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Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace had just finished. I was in the cinema, sitting there, gob-smacked. At that point, the only word I could think of to describe Episode 1 was, “Wow.”
In my opinion, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, is not just the best Star Wars movie, it’s one of the best movies ever.
I’d always been a fan of Star Wars, ever since I saw A New Hope, and I was looking forward to watching Episode 1, and seeing how it compared to the other three classics. Well, I wasn’t to be disappointed. Episode 1 far exceeded my expectations, and I was amazed at how good this movie was. I know many people will disagree with me, but I just can’t see why! I have this movie on video, and I’ve watched it a total of 15 times. That alone shows just how I feel about The Phantom Menace.
There are many, many reasons why I love this movie so much, and I’m going to explain them to you.
Let’s start with the backbone of any movie, the plot.
The Galactic Republic ruled much of the galaxy, and it was a time of peace. The galaxy was watched over by the Jedi Knights and Masters, and they rulers were the members of the Galactic Senate. The Galactic Senate is a government, where thousands of delegates, representing every planet in the galaxy, met regurlarly in the Senate Chambers on the central world of Coruscant. There they wrote the laws of the Republic and settled the disputes that sometimes arose between planets.
One problem that the Galactic Senate came across was the argument over the taxing trade routes. The Trade Federation (an organization of merchants so powerful that they had a representative in the Galactic Senate, just as if they were a planet,) wanted more control in the outlying star systems, and the outlying planets objected. After many meetings in the Senate, and lots of arguing between the Federation and the outlying planets, the Trade Federation lost patience, and took drastic action. They chose the small, beautiful planet of Naboo, and blockaded it, surrounding it with battleships so that no spaceships could land or take off from the planet. They had hoped that the 14-year-old Queen Of Naboo, Queen Amidala, would quickly agree to their demands. But the young Queen refused to give in.
Tension in the Senate grew worse and worse, and they decided to send 2 Jedi Ambassadors to deal with the situation, worried that the Federation’s actions might lead to open warfare. The Jedis that are sent are Qui-Gon-Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan-Kenobi.
As you can guess, the ‘talks’ did not work out, and it did lead to open warfare, with the Jedis in the middle of it. The Jedis side with Queen Amidala and Naboo, and the story goes on from there. I won’t tell you any more, as it will completely ruin one of the best plots I’ve ever seen in any movie!
You will meet lots of new characters in Episode 1. One of these is Qui-Gon-Jinn. He is an experienced Jedi, and he has accomplished so much that he will soon be a part of the Jedi Council (a group of 12 Jedi masters, who tell the Jedi what to do on their missions.) Q ui-Gon is very quiet and thoughtful, and has an extremely strong way with the Force. Liam Neeson does an excellent job playing Qui-Gon, and George Lucas made an excellent decision in him.
Queen Amidala is another new character. She is Queen Of Naboo, and at 14 she is very young for the job. But Amidala is very strong (and occasionally stubborn,) and she is willing to do anything for her people and her planet. She is accompanied everywhere by her maids, and one of them is Padme. Padme will play an important role in the movie later on. Amidala is portrayed brilliantly by the lovely Natalie Portman, and she has an excellent career in fron of her, judging by this performance.
The comedy of the movie has to be the floppy-eared, water-loving alien, Jar-Jar-Binks. The 2 Jedi meet Jar-Jar on their travels, and he stars throughout the movie. Many people thought Jar-Jar was annoying, but I am not one of them, as you can tell by the title!! I thought he was quite funny sometimes, with his stupid antics and his strange ‘accent’. But remember everyone, Jar-Jar was directed towards the kids, so he’s not going to be wonderfully funny for everyone.
You will also get to meet characters such as Senator Palpatine, who is Naboo’s representative in the Galactic Senate. Palpatine may seem like a nice character who is trying to help Amidala, but you will find out as the movie progresses, that he may not be who he claims to be. Also, I believe he is someone else in this movie as well, and I also think he’s been in the other 3 movies. I won’t tell you who I think he is, but I’ll let you guess.
