The Phantom Menace was such a rollercoaster. Some scenes were absolutely astounding, and some scenes were...well, let's just say less than astounding. We witnessed incredible lightsaber action, an amazing pod race, and Liam Neeson strutted around as a Jedi.
But then we had to sit through Jar Jar Binks, Boss Nass, and little kid Anakin.
Love it or hate it or something in between, this movie kicked off the prequels with a flash. It's been over 25 years now. What could they have done to make it shine? Let's talk about it. Here are four small adjustments that would have made The Phantom Menace something great instead of the mixed bag that it was.
1. Fix Jar Jar Binks
I didn't hate this guy as much as most people did. Go back and watch A New Hope, and tell me C-3PO isn't just as annoying? Still, Jar Jar didn't work. We all know, even George Lucas seemed to know. Just look at how much they cut him out of Episode II.
A little less wacky, a little less clumsy, and a little less...well, stupid. This is an easy fix (though it admittedly isn't a "story change").
2. Anakin 'accidentally' destroys the droid battle station
Okay, now I'm fired up! I liked young Anakin. He was angry when he needed to be, seemed genuine enough, and he had heart—a good little future Darth Vader.
But then they put him into that Naboo Starfighter and had him accidentally save the day. Don't remember that? Here are some of his lines:
"I didn’t mean to do that!"
"Uh oh. This is not good."
"I’ll try spinning, that’s a good trick!"
"Now this is podracing!"
"Oops!"
Okay, I'll let him have the podracing line, mainly because the podracing scenes were some of the best in the movie. But even teenage me (yes, I was fourteen when this came out) was cringing in the theaters at the rest. I'll try spinning? Really?
3. Dial down the politics
Without googling, tell me the central conflict of the movie. Go ahead. And you can't just say, "Trade disputes."
Yeah, I thought so.
A little more focus here would have gone a long way. Remember, this was a movie for kids. The fact that Jar Jar exists tells us that much, and yet that famous opening crawl reads: "Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute."
What? Taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems? It's not as bad as "Somehow Paplatine returned," but it's not great, either.
4. More Maul
How much more do I need to say? He has what, three lines? Thirty words, max? I know he's not cool because of what he says; he's cool because of what he does, but still...The success of Darth Maul in the animated series showed how much the fans liked him. He should have a more prominent role in this movie.
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