the better.
The movie is also really not sure what it wants to be. The political scheming and intrigue of the Senate is juxtaposed with the obtuse comedic relief of Jar Jar binks and his race, and that really detracts from building the complexity required for the political intrigue to work. In the end, the movie tries to be too much, and fails to be quite good at anything.
Further compounding these problems is the extremely clunky dialogue, the mediocre acting by most of the actors, and the noticeable shortcomings in directing and editing. The comedic relief in particular is extremely low quality, takes too much time, and at times it's honestly insulting.
Lastly, the space battles or blaster combat can't really save this movie, as both were quite poor, especially in contrast to the excellent jedi action.
Overall, while I think the movie has severe shortcomings that lead to it being below average as a stand alone movie, it nevertheless makes up for some of these shortcomings if we consider its role within the overall series arc.
6/10