Of course, there are some characters you will recognise from the previous 3 movies, but they are a lot younger. Obi-Wan-Kenobi is one of them. He is the apprentice of Qui-Gon-Jinn, and is very head-strong, and doesn’t always think before he acts. He is very different from his master, but has learnt everything from him. Obi-Wan is very brave and courageous, and is excellent with his Lightsabre. As you will already know, Obi-wan played a big part in Epside 4: A New Hope, as the man who introduced Luke Skywalker to the Force. Obi-Wan is played by Ewan McGregor, who also does an excellent job.
There is also the sweet, kind boy Anakin Skwalker, who the Jedis meet on Tattoine. Anakin is the slave of Watto the junk dealer, and lives with his mother in a tiny little house. He is VERY strong with the Force, and he is the only human who can drive a Pod-Racer (I’ll tell you more about Pod-Racing later.)
As you can guess, Anakin is the main villian from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Anakin Skywalker is also, Darth Vader. How a sweet little boy (although he can be very annoying,) like Anakin can turn into someone like Darth Vader, I do not know, but I expect we’ll find out in the next 2 Episodes. Jake Lloyd is Anakin Skywalker, and although he can be annoying, he does a good job. Although, I think George Lucas could’ve chosen someone a little better for the part.
So, you may be wondering who the villains are in this movie. Well, there are many, including the Trade Federation Battle and Destroyer Droids, the leaders of the Trade Federation (although these guys aren’t very scary, and aren’t really villains, just…annoying aliens who are against the Jedis,) and the ultimate villians: the 2 Sith Lords, Darth Maul and Darth Sidious.
Darth Sidious is a strange character, quiet and sinister. He tells Darth Maul what to do. Darth Maul is covered in red and black face paint, and has horns on the top of his head. He is drenched in the Dark Side, and has amazing skill with his double-sided red Lightsabre. Maul is one of the best characters in this movie, but he only says about 10 words, and doesn’t get enough on-screen time.
There are many more characters such as Captain Panaka, Mace Windu and the historic Yoda you will meet during this movie. Unfortunately, you don’t get to see Yoda and Mace much, but they are supposed to have a big part in Episode 2.
The special effects were ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!! All the explosions, battles, vehicles, and lasers were awesome, and it’s really the icing on the cake. The Phantom Menace surely has the best special effects in any movie ever, and I can see people having a very difficult time trying to beat it!!
So, overall this movie is spectacular. It combines everything a great movie needs, and mulitplies it by 10. This is why I think Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, is one of the greatest movies, EVER.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
In my opinion, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, is not just the best Star Wars movie, it’s one of the best movies ever.
I’d always been a fan of Star Wars, ever since I saw A New Hope, and I was looking forward to watching Episode 1, and seeing how it compared to the other three classics. Well, I wasn’t to be disappointed. Episode 1 far exceeded my expectations, and I was amazed at how good this movie was. I know many people will disagree with me, but I just can’t see why! I have this movie on video, and I’ve watched it a total of 15 times. That alone shows just how I feel about The Phantom Menace.
There are many, many reasons why I love this movie so much, and I’m going to explain them to you.
Let’s start with the backbone of any movie, the plot.
The Galactic Republic ruled much of the galaxy, and it was a time of peace. The galaxy was watched over by the Jedi Knights and Masters, and they rulers were the members of the Galactic Senate. The Galactic Senate is a government, where thousands of delegates, representing every planet in the galaxy, met regurlarly in the Senate Chambers on the central world of Coruscant. There they wrote the laws of the Republic and settled the disputes that sometimes arose between planets.
One problem that the Galactic Senate came across was the argument over the taxing trade routes. The Trade Federation (an organization of merchants so powerful that they had a representative in the Galactic Senate, just as if they were a planet,) wanted more control in the outlying star systems, and the outlying planets objected. After many meetings in the Senate, and lots of arguing between the Federation and the outlying planets, the Trade Federation lost patience, and took drastic action. They chose the small, beautiful planet of Naboo, and blockaded it, surrounding it with battleships so that no spaceships could land or take off from the planet. They had hoped that the 14-year-old Queen Of Naboo, Queen Amidala, would quickly agree to their demands. But the young Queen refused to give in.
Tension in the Senate grew worse and worse, and they decided to send 2 Jedi Ambassadors to deal with the situation, worried that the Federation’s actions might lead to open warfare. The Jedis that are sent are Qui-Gon-Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan-Kenobi.
