My brother won 2 tickets, I was on my way to a birthday party, had to stop at a gas station to scream and jump, my brother is 50 and I am about to be 46 tomorrow May 8th. We saw the Phantom Menace when it premiered. So, you can imagine we were pumped! A local beer company was sponsoring the event and we had beers like it was the end of the world. I fall asleep twice and my brother was laughing so hard. I didn't miss the duel, love the chanting and the double light saber glowing all around. We even had a rock concert at the end! On our way home, we talked to much about star wars and how much we love it. We talked about our dad (I miss him so much) when he took us to see Empire Strikes Back at the multiplex on a Sunday Matinee. My dad saw the force awakens and was sad Solo had to die. It was the last star wars movie he saw. That what gets me about star wars, it connected with so many families and individuals all around the globe. Amazing! May the force be with you, Always!
Definitely had a HUGE connection to star wars because I would watch it all the time with my dad Sorry for your loss but glad you can remember him in moments like this
One of the most thoughtful takes I've seen on the Phantom Menace, especially the whole thing about resetting one's view of the prequel trilogy to be Palpatine's story.
Ray Park as Darth Maul absolutely owned every second of screen time he got. The character's visual design was striking but Park's physicality completely brought the character to life and it's one of the best examples of less is more I've seen in a film.
Yeah it’s darn shame the guy gets killed and has NOTHING to speak of his character. That physicality could have been used not only for more fights but to emphasize maul’s personalityy-extremely aggressive, but also tactical when he actually has to clam down. Actually it gets even more frustrating when there’s a fanfic that was animated on TH-cam which tells a “what if the prequels were good..” in that revised prequel trilogy, maul plays a bigger role, becoming part cyborg (he isn’t cut in half I think he choose to do so), he actually acts as a foil to obi wan and becomes a personal enemy of anakin, influencing anakin to be more in awe of the dark side . And it’s him who is killed by anakin in episode 3, replacing dooku for the execution scene. Really maul could have been one of the greatest Star Wars movie villains, perhaps in his own equaled Vader but he did not at all
The nice thing about the Clone Wars show is that they brought him back and Sam Witwer did a great job as Maul. Of course, that doesn't really make up for how the movies themselves treated him if you don't wanna get into outside material. Killing him off in the 1st movie was definitely not the right choice.
@@randomiser2267 Haha, unlimited was it? Maybe look up the definition. And my comment was to the video when he mentioned that there were only 3 movies before this, not 9 and countless TV shows / cartoons. Why comment with such a ridiculous statement?
I was someone that always loved Phantom Menace. Still do. I remember seeing it in theaters in 1999 and was blown away! It actually legitimately shocked me how much hate the movie and the rest of the prequels got because I had enjoyed them so much.
Just remember, it was the "fans" that drove George Lucas to sell away *his* creation to Disney after the "fans" utterly destroyed Lucas for "being a hack." And all of a sudden, people are like, "Oh ... they weren't that bad." The Star Wars fanbase is the freaking worst.
No no no - the prequels are still bad. The Disney-sequels are just a different style of bad… the _corporate boardroom infused with DEI_ -bad. The fans gave Lucas the feedback for the prequels his creative staff gave him when he made the OT - when he still had to yield and he couldn’t make all the decisions by himself. It’s pretty well established even the original SW was basically saved in editing, and basically against George’s will. The pushback should have been there when the prequels were made - from the other people involved with making those movies! Yes, the “prequel hate” was kind of all funneled at George, much like thanks for the OT was when those came out - it’s the nature of the beast.
1999 had the greatest and/or most monumental films. In addition to episode 1, the matrix, green mile, 6th sense, eyes wide shut, office space, American pie, fight club, iron giant and many more. That was a great year.
@@BushinRyuCatI only count four. Rogue One, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and (just about) Return of The Jedi (the cracks were starting to appear with this one) Four movies that tell us everything we need to know about the story.
@@leecroft7311 Rogue One is cool but lets not forget that Kyle Katarn was the GOAT by just invading a base solo to steal the plans. easy in and out job
No THIS is excactly it, The hate started on TH-cam by a yotuber who didn’t like the prequels, they made it funny and entertaining so other TH-camrs like this one got on the train 🚂 to get views, years later the Disney remakes come out it was no longer trendy to hate on the prequels to get views so they moved on. The prequels never sucked (other then maybe clone wars) I grew up watching them, never heard anyone hate on them until years later on TH-cam specifically, at least be honest about it, you got on the train 🚂 to be like everyone else while it was as trendy and moved on when it wasn’t
@@or2130what? The prequels were absolutely hated when they came out. If the TH-camr you're referring to is RLM, those videos came out years after the movies came out. The movies are only popular because of the cultural zeitgeist they started
@@sammyjuarez7136 not where I was from, everyone loved them…maybe they weren’t dressing up like jar jar for Halloween but that’s about it. I will say this though, because ppl seem to forget, the generation that grew up watching the Disney remakes 5-10 years from now will show up in droves in the comment sections defending them. And it won’t be popular to bash them anymore, the same with the prequels
...be used like a glowstick? SW is space fantasy, so Luke's PG rated swipes from Jedi are fine. I prefer the far more simple, straightforward choreography that was grounded in some narrative context. Darth Maul was just a non-entity in Phantom, who barely says a word. The glowstick twirling was a fancy but empty spectacle.
Lucas Star Wars shows a lightsaber cutting limbs clean off and melting steel doors. Disney Star Wars, being stabbed by it, eh no prob. Sometimes you can be stabbed through the gut TWICE and be A-ok Disney Star Wars isn’t real Star Wars.
@@DrViperVideos You do realise that Darth Maul was CUT IN HALF!! but I don't see people raging that Favreau brought him back. SW fans being hypocrites, shocking I know!
One thing I love hearing about these movies is when people like yourself will recognize that they're not "misunderstood masterpieces", but that they _do_ have strengths that were sorely overlooked. For all the wooden acting, bitter dialogue, sometimes awkward editing, and certain visual/digital effects that starting aging during the movie's theatrical run, the worldbuilding was arguably the best Star Wars has ever seen. And that's not just an indictment against Disney Star Wars, but against so many movies and franchises that exist today.
There 2 things I appreciated about the Prequel Trilogy now than I did before. 1. It introduced a completely new world different from the original trilogy. Now ofcourse some of that new world was very boring. But atleast it was different. 2. George Lucas had a complete story planned out from start to finish. Now he executed that story in a shit way. But it was a complete story. Every major character has a proper character arc across the trilogy. Every event had build up. And like you said. This is not just an indictment against the Sequel Trilogy. Look at the Jurassic Word trilogy. It had the same issue.
Got a call the night before premiere, from a friend of mine. He got a reserved spot in line. This was mid-shift at a bar restaurant. I was the only cook. I dipped out the back, never to return. Watched TPM twice back to back that morning.
Dawg. I watched the Transformers 2 review on MovieMan191 when I was in elementary school. Years later, multiple accounts later, there where times when I wouldn’t watch your content for months and times I would rewatch old videos I already saw on a daily basis. I am now 23 and your commitment to your passion, I must say, is absolutely inspiring. You are awesometacular bro.
