Review of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) by Necromus — 04 Dec 2012

I absolutely loved the original trilogy as a kid. 17 years waiting in anticipation for the prequels (since Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977 stated it was "Chapter 4") raised expectations very high that almost no movie could live up to it.

But I didn't expect something as horrible as Episode I. A poorly rendered and annoying Jar Jar Binks ruins almost every scene with his clumsy antics bordering on racist (he behaves the way African-Americans were portrayed in old racist shows in the past and he's based on a Jamaican Rasta-man type character too!).

The acting by Anakin was boring too, but it might not be his fault, after-all George Lucus somehow manages to take amazing actors like Ewen McGregor and Samuel L. Jackson and make them look mediocre. I saw this movie once in the theater and never wanted to see it again.

Once it was on TV and I muted it while talking on the phone and noticed the visuals are absolutely beautiful, it is too bad the story and directing sucks so bad. However, there is a version of this movie out there called "The Phantom Edit 1.

11" which is an edit of the movie by a Star Wars fan that cuts most of Jar Jar's annoying antics out of the movie along with all of the redundant scenes where the characters are explaining to other characters what you have just witnessed happening in the scene before.

The Phantom Edit 1.11 is much more watchable and enjoyable, do yourself a favor and watch that one instead, it is way better than the official version.