I guess I’ve learned to appreciate The Phantom Menace.

More than anything, Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace is a fascinating cultural site. It’s been 25 years since I saw the movie in theaters, and over a decade since I rewatched it (in a futile attempt to help my Trekkie wife catch up on the backstory). I had plenty of time to get over the initial disappointment and embarrassment of my wife’s introduction to Jar Jar Binks. So when Disney announced they were bringing the prequel trilogy back to theaters, I was practically giddy to revisit them to see how the latest George Lucas films compared to the Star Wars onslaught media that we have experienced in the last decade. It was The Phantom Menace as bad as i remembered? Well, yes and no.

Boring but imaginative

In 1999, I knew Episode 1 will be a bit of a catchphrase as soon as we hit the second line of the opening crawl: “Taxation of trade routes to distant star systems is controversial.” Really, George? This was what Star Wars fans had been waiting for since 1983 Return of the Jedi? On this rewatch, I was more tickled than irritated by the many confusing narrative choices: the empty drama of the trade blockade; the baffling decision to establish a romance between a literal child and an older teenager; and throwing in Jar Jar Binks to calm the kids down amid the horrendously boring dialogue.

Whatever The Phantom Menace is written and directed by an alien who hasn’t actually seen a movie or dealt with any aspect of pop culture since the early 80s. At the same time, this almost outsider perspective is part of the film’s charm. Seeing a society slowly lose control of an idealistic democracy to a power-hungry dictator is a lot for a PG-rated fantasy film. Yet it also makes the first two prequels feel eerily prescient alongside the global response to 9/11.

By the time we got to 2005 Revenge of the Sith, the allusions to George W. Bush’s Patriot Act and the Global War on Terror were hard to miss. “This is how freedom dies, to thunderous applause,” Padme says as her fellow senators hand over extraordinary powers to Palpatine, making Supreme Chancellor Palpatine Emperor and transforming the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire.

Beyond political machinations, The Phantom Menace is filled with many magnificent images: the opulent palace of Naboo and the watery city of Gungan; the designs of new ships and weapons; and, of course, every single outfit worn by Princess Amidala. It would be nice if these visuals fit better into the narrative, but their presence clearly shows that Lucas was surrounded by world-class talent, such as .

The Phantom Menace also comes to life in his handful of action sets. Sure, maybe the capsule race goes on too long, but the sense of speed, scale and bombastic sound all the while is absolutely exhilarating. (The film’s voice team—Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Sean Murphy, and John Midgley—was nominated for an Oscar but lost to The matrix.)

And yes, the whole Duel of the Fates fight is still an absolute blast. There is no doubt about that The Phantom Menace it would have been a stronger film with less clunky dialogue and more character development shown through action. At one point in the battle, all participants are separated by laser barriers. Qui-Gon Jinn meditates, almost completely at peace. Darth Maul stalks like a caged lion. And Obi-Wan Kenobi is just eager to continue the fight, like a hot student who just wants to show off. This sequence tells you more about these characters than the rest of the two hours of the film.

A forerunner of the ubiquitous numeric characters

While I didn’t grow to love Jar Jar Binks on this rewatch, his very existence as an all-CG character felt more meaningful than ever. Voiced by actor and comedian Ahmed Best, Jar Jar was a total smash upon his release and his performance was far from seamless. But it was also the first time we saw a motion-captured performance transform into a fully realized character. Now that technology is so common in movies, we practically take it for granted.

“You can’t have Gollum without Jar Jar,” Best said . “You can’t have Na’vi in ​​Avatar without Jar Jar. You can’t have Thanos or Hulk without Jar Jar. I was the signal for the rest of this art form and I’m proud of Jar Burkan for that and I’m proud to be a part of it!”

In 2017, Best offered an expanded version of his thoughts in a Twitter thread (): “Jar Jar helped create the workflow, the iteration process and the litmus test for all CGI characters to this day. Some days the code was being written in real time while I was moving. To deny Jar Jar’s place in film history is to deny the hundreds of VFX technicians, animators, coders and producers their respect. People like John Knoll, Rob Coleman and dozens of others I worked with for two years after principal photography wrapped to I bring you these movies.”

A great story stuck in a bad movie

I learned the best way to look The Phantom Menace is to take the aspects I like and replace Lucas’ many confusing choices with my own canon. The story of Anakin Skywalker being born through the sheer force of the Force and becoming the Chosen of the Jedi? This is interesting! Inventing midichlorians to give people a literal Jedi power result? This is bad as hell! (Midichlorians are still technically canon, but they’ve been largely ignored in recent Star Wars media.)

This time I couldn’t help but imagine how a more natural and energetic narrator would have handled it The Phantom Menace. They would certainly not burden trade disputes and taxation. A more skilled writer, for example of Andor Tony Gilroy, could thoughtfully weave in the potential downfall of the Republic. And I’d bet most people aren’t going to waste Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan by keeping him off-screen for an hour while everyone else goes on a racing adventure. (It sure would be nice if he spent more time with Anakin!)

I haven’t seen it yet , but his decision to start in the middle of Phantom Menace’s climactic lightsaber battle makes sense. So many of Episode 1 feels completely redundant when Anakin Skywalker’s real story is about falling in love, being tempted by the Dark Side, and ultimately betraying his master.