The thing I always remember is seeing just how powerful a Jedi was, seeing Qui-Gon melt through the blast door for the first time was so epic. You knew that they were a force to be reckoned with!
It's cathartic seeing Jeremy having more appreciation for the scenes of Palpatine pulling the strings politically. The scene where he manipulates Amidala to call for a vote of no confidence is so underrated.
Oh definitely. Like he didn't expect the Jedi to essentially rescue the Queen...So he completely changes parts of his plans to still get what he wanted. Manipulating Padme's increasing disappointment towards Valorum to get him kicked out of office was well done. I know the kid in me thought that was boring but glad me currently I can appreciate these scenes with a lot more tolerance towards them....though admittedly still not fun to watch in a sense. Episode 2 may have a lot to discuss about but hoooo man, they were boring to go through.
Was absolutely phenomenal seeing this in the movie theater again. I took my kids and it was awesome to share this experience with them. They loved it, I loved it, it was a moment and I'm so glad for it.
Just took my kids to experience this in the theaters for May the 4th. Let me just say, when the doors open and Maul is standing there lookin excessively evil, the horns for Duel Of The Fates starts goin off, Qui Gon says “well handle this”, that shit hits in the DFX theater. My eyes almost started watering 😂.
I remember watching Rouge One with my father when he was alive. One of my best shared memories with him. I remember him crying when Darth Vader ignited his saber on the hallway scene, now I sometimes cry at some scenes when things are getting emotional just thinking how much he would have enjoyed some of the new content.
Well I know he would have loved Andor and enjoyed Ahsoka, hated BoBF and Obi-Wan Kenobi (that's for sure), and I'm not sure about Mando but I think he would also enjoy it.
I remember working at Target, and when picking up cash from the till, there was a $5.00 bill, where someone had written,”Ben’s Star Wars money.” I thought it was so nice.
@@MrBlue3rd25 years later I’m buying those phantom menace toys at antique shops for $7 a piece 😂 I’m so hyped to watch this movie on the big screen again
Cuz he's a hater. He followed the trend of shitting on George Lucas at the time. I knew Disney would fuck it up and Jeremy still praised Disney up untill the last hour while shitting on Lucas.
@@daviddennen7479oh come on. Poeple can change their mind. For example, I used to like them as a kid, but now I recognise that they are flawed with horribal editing choices, wooden acting, terrible diaoluge, tonal inconsistency and unfunny jokes with jaja, simplistic themes explored in a non subtle way (tho all Star Wars other then maybe Andor is like this)
My favorite bit is how Ian McDiarmid has not only fully embraced the community, but he fully acknowledges how the fandom has specific quotes of his that we all love No other actor, even Mark Hamill, does it like him and I love that it’s Sheev of all people
I was 19 when it came out. Taking my son to see it tomorrow. Never thought 25 years ago that I would be taking my son to see this movie in the same theater
My dad took me to see all 3 originals as a kid on their anniversary rerelease. None of the other kids my age could say they saw all the SW movies in theaters it was awesome. He's gonna enjoy it!
I remember doing that with my sons and actually laughing with them the Jar Jar poop jokes. Totally different reaction from me when I first saw it, which was WTF am I watching. Lucas did really wanted to make the PTs for the children.
My opinion changed when the book "Plagueis" came out by James Luceno. I'm a SW nerd so I read a lot of the books. It really helped this film in particular make a LOT more sense. Where Palpatine comes from, who trained him, how Maul was discovered, etc. Unfortunately it's no longer canon, but it is for me. The Phantom Menace is actually Darth Plagueis and his plan to install Palpatine as the Supreme Chancellor... then as we find out, Palpatine kills him as stated in Revenge of the Sith.
I always loved episode 1. It was the first star wars movie I saw at the drive-ins when I was 6 years old and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I still enjoy and appreciate it.
I was 9 when this was released, almost 10. I was probably just at the right age to see it for the first time, but I never understood the hate. This isn't just me looking back with nostalgia, I've watched the prequels a few times over the years. I liked them when I was young, they told a cohesive story that we all knew in the broad strokes. Anakin becomes a Jedi, falls in love, has kids, then turns evil after his wife dies and loses said kids who are raised apart. That's what the prequels were supposed to show us and that's what they did show us. The one good thing episodes 7-9 did was make people appreciate these movies more.
A lot of the hate comes from all the political dialogue that never seems to have immediate ramifications (they're always recounting how X, y, or z happened off screen, say how they must believe in democracy or something, then it moves onto the next plot point and nothing that was discussed seems to matter anymore). Then most of the characters were boooooooring. Finally, there was the terribly written romance in episode 2. Felt very forced, and didn't make sense why Padme was so reluctant to act on it. Really Padme should've come onto Anakin, and *he* should've been the reluctant one.
You're right, it told that story. But I never had a problem with the story conceptually. The issue was in the execution - mainly the fact that the acting and chemistry between the actors was lacking. As a story, episode 3 is damn near Shakespearean.
Aside from the very obvious problems with the prequels, the biggest problem I have that it seems never gets discussed is simply - why even tell this story? We already know as you said in your comment what the story is and I think that it’s actually more interesting to keep some mystery surrounding some of these events as they are built up with the OT. Just little nuggets of dialogue about for example - ‘the clone war’ etc… is so much more interesting than actually seeing it. Plus, this stuff is really just all setup for the ACTUAL story so why do we need these as films? What they should do is make new, original stories. This is why I personally can’t stand this whole ‘Skywalker saga’ nonsense. You have a galaxy with all sorts of species and planets, Jedi lore and Sith lore yet the hacks in charge just keep telling the same story over and over again. Do something different. Make a trilogy set centuries in the past or the future which shows us a different battle of good versus evil. The expanded material do this but the movies don’t and I think that is incredibly dull.
@@johnnyfreespeech5815 you act as if the concept of sequels and prequels are inherently boring. You wouldn’t have these complaints about wanting an entirely new story if these sequels and prequels had been done well. The failure is in their execution (for example poor acting in the prequels, or too many nostalgia echoes/no overarching plan in sequels), not the fact that they’re *extensions* of the same story. Something set centuries in the past or future could be done just as poorly. “The hacks in charge” are mostly Producers calling the shots instead of letting creative filmmakers do what they do from a place of genuine passion for the material.
I think that the reason the Clone Wars works so well is that Lucas ALWAYS wanted to tell that part of Star Wars, where he was hinting at this major conflict since the very first movie. So even though the prequels were hit and miss, it was because you knew there was a much larger story going on that we could only get a small tidbit of as we led up to and skipped to the end of it. The issue with the sequels is that Disney didn't really have any major event going on to really justify the sequel's existence, where it feels like they pulled stuff out their arse to try and have a reason to continue star wars.
Exactly. Disney's thoughts were just oh no a new villain the galaxys in trouble. Up to the Skywalkers to save it because that's what they did before (then you had the skywalkers not be the one to save it). Just completely pointless.
its miss because they are bad at multiple level (stroy, caracters, cinematrography, dialogues...) and so far away from the awesome original trilogy. Granted its not abysmaly bad as the Disneys movies.
