Phantom Menace Revisited

I was thirteen when The Phantom Menace originally hit theaters. I had been raised with the Star Wars movies and was incredibly excited to see the newest installment. I couldn't wait to revisit the galaxy far, far away and see what Anakin Skywalker was like before he became Darth Vader.

I actually have incredibly vivid memories of all the build up to the movies. It's the first time I can remember anticipating a movie that much. My dad, my brother and I were on a road trip to Toronto the week the movie premiered and the whole trip is tinged with Star Wars. We stopped for lunch at a KFC one day and got cups decorated like R2D2. The lids even had legs. I kept that cup for years.

On the way home, dad promised we could stop and see The Phantom Menace in theaters, so my brother and I prepared by watching marathoning the original trilogy while my dad drove across Kansas. I have to tell you that this is the best way to drive across Kansas.

We stopped in a theater not long after crossing the border into Colorado. But I don't really remember most of the movie. It was disappointing, which was only to be expected.

Still, we bought the DVD and proceeded to see the next two movies in theaters. I think I even went to a midnight showing of the last movie. But after that I didn't pay much more attention. I still watched the original trilogy over and over. But if one of the newer movies came on TV, I'd change the channel. Life without these movies wasn't really lacking much.

But I'm dating someone who loves Star Wars. He can quote along with the movies even if he's asleep. I've seen him do it. And he insisted on going to the 3D release of The Phantom Menace. So I agreed to go (though I refused to attend a midnight showing).

It was more or less what I expected. Jar Jar Binks was, incredibly, even more annoying than I remembered him being. How can a single character ruin every scene he's in? It's almost impressive. And the kid who played Anakin really wasn't very good. Still, the pod racing and the climatic battle were both really cool. It was almost worth the cost just to see those scenes on the big screen again.

Unfortunately the cinematography doesn't quite mesh with the 3D viewing experience. George Lucas is a fan of slow pans, which get all fuzzy when you add the third dimension to them. It was like I'd taken my contacts out. This was something I hadn't been expecting at all and it was sad.

I think this movie was worth the cost of the 3D tickets. Mostly because my boyfriend paid for them. It was definitely worth the time spent sitting in the theater. I'm really hoping he decides that Attack of the Clones won't be worth it, though.