As you can guess, the ‘talks’ did not work out, and it did lead to open warfare, with the Jedis in the middle of it. The Jedis side with Queen Amidala and Naboo, and the story goes on from there. I won’t tell you any more, as it will completely ruin one of the best plots I’ve ever seen in any movie!
You will meet lots of new characters in Episode 1. One of these is Qui-Gon-Jinn. He is an experienced Jedi, and he has accomplished so much that he will soon be a part of the Jedi Council (a group of 12 Jedi masters, who tell the Jedi what to do on their missions.) Q ui-Gon is very quiet and thoughtful, and has an extremely strong way with the Force. Liam Neeson does an excellent job playing Qui-Gon, and George Lucas made an excellent decision in him.
Queen Amidala is another new character. She is Queen Of Naboo, and at 14 she is very young for the job. But Amidala is very strong (and occasionally stubborn,) and she is willing to do anything for her people and her planet. She is accompanied everywhere by her maids, and one of them is Padme. Padme will play an important role in the movie later on. Amidala is portrayed brilliantly by the lovely Natalie Portman, and she has an excellent career in fron of her, judging by this performance.
The comedy of the movie has to be the floppy-eared, water-loving alien, Jar-Jar-Binks. The 2 Jedi meet Jar-Jar on their travels, and he stars throughout the movie. Many people thought Jar-Jar was annoying, but I am not one of them, as you can tell by the title!! I thought he was quite funny sometimes, with his stupid antics and his strange ‘accent’. But remember everyone, Jar-Jar was directed towards the kids, so he’s not going to be wonderfully funny for everyone.
You will also get to meet characters such as Senator Palpatine, who is Naboo’s representative in the Galactic Senate. Palpatine may seem like a nice character who is trying to help Amidala, but you will find out as the movie progresses, that he may not be who he claims to be. Also, I believe he is someone else in this movie as well, and I also think he’s been in the other 3 movies. I won’t tell you who I think he is, but I’ll let you guess.
Of course, there are some characters you will recognise from the previous 3 movies, but they are a lot younger. Obi-Wan-Kenobi is one of them. He is the apprentice of Qui-Gon-Jinn, and is very head-strong, and doesn’t always think before he acts. He is very different from his master, but has learnt everything from him. Obi-Wan is very brave and courageous, and is excellent with his Lightsabre. As you will already know, Obi-wan played a big part in Epside 4: A New Hope, as the man who introduced Luke Skywalker to the Force. Obi-Wan is played by Ewan McGregor, who also does an excellent job.
There is also the sweet, kind boy Anakin Skwalker, who the Jedis meet on Tattoine. Anakin is the slave of Watto the junk dealer, and lives with his mother in a tiny little house. He is VERY strong with the Force, and he is the only human who can drive a Pod-Racer (I’ll tell you more about Pod-Racing later.)
As you can guess, Anakin is the main villian from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Anakin Skywalker is also, Darth Vader. How a sweet little boy (although he can be very annoying,) like Anakin can turn into someone like Darth Vader, I do not know, but I expect we’ll find out in the next 2 Episodes. Jake Lloyd is Anakin Skywalker, and although he can be annoying, he does a good job. Although, I think George Lucas could’ve chosen someone a little better for the part.
So, you may be wondering who the villains are in this movie. Well, there are many, including the Trade Federation Battle and Destroyer Droids, the leaders of the Trade Federation (although these guys aren’t very scary, and aren’t really villains, just…annoying aliens who are against the Jedis,) and the ultimate villians: the 2 Sith Lords, Darth Maul and Darth Sidious.
Darth Sidious is a strange character, quiet and sinister. He tells Darth Maul what to do. Darth Maul is covered in red and black face paint, and has horns on the top of his head. He is drenched in the Dark Side, and has amazing skill with his double-sided red Lightsabre. Maul is one of the best characters in this movie, but he only says about 10 words, and doesn’t get enough on-screen time.
There are many more characters such as Captain Panaka, Mace Windu and the historic Yoda you will meet during this movie. Unfortunately, you don’t get to see Yoda and Mace much, but they are supposed to have a big part in Episode 2.
The special effects were ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!! All the explosions, battles, vehicles, and lasers were awesome, and it’s really the icing on the cake. The Phantom Menace surely has the best special effects in any movie ever, and I can see people having a very difficult time trying to beat it!!