Just wanted to reply that I'm your comment's 69th like. Also, very well said, when I grew up, clone wars was the main star wars movie that I was watching was clone wars and phantom menace, and when watching the OT, it was so cool to me that the singular clone wars line from luke to obi wan held so much weight and led to probably one of the coolest eras of SW IMO.
I read somewhere that he always wanted to do a Clone Wars trilogy of movies, but the Clone Wars was more of a footnote in the overall story of Anakin Skywalker
I have always loved the prequels. The Phantom Menace is my favorite Star Wars film. It’s the one I watch the most and continues to be the most rewatchable one. I have no shame admitting it. I like what I like.
your taste is ass if phantom menace is your favorite Star Wars film. Also "I like what I like" is such a fucking copout and "most rewatchable one".. there literally isn't even a main character. There's literally FOUR separate fight scenes in the 3rd act which is ridiculous.. like tell me what is so rewatchable about this movie other than your nostalgia boner?
Phantom Shitter was easily the WORST Star Wars film, and yes, worse than any of the Disney Star Wars films. You know a film like Phantom Shitter sucks when it wins a bunch of Razzies. The Matrix was a MILLION TIMES BETTER
Camped out on Hollywood Blvd for over two weeks so I could be at the 12:01am showing at the Chinese Theater. Everyone went nuts when the Fox logo came on. The first horn blast from the Main Theme started and the Star Wars title card came on screen. The place absolutely exploded. Every single person in the theater was on their feet cheering. I still get chills thinking about it.
Camping out to see a movie... damn, even in my mid sized town we had campers. My "friend" got to see it opening day and made sure to rub it in my face when he got the ticket. I had to try to one up him and do it in IMAX but you can't replace that opening day feeling.
@@papaya32 People didn't actually live there. I went to work everyday. So did most people. You set up your tent to reserve your spot. I only ever slept there twice and one of those times was because I had too much to drink. After work and on the weekends we'd go hang out with the other people in line. We all got to know each other. We'd play board games and order pizzas. Everyone there was a die hard Star Wars fan long before it was cool to be a die hard Star Wars fan. I was a great time.
Fun walk down memory lane. I remember leading up to the release of Phantom Menace going to see A New Hope in theaters and the line for tickets wrapping around the building…for a movie that was 20 years old. The excitement was palpable.
I always loved TPM, from day one, even though I was of the OT generation having seen the first one in '77 aged 11. But the Prequels I got to watch with my own kids ... an amazing gift! But when I rewatched TPM in cinema just a couple of days ago I was amazed by how fresh it still felt (despite seeing it a thousand times on dvd and streaming) , well put together it felt, how well it held up, how wizard the pod race still was and how amazingly brim-full of creativity it is. My appreciation for it has grown over the decades, even though I already liked it in 1999. When the end credits rolled last Friday evening, at the VUE in Leicester Sq, London ... there was audience applause in the theatre.
TPM, to me, is the most unique Star Wars movie. It really did feel like you were looking into that "more civilized age" that Ben Kenobi talks about but also looking at the beginning of its corruption with the manipulation, militant corporate entities whose pockets fund the government, and the emergence of the Sith. Wonderful film.
Hey Jeremy my friend and trainer at my gym who is 35 years old has not seen the prequels or originals and he watched them last week and he absolutely loves them and we talked all day yesterday and he loved how poetic and spectacular they were. He's a lucky soul, I think we are all jealous of him, I'm 24 and wish i could have the blissful star wars ignorance and love he has lol. Great Vid Jeremy!!!!
The flaws from the prequels are still there, the point is that we were jaded wrt to their qualities back in the day (2000's). What changed after the ST was that the prequels qualities feel now unique and are more appreciated, for me at least: - music, fights, scope, history archs for a trilogy, inventive action scenes. The Disney era never offered that.
I think Phantom Menace has some of the most striking and memorable visual designs of any Star Wars film, and they feel totally distinct and unique from the OT's visual language. The Naboo starships, the Gungan city, Queen Amidala's hair, makeup and dress, Darth Maul... Iain McCaig, Doug Chiang and the other concept artists did incredible work, and Lucas deserves credit for encouraging such creativity.
This is what I watch TPM for. Ik it's not the most entertaining film and def has its faults but just to see the designs and visual aspects is really cool. The most interesting star wars in this aspect, it's also my favorite star wars score. This is probably the most distinct star wars got
1000%. I think the backlash from the reaction to the film as a whole meant they totally pulled back on this side of things for the following two films. Which is a shame, for the visual world and design to feel like they did in 1999 after so long of no star wars, it felt (and feels) like this was the way forward for all future star wars media. It felt like the authentic fleshing out of the world George wanted to portray.
I just started college in 2002, and everyone I knew was into midnight showings of Episode 2, and doing the same for LOTR. As a Culture, we need to bring back those shared experiences
@@esbenm6544 True...but I havn't been to a midnight showing of anything since probably Return of the King. Media is taken in differently now...not like the Olden Days
I remember watching The Phantom Menace when I was a child. I loved the last 5 minutes. As an adult, that sentiment still stands. Thanks to this movie, I love Liam Neeson and green lightsabers.
I recall watching an interview of Jake Lloyd where he discusses his experience on the film, and he says there’s a 9-hour cut that he’s seen when he was younger but it’s forever locked away in the Lucasfilm vaults.
@@jessehcreative They still haven’t released the original pre-edited theatrical cuts of the original trilogy, so the chances of them releasing the unseen Ep1 footage is extremely unlikely unfortunately
Taking my nephew to see this later today, as seeing it in theaters is a core memory of mine. He has seen a lot of Star Wars stuff, but apparently he's never seen Phantom Menace.
@@CrispyHulk1 my nephew is 10, he seemed to enjoy the movie a lot. Laughed at Jar Jar Binks and seemed genuinely excited during the pod race and end battle. Glad I was able to take him to see it. Although I don’t enjoy any of the Disney Star Wars, I still thoroughly love the originals, prequels and old Expanded Universe.
Haven’t watched this yet but here I am for the engagement and what I wanted to say is this: this look is great, Jeremy. You’ve really locked it in with this beard and this haircut. Looking very, very sharp. Carry on!
I was 6. We were visiting family down in England and it launched when we were visiting. My family had the original 3 on VHS and I watched them back to back in my uncles suggestion. My life course was so dramatically altered that day. So we went to the cinema in July when it came out in the UK (during the summer holidays) and my mind exploded. Regardless of quality of story or anything... This movie (like LotR) forever holds a special place in my heart
I was 9 when the phantom menace came out and it was an amazing experience seeing it in the theatre. I was hospitalized most of my childhood and the 1995 THX remaster original trilogy got me through a lot of it. George Lucas’ Star Wars will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️
Saw it yesterday. Cinema was packed, we all knew what we were getting, and you know what? It was great! The film is ten times better on the big screen with audience. And i realized for the first time that the themes of sadness, seperation and joy are very palpable. We had a blast, guaranteed. 2/3stayed until the credits were off.
