Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»445. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

    445. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on February 6, 2014 130-139 mins, 1999, 6 - 7.9, Action, Feb 14, Movies Of 2014, Review, Sci-Fi, United States
    6.8 Very messy
    • Acting 6.8
    • Directing 7.0
    • Story 6.5
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman

    Director: George Lucas

    Running Time: 136 mins


    Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is an American film and the fourth in the Star Wars saga. After remaining dormant for eras, the Sith return, and threaten to disturb the peaceful world the Jedi have created, however Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn find a young boy who could save them all.

    Well, the reputation that The Phantom Menace has gathered in the years since its release is now pretty cemented as one of the worst Star Wars films. It’s definitely a mess, with crazy characters and a slow-moving, meandering and convoluted plot, but there are a lot of advantages to this film that you still can’t avoid.

    So, let’s start on the positive side, by saying that, all in all, The Phantom Menace isn’t an atrocious film. In comparison to the original trilogy, it’s desperately disappointing, but it has some outstanding features, one of which is actually the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    Despite being very secondary to Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin and Padmé, Obi-Wan Kenobi is easily the most fascinating character here. He’s a young apprentice who hasn’t yet learned the greatest virtues of the Jedi, and his occasional hot-headedness and over-enthusiasm in comparison to his wise master is intriguing to see at first, and then even more fascinating to see him develop over the course of the story.

    Along with that, this film succeeds in two other aspects. Firstly, the climactic sequence is absolutely thrilling to watch, with palpable emotion and tension that the entire rest of the film lacks. Secondly, John Williams’ score is possibly the best it has ever been, and, had it not been tarnished by The Phantom Menace’s reputation, should be considered on a par with the music for the original trilogy – it’s that good, and by far the best of the prequels.

    However, in the end, the film is a pretty big disappointment, most significantly because of its convoluted plot and atmosphere. In truth, the whole story is a mess. There are so many different things going on, with mysterious forces at play along with the central plot that it’s often very difficult to actually focus on what you need to.

    Throughout, there are so many awkward moments where the film briefly cuts away to these side-plots, but never features enough information to actually care about them, therefore really disrupting the flow of the film as a whole and your interest in the main plot.

    Beyond that, it all moves far too slowly. Although the finale is pretty exciting, it takes over an hour and forty-five minutes to get to the point where anything is really thrilling, and far too much time is spent earlier on covering the meeting of Qui-Gon and Anakin on the planet of Tatooine, which could have all been wrapped up much quicker, and in a more interesting way.

    Finally, the tone of the film is just as much of a mess. Slightly similar to Return Of The Jedi, it maintains the dark, brooding intensity of the Sith threatening the Jedi, but it’s generally far too silly. There are too many weird, unnecessary characters (including heesa who must not be named), and it comes across as nothing more than a dumb kids’ film, instead of a genuinely emotional and intelligent space opera like the best originals, and that’s why The Phantom Menace gets a 6.8 from me.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.3
    Review
    October 9, 20140

    714. Super Size Me (2004)

    8.1
    Review
    October 16, 20200

    3123. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

    8.1
    Review
    December 15, 20220

    3980. Deliverance (1972)

    9.0
    Review
    August 8, 20160

    1445. The Little Prince (2015)

    8.1
    Review
    October 13, 20210

    3511. Belfast (2021)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.