Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D – Review
I know what you’re thinking, just how many times is George Lucas going to reissue his Star Wars Saga? Everytime a new format comes out, it’s inevitable that Lucas will once again release the saga again. We just spent $90 on the Blu-ray set in September, and with Hollywood going through a 3D-craze at the moment, a 3D re-release was inevitable. With all six films now over with, Lucas will be able to release the saga in chronological order starting with the most notorious of them all, The Phantom Menace. But seeing as how many are getting tired of 3D and The Phantom Menace is infamous in the eyes of fans, is it worth it?
I won’t get into speific details about this film in this review because, well, it has been debated ever since it was released in 1999. Many view this film as the biggest disappoint of all time, but they are some that enjoy it. There’s really nothing more that can be said that hasn’t already. But the question remains, is it worth seeing in 3D? And to be quite honest, I wasn’t that impressed with it.
When you think about Star Wars in 3D, you think about the epic lightsaber battles, or the great space battles. Those were all great. Easily my favorite scene while viewing The Phantom Menace 3D was the exhilerating podrace sequence. That’s not all that surprising as that seems to be one of the few positive sequences audiences still talk about. The scene was already exciting when viewed in 2D, and the 3D was able to add to that enjoyment. The “Duel of the Fates” sequence with Obi-wan (Ewen McGregor) and Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) taking on Darth Maul (Ray Park) was as equally bad-ass as it was when the film first came out. And the Battle for Naboo was also a treat.
Unfortunately, that only adds up to three scenes in a film that’s over 2 hours long. The rest of the film is still the same. There’s many scenes that don’t look that great in 3D, and can even be out of focus in some areas. Then, this is a post-converted film, and dare I mention there were a few scenes that weren’t converted at all. And the main problem with 3D effects is that it doesn’t make up for a film’s shortcomings. And it’s the same with The Phantom Menace 3D. No matter how awesome the podrace, lightsaber battles, or the space battles were, it doesn’t take away the film’s faults. Again, these issues have been debated for over a decade, and fans are more than aware of how annoying Jar Jar Binks is or how much the midi-chlorians destroy the spiritual element of The Force (all in my opinion btw). And the 3D effects don’t hide those faults one bit.
Overall, it was really great to see Star Wars on the big screen again, even if it was my least favorite of the franchise. In fact, I would say it’s worth it just to view it for the theater experience. But the 3D effects just were just weak, and could/should have been much better. Perhaps Lucas could use this film as a test subject for the other films, and that he will improve on the effects for Attack of the Clones.
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