I’m relatively new to your content, so I wasn’t aware of your opinion on Star Wars until this video. Seeing you talking about how you appreciate the prequels more gets one reaction out of me: “A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one”
I didn't like the idea of bringing Maul back from the dead initially but when they actually did something substantial with his character I got over it. That's the difference between bringing him back vs Palpatine.
Maul had 0 character in TPM so bringing him back and actually giving him development was a great move. Maul was pure cool factor in looks only before Clone Wars
Bringing Palpatine back is ok too, it was just done badly is all. Old EU always had The Emperor come back. Besides wanting "UNLIMITED POWER!!!" he wanted to live forever. Those were his 2 main goals.
@@jediryan9454 oh sure I don't completely disagree with that. I probably didn't say it well in the initial comment, but if it were executed better than i wouldn't have had a huge issue with him returning in the sequels.
Watched all movies recently, and thought one of the main issues with the prequel trilogy was killing maul he should have lived and killed by anakin instead of him killing Christopher lee, lees character feels like shit we don't have someone for our heroes to go up against, anakin should kill maul taking his place the same way luke receives the same offer in return of the jedi.
I've always loved TPM. I was seven when it came out in theaters. It was the first one to be released in my lifetime. I already loved Star Wars before this. I also loved Anakin because, as a little boy, I wanted to be him. I have nostalgia attached to this film for sure.
To give credit to Count Dooku, both the Clone wars and Tales of the Jedi really flesh him out too and they really drive home just how much Qui-Gong Jinn mattered not just to Anakin but to Dooku as well because Anakin lost a father and Dooku lost a son
You what I noticed just now? At the end of Episode 2, count Dooku just waltzes into Corusaunt on his ship without any hustle to meet Palpatine. So, before the empire, ships could just go anywhere without a serial number or anything. Everything past Episode 3 is really regulated. I dunno why I just thought about that but... 🤷
@@walrusArmageddon You know what I noticed coming out of Phantom Menace today, and I knew that Kiera Knightley was the double but even now there are still times I was going, wait, was that Natalie Portman or Kiera Knightley, and I'm talking when both are in the full Queen getup with the makeup and everything
@@Tadicuslegion78 a lot of that is because they dubbed natalie portman's voice over kiera's mouth, I am pretty sure. They look somewhat similar under the makeup, but Kiera's face is much longer and slimmer, and Natalie's is rounder. I knew pretty quickly into the movie that the switch had happened, but I was also 22 at the time. Of course, I knew who Natalie Portman was from the movie Leon, the Professional, but didn't know Kiera until Pirates 1 (never saw Bend it Like Beckham).
Man, I couldn't agree more with everything you said. Particularly your thoughts on how Clone Wars immensely helped flesh out the prequels and seeing them through a new lens. Great video!
I remember watching these as a kid and they always fascinated me, the prequels made the galaxy far far away feel truly big and alive. It felt like an actual, different world than our own. It was incredible. And I honestly quite enjoy all the sides of it as I've gotten older and it's my favorite period, especially with the addition of the Clone Wars show too (though that was well down the line before I even knew it existed).
I was 8 years old when The Phantom Menace was released, so I have always loved the Prequels. (And I had already seen the Original Trilogy multiple times by then, so the Prequels weren't my introduction to Star Wars.) I remember my brother collecting the Pepsi cans with characters from TPM. He had them all lined up in his room. It was exciting when we found a new one he didn't have yet.
Prequels were my childhood. I was 13/14 in theaters watching Phantom Menace. I remember the time of the Prequel Hate and I always defended those movies. Pod racing was awesome, the Droid army was awesome, light saber fights were awesome, collecting Coke cans was awesome.
It’s my 2nd favorite.. With Attack of the Clones being the 1st. Although that decision has changed, over the last coupla’ years because Revenge of the Sith used to be my no.1.
I grew up with the prequels, and Revenge of the Sith was and still is my favorite movie experience. Went to go see it on my 10th birthday on opening weekend and it was the first time going to the movies was an experience. The opening crawl started and the fans were cheering, it was just something I didn't know people did at the time. Ended up seeing ROTS 4 times in theaters as a kid and picked up the DVD immediately when it released. Just saw the re-release of Phantom Menace last night and though it was not a crowded theater, there were still cheers with the 20th Century Fox logo and opening crawl combo, and cheers whenever an audience member turned on their lightsaber. No one knew anyone's stance of whatever movie, it was refreshing just to be in a theater with people who loved Star Wars and nothing more. No internet squabbles here, just thunderous applause.
I specifically went my way to watch the movie last night in a crowded theater. It was so nice. Especially the applause at the end, opinions didn’t matter at that point, it was the experience that was worth sharing. I went my way to talk to the guy beside me who told me about dial up and how he had to have a T1 connection at the computer lab to get to download a crappy small video of the Episode I trailer. There was a guy in front of us who geeked out and talked to that dude about T1 connections and all his memories were flashing before his eyes. It was one of the only experiences where I had a nice interaction with a stranger.
@@SynthTerror dude, I still watch the prequels to this day and enjoy them. Maybe you didn't or don't like them and that's fine, but to say most movies people saw as kids are shitty is too broad and vague of a statement to be accurate. It's like saying The Lion King is a shitty movie because we watched it as kids, or How to Train Your Dragon is shitty because kids saw it a decade ago, or more recently the Spider-Verse films are shitty because kids have shitty tastes. Also, kids' tastes for entertainment doesn't automatically equal shitty, it's juvenille because the real world is boring to their imaginative minds. It's pretty narrow-minded to view all media primarily meant for children as an absolute rule that it will be shitty when those kids are older.
John Williams nailed it. Always will remember when I saw Anakin going to save his mum and the sound of the speeder bike making that noise was like another instrument in the orchestra. It gives me goosebumps to this day. It's a piece of genius.
Since Disney took over Star Wars I lost that magic feeling I would get when watching Star Wars. Recently I watched the prequels and originals again. I got that magic feeling again and it reminded me why I fell in love with Star Wars in the first place. That feeling will never be matched again.
The sequels were a mess, but that doesn't mean the prequels were good. There's good in there, but nostalgia has clouded how disappointing the Phantom Menace was. There were also things like the Ewoks movies (plural) and cartoon, the Droids cartoon, and the Holiday Special. Meanwhile, we now have Rogue1, Mando, Andor, and some of the shows/cartoons.
Saw this again in cinemas last night, I was in a state of childlike wonder for 2 and a half hours, the prequels were my Star Wars before I saw the OG, and even TPM contains more wonder and feels like star wars than anything released in the last 6 years
I have always loved The Phantom Menace. For the record, I was born in 1977, so when Ep. I was launched I was 21 but I had experienced theatrical releases of the Special Editions two years prior.
Of the prequels, I honestly think The Phantom Menace is my favourite of the three. Like the Clone Wars, Phantom Menace still makes use of a lot of practical sets and models and actually feels closer to the Original Trilogy in terms of tone, story beats and dialogue than the The Attack of the Clones and even Revenge of the Sith (and especially the sequels). Revenge of the Sith had an excessive amount of CGI (which makes sense, considering the scale of the war, but it made it feel less like the OG than the other prequel films). Also, the action and music was epic.
