movies/tv How did you react to Phantom Menace?

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Next year, Phantom Menace turns 20 years old, so I thought I'd make this thread.

How excited were you when you heard that the Phantom Menace was coming out? Did you camp out in front of the theater? What did you think when you finished watching it in the theater?

[Megas 27,064]

I was really excited for it when I first heard about it. I was about six or seven but I was a huge fan of Stars Wars and it was my first Star Wars in theaters and at the time and I remember loving it. Even now I still love the movie, warts and all

[Midnight Solace 5,129]

Qui-Gon Jinn is best Jedi. 

[Twilight Luna 30,940]

I was a freshman in college when the first trailer was shown on TV. It was like a holiday. I was so stoked to see it. In the theater, I thought it was alright.  Nothing spectacular. It was only when it hit VHS that everyone woke up to what a piece of garbage it was. 

[RaraLover 10,410]

I really enjoyed it when I watched it. All the action: lightsaber duels, dogfights, podracers, the Battle of Naboo; loved it! It was the very first Star Wars movie I watched. Always wondered why the prequel trilogy had better combat and graphics (eg. lightsabers) than the original trilogy. Found out that Episodes 4-6 were made before 1-3.

My favourite character is Anakin Skywalker (as a Jedi Knight), and my favourite episode is Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Edited December 13, 2018 by ILoveRara

[Will Guide 21,325]

So what if it was full of bad moments? The original trilogy had its bad moments too. The hokey dialogue, the political talk, they were there from the beginning 

[Discordian 6,013]

It remains my favorite Star Wars film. It wasn't the first I watched when it came out but it was the one that kept my attention the most for sure.

[ChB 18,532]

I was really excited for it. Though I was confused with the political parts, I enjoyed the movie overall. Loved the Podracing, the Battle of Naboo, and of course the Lightsaber battle.

[Starlighty 790]

I loved that movie! I thought Anakin was so cute and cool.... 

it will remain my favorite Star Wars movie to this day!

[PiratePony 8,473]

I was so excited to see it, and went the second week of release after school (I was in high school). After growing up with the original trilogy being worn out of my VHS and betamax, sitting though the special editions in theatres, I was expecting the best.

And got Phantom Menace. And jar jar. And a bad Yoda puppet. And that annoying kid macking it on Natalie Portman. Eh... It was quite disappointing.

[Discordian 6,013]

20 minutes ago, PiratePony said:

I was so excited to see it, and went the second week of release after school (I was in high school). After growing up with the original trilogy being worn out of my VHS and betamax, sitting though the special editions in theatres, I was expecting the best.

And got Phantom Menace. And jar jar. And a bad Yoda puppet. And that annoying kid macking it on Natalie Portman. Eh... It was quite disappointing.

But then you got the podrace, young Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and the whole final fight with Darth Maul.

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

I never really liked it, even as a kid. I always thought the prequels were more boring in comparison to the original trilogy. I will say though that looking back on the movie today, some of the flaws are actually entertainingly bad, unlike a certain other movie where looking at the flaws in retrospect just irritates me. 

[Floppy Snow 279]

Well I was 8 years-old and I fell asleep when I watched it in theater. It only happened for this movie in my entire life.

Suffice to say I'm not really a Star Wars fan. 

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

I was fairly excited that there was going to be a new Star Wars, although I was somewhat disappointed with that trilogy as a whole, and with The Phantom Menace in particular.  I think a lot of fans expected that the new films would be aimed at them and were somewhat let down when it turned out that they were aimed at their children instead.

The sequel trilogy has given me a new appreciation of the prequels though.  The original films told a very simple story, but told it well with groundbreaking visuals and engaging characters.  The prequels tried to tell a far more complex story, focusing heavily on political intrigue and the manipulations of Palpatine as he sought to do away with the Old Republic and install himself as Emperor.  It was a complex story, and even if it wasn't executed particularly well I think it stands rather stronger now that we have TFA and TLJ to compare it to, which seem to lack any of the strong points of either of the previous trilogies.

Bottom line, I wasn't a fan of TPM when I first saw it, but I have largely made my peace with it now, and even though I rate it bottom of the first six films, I prefer it to what has come more recently (with the exception of Rogue One, which I really do like).

Edited December 13, 2018 by Concerned Bystander

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

I don't really remember much about since I was only 2 when it came out.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

As a kid I absolutely loved it, but now-a-days that shine has worn off. I don't think it's terrible, but it's definitely missing the "Star Wars" spark that the originals and even sequels have.

[Oleks 1,983]

Saw it on TV as a kid. I don't remember much. It didn't impress me.

[Celli 4,332]

I thought it was decent as a kid but now I think the prequels are very flawed.

17 hours ago, Will Guide said:

So what if it was full of bad moments? The original trilogy had its bad moments too. The hokey dialogue, the political talk, they were there from the beginning 

The originals had far less problems than the prequels.

[Starlighty 790]

The orignals were so boring... The only good thing about it was yoda,  R2d2 and 3PO... also teddy bears! 

[Discordian 6,013]

1 hour ago, Starlighty said:

The orignals were so boring... The only good thing about it was yoda,  R2d2 and 3PO... also teddy bears! 

Hoth, yo.

[ChB 18,532]

On 12/12/2018 at 6:13 PM, Will Guide said:

So what if it was full of bad moments? The original trilogy had its bad moments too. The hokey dialogue, the political talk, they were there from the beginning 

Heh, I feel you. Watching the first six Star Wars as a kid, there were parts of every movie that I found very boring. Not saying that one movie is better than another, but the parts of Phantom Menace I found "boring" didn't take away the joy I experienced with the good scenes. 

[Here No Longer 5,270]

I was hardly born yet. When I did see it as a kid, though, I thought Phantom Menace was... Okay, and now I'd be more inclined to lean towards mediocre. Attack of the Clones was actually bad, and the third prequel movie is frankly is the best of the franchise.

[Cash In 21,509]

I enjoyed it when I first watched it, although less so nowadays. I still believe that it's a decent film, just a bit rough around the edges.

[Fluttershutter 2,118]

20 years??? Jeez I'm old!

I was really excited about it. I saw it on vacation with my family about a week after it came out and I really liked it. It's a kid's movie, a little younger than the rest of Star Wars and people have to understand that to enjoy it. The effects were really great at the time and they still hold up. That was before everybody started insisting that "practical" effects are infinitely superior for whatever reason.

[Rainbow Dash 1,471]

I remember bringing in a Darth Maul figure to the theatre when i went to see it. I was beyond excited. Sad to hear it get crap from new fans, which i dont understand. Youre gonna tell me pod racing was a needless side distraction to fill up screen time? PUHLEASE. Im pretty sure all of us pretend we were pod racers going down a deep hill on a bike.