Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace-George Lucas’s Occasionally Fun, But Mostly Dull Live-Action Saturday Morning Cartoon

Revisiting The Phantom Menace in the theater, the film clicked with me slightly more than on previous viewings. I've grown to appreciate the almost Saturday Morning Cartoon energy of so much of the film. Through its over-the-top comedic supporting characters and melodrama, so much of the film, tonally speaking, reminded me of the cartoons I grew up on. Looking at the movie in that way, as a live-action Saturday Morning Cartoon, I found much more enjoyment than previous viewings. Comedic side characters like Jar-Jar Binks and Watto genuinely worked for me on this viewing. In general, the film's over-the-top and slapstick-heavy style of comedy worked a lot more for me.

The film also undeniably has some impressive set pieces. The film's lightsaber battles work incredibly well, with the first on the Trade Federation ship feeling so slick and doing an excellent job introducing Qui-gon and Obi-Wan as characters. The Darth Maul Duel feels so epic in scope, with incredible choreography, that it's no wonder it's the moment this movie is most well-known for. The pod-racing scene, though, has always stood out to me as this tense and creative set-piece, with little bits with Anakin that give this sequence a sense of character.

While tonally, the film's heightened tone worked a lot more on this viewing, and I still enjoy the set pieces, the plot itself has never quite worked for me. Conceptually, the bulk of the conflict is quite interesting, that of a political group holding an entire planet hostage. But the focus on trade disputes and bureaucratic political dealings makes so much of the narrative feel incredibly dull. The film also sets up some exciting ideas with Anakin, but it feels like nothing more than that set-up, so it feels pretty underwhelming in execution. Due to both dull aspects of the narrative, the film ends up dragging on and feeling incredibly overlong after a while.

While I grew to admire the film's heightened comedic tone and the set pieces, I still feel slightly mixed about The Phantom Menace due to its dull and overlong narrative. It now makes sense to me why many people, including myself, have looked at this film so overtly negatively for so long. With the Prequel Trilogy, Geroge Lucas attempted to craft an operatic story of Anakin's rise and fall but, in a bizarre move, began the trilogy with a film that felt much more like a Saturday Morning Cartoon in its tone. While I've grown to admire that Saturday Morning Cartoon tone slightly, I also understand why it rubbed people the wrong way. When expecting such a grand operatic film, it makes sense why many felt turned off by the overtly silly movie they got instead.

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