I feel the same way as TPM is shot on film and uses a lot of sets. Lucas decided to do more green screen in the next films plus shot on digital camera. He laid foundation for what we have today. It does not hold up as well but he broke that ground. The story and dialogue are hard to watch at times but at least the prequels are made by a creative guy and not a corporate house like the modern ones are. A new trailer just dropped and Disney will milk every corner between the existing films it can find… I can’t be bothered with it. That is why I give the prequels more praise now. It tried something new. Didn’t work at every level but at least it tried.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is one of my favorite movies of all time! So glad we got to see it in the theaters this year! Thanks for talking about it!
I remember watching it as a kid in the theaters when it first came out. The moment I saw Darth Maul, I knew he was going to be a fan favorite. Phantom Menace had its flaws, but it still felt like a Star Wars universe.
I've always enjoyed the prequels and to me, the best part about the prequels was the foundation it created for more Star Wars stuff to jump off of. From book to video games, to the amazing micro series Star Wars Clone Wars by Genndy Tartakovsky. Remember, without the prequels, we would not have Star Wars KOTOR 1 and 2.
See, I'm not sure I buy that the Prequels were the reason we got KOTOR. Multiple Star Wars video games were released every year in the 90's and early 2000's, some of which were great (ex. the "Dark Forces" series, the "Rogue Squadron" games for N64 and Game Cube, etc.) and nearly all of which were highly profitable. I think we would have gotten KOTOR no matter what...
When I was a kid, I used to make Star Wars 3D cartoons with my 8mm Kodak camera. Then my next door neighbour friend started helping me, so we made 'The Empire Strikes Back' ( using cardboard cutouts, Lego action figures and lots of flour for snow, lol ). Eventually I gave up on the cartoon making thing but my friend kept it up and eventually ended up working for ILM and became the supervising animator for Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. How cool is that!
Okay. I'm going full geek here. Some of us did refer to the Emperor as Palpatine. Y'see, the Star Wars tabletop RPG (released years earlier) actually stated that the Emperor's name was Palpatine. Okay, going back to the basement now.
Yeah, "Emperor Palpatine" was definitely a known thing, but since it was never said in the films, a lot of people didn't know about it. I thought it was interesting talking with fans at the time who didn't know he would be the Emperor (and were even shocked when it happened in EP III). I kept my mouth shut so they could enjoy it in real time, lol
I grew up with the prequels and it’s always really interesting hearing about the time before they came out and the subverted expectations. Great video Jeremy. I do feel like these thoughts added to the conversation. It’s interesting how our perception of entertainment changes over time!
I was working Wizard's of the Coast retail store in Washington state at the time. They play the Phantom Menace trailer non stop. I was finally able watched in the movie theater back 1999 about a month after it came out. I was warned by coworkers to keep an opened mind. What the really meant was keep your expectations low. I did really enjoy it compared 4, 5, or 6. The edge that was Star Wars was lost on 1. I felt that way about the prequels. I prefer the OG movies. I have not watch 1,2, or 3 . in at least 10 years. Now I dig me some Clone Wars. I got both my sons into the Clone Wars!
Sooo much to love from the Phantom Menace... The beginning of the saga (1-6)... The greatest villain of all time... Shown as a young innocent child dreaming of a life bigger than himself... Young Obi-Wan coming to fruition as a Jedi Knight... A maverick Jedi in the form of Qui-Gon Jinn... The Podrace... The Jedi on Coruscant... MAUL AND DUEL OF THE FATES... And the greater meaning behind Duel of the Fates as well as the battle of Naboo (the symbiote circle etc...). I love this film 🖤🎥 Just watched it again today! Continuing on with the rest of the saga... 1-6 🖤🎥
I was 7 when phantom came out. Loved it then, love it now! Finally saw it in theaters this year. Still awesome! I have my gripes. But, it still holds up as a fun interesting time. "NO alcohol required". As a famous man once said! Love yuh jeremy. 👍
![แฟนแนวใด๋ - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4_XVMuhhbsU/mqdefault.jpg)
"I watch the Skywalker Saga every year....all six movies worth." Well played, sir.
Well played indeed although it was called the 'Complete Saga' before the dark times, before Disney.
He had me laughing so hard when he said that. Haha.
Well played sir.
Was looking for this comment, you did not disappoint! 😂😅
And he didn’t even give any nods or eyewinks. It’s not a joke, it’s a fact.
Took me 3 days to download this trailer back in '99. Totally worth it
I remember having to wait forever for that thing to download and that trailer was magic!
OG ".MOV" files... 🥲
Took me a day to download the South Park parody of TPM. Have that song still stuck in my head lol
Hahaha I remember doing this as well.
Dial-up modem... got cut off when someone phoned and my parents picked up.
My brother won 2 tickets, I was on my way to a birthday party, had to stop at a gas station to scream and jump, my brother is 50 and I am about to be 46 tomorrow May 8th. We saw the Phantom Menace when it premiered. So, you can imagine we were pumped! A local beer company was sponsoring the event and we had beers like it was the end of the world. I fall asleep twice and my brother was laughing so hard. I didn't miss the duel, love the chanting and the double light saber glowing all around. We even had a rock concert at the end! On our way home, we talked to much about star wars and how much we love it. We talked about our dad (I miss him so much) when he took us to see Empire Strikes Back at the multiplex on a Sunday Matinee. My dad saw the force awakens and was sad Solo had to die. It was the last star wars movie he saw. That what gets me about star wars, it connected with so many families and individuals all around the globe. Amazing! May the force be with you, Always!
Haha what a class memory!
Definitely had a HUGE connection to star wars because I would watch it all the time with my dad
Sorry for your loss but glad you can remember him in moments like this
I'm upset about the assassination. Han is not immortal, human, but the way he departed is a travesty.
One of the most thoughtful takes I've seen on the Phantom Menace, especially the whole thing about resetting one's view of the prequel trilogy to be Palpatine's story.
You could eliminate the first 2 prequels and it would be a better story 🤣
No way. @@donovan4222
Ray Park as Darth Maul absolutely owned every second of screen time he got. The character's visual design was striking but Park's physicality completely brought the character to life and it's one of the best examples of less is more I've seen in a film.
Yeah it’s darn shame the guy gets killed and has NOTHING to speak of his character. That physicality could have been used not only for more fights but to emphasize maul’s personalityy-extremely aggressive, but also tactical when he actually has to clam down. Actually it gets even more frustrating when there’s a fanfic that was animated on TH-cam which tells a “what if the prequels were good..” in that revised prequel trilogy, maul plays a bigger role, becoming part cyborg (he isn’t cut in half I think he choose to do so), he actually acts as a foil to obi wan and becomes a personal enemy of anakin, influencing anakin to be more in awe of the dark side . And it’s him who is killed by anakin in episode 3, replacing dooku for the execution scene.
Really maul could have been one of the greatest Star Wars movie villains, perhaps in his own equaled Vader but he did not at all
The nice thing about the Clone Wars show is that they brought him back and Sam Witwer did a great job as Maul. Of course, that doesn't really make up for how the movies themselves treated him if you don't wanna get into outside material.
