Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Release Date: May 19, 1999

Watch Date: June 2 – June 3, 2024

“Experience the heroic action and unforgettable adventures of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and see the first fateful steps in the journey of Anakin Skywalker. Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn discover nine-year-old Anakin, a young slave unusually strong in the Force. Anakin wins a thrilling Podrace – and with it his freedom as he leaves his home to be trained as a Jedi. The heroes return to Naboo, where Anakin and the Queen face massive invasion forces, while the two Jedi contend with the deadly foe Darth Maul. Only then do they realize the invasion is merely the first step in a sinister scheme by the reemergent forces of darkness known as the Sith.”

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   My husband loves Star Wars. Adores it. Can go on for hours. Knows little pieces of extra lore, behind the scenes stories, background on both characters and the actors and how the films were made.

   I have watched through the entire series once, never with him, and have seen none of the extra shows produced by Disney. I think when I was sixteen without any context I read a book about Han Solo. I know enough about Star Wars to get by in the modern culture, and that’s about it.

   So, since the kids all seem healthy, and our son seems interested, and Bob is on a sabbatical from work, we decided it is now time for “May the Force be with June.”

   Get it? I’m hilarious and very clever at naming this.

   Now, I’m hoping to start watching some of the series too, because he’s my husband, and I want to finally invest in his passion the way he’s invested in my love of the Tudors, and writing, and reading, and knitting, and cross stitching, and so far all I’ve been able to participate in really has been his video games. But we don’t review television series, we review movies, so that’s all you’re going to be seeing on here.

   We decided to start with ‘The Phantom Menace’ because I asked Bob what order we should do it in, release order or canonical, and he said release, and I said which order would I enjoy it most in and he said canonical so there you go.

   To be completely honest, I’ve heard a lot of bad things about this movie, and some of it is just people being mean to a child actor which is terrible, and some of it is people being mean about Jar Jar Binks, which is valid, so I was quite happy to get this one out of the way first instead of watching three films that there was a high chance I’d enjoy and then being brought down by the reality of the early 2000s CGI and Star Wars not being able to capture the original magic.

   So here are my thoughts, from a completely uneducated baby Star Wars…I don’t want to say fan? Associate?

   I feel bad that this kid was criticized so heavily when he’s up against amazing and highly experienced adult actors, and he has to spend a lot of his shots reacting to, let’s admit, probably nothing because of the amount of CGI in this film.

   They try to force to many comedic moments in this film, but then they try to be super serious, so it just seems a little bit jarring when it happens.

   Shmi is a bad name.

   Qui-Gon Jinn should maybe listen to people on the council that are smarter then him?

   Why use your fast running force powers only once and not to help while your Master is dying?

   Yaddle needs more screen time, and possibly her own spin off show.

   The characterizations of some alien species in this film could come off a little bit racist.

   Star Wars is about the fight over good and evil, but this film seems to be about a lot of trade negotiations. Which…is a little bit too realistic for the modern day world. Don’t remind me how easily manipulated good people are, and how genocide can happen from a distance because people want access to resources that others have.

   I know he’s Obi-Wan Kenobi but right now I only see him as Christopher Robin.

   Darth Maul has a large fan base, but he barely says two words, just kind of lurks around in a few scenes and meets his fate very quickly. I suppose he’s the first Sith of the new trilogy, but he’s not that intimidating. Also, Bob says he’s not even a Sith, because there can be only two? He’s like…an assassin. So he should just be Maul then right? I guess it doesn’t matter by the end of the movie but…**

   With all that said, let’s see how the rest of this month goes, and if I can’t be swayed to have a more favorable opinion by the end of it all.

**Bob has since informed me that Maul was actually a Sith Lord, Apprentice, thing. But that Palpatine took on Dooku assuming that Maul had died, and after reading my review he could not allow the incorrect information to stand lest people think he not understand Star Wars lore.**