What could have been

Rating: 5/10 (20 January 2020)

The Phantom Menace is the worst movie ever. Well... not really, but as a Star Wars fan it surely was a disappointment. After Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi my expectations were incredibly high. I could only imagine something similar to the original trilogy but with better special effects, costumes and plot. Afterall, George Lucas had over a decade to prepare for this movie.
While reading what the plot summary beforehand it mentions Anakin Skywalker's backstory, an invasion of Naboo, the padawan Obi-Wan (We know him!) and his Jedi master Qui-Gon, the deadly Darth Maul and an exciting Podrace on Tatooine (Luke Skywalker's home planet). Already after reading this plot summary we have multiple connections to the original trilogy including Obi-Wan, Tatooine and how Anakin became Darth Vader. Plus an invasion, a formidable opponent in Darth Maul and a Podrace. The possibilities for this film and endless and exciting. (Spoilers start after this paragraph)
First let's talk about what George Lucas did well, although it wasn't much there were certainly good parts of the movie. The first is Anakin's backstory, we learn he is from Tatooine and how he escaped slavery and was taken in by the Jedi's. It could have been overall more exciting but it set up the next movies perfectly to really learn about how he turned to the dark side, which is what everyone wants to know (Anakin did call a lightsaber a light sword so that was disappointing). The other part of the film that was done well was the Podrace. The race was entertaining from start to finish and with everything that was riding on it, it certainly made it exciting. That scene was my favorite of the film.
Another surprisingly solid part of the movie were the actors. In 2020, Liam Neeson and action movies go hand in hand but pre-2000 that wasn't the case. Movies he'd been doing before 1999 included Les Miserables (1998) and Schindler's List (1993) and seeing him in that role while knowing him as the action star he is today was very cool. Also seeing an actor like Samuel L. Jackson a nice surprise. Although he didn't have much screen time it is assumed he will have more screen time in films to come. Finally Natalie Portman was fantastic in the film. Although the script was tough and not very exciting she did a great job with what she had. Especially when we thought she was just a handmaiden but was actually the queen, that was a fun revelation. Overall, the actors were good but they weren't utilized as well as they could have been in the film.
Next onto the bad. The invasion of Naboo: boring. We go from identical looking stormtrooper in Episodes IV,V and VI to identical looking droids in Episode I. I'm not saying they needed more but c'mon, they drive around in rust colored ships and talk in monotone voices. I expected more. Next, the deadly Darth Maul. Wow that sounds exciting, he's got a cool name, he's deadly, could he be the next Darth Vader like villian with an appearance over Episodes I, II, III? The answer is no. Although the fight scenes between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Maul wasn't horrible, I was expecting more. How does does Darth Maul fend off two trained jedis, kill Qui-Gon but then get killed by a flipping padawan Obi-Wan? Only George Lucas know. The editing during the end of that scene was also atrocious. While Obi-Wan was hanging, he used the force to jump back up and grab Qui-Gon's lightsaber to kill Darth Maul and the whole time that was happening Darth Maul was just watching. He didn't react apart from a cheesy look on his face and then he was struck down.
Next the horrible costumes and borderline unbearable species. With 16 years between Episode VI and The Phantom Menace I was expecting cool, scary and good looking creatures but instead we got a super edited Jabba the Hutt, the Gungans and "intimidating" Neimoidians. The Gungans might be the most annoying species in the galaxy. Everytime Jar-Jar entered the screen I got threatened to turn the movie off. He was clumsy, couldn't talk but somehow his mistakes never ended up being too bad. The way he walked and his careless attitude bothered me but don't even get me started about his speech. As the Gungans would say "mesa no likey". Even their leader couldn't talk and he shook his mouth in a poorly edited way. Finally the fish like, blob like, noseless Trade Federation Neimoidians were supposed to be ruthless, scary and intimidating but that goal was far from achieved.
Finally the disappointing plot. This movie had the possibility to be fantastic and only continue to increase the Star Wars fame after the fantastic original trilogy but it simply did not happen. One key part they skipped over in the summary of the movie was the trade federation. I can understand wanting to include some things about the politics in the intergalactic world but this was just far too much. Most people and especially kids do not care so much for the tedious details about trade. They had endless possibilities to spin this movie into a fantastic one but got bogged down on focusing too much on the policies and politics relating to the trade federation.
Some people will tell you to skip Episodes I, II and III in the Star Wars series and they have justifiable reasons. Poor editing, directing, script, costumes and characters is a lot to simply look over and forget about while watching the movie. There is much that could have gone better whether it was a better script, different plot or different characters but after all it is a Star Wars movie. If you are a true Star Wars fan, Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a must see.