Killing him off in the 1st movie was definitely not the right choice.
That just further highlights how underdeveloped and underutilized the character was.
@@leithaziz2716nobody has time for a kids show dude
2D character unfortunately
Can't beleive I would ever miss the time there was limited Star Wars content.
You are like Doug Walker lol. There was not limited Star Wars content at this time.
@@randomiser2267 Haha, unlimited was it? Maybe look up the definition. And my comment was to the video when he mentioned that there were only 3 movies before this, not 9 and countless TV shows / cartoons. Why comment with such a ridiculous statement?
@@D0CBEE You are making no sense man lol
@@D0CBEE You have no idea about the books do you?
@randomiser2267
Books aren't films and most people well never read them.
I was someone that always loved Phantom Menace. Still do. I remember seeing it in theaters in 1999 and was blown away! It actually legitimately shocked me how much hate the movie and the rest of the prequels got because I had enjoyed them so much.
Yes me too... I saw Star Wars in 1977 and I saw the Phantom menace in 1999--The Prequels is a real example of real talent and real heart
Because theyre borderline terrible….
@@Skeletal33 theyre not
@@Skeletal33 The prequels is the best Star Wars absolutely 100 percent and I do know that many fans out there will disagree
The marketing for it was next level
Just remember, it was the "fans" that drove George Lucas to sell away *his* creation to Disney after the "fans" utterly destroyed Lucas for "being a hack."
And all of a sudden, people are like, "Oh ... they weren't that bad."
The Star Wars fanbase is the freaking worst.
That is so true. Post presequel trilogy, fans wanted him to sell Star Wars.
Even when TFA came out, prequel haters used that as the benchmark for what the prequels SHOULD have been. So funny to think about now.
@@loansharks47 Funny, yet sad.
I would NEVER be a director for ANYTHING related to Star Wars. It's a recipe for trauma.
Don't look at me, I think it turned to shit when the ball of green snot, talking like fozzi bear on opium, turned up.
No no no - the prequels are still bad. The Disney-sequels are just a different style of bad… the _corporate boardroom infused with DEI_ -bad.
The fans gave Lucas the feedback for the prequels his creative staff gave him when he made the OT - when he still had to yield and he couldn’t make all the decisions by himself. It’s pretty well established even the original SW was basically saved in editing, and basically against George’s will.
The pushback should have been there when the prequels were made - from the other people involved with making those movies! Yes, the “prequel hate” was kind of all funneled at George, much like thanks for the OT was when those came out - it’s the nature of the beast.
1999 had the greatest and/or most monumental films. In addition to episode 1, the matrix, green mile, 6th sense, eyes wide shut, office space, American pie, fight club, iron giant and many more. That was a great year.
I agree, 1999 was the last really great year for American movies.
All great movies.....except for episode 1
Was it like a sense of "this will be a good last year before the 2000 apocalypse"? Lol
the crow is getting re released may 29th and 30th for the 30th anniversary, jeremy better review it !
Jesus it's such contrast to the trash movies in recent years. Haven't had a good year for cinema like that in a long time.
It’s nice seeing the life and joy back in Jeremy’s eyes again while talking about Star Wars. All 6 of them
Are you including or excluding the sequels
Add Rogue One.
@@BushinRyuCatI only count four. Rogue One, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and (just about) Return of The Jedi (the cracks were starting to appear with this one) Four movies that tell us everything we need to know about the story.
3 through 8 are the ones I would rewatch personally.
@@leecroft7311 Rogue One is cool but lets not forget that Kyle Katarn was the GOAT by just invading a base solo to steal the plans. easy in and out job
"I still say they're flawed, but it doesn't matter."
This is exactly it.
No THIS is excactly it, The hate started on TH-cam by a yotuber who didn’t like the prequels, they made it funny and entertaining so other TH-camrs like this one got on the train 🚂 to get views, years later the Disney remakes come out it was no longer trendy to hate on the prequels to get views so they moved on. The prequels never sucked (other then maybe clone wars) I grew up watching them, never heard anyone hate on them until years later on TH-cam specifically, at least be honest about it, you got on the train 🚂 to be like everyone else while it was as trendy and moved on when it wasn’t
Best line
@@or2130 Critics hated the movie when it released.
@@or2130what? The prequels were absolutely hated when they came out. If the TH-camr you're referring to is RLM, those videos came out years after the movies came out. The movies are only popular because of the cultural zeitgeist they started
@@sammyjuarez7136 not where I was from, everyone loved them…maybe they weren’t dressing up like jar jar for Halloween but that’s about it. I will say this though, because ppl seem to forget, the generation that grew up watching the Disney remakes 5-10 years from now will show up in droves in the comment sections defending them. And it won’t be popular to bash them anymore, the same with the prequels
My buddy and I were sitting in my car waiting to hear the release of Dual of the Fates on the radio. Such a good memory.
Phantom Menace was pretty hardcore. Finally got to see what a lightsaber can actually do.
...be used like a glowstick?
SW is space fantasy, so Luke's PG rated swipes from Jedi are fine. I prefer the far more simple, straightforward choreography that was grounded in some narrative context. Darth Maul was just a non-entity in Phantom, who barely says a word. The glowstick twirling was a fancy but empty spectacle.
@@SabiJDit's fine to be wrong.
Lucas Star Wars shows a lightsaber cutting limbs clean off and melting steel doors.
Disney Star Wars, being stabbed by it, eh no prob. Sometimes you can be stabbed through the gut TWICE and be A-ok
Disney Star Wars isn’t real Star Wars.
@@DrViperVideos Disney Star Wars is just shit
@@DrViperVideos You do realise that Darth Maul was CUT IN HALF!! but I don't see people raging that Favreau brought him back. SW fans being hypocrites, shocking I know!
One thing I love hearing about these movies is when people like yourself will recognize that they're not "misunderstood masterpieces", but that they _do_ have strengths that were sorely overlooked. For all the wooden acting, bitter dialogue, sometimes awkward editing, and certain visual/digital effects that starting aging during the movie's theatrical run, the worldbuilding was arguably the best Star Wars has ever seen.
And that's not just an indictment against Disney Star Wars, but against so many movies and franchises that exist today.
Agreed.
I've always said George was an elite storyteller. Horrible script writer.
There 2 things I appreciated about the Prequel Trilogy now than I did before.
1. It introduced a completely new world different from the original trilogy.
Now ofcourse some of that new world was very boring.
But atleast it was different.
2. George Lucas had a complete story planned out from start to finish.
Now he executed that story in a shit way. But it was a complete story.
Every major character has a proper character arc across the trilogy.
Every event had build up.
And like you said. This is not just an indictment against the Sequel Trilogy.
Look at the Jurassic Word trilogy. It had the same issue.
@@kingkiller5325 what character arc does Padme get if you can even call her a character
@@prestonrussell1913 queen at 14 to senator, then mother
Got a call the night before premiere, from a friend of mine. He got a reserved spot in line. This was mid-shift at a bar restaurant. I was the only cook. I dipped out the back, never to return. Watched TPM twice back to back that morning.
legend 👍
Dawg. I watched the Transformers 2 review on MovieMan191 when I was in elementary school. Years later, multiple accounts later, there where times when I wouldn’t watch your content for months and times I would rewatch old videos I already saw on a daily basis. I am now 23 and your commitment to your passion, I must say, is absolutely inspiring. You are awesometacular bro.
