Napalm_Frank
Member
With Rogue One out and Star Wars being hip again I did a marathon of all the other Star Wars films and it really hit me that I had a fun time watching TPM. And I'm ok with that!
Phantom Menace is probably the most universally reviled movie that I genuinely like. Not in a guilty pleasure or ''it's so bad it's good'' way. And it's not even that I'm a diehard Star Wars/Prequel Trilogy fan. I don't like Attack of the Clones at all or even Rogue One particularly and now that I watched the movies again I think I'm starting to warm up to TPM being just as enjoyable or even better than ROTS. Then again I'm kind of an oddball with OT trilogy too since Empire is my least favourite of the 3 and supposedly it's widely considered the best. As for what my favourite SW film is I can't really choose between A New Hope and Jedi.
Anyhoo back to PM. It's hard to put into words why I like it. I feel it has some of the same charm original movies had from little things that lacks in the other prequel. Seeing something as simple as the clunky Trade Federation alien lip movement just warms my heart more than any CGI jedi battle from AOTC could (btw Puppet PM Yoda>CGI!). There is a ton of CGI in the film but it still feels much more restrained compared to Clones and Sith that look too clean almost all the time. That's probably one reason why I like Phantom Menace so much, it looks great without feeling too fake. It feels like an actual world again.
The biggest issue people have with the movie I think are the characters and I do agree, it's the reason why I would never actually argue it being a great movie despite me liking it. But as weird as it is this is one of the few times I would say style can be as important as substance. For example Liam Neeson as Qui Gon isn't exactly the most interestingly written character but it's impossible for me to not like him. Just his presence alone is enough to sell me on the character. I'd take Qui Gon as a lead over any of the characters in Rogue One or Anakin. I like Darth Maul because of the design alone! He has a total of one line in the movie and it doesn't really bother me, in fact it would have been more interesting if he actually didn't say a word compared to this one throwaway line. And then there is of course Jar Jar and Young Anakin. They are undeniably bad but I don't really mind them so much that it hurts the movie for me. The worst scenes with them are quite short so it's not a struggle to sit trough.
Oh, and of course it goes without saying that the sound desing and music is GOAT.
So yeah, I won't argue it's a good flick but I had fun watching it. Anyone else with me or should I be sent to the plaaaanet coooore?
Phantom Menace is probably the most universally reviled movie that I genuinely like. Not in a guilty pleasure or ''it's so bad it's good'' way. And it's not even that I'm a diehard Star Wars/Prequel Trilogy fan. I don't like Attack of the Clones at all or even Rogue One particularly and now that I watched the movies again I think I'm starting to warm up to TPM being just as enjoyable or even better than ROTS. Then again I'm kind of an oddball with OT trilogy too since Empire is my least favourite of the 3 and supposedly it's widely considered the best. As for what my favourite SW film is I can't really choose between A New Hope and Jedi.
Anyhoo back to PM. It's hard to put into words why I like it. I feel it has some of the same charm original movies had from little things that lacks in the other prequel. Seeing something as simple as the clunky Trade Federation alien lip movement just warms my heart more than any CGI jedi battle from AOTC could (btw Puppet PM Yoda>CGI!). There is a ton of CGI in the film but it still feels much more restrained compared to Clones and Sith that look too clean almost all the time. That's probably one reason why I like Phantom Menace so much, it looks great without feeling too fake. It feels like an actual world again.
The biggest issue people have with the movie I think are the characters and I do agree, it's the reason why I would never actually argue it being a great movie despite me liking it. But as weird as it is this is one of the few times I would say style can be as important as substance. For example Liam Neeson as Qui Gon isn't exactly the most interestingly written character but it's impossible for me to not like him. Just his presence alone is enough to sell me on the character. I'd take Qui Gon as a lead over any of the characters in Rogue One or Anakin. I like Darth Maul because of the design alone! He has a total of one line in the movie and it doesn't really bother me, in fact it would have been more interesting if he actually didn't say a word compared to this one throwaway line. And then there is of course Jar Jar and Young Anakin. They are undeniably bad but I don't really mind them so much that it hurts the movie for me. The worst scenes with them are quite short so it's not a struggle to sit trough.
Oh, and of course it goes without saying that the sound desing and music is GOAT.
So yeah, I won't argue it's a good flick but I had fun watching it. Anyone else with me or should I be sent to the plaaaanet coooore?