So, overall this movie is spectacular. It combines everything a great movie needs, and mulitplies it by 10. This is why I think Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, is one of the greatest movies, EVER.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
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I think Ant is on to something there. This is really another stopgap between the older films and the next two, it's just that it's set before them that causes the problem.
There are difficulties with the film, technology being the main one, but it worked to an extent. It would, of course, have been a lot better without all the hype, as your expectations would not have been so high.
Out of principle I'm not buying the video though. No DVD, no sale.
There are difficulties with the film, technology being the main one, but it worked to an extent. It would, of course, have been a lot better without all the hype, as your expectations would not have been so high.
Out of principle I'm not buying the video though. No DVD, no sale.
That's what us old fogies were saying about Episode 4 back in 1977, except we had to wait a much longer time for the video to come out....
ahh, those were the days....
ahh, those were the days....
Edgy wrote:
> In January, just after I bought the video, I watched it around 20
> times!
I couldn't believe how good the first chapter of Starwars
> was!
Same here!!
I couldn't stop watching it!!
> In January, just after I bought the video, I watched it around 20
> times!
I couldn't believe how good the first chapter of Starwars
> was!
Same here!!
I couldn't stop watching it!!
New Jimmy wrote:
> OK Ant we disagree, I think StarWars Episode 1 is a glorified Toy
> Commercial, with poor acting (on the whole) and bad directing.
As
> for Darth Maul,..I found Darth Maul to me very un-menacing, I've
> been more frightened by my own reflection!
However I do hope,
> like you that things improve in Episode 2. Perhaps Episode 1, was
> just setting the scene for better things yet to come :-)
Yep, it's all down to opinion.
And hopefully Ep 2 will be even better!!
> OK Ant we disagree, I think StarWars Episode 1 is a glorified Toy
> Commercial, with poor acting (on the whole) and bad directing.
As
> for Darth Maul,..I found Darth Maul to me very un-menacing, I've
> been more frightened by my own reflection!
However I do hope,
> like you that things improve in Episode 2. Perhaps Episode 1, was
> just setting the scene for better things yet to come :-)
Yep, it's all down to opinion.
And hopefully Ep 2 will be even better!!
OK Ant we disagree, I think StarWars Episode 1 is a glorified Toy Commercial, with poor acting (on the whole) and bad directing.
As for Darth Maul,..I found Darth Maul to me very un-menacing, I've been more frightened by my own reflection!
However I do hope, like you that things improve in Episode 2. Perhaps Episode 1, was just setting the scene for better things yet to come :-)
As for Darth Maul,..I found Darth Maul to me very un-menacing, I've been more frightened by my own reflection!
However I do hope, like you that things improve in Episode 2. Perhaps Episode 1, was just setting the scene for better things yet to come :-)
In January, just after I bought the video, I watched it around 20 times!
I couldn't believe how good the first chapter of Starwars was!
I couldn't believe how good the first chapter of Starwars was!
New Jimmy wrote:
>Basically this sums up why I hate this film, because >simply even with so many loyal fans (probably sending him >bucket loads of quality ideas) and 20 years to write a >script all Lucas could come up with was a glorified toy >comercial.
>Its sad to think Ant that you cant actually admit how bad >the film actually is, obviously you were a true fan of the >original trilogy but are unable to see the truth, the >reality of what starwars has become.
Look, who the HELL cares about merchandise??
Episode 1 was a great movie, and no, I won't admit it was poor, cos I thought it was great!!
As FM said, it was directed towards kids. And also, all it really needed to do was set the scene for the forthcoming movies.
Also, it was hyped so much, that it would disappoint some people.
I really don't know why people think this was a bad movie. And also, I don't think that, "loads of crappy merchandise came out," is a good enough argument.
Also, I thought Darth Maul was pretty cool. Quiet and menacing.
And Anakin has 2 movies yet to turn bad, plenty of time yet!!
I suppose it's just opinion, or that people are still too attached to the old original trilogy, with all the old actors and mediocre effects and slow lightsabre battles (which were terribly dull compared to the Ep 1 battles)
>Basically this sums up why I hate this film, because >simply even with so many loyal fans (probably sending him >bucket loads of quality ideas) and 20 years to write a >script all Lucas could come up with was a glorified toy >comercial.
