So I decided to start the Saga once more, this time in chronological order. For sure it isn't the best of them all but at the same time it's not completely awful and/or unwatchable. When I saw it initially at the movies I wasn't negativ about it at all. I was more thrilled about getting a new trilogy going. Yes, Jar Jar is annoying and little Anni is a smartass brat. I remember back in 1999 I had trouble believing that from this would come Darth Vader. To which I also attribute the fact that Jake Lloyd just couldn't pull it off. Most of the acting was rather pale and only Liam Neeson did stand out a bit. Would have liked to see more Qui-Gon.
Back to the movie. The story as a whole is not bad but the story telling is. There are important parts here that will impact the story moving forward but you don't feel they are important. In fact if you don't know what to look for you might miss it. There seems to be no urgency in all of this. In hindsight I'd say you could start with Ep.II and still get the meaning of it all. It get's a little better once they reach Coruscant and later go back to Naboo. And of course we get the epic battle between Maul, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan which is the reason it still get's a "7" from me.
A few words about the production side. In 1999 this was state of the art. It was actually ahead of it's time which is why some scenes still look great. When it comes to the Gungans f.e. you see the steps that have been made since then. And some of the green-screen work looks just like that. And it becomes more apparent in 4k. Overall the movie looks great in UHD, I saw many details I had missed before, and I am sure they smoothed some things out. And you would be surprised how many things aren't CG but actually model building.
It's not the best introduction to Star Wars if you've never have seen it. That would still be A New Hope. And it will always be. But as I said earlier, it's not unwatchable.

Let me start this off by saying, I haven't seen Episode 1 since I was a kid and I remember I didn't like it very much then. But I have now rewatched it and I have to say that it is The Good, The Bad and the darn right Confusing with this film.

The good being that both Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor were perfect in the film and also the film has an awesome villain who deserved to be in a better film for sure, also the pod race looks amazing and is a very intense watch even as an adult.

The bad being that some of the acting in the film comes off very stilted and I don't think this is down to the actors and even Jake Lloyd, I don't think anyone was playing their parts badly. I think that this film has some of the worst dialogue I have ever seen in a film and the actors are trying their best with the material they have been given, watching the film it almost feels as if the script was either rushed or never had more than one draft.

Now for the confusing, I will take into consideration that this film was made in 1999, but it felt like some of the CGI was miles better than others in the film. Also, why is Jar Jar Binks a thing, literally might be the most annoying character I have ever seen and one more point which is why have some of the actors been unnecessarily dubbed, as actor Hugh Quarshie and a few others who have British accents matching the other characters have been dubbed with American voices and its just weird.

Overall the film is OK, not bad and not good but I can see how it is a stepping stone for them with the franchise. If you are a Star Wars fan you will find something to like about this film and it is a must-watch for anyone into this franchise, but as a stand-alone film, it has a few too many issues for me to recommend it.

The Phantom Menace, released sixteen years after Return of the Jedi, was a highly anticipated film for Star Wars fans. Set 32 years before A New Hope, it serves as the first chapter in the saga and sets the stage for the fall of the Republic, the rise of the Empire, and the transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader. However, the film falls short of expectations, with a disappointing script and wooden performances from the actors. Despite this, there are some positive aspects to the film. McGregor does a good job as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Neeson brings intensity and brooding to his role as Qui-Gon Jinn. The visual effects and new planets and environments are also a plus, and the political machinations add depth to the story. The final lightsaber battle is also a highlight, set to John Williams' incredible score. However, the battle droids are underwhelming as adversaries and the midichlorians concept is a sacrilege to the previous films. Jake Lloyd's portrayal of Anakin Skywalker is also criticized for his overuse of "woos" and "yee-haas". Overall, while The Phantom Menace has its moments, it fails to live up to the high expectations set by the previous films in the series
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The Phantom Menace, estrenada dieciséis años después de Return of the Jedi, fue una película muy esperada por los fanáticos de Star Wars. Ambientada 32 años antes de A New Hope, sirve como el primer capítulo de la saga y prepara el escenario para la caída de la República, el ascenso del Imperio y la transformación de Anakin Skywalker en Darth Vader. Sin embargo, la película no cumple con las expectativas, con un guión decepcionante y actuaciones de madera de los actores. A pesar de esto, hay algunos aspectos positivos en la película. McGregor hace un buen trabajo como el joven Obi-Wan Kenobi, y Neeson aporta intensidad y melancolía a su papel de Qui-Gon Jinn. Los efectos visuales y los nuevos planetas y entornos también son una ventaja, y las maquinaciones políticas añaden profundidad a la historia. La batalla final con sables de luz también es un punto culminante, con la increíble partitura de John Williams. Sin embargo, los droides de batalla son decepcionantes como adversarios y el concepto de midiclorianos es un sacrilegio para las películas anteriores. La interpretación de Jake Lloyd de Anakin Skywalker también es criticada por su uso excesivo de "woos" y "yee-haas". En general, aunque The Phantom Menace tiene sus momentos, no está a la altura de las altas expectativas establecidas por las películas anteriores de la serie.

Recently, the prequels have been receiving some form of reappraisal, mostly because some people argue that they feel like one cohesive vision compared to the sequel trilogy.
I guess you have to come up with some excuse to not admit your nostalgia, because there are literally so many franchises that have had different creative teams over the years, and don’t plan out their stories in advance, and they still work.
The first few Harry Potter films feel different from the latter ones, but all of them are still good.
The Nolan Batman movies were famously not planned in advance, and it’s still a great trilogy.
The Bourne Identity has a different filmmaking style from the two sequels, but it still works.
A franchise really doesn’t need a planned out roadmap or a cohesive vision in order to be good, that’s nonsense.

This thing sucks because it makes all the wrong artistic choices: boring story, uninteresting characters, poor and wooden acting, it looks ugly and overly digitized, horrendous dialogue which is overly reliant on exposition, etc.
It’s actually not too dissimilar to _The Rise of Skywalker_, which also makes the wrong story and character choices.
But I guess I’m supposed to like this more simply because its bolder and doesn’t play it as safe?
I’ll take the safe film in this case, simply because it at least gets the technicalities right.

2.5/10 (mostly for that one good scene).

A huge drop off the original trilogy. I still like it, mind.

I do have split feelings about 'Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace' though. One positive is the casting, which is well done.

Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are strong choices to enter the franchise, I enjoyed both of them. Jake Lloyd does a fine job in his role, while the likes of Terence Stamp, Samuel L. Jackson and Keira Knightley also feature. Natalie Portman appears too, but I honestly never really cared for her lot's side of the story. Ahmed Best, meanwhile, is very hit-and-miss as Jar Jar Binks.

Speaking of Binks, the CGI is rather iffy in this fourth installment of 'Star Wars'. Of course it did come out in 1999, but other films from that era and beyond have aged better in these terms. The score is, at least, more than up to scratch.

Overall, I'm OK with this but it most definitely should've been far greater. Some scenes do go on for too long, while I did find a lack of a serious threat for the first chunk of the film. Darth Maul looks the part, but ends up being rather forgettable.

I can see how diehard fans of the series could be disappointed by this.