Reasons Why 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' Was Good (And Why It Wasn't)

What Do You Think?

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 6 min read

There are many differing opinions on Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. Some people thought it was boring, but it also had a lot of high points, some exciting and epic moments. What about this movie was good? Why do people have an issue with it? What did this movie bring to the table for the Star Wars franchise as a whole?

What’s Good? The Lightsaber Duel. The ending fight between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul was epic. In the original trilogy you had old men, young, inexperienced Jedi, and older, half-machine men fighting each other. The choreography reflected that. The movements were slow and clunky. But at the end of this movie, you have the first sight of a double-bladed lightsaber in a Star Wars movie, you have the scenery as they travel through the bowels of the Naboo palace, and you have the fast-paced choreography of experienced and healthy Jedi and Sith fighting to the death. You have a duel of the fates as the planet of Naboo and the fate of Anakin Skywalker hangs in the balance. It is an epic ending to a movie that had its boring moments. It was worth the wait in my opinion.

What’s Not Good? Many Boring Moments. This theme starts off on the opening crawl with: "Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.” Taxation? Trade Routes? Sounds boring for a Star Wars movie. It really does its job in setting the tone for certain portions of the movie. Sure, it starts off with the two Jedi being tricked and ambushed. But right in the middle of the movie, on Coruscant, there is this sizable portion where they are in the Senate, and you get to witness them debating about what is happening on Naboo. This is a beef that many people have with this movie, the parts with talking, talking, and no action, and more talking.

What’s Good? Darth Maul. Darth Maul was so dynamic to the fanbase that the fanbase was the reason he was resurrected in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. When that door opens and you see a hooded figure that looks like the devil, all dressed in black, scowling menacingly, knowing that he was given instructions to “wipe them out, all of them”, it was intimidating and epic. Then he opens that double-bladed lightsaber for the first time on the big screen and begins flinging it around and the lightsaber duel begins with high speed. Especially knowing where Darth Maul’s story ends up heading, it adds another layer to the movie for Star Wars.

What’s Not Good? Jar Jar Binks. Aside from the funny “Darth Jar Jar” jokes, this character was a joke. Yes, it was intentional that he was stupid and clumsy. After all it was why he was banished from Gungan City. As if it couldn’t get worse, Boss Nass lets him back into the Gungan population and then made him a general? I’m beginning to think that this clumsy stupidity is just a Gungan thing? Either way there could have been a better way to save the Naboo then adding in Jar Jar. It’s best not to get started on the fact that Jar Jar was the reason why Palpatine was given emergency powers and the clone army was accepted by the Republic in Episode 2, so the empire is technically Jar Jar’s fault. I’m sure it was an accident at least.

What’s Good? Maul Vs. Obi-Wan. The main thing about this that was good for this movie is knowing where this story ends up going. At the end of that epic lightsaber duel, Maul kills Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan’s master, and then Obi-Wan cuts Maul in half and he goes down the deep hole. The hatred that Maul ends up having for Obi-Wan for what he did to him in this moment carries Maul many years into the future. This ordeal eventually leads to a final confrontation on Tatooine. Knowing in hindsight where that rivalry goes and the emotion it carries, adds more depth and another dimension to this rivalry that really began while Obi-Wan stares Maul down after Maul struck down Jinn.

What’s Good? The Sound Track. John Williams did an outstanding job when scoring this movie. He always does a good job, but the "Duel of the Fates" song is a classic for Star Wars. The Jedi are somewhat of a religious type of group and so Williams decided to go with the choir theme throughout the "Duel of the Fates." It was perfectly done and gave the effect that was desired. It was an epic track for the most epic duel in Star Wars up to that time.

What’s Good? The Beginnings of Palpatine’s Rise and Anakin’s Fall. We first see how Palpatine, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith, manipulated his own people and the Trade Federation so that he got the Chancellor ousted from his position. He then became Chancellor by the end of the movie. You begin to see how he plans to take over the galaxy "from the inside." You also see the beginning of Anakin’s fall but also his heart. He desires to set free all the oppressed slaves on Tatooine. He then offers the pod racer that he has been diligently working on so that Qui-Gon can get off Tatooine, expecting nothing in return. Yet underneath that compassionate, loving heart is fear. That fear is the first step to the Dark Side and his becoming Darth Vader.

This movie has its ups and downs but for the most part it is a good movie. There is more good in this movie than bad, but because of the high expectations set on the movie, expectations that were set up because of the heavy success of Star Wars up to that time, sealed its fate as a letdown. It still gave us many great moments, including showing us that the Sith have been in hiding for a millennia, growing more powerful, two by two. They seek revenge and we begin to see the fruit of that growing hatred as the Sith make themselves known to the Jedi and destroy the only father figure that Anakin had in his life. This event inevitably set his life on the course to become Darth Vader. This event is the main reason why Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is really a good movie.

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