Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) – Encore Review

 “Greed can be a very powerful ally. ” – Qui-Gon Jinn

Number of Times Seen – Between 10-20 times  (twice in Theater, DVD, 16 Jan 2014 and 26 Jun 2015)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – Two Jedi Knights on a diplomatic mission to avoid a war meet a child who perhaps will be able to change the entire galaxy.

My Take on it – In my continuing quest to watch all 6 SW movies with my sons before the new one comes out in December, we sat down to watch this one after a small hiatus since the previous episode.

I will always remember the giddiness I felt when I saw the trailer for this movie back in 1998 and eventhough this turned out to be the weakest of the movies in the series (so far), it still is an extremely enjoyable film to watch.

The story itself is something many of us waiting decades to watch on the screen and George Lucas never disappoints with his achievements.

Yes, he has made errors in all of his movies, but at the end of the day, we all must remember that these are worlds he created for us to enjoy and we should enjoy them however we can.

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of Jar Jar or the Gungans as a species, but that doesn’t mean that I feel that it wasn’t done right. Lucas chose to tell this epic story this way and I am more than content with the way he did it.

The special effects in this movie is unbelievable and John Williams once again created an amazing score to compliment the action on-screen.

Both of these elements are essential to Star Wars and they make it so much more enjoyable.

For what it’s worth, both of my sons(8 and 11) have enjoyed each subsequent movie more than the previous one and they (like me) can’t wait to watch the next chapter when we get the chance.

Bottom Line – Not the best in the series but still essential in fleshing out some of the history that we all waited so many years to see on the screen. Amazing SFX and music help make this essential story feel epic. Lucas has made mistakes in all of his movies, but it’s a world he created and we must enjoy it for what it is. Highly Recommended

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – During the first week of the first trailer’s release, many theaters reported up to 75% of their audiences paying full price for a movie, then walking out after the Star Wars: Episode I trailer was shown. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (no change from original review)

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