THE '90S IN ACTION! - 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999)

'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999)

Words cannot begin to express how much Star Wars fans were expecting "Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace" when it was about to be released in 1999. A lot of us waited forever for the trailer to download in Quicktime on our old computers so we could watch it over and over again. People sat outside theaters for days just so they could be the first to get in and get good seats.

Some today may be asking why there was all the fuss over the movie? Well, we hadn't received a new Star Wars film since the release of "Return of the Jedi" in 1983. For years, fans assumed that they only new stories they would get from this universe would be through the books and video games that were released in the Expanded Universe outside what was then just the Star Wars trilogy.

The fact that writer and director George Lucas was returning to his creation was a huge deal and it was heavily covered not just in its own marketing but through the media as well. When the movie came out on May 19, 1999, the reception was... decidedly mixed.

This was when the Star Wars fandom turned on anything that existed outside of what was now known as the Original Trilogy. A nice chunk of the fandom hated the new movie because they hated Lucas' new direction and vision for what was the beginning of the Prequel Trilogy.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon prepare to fight in 'The Phantom Menace'.

But why did they hate it so much? Well, it didn't give them what they wanted. Anakin Skywalker, who is destined not just to become a Jedi but also the evil Sith Lord known as Darth Vader, is shown here to be an innocent kid. He wasn't the evil Jedi right out of the gate and that bothered plenty of people in the fandom.

The movie also contained some annoying elements such as Jar Jar Binks, a character that was universally hated when the flick was finally released. The lighter tone of the Republic was also criticized as was the story that seemingly only involves a trade dispute on a small planet.

For years, the fandom decried this movie and it became one of the first examples of a film where the hatred online only amplified the fandom's problems with the movie. Finally, it also didn't help that this movie was released 16 years after the last film and every fan had it in their head what they wanted to see in this movie.

Thankfully, over the years, the fans that grew up with this movie have come to its defense and "The Phantom Menace" has grown quite the cult following within the fandom. Of course, part of that is due to the fact that the fandom has also found plenty of other things to bitch about with the content that Disney has released since they acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fight the sinister Darth Maul in 'The Phantom Menace'.

For me, I can readily admit that I've enjoyed this first episode in Lucas' saga since it was released in '99. I went to the theaters to see it nine times and I've watched it numerous times during my various rewatches of the series over the years.

I'll go over my own thoughts in a minute, but for those who may not have seen the movie, here's a brief rundown. The Trade Federation has imposed a blockade on the small planet of Naboo and Coruscant has sent two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) to negotiate. Things do not go as planned and both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escape Naboo with Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) in an attempt to get her to Coruscant in order to plead with the Galactic Senate for help.

First, though, they reach Tatooine where they meet a young boy named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyed). Now, not only do they have to deal with a far bigger and more sinister plot by the Federation, but Qui-Gon must figure out why Anakin is so talented in the Force and whether or not Anakin should be trained in order to become a Jedi.

The first thing I'll say about the movie is that if any of the haters come to me and tell me what they think is wrong with the movie, I'll probably agree with their criticisms. Particularly, there is an overuse of CGI in places, the dialogue and acting can be cringy at times, and I do think that Jar Jar Binks is the most annoying character in all of Star Wars.

Yet, I can't help but like the movie in spite of its numerous flaws. I've even tried to watch this movie several times with the intent of really paying attention to the flaws and seeing if the great amount of hate surrounding this film over the years is justified. I just don't think that it is.

The movie flows extremely well from one scene to the next, it actually looks great for a movie that is now 25 years old, Neeson is great as Qui-Gon, and there are some action sequences that are fantastic such as the now famous Pod Racing scene and the climactic lightsaber battle towards the end of the movie.

In short, this is a Star Wars film that I can and have sat down to watch several times and I've had fun with it every time. While I can understand someone not liking this movie due to its flaws, I can't help but overlook them and enjoy the fun film that Lucas crafted all those years ago.