For anyone who may not be in tune with the Star Wars franchise, The Phantom Menace is the first of the love-‘em-or-hate-‘em prequels produced more than two decades after the original Star Wars. Set in the galaxy far, far away before the Galactic Empire and the rule of the Sith, Episode I introduces us to a very young Anakin soon-to-be-Darth-Vader Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and begins to lay out the foundations of his downfall. Found living as a slave with his mother on the planet of Tatooine, two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), discover that he is unusually strong in the Force. Transfixed with the belief that the boy is the prophesied Chosen One, who is destined to bring balance to the Force, Qui-Gon frees the boy and presents him to Yoda and the Jedi Council in the hopes of training him to become a Jedi. Well, that’s the main plot anyway, but there is a lot of slightly nonsensical talk of Trade Federations, Viceroys, and Supreme Chancellors too.
Let’s start with the bad. The Phantom Menace is a terrible film. Of course, to the many prequel trilogy apologists, that doesn’t make it a bad Star Wars film, but to everyone else it is quite rightly considered as one of, if not the worst film of the saga. The main problem is the complete lack of the wit, sarcasm and charm that defined the characters of the original trilogy. Instead, Episode I delivers a disappointing mix of bland personalities and awkward dialogue that will come to plague the entire prequel trilogy. Moreover, the acting is shockingly poor to say the least, though you could argue that no actor could make that script sound convincing in any way. And then there is the incredibly irritating Jar Jar Binks, a character aimed solely at audiences under the age of six and whose greatest gag involves stepping into a pile of bantha poo.
I could list all the things wrong with Episode I, but everyone knows it all already. Suffice it to say that the 3D makeover was never going to cover up the one-dimensionality of the film itself, so after expectations have been sufficiently diminished we can focus on the good, because, Jar Jar aside, The Phantom Menace boasts some incredible action sequences and easily the best lightsaber duel of the entire franchise. Not all bad, then, and more than enough to enjoy in glorious 3D.
The special effects masterfully disguise the fact that Episode I is now over a decade old. The proof is in the pod race, and this ten-minute sequence is exactly the sort of thing that 3D was meant for. The racers fly through the screen and the POV cockpit shots are exhilarating. The visuals coupled with the eargasmic sound effects in full surround sound make for what is, unsurprisingly, the single best thing about this 3D re-release. Indeed, 99% of people who plan to go see TPM 3D will have the same reasoning; ‘The pod race is going to be amazing!’. And it is.
Although, for the most part, the 3D is rather inconspicuous, every scene that is set against a backdrop of a million stars is stunning. At times, you could be forgiven for mistaking the cinema for a planetarium. Likewise, the vertiginous scenes on Coruscant are incredible and the depth of the 3D is far beyond what you’d expect from a conversion. And, of course, the final lightsaber battle is just as awesome as it was 13 years ago. Actually, it’s a bit more awesome this time around with the knowledge that Darth Maul, who is given a criminally small amount of screen time considering how immensely cool he is, is showing off his double-bladed lightsaber for the first and last time. Finally, The Phantom Menace is actually slightly improved since its last cinema outing, as, ever since the blu-ray release, Episode I’s shoddy puppet Yoda has been replaced by a much Yoda-er looking CGI Yoda. That may sound sacrilegious, but in this case, you will know it to be true.
Obi-Wan sums it all up for the 3D sceptics in his first line, ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this’, a sentiment that was, and still is, shared by many of the Star Wars fan base since the announcement of the re-releases. Overall, though, The Phantom Menace 3D is two hours of good fun. Nothing more, nothing less. The action sequences are doubly stunning this time around, but Jar Jar presides. Considering, though, that we still have a three-year wait until we can hope to see the original Star Wars back on the big screen, there is nothing wrong with some good old-fashioned blockbuster fun in the meantime.