>Its sad to think Ant that you cant actually admit how bad >the film actually is, obviously you were a true fan of the >original trilogy but are unable to see the truth, the >reality of what starwars has become.
Look, who the HELL cares about merchandise??
Episode 1 was a great movie, and no, I won't admit it was poor, cos I thought it was great!!
As FM said, it was directed towards kids. And also, all it really needed to do was set the scene for the forthcoming movies.
Also, it was hyped so much, that it would disappoint some people.
I really don't know why people think this was a bad movie. And also, I don't think that, "loads of crappy merchandise came out," is a good enough argument.
Also, I thought Darth Maul was pretty cool. Quiet and menacing.
And Anakin has 2 movies yet to turn bad, plenty of time yet!!
I suppose it's just opinion, or that people are still too attached to the old original trilogy, with all the old actors and mediocre effects and slow lightsabre battles (which were terribly dull compared to the Ep 1 battles)
...I just wanted to be R2D2...
Look Guys the film was bad, I have nothing against toy commercails such as the Pokemon Movies. But when it trys to hide the fact that its a toy commercail with millions of pounds of special effects its sad.
The original starwars had magic, something special in it...as a kid many though, dreamed of being a Jedi (Some still do),
...then episode 1 came along and told us all this rubbish about symbiotic medichlorians??? that give people the force!
What rubbish, I dont know why Lucas didnt just tell us that Anakins DNA showed he was prone to Schizophrenia, and could turn to the Dark side at puberty!
The movie shatered the Dream, that was StarWars...can you be a Jedi kid...oh no you havent got a high enough medichlorian count, but hey you can by the toys at extortainate prices.
The original starwars had magic, something special in it...as a kid many though, dreamed of being a Jedi (Some still do),
...then episode 1 came along and told us all this rubbish about symbiotic medichlorians??? that give people the force!
What rubbish, I dont know why Lucas didnt just tell us that Anakins DNA showed he was prone to Schizophrenia, and could turn to the Dark side at puberty!
The movie shatered the Dream, that was StarWars...can you be a Jedi kid...oh no you havent got a high enough medichlorian count, but hey you can by the toys at extortainate prices.
I thought Episode 1 was a good film.
I remember how great the original 3 films were from years ago, but I also remember WHY they were great. I was a kid then, nothing had ever been seen on that scale before, the special effects were ground breaking, the storyline was unique....
well, you know the rest, that original trilogy was simply a great thing to be a part of my early childhood years.
However, when I grew up, the Star Wars trilogy always remained a fond memory, occaisionally rekindled by watching a video of the original films.
Then Episode 1 came along, and got SO much hype that it could not but fail to be a let down to us old timers who'd been there for the original, and SO much hype that it could not but fail to be an instant hit with the younger generation who were going to be seeing Star Wars for the first time. They now, like us back then, had never seen the like of the magic which is Star Wars in its full cinematic glory, so they now feel about Episode 1 something akin to what we feel about Star Wars the original.
We've had our day, now it's time for the magic to be passed on to the next generation of Star Wars fans. We grew up, they've still got all the magic of episodes 2 and 3 to come, and I think we should stand back and let them enjoy them to the full, Ja Ja Binks included....
I remember how great the original 3 films were from years ago, but I also remember WHY they were great. I was a kid then, nothing had ever been seen on that scale before, the special effects were ground breaking, the storyline was unique....
well, you know the rest, that original trilogy was simply a great thing to be a part of my early childhood years.
However, when I grew up, the Star Wars trilogy always remained a fond memory, occaisionally rekindled by watching a video of the original films.
Then Episode 1 came along, and got SO much hype that it could not but fail to be a let down to us old timers who'd been there for the original, and SO much hype that it could not but fail to be an instant hit with the younger generation who were going to be seeing Star Wars for the first time. They now, like us back then, had never seen the like of the magic which is Star Wars in its full cinematic glory, so they now feel about Episode 1 something akin to what we feel about Star Wars the original.
We've had our day, now it's time for the magic to be passed on to the next generation of Star Wars fans. We grew up, they've still got all the magic of episodes 2 and 3 to come, and I think we should stand back and let them enjoy them to the full, Ja Ja Binks included....
Page: