Did anyone else actually enjoy The Phantom Menace?

[DerekG]

Seriously, I've seen this movie at least ten times, and I still can't see what everyone's complaining about. I feel as lonely as Alex Jones on 9/11.

Liam Neeson rocked. Palpatine's far creepier as a politico than a cackling wizard. I ate up everything on Tatooine and Coruscant. Jar Jar didn't bug me. Dug the politics. Duel of the Fates was a slice of heaven.

No raped childhood, here!

[Hayabusa]

1. It wasn't bad

And that Dark Horse advertisement containing the funky looking red skinned guy? They got the comic series wrong...

Yes, I'm a nerd. :)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

2. I didn't enjoy it until I saw ATTACK OF THE CLONES.

Then I appreciated TPM a LOT more.

:puke:

[jobycom]

3. I liked it a lot.

I liked the politics, and I also liked the way it filled in the story. After I saw it, I went back and watched the first three, and actually liked "Return of the Jedi" better. I never cared about Vader being saved, but after seeing him as a young Annikan, the ending of "Jedi" had more impact.

And I liked Jar Jar. Had no trouble understanding him.

I thought Liam Neeson was a bit flat, though. And I hated Christensen in the second and third films. The "Attack of the Clones" only worked when he was off-screen. I liked "Revenge of the Sith" better, but he still bothered me.

[Aristus]

4. I caught the very first local screening at midnight the day of release.

My friend, a Star Wars fanatic, invited our whole group of friends to attend; he even bought all the tickets. I'm a SW nerd, but not as obsessed as my friend. Still, I'd waited sixteen years for new SW stuff. When the lights came up, we all just sat there, blinking at the brightness and not saying very much. My friend instantly launched into a flop-sweat defense of the film...and we hadn't even said anything yet.

I'll just say it was a disappointment...

[Aristus]

5. Oops! Double post.

Damn high-traffic server errors!

[coyotespaw]

6. My son seemed to really like it...

He was a youngun at the time; thankfully my ex was willing to watch him in the theater while I took a retch/smoke break...

[edbermac]

7. Star Wars movies are a mixed bag for me. In numeric order:

1) Phantom Menace was a setup for the following two sequels. You're right, Liam and Palpatine were the reason to see it. Sorry but Jar Jar was very grating for me.

2) Attack Of The Clones was the least of them all. The big romance between Annakin and Padme was about as mature as those Frankie and Annette beach party movies.

3) Revenge Of The Sith I'd rate second best. The final transformation of Annakin to Darth Vader and Padme's death packed a solid emotional punch.

4) A New Hope I enjoyed way back when, but the characters are just too cardboard upon current viewing. It's stock has dropped in comparison to the other five.

5) Empire Strikes Back excellently done throughout. Great storyline and characters are fleshed out better than #4. The puppet Yoda is great too.

6) Return Of The Jedi. A lot of fun especially with Carrie Fisher in that skimpy slave outfit. Thought the Vader unmasking scene should have been more powerful. Downside was those furry fuzzball Ewoks. Hated them more than Jar Jar.

[DerekG]

9. Fairly close to my appraisal

I'd rank them:

V
III
IV
I

----

II
VI

[Solon]

8. You must now be struck down by all the Gods of Sci-fi geekdom...

just to let you know, you now have 10 seconds to say your last words!

:D

[OmahaBlueDog]

10. It's not bad

I'm with you -- Jar Jar Binks doesn't bother me -- I just wonder what the Hell Lucas was thinking.

I love the Pod racing scenes, and the Quai Gon Gin (sp?)/Darth Maul light saber fight is cool.

[Orrex]

13. The problem with the Podracing sequence is that it takes up about 25% of the film

The whole purpose was to show Anakin as a Force-enabled pilot, which could have been done in about ten seconds instead of 30 minutes. Hell, Anakin could have grabbed the controls of Amidala's ship as they were lifting off, saying "it just felt like the right thing to do," or something, and we'd have seen first-hand that he's got mad skills. This would also be consistent with Kenobi's statement in EPIV that Anakin was already an accomplished pilot by the time they met.

Also, there is no excuse in the entire universe for that stupid, two-headed announcer voiced by Greg Proops. The only reason that Jar Jar is worse is that Jar Jar is on screen much longer.

[SoxFan]

11. With the exception of Jar Jar and Midichlorians...

it's allright. Jake Lloyd was horrible, though.

[Orrex]

12. It was stupid of Lucas to kill Darth Maul in EPI, and here's why

Count Dooku serves no purpose that couldn't equally have been served by Maul or by Palpatine himself, covertly. If Maul had survived into EPIII, then he would have acted as a nemesis to Anakin much the same as Vader was to Luke in VI, V, and VI. This would have required somewhat different staging, somehow allowing Anakin to see Maul killing Qui-Gonn, but the impact would have been much more powerful.

As much as I like Christopher Lee, the Darth Maul light saber fight is the best in the entire six films. Presumably Maul's prowess and acrobatics would only have improved in the ~20 years between I and III, so the climactic battle would have been spectacular.

Imagine a duel between Maul, Anakin, and Kenobi: Maul fighting for his own life and his place at Sidious' side; Anakin fighting to take Maul's place and to kill Kenobi; Kenobi trying to redeem Anakin while also fighting to save himself. If done properly, including that double-ended saber, it would have been amazing.

Instead, Lucas went his usual route of CGI masturbation, yielding a much less interesting duel that was about as exciting as watching the demo from a knock-off Jedi video game.

[MrSlayer]

14. Jar Jar wouldn't have been so bad if there wasn't so much of him.

I liked the film but he was very annoying.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. I enjoyed it...

and I thought by the end of the last movie, they'd done a pretty good job of tying up loose ends.