I unironically like Phantom Menace. I always have. Growing up in the 2000’s I never really heard any of the drama. I just knew this movie existed, and I really liked it. I also thought it was strange when I saw the second and Jar Jar was just forgotten. I liked, and still do like Jar Jar. The thing that I don’t like is how Lucas seemed to have course-corrected the prequels after the criticism. I would love to see a version of the prequel trilogies if Lucas was able to make them in a vacuum. I think episode two is the worst out of the entire franchise and I do blame some of that to the criticism of episode one. Making George change his plans and probably second guess a lot of what he was trying to do.
So I was 18 when The Phantom Menace came out. I was a senior in high school. The month or two leading up to the movie coming out, me and a bunch of friends used to hit up Taco Bell/pizza hut/KFC for lunch 3-4 times a week (and possibly chopped off 10 years from our life spans) and collect pogs and try to finish the entire pog board. One time, we came across a taco bell truck that was unattended and like the bunch of delinquients we were, we coordinated a heist of two packages of pogs from the truck. we went to someone's house and opened up the package and we were convinced that it was a scam because even with all those pogs, none of us were able to finish our board. I think the statue of limitations applies here but no snitching.
I went day of release and i think i saw it in three other times in the theater as well.....and I don't know why. I know all three of you range from either liking it to loving it (which I respect) but I was not a fan from the jump. I've also seen the movie a bunch of times on TV and I saw it again on Ploose before Rise of Skywalker came out. I just thought it was messy and scattershot in it's storytelling. Just a lot of stuff that I didn't care about in this movie that caused it to feel like a grind to me. One thing the original trilogy had that Phantom Menace didn't was a reflection on a mythology that I personally felt was missing in this movie. I know this movie was supposed to be the beginning but as someone that consumed a lot of star wars comics and even novelizations, there was always a whole lot of mythology that already felt lived in. It wasn't until the next movie where I felt that came back. I might get some pushback on that but that's how I felt. I also really disliked the depictions of Jar Jar, the trade federation, and watto which you all brought up in the pod. Really turned me off even back then.
I think these are very fair critiques. The mythology part is particularly trenchant -- it feels like an intentional choice to pivot from the space-opera fantasy theme of the OT to a muddier socio-political commentary. And when mythology elements are pulled in, it's stuff like the virgin birth of Anakin, which has gotten some canon/canon-adjacent explanations in later years, but is understandably a tough pill to swallow for a lot of viewers.
Add in the pacing and the weird/bad use of stereotypes, and I think it's very valid to be cold on the movie.
Meesa can't wait for this one
I unironically like Phantom Menace. I always have. Growing up in the 2000’s I never really heard any of the drama. I just knew this movie existed, and I really liked it. I also thought it was strange when I saw the second and Jar Jar was just forgotten. I liked, and still do like Jar Jar. The thing that I don’t like is how Lucas seemed to have course-corrected the prequels after the criticism. I would love to see a version of the prequel trilogies if Lucas was able to make them in a vacuum. I think episode two is the worst out of the entire franchise and I do blame some of that to the criticism of episode one. Making George change his plans and probably second guess a lot of what he was trying to do.
Ayyyyyyye
So I was 18 when The Phantom Menace came out. I was a senior in high school. The month or two leading up to the movie coming out, me and a bunch of friends used to hit up Taco Bell/pizza hut/KFC for lunch 3-4 times a week (and possibly chopped off 10 years from our life spans) and collect pogs and try to finish the entire pog board. One time, we came across a taco bell truck that was unattended and like the bunch of delinquients we were, we coordinated a heist of two packages of pogs from the truck. we went to someone's house and opened up the package and we were convinced that it was a scam because even with all those pogs, none of us were able to finish our board. I think the statue of limitations applies here but no snitching.
I went day of release and i think i saw it in three other times in the theater as well.....and I don't know why. I know all three of you range from either liking it to loving it (which I respect) but I was not a fan from the jump. I've also seen the movie a bunch of times on TV and I saw it again on Ploose before Rise of Skywalker came out. I just thought it was messy and scattershot in it's storytelling. Just a lot of stuff that I didn't care about in this movie that caused it to feel like a grind to me. One thing the original trilogy had that Phantom Menace didn't was a reflection on a mythology that I personally felt was missing in this movie. I know this movie was supposed to be the beginning but as someone that consumed a lot of star wars comics and even novelizations, there was always a whole lot of mythology that already felt lived in. It wasn't until the next movie where I felt that came back. I might get some pushback on that but that's how I felt. I also really disliked the depictions of Jar Jar, the trade federation, and watto which you all brought up in the pod. Really turned me off even back then.
But man, I would die for Darth Maul.
I think these are very fair critiques. The mythology part is particularly trenchant -- it feels like an intentional choice to pivot from the space-opera fantasy theme of the OT to a muddier socio-political commentary. And when mythology elements are pulled in, it's stuff like the virgin birth of Anakin, which has gotten some canon/canon-adjacent explanations in later years, but is understandably a tough pill to swallow for a lot of viewers.
Add in the pacing and the weird/bad use of stereotypes, and I think it's very valid to be cold on the movie.
Maul tho...