RJ Writing Ink’s Twelve Reasons Why Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is Better Than People Think
The year was 1999-the verge of the new millennium. Bill Clinton was President and got off the hook for impeachment. The Internet was still finding its footing in society. Nickelodeon debuted its new cartoon, SpongeBob SquarePants. And in May of that year, for the first time in 16 years, a new Star Wars movie was debuting in theaters- Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The first of what was announced to be a new trilogy, The Phantom Menace was billed as the start of events that would show the fall of the Old Republic, the Jedi, and most importantly, how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. Fans and critics alike had high expectations for the film, and media attention was extensive. Surely, George Lucas was going to give us another timeless film! Right? …Right?
People had…mixed feelings after seeing the film. Some people weren’t as impressed with the film as they wanted to be. and believe me, there were a number of things that could’ve been done better. Some of the acting was wooden and stilted, the pacing could’ve been better, and George messed up on certain characters. However, a lot of those criticisms came from the adults who grew up idolizing the classic trilogy. What did the next generation think of it? Spoiler alert: a lot of us loved it, and now that we’re all grown up, we’ve made sure that this film isn’t as dunked upon as it once was.
I’m RJ Writing Ink, and for this year’s May the Fourth, and in honor of its 25th anniversary, I’m going over twelve reasons why The Phantom Menace didn’t suck! One for each Star Wars film in theaters. Rev up your pod-racers, ignite your lightsabers, and get ready for a trip down memory lane.
Star Wars Finally Showed us What the Old Republic and the Jedi Were Like. Make of that What you Will!
It’s hard to remember today, but before The Phantom Menace, Star Wars never dived into the era before the Empire and the Rebellion. The most fans got were mentions from characters about how great things were under the Old Republic. How the Jedi were these romantic, larger-than-life heroes! The Phantom Menace finally gave fans our first look into this venerated, unseen period of Star Wars.
It was a mixed bag. On the one hand, the Jedi proved to be just as cool in their prime as they were made out to be. Seeing how they were like in their final years was pretty amazing. However, we also saw their flaws firsthand. They scoffed at the idea the Sith could come back without them knowing. They saw Anakin’s attachment to his mother as a bad thing. Considering how they were taken from their families and raised by the Jedi, the idea of familial bonds didn’t make sense to them!
And the Old Republic itself? Bloated, corrupt, and slow to act against threats. The fact that the New Republic tried to emulate this only makes it all the more incredulous. Was Mon Mothma remembering the Old Republic right?
Regardless of their flaws, once this movie came out, the floodgates were opened. A new era, unspoiled and unexplored, was ready for storytellers to work on. But more on that later.
Introducing the Battle Droids! They’re Hilarious and Super Fun to Kill!
Since the film focused on the Jedi in their prime, they needed enemies to fight. But how could they show off their prowess without dismembering opponents in a gory fashion?
Enter the Battle Droids, the robotic mooks of the Trade Federation. Cheap, easy to make in large numbers, and usually not that bright, they were the perfect enemy for the heroes. The Jedi could go all out on them without worrying about pesky blood and gore, and Lucas wouldn’t have to worry about traumatizing people.
In the years since Episode I, the battle droids have become a mainstay of the franchise, and they’ve filled a variety of roles. Later versions of them have been both vicious and terrifying and absolutely hilarious. Look on YouTube and you’ll find plenty of compilation videos of battle droids being funny. It almost makes you feel bad seeing them get shot, blasted, and put through the ringer.
The Star-Studded Cast Had Both Series Veterans and Up-and-Coming Actors
Being that it was a prequel taking place decades before the classic films, most of the cast either hadn’t been born yet or was too young to play a role in the film. However, that didn’t stop a handful of cast members from reprising their roles. Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Frank Oz, and Kenny Baker all got to return to play their individual roles, much to the delight of fans. However, it was the newcomers that were the stars of the film.
Looking back on it now, it’s amazing how the film got so many up-and-comers. Many of them had had roles in other works before. Liam Neeson and Ewan MacGregor were already known for their roles in Schindler’s List and Trainspotting, respectively. But for many of them like Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Ahmed Best, and Jake Lloyd, this was the film that made them household names. Most of those actors have gone on to have successful careers in their own right.
The key word here is most. Others, like Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best, received a lot of undue hate for their roles. Jake quit acting in 2001 and has had issues with mental health that have lasted into his adulthood. Thankfully, his mom says that none of it has to do with the backlash he got from The Phantom Menace and that he still loves Star Wars.
Ahmed Best, on the other hand…
Jar Jar Was Peak Cringe Comedy and Ahmed Best Didn’t Deserve the Hate He Got!
Of all the new characters that Episode I introduced to the franchise, none proved more divisive than Jar Jar Binks, played by Ahmed Best. George Lucas created him to serve as comic relief for the younger audience (and many did like him.) For the adults, though, he was hated like few characters in fiction have ever been hated before or since. What should’ve been Best’s breakout role instead torpedoed his career overnight. It got so bad that Best even considered suicide.
Here’s the thing: none of how Jar Jar turned out was Ahmed’s fault. That’s on George Lucas. When Best auditioned for the role, he showed off his martial moves and did amazing backflips. Had Best gotten to do that, we could’ve had a Jar Jar that fought battle droids with his fists and whipped around his tongue like a weapon, which is way cooler. Instead, George wanted a comic relief character like Goofy, a decision that backfired on him.
Despite all the hate he got, Ahmed isn’t sorry for his role as Jar Jar. Recently, he even said that without Jar Jar, motion-captured characters that came after him wouldn’t exist; and he’s right. No Gollum, no Hulk, no Na’vi. And now that the kids who grew up laughing at Jar Jar are adults, people are seeing him in a better light. Jar Jar was funny as a source of cringe comedy. The good kind of cringe where you wonder why you’re enjoying it, but still want more anyway. You go, Ahmed. Own that cringe!
Because Qui-Gon Jinn Was the GOAT Jedi
Ask me who my favorite character is in The Phantom Menace, and there’s only answer I can give you: Qui-Gon Jinn. Played to perfection by Liam Neeson (who this film made me a fan of) Qui-Gon was the best of the Jedi. Powerful yet compassionate, firm yet laid back, Qui-Gon was considered a rebel by the other Jedi. Over the course of the film, we saw how Qui-Gon would repeatedly defy those in authority to do his own thing. This made the Jedi Council consider him a rebel and maverick, with even his own Padawan getting exasperated at times by how he acted. The irony is that by doing so, Qui-Gon was more of a Jedi than anyone else.
Qui-Gon wasn’t a rebel; he was just a man who didn’t care about the rules and red tape that hampered the Jedi and the Republic. Rather than follow the will of the Republic and the Council, he chose to follow the will of the Force, and more often than not, his decisions were vindicated. It wasn’t just about Anakin being the Chosen One, either.
Of all the Jedi in the franchise, Qui-Gon was the only one that Darth Sidious was afraid of. It wasn’t because he could take Sidious in a fight, though. Sidious was afraid of Qui-Gon because he was the only Jedi in the Prequels who was catching onto his plans. In addition, unlike Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon proved capable of getting Anakin to listen to him. Had he lived, he would’ve kept Anakin from succumbing to his worst traits, away from the Dark Side, and well out of Sidious’ reach. That was why Sidious needed him to go.
For both Anakin and a young me, Qui-Gon was the Jedi who lived up to his role. He was everything that Anakin thought the Jedi could be. And more importantly, he was the father figure Anakin needed in his life. Had he lived, Anakin never would’ve fallen to the Dark Side, and Sidious’ master plan never would’ve succeeded. That’s why he had to go: he was too cool for the Galaxy he lived in.
Darth Maul Was Scary!
Let’s cut to the chase: Darth Maul scared many of us as kids. And we had every reason to be scared of him. The yellow eyes, the horns on his head, and the black and red tattoos on his face, all of them made him look like a demon straight out of Hell. Add in the fact that he almost never talked, and he was nightmare-fuel incarnate.
I can’t lie: after seeing him kill Qui-Gon in the film’s climax, I was so scared that it took me years to rewatch that scene! That’s how scary Maul was.
Maul was one of the best things about The Phantom Menace, something evident by how he became a fan-favorite character. So much so that years later, the franchise brought him back from the dead to become a recurring enemy for the Jedi and his former Sith master. He’s one of the reasons why being evil can be seen as awesome!
Because Pod-Racing is the Coolest Thing Ever!
Even those who hated The Phantom Menace had to admit there were two parts that were awesome. The second of them will be covered later, but the first was pod-racing. The fusion of sci-fi, the chariot races of ancient times, and George Lucas’ love for hot rods, pod racing was pure adrenaline and awesomeness. And, to be honest, it was one of only two parts of the film that stayed in my memory after watching the movie.
As a kid, I was really into racing and dreamed of becoming a race car driver. So, when I first the pod racing in Episode I, my kid mind considered it to be the coolest thing I had ever seen. I would go so far as to imagine myself re-enacting while playing on the swing set. It was just that cool. Say what you want about The Phantom Menace, but the pod racing was awesome.
Palpatine’s Rise to Power Needs to Be Studied!
Ever wonder how dictators come to power? Fictional or not, the events of the Phantom Menace are a prime example of how they do so.
Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious, played almost everyone in this film like a fiddle. He manufactured the invasion and occupation of his own homeworld to make Chancellor Valorum look bad and run out of office. He manipulated Queen Amidala into calling for his ousting from power. And then, thanks to a wave of sympathy and a promise to clean up the corruption, he got elected into office. And as future generations can attest, that was the worst decision in the last century.
Palpatine’s rise to power needs to be studied by future generations as a textbook example of how dictators can come to power. They can take advantage of chaos and crisis, deceive everyone with promises to restore order, and then get everyone to act in a way that isn’t in their own interests. And by the time they realize it, they’re too late. To make matters worse, Palpatine ensured that no matter what the outcome was, he would still win. And he made sure the one person onto him was dead before the film was over, to boot.
The Music. The Music is Always Great in Star Wars
It doesn’t matter if you hate the characters. It doesn’t matter if you hate the plot or how stilted the lines are. One thing that almost every Star Wars fan can agree on is that the music is awesome. And we have John Williams to thank for that.
John Williams is a legend in the film and music industries and is the man responsible for giving Star Wars its amazing soundtrack. And when Star Wars returned to theaters for the first time in 16 years, he returned to give us some of his best work yet. Whatever shortfalls the plot of the film might have had, there’s no denying that this was some of John Williams’ best work. I would go so far as to say that his musical theme, “Duel of the Fates” is his magnum opus.
“Duel of the Fates” is one of the greatest pieces of music ever made. The orchestra used, the choir singing in Sanskrit, the sheer scope. Every time I hear Duel of the Fates, I get chills down my spine.
Speaking of which…
‘Duel of the Fates’ is THE Gold Standard for Lightsaber Duels
This is the other scene from The Phantom Menace that everyone can agree was amazing. As the film reaches its climax, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan engage in a duel to the death against the Sith Lord Darth Maul. And while the lightsaber duels in the original trilogy were good, The Phantom Menace took them up to eleven.
Everything about the Duel of the Fates is pure awesome. The musical accompaniment provides a grand scale. The swordsmanship by Liam Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, Ray Park, and whoever were their stunt doubles was captivating and fast-paced. No matter how many times I watch this scene, I still get chills down my spine.
Duel of the Fates is considered to be one of, if not the best, lightsaber duels in the entire franchise. It’s the gold standard to which I set all lightsaber duels in the franchise. And it’s also why I have such a hard time liking the sequel trilogy. Compared to this, Rey and Kylo Ren are just throwing swords around.
It was the Starting Point for the Next Generation of Star Wars Fans!
Like many people in my generation, The Phantom Menace served as my introduction to the Star Wars franchise. I was too young to see it in theaters when it first came out, so the first time I ever watched it was on VHS at my grandparent’s house. And while I didn’t understand most of what was going on, and did get bored by all the talking, I was six or seven. I got bored pretty quickly. The parts that I did remember (pod racing and Duel of the Fates), though, looked like the coolest things ever.
Which is exactly what George Lucas was hoping to achieve.
The Prequel Trilogy wasn’t just meant for those who grew up on the classic films. It was meant to bring Star Wars to a new generation of fans. And while not all of the grown-ups who watched this film were going to like it, the kids who saw it and loved would hopefully have fond memories of it. And when we grew up, despite acknowledging its flaws, we would continue to appreciate The Phantom Menace and make sure it gets a better rep. Ironically, now we’re in the same position that our parents/grandparents were, this time in regards to the Sequel Trilogy. Hopefully, the cycle will continue. That, and we get plenty of content that will cover up the plot holes and issues found.
Which brings me to my last reason…
Star Wars Wouldn’t Exist Without this Film!
People can hate on The Phantom Menace all they want. They can call Jar Jar an abomination and the acting forced. But the cold, hard truth is this: without The Phantom Menace, Star Wars as a franchise might not exist. Or at least not to the extent that it does today.
As good as the classic Star Wars films were, that doesn’t change the fact that they came out decades ago. Yes, there had been plenty of comics and books that continued the story, but not every fan was going to know about them. Sad as it might seem, but within a few decades, Star Wars might have become little more than a footnote in the history of cinema. An important footnote, but one that only those fond of 70s and 80s nostalgia would truly remember. What The Phantom Menace did was breathe new life into the franchise, and it showed. There was a slew of new stories, new products, and tons of new video games. Thanks to the Prequels, the franchise remained the mainstay in pop culture that it is today.
None of that would exist without The Phantom Menace. No Clone Wars, no Ahsoka, no Mandalorian, nothing. So whatever faults the movie may have had, it still deserves a little respect.
There you have it, then. All the reasons why The Phantom Menace is a better movie than the haters thought. Even if you disagree with it, though, I’m still going to love this movie and the crazy amount of merchandise that came out of it. May the Fourth be with you!