Man you make me feel old first finding his Iron Man 2 review back in 10th grade grade in 2010 😂😭
The thing I always remember is seeing just how powerful a Jedi was, seeing Qui-Gon melt through the blast door for the first time was so epic. You knew that they were a force to be reckoned with!
Pun intended?
@@DamianHowardTV 😅 no
“We will not survive this.”
It's cathartic seeing Jeremy having more appreciation for the scenes of Palpatine pulling the strings politically. The scene where he manipulates Amidala to call for a vote of no confidence is so underrated.
Oh definitely. Like he didn't expect the Jedi to essentially rescue the Queen...So he completely changes parts of his plans to still get what he wanted. Manipulating Padme's increasing disappointment towards Valorum to get him kicked out of office was well done. I know the kid in me thought that was boring but glad me currently I can appreciate these scenes with a lot more tolerance towards them....though admittedly still not fun to watch in a sense. Episode 2 may have a lot to discuss about but hoooo man, they were boring to go through.
Seeing it in theaters for the first time since 99 was amazing. Is it perfect? No, but I feel like it’s aging nicely.
Yeah, although it could have been paced and presented better, Palpatine's political manipulation was a cool part of the prequel era
It takes him about five minutes to do it by asking a teenager. Death Note couldn't have done better
Trash in 1999, still trash in 2024
I never get tired of talking about Star Wars. Thanks for covering it. May the Force be with you Jeremy.
Was absolutely phenomenal seeing this in the movie theater again. I took my kids and it was awesome to share this experience with them. They loved it, I loved it, it was a moment and I'm so glad for it.
Just took my kids to experience this in the theaters for May the 4th. Let me just say, when the doors open and Maul is standing there lookin excessively evil, the horns for Duel Of The Fates starts goin off, Qui Gon says “well handle this”, that shit hits in the DFX theater. My eyes almost started watering 😂.
Oh!! When the double lightsaber ignited!
I remember watching Rouge One with my father when he was alive. One of my best shared memories with him.
I remember him crying when Darth Vader ignited his saber on the hallway scene, now I sometimes cry at some scenes when things are getting emotional just thinking how much he would have enjoyed some of the new content.
I doubt he would like the new content. It’s crap.
Well I know he would have loved Andor and enjoyed Ahsoka, hated BoBF and Obi-Wan Kenobi (that's for sure), and I'm not sure about Mando but I think he would also enjoy it.
I remember working at Target, and when picking up cash from the till, there was a $5.00 bill, where someone had written,”Ben’s Star Wars money.” I thought it was so nice.
I worked at Kmart at the time. I'll never forget the hype around the merchandising and toys. We'll never see anything like it ever again.
@@MrBlue3rd25 years later I’m buying those phantom menace toys at antique shops for $7 a piece 😂
I’m so hyped to watch this movie on the big screen again
You stole Obi-wan's money?? How dare you, sir!
@@MrBlue3rdi worked at KB Toys that summer to get the new Phantom Wave figuress
I grew up with the prequels and for me personally, Revenge of the Sith is peak Star Wars!
Jeremy it truly warms my heart to see how much you’ve changed your stance
Cuz he's a hater. He followed the trend of shitting on George Lucas at the time. I knew Disney would fuck it up and Jeremy still praised Disney up untill the last hour while shitting on Lucas.
@@daviddennen7479oh come on. Poeple can change their mind. For example, I used to like them as a kid, but now I recognise that they are flawed with horribal editing choices, wooden acting, terrible diaoluge, tonal inconsistency and unfunny jokes with jaja, simplistic themes explored in a non subtle way (tho all Star Wars other then maybe Andor is like this)
My favorite bit is how Ian McDiarmid has not only fully embraced the community, but he fully acknowledges how the fandom has specific quotes of his that we all love
No other actor, even Mark Hamill, does it like him and I love that it’s Sheev of all people
While we were all thrashing the films, Ian was having a blast. And I don't blame him. He's so good at hamming it up.
"Sheev" lmaoooi
His name is just Palpatine that sheev crap is garbage Disney fanfic
@@Syfcobra8549 wrong opinion
@@Syfcobra8549 lmao bruh - touch some grass man
@@Syfcobra8549
his name "Sheev" came into play before Disney bought Lucasfilm.
I was 19 when it came out. Taking my son to see it tomorrow. Never thought 25 years ago that I would be taking my son to see this movie in the same theater
Such a great story! I was only about thirteen, but I'm taking my kiddo to see it tomorrow as well.
No doubt the Rodent House appreciates your contribution to their coffers, attacking OG fans like they’re so wont to do.
My dad took me to see all 3 originals as a kid on their anniversary rerelease. None of the other kids my age could say they saw all the SW movies in theaters it was awesome. He's gonna enjoy it!
You are a good dad. I hope you have a blast!
I remember doing that with my sons and actually laughing with them the Jar Jar poop jokes. Totally different reaction from me when I first saw it, which was WTF am I watching. Lucas did really wanted to make the PTs for the children.
My opinion changed when the book "Plagueis" came out by James Luceno. I'm a SW nerd so I read a lot of the books. It really helped this film in particular make a LOT more sense. Where Palpatine comes from, who trained him, how Maul was discovered, etc.
Unfortunately it's no longer canon, but it is for me. The Phantom Menace is actually Darth Plagueis and his plan to install Palpatine as the Supreme Chancellor... then as we find out, Palpatine kills him as stated in Revenge of the Sith.
Legends canon will always trump Disney canon, all true fans can agree on this.
I always loved episode 1. It was the first star wars movie I saw at the drive-ins when I was 6 years old and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I still enjoy and appreciate it.
I was 9 when this was released, almost 10. I was probably just at the right age to see it for the first time, but I never understood the hate. This isn't just me looking back with nostalgia, I've watched the prequels a few times over the years. I liked them when I was young, they told a cohesive story that we all knew in the broad strokes. Anakin becomes a Jedi, falls in love, has kids, then turns evil after his wife dies and loses said kids who are raised apart. That's what the prequels were supposed to show us and that's what they did show us.
The one good thing episodes 7-9 did was make people appreciate these movies more.
A lot of the hate comes from all the political dialogue that never seems to have immediate ramifications (they're always recounting how X, y, or z happened off screen, say how they must believe in democracy or something, then it moves onto the next plot point and nothing that was discussed seems to matter anymore). Then most of the characters were boooooooring. Finally, there was the terribly written romance in episode 2. Felt very forced, and didn't make sense why Padme was so reluctant to act on it. Really Padme should've come onto Anakin, and *he* should've been the reluctant one.
Don't care! 😊
You're right, it told that story. But I never had a problem with the story conceptually. The issue was in the execution - mainly the fact that the acting and chemistry between the actors was lacking.
As a story, episode 3 is damn near Shakespearean.
Aside from the very obvious problems with the prequels, the biggest problem I have that it seems never gets discussed is simply - why even tell this story?
We already know as you said in your comment what the story is and I think that it’s actually more interesting to keep some mystery surrounding some of these events as they are built up with the OT. Just little nuggets of dialogue about for example - ‘the clone war’ etc… is so much more interesting than actually seeing it. Plus, this stuff is really just all setup for the ACTUAL story so why do we need these as films? What they should do is make new, original stories. This is why I personally can’t stand this whole ‘Skywalker saga’ nonsense. You have a galaxy with all sorts of species and planets, Jedi lore and Sith lore yet the hacks in charge just keep telling the same story over and over again. Do something different. Make a trilogy set centuries in the past or the future which shows us a different battle of good versus evil. The expanded material do this but the movies don’t and I think that is incredibly dull.
@@johnnyfreespeech5815 you act as if the concept of sequels and prequels are inherently boring. You wouldn’t have these complaints about wanting an entirely new story if these sequels and prequels had been done well. The failure is in their execution (for example poor acting in the prequels, or too many nostalgia echoes/no overarching plan in sequels), not the fact that they’re *extensions* of the same story.
Something set centuries in the past or future could be done just as poorly. “The hacks in charge” are mostly Producers calling the shots instead of letting creative filmmakers do what they do from a place of genuine passion for the material.
I think that the reason the Clone Wars works so well is that Lucas ALWAYS wanted to tell that part of Star Wars, where he was hinting at this major conflict since the very first movie. So even though the prequels were hit and miss, it was because you knew there was a much larger story going on that we could only get a small tidbit of as we led up to and skipped to the end of it. The issue with the sequels is that Disney didn't really have any major event going on to really justify the sequel's existence, where it feels like they pulled stuff out their arse to try and have a reason to continue star wars.
Exactly. Disney's thoughts were just oh no a new villain the galaxys in trouble. Up to the Skywalkers to save it because that's what they did before (then you had the skywalkers not be the one to save it). Just completely pointless.
its miss because they are bad at multiple level (stroy, caracters, cinematrography, dialogues...) and so far away from the awesome original trilogy. Granted its not abysmaly bad as the Disneys movies.
Just wanted to reply that I'm your comment's 69th like. Also, very well said, when I grew up, clone wars was the main star wars movie that I was watching was clone wars and phantom menace, and when watching the OT, it was so cool to me that the singular clone wars line from luke to obi wan held so much weight and led to probably one of the coolest eras of SW IMO.
I read somewhere that he always wanted to do a Clone Wars trilogy of movies, but the Clone Wars was more of a footnote in the overall story of Anakin Skywalker
The Clone Wars is great, but that doesn't make the prequel movies better.
I have always loved the prequels. The Phantom Menace is my favorite Star Wars film. It’s the one I watch the most and continues to be the most rewatchable one. I have no shame admitting it. I like what I like.
your taste is ass if phantom menace is your favorite Star Wars film. Also "I like what I like" is such a fucking copout and "most rewatchable one".. there literally isn't even a main character. There's literally FOUR separate fight scenes in the 3rd act which is ridiculous.. like tell me what is so rewatchable about this movie other than your nostalgia boner?
Phantom Shitter was easily the WORST Star Wars film, and yes, worse than any of the Disney Star Wars films. You know a film like Phantom Shitter sucks when it wins a bunch of Razzies. The Matrix was a MILLION TIMES BETTER
Episode 1 will always have a special place in my heart! I was 9 years old and my mind was blown away! So much fun!
Just saw it in theaters last night. Hearing Dual of the Fates in theater surround sound was well worth the price of admission
Camped out on Hollywood Blvd for over two weeks so I could be at the 12:01am showing at the Chinese Theater. Everyone went nuts when the Fox logo came on. The first horn blast from the Main Theme started and the Star Wars title card came on screen. The place absolutely exploded. Every single person in the theater was on their feet cheering. I still get chills thinking about it.
2 weeks? can only imagine the stench
And the movie was so bad
But then the movie started...
Camping out to see a movie... damn, even in my mid sized town we had campers. My "friend" got to see it opening day and made sure to rub it in my face when he got the ticket. I had to try to one up him and do it in IMAX but you can't replace that opening day feeling.
@@papaya32 People didn't actually live there. I went to work everyday. So did most people. You set up your tent to reserve your spot. I only ever slept there twice and one of those times was because I had too much to drink. After work and on the weekends we'd go hang out with the other people in line. We all got to know each other. We'd play board games and order pizzas. Everyone there was a die hard Star Wars fan long before it was cool to be a die hard Star Wars fan. I was a great time.
Fun walk down memory lane. I remember leading up to the release of Phantom Menace going to see A New Hope in theaters and the line for tickets wrapping around the building…for a movie that was 20 years old. The excitement was palpable.
I always loved TPM, from day one, even though I was of the OT generation having seen the first one in '77 aged 11. But the Prequels I got to watch with my own kids ... an amazing gift! But when I rewatched TPM in cinema just a couple of days ago I was amazed by how fresh it still felt (despite seeing it a thousand times on dvd and streaming) , well put together it felt, how well it held up, how wizard the pod race still was and how amazingly brim-full of creativity it is. My appreciation for it has grown over the decades, even though I already liked it in 1999.
When the end credits rolled last Friday evening, at the VUE in Leicester Sq, London ... there was audience applause in the theatre.
"I watch the entire Skywalker Saga ..All 6 of them" 😂😂😊Gold mate, and you are not alone my friend
Clown
I caught that as well. It was a good slieght towards the sequel trilogy.
I watch all 6 of them too, except I leave off the dogshit boring prequels.
I wonder what are Jeremy's thoughts on The Force Awakens today. He gave it an "awesometacular" and was his #1 movie of that year.
He literally loved 6 and 7 both when they came out. Dude is spineless and just saying this to appease you goofs.
TPM, to me, is the most unique Star Wars movie. It really did feel like you were looking into that "more civilized age" that Ben Kenobi talks about but also looking at the beginning of its corruption with the manipulation, militant corporate entities whose pockets fund the government, and the emergence of the Sith. Wonderful film.
Hey Jeremy my friend and trainer at my gym who is 35 years old has not seen the prequels or originals and he watched them last week and he absolutely loves them and we talked all day yesterday and he loved how poetic and spectacular they were. He's a lucky soul, I think we are all jealous of him, I'm 24 and wish i could have the blissful star wars ignorance and love he has lol. Great Vid Jeremy!!!!
The flaws from the prequels are still there, the point is that we were jaded wrt to their qualities back in the day (2000's).
What changed after the ST was that the prequels qualities feel now unique and are more appreciated, for me at least:
- music, fights, scope, history archs for a trilogy, inventive action scenes.
The Disney era never offered that.
I think Phantom Menace has some of the most striking and memorable visual designs of any Star Wars film, and they feel totally distinct and unique from the OT's visual language. The Naboo starships, the Gungan city, Queen Amidala's hair, makeup and dress, Darth Maul... Iain McCaig, Doug Chiang and the other concept artists did incredible work, and Lucas deserves credit for encouraging such creativity.
Agreed. I love how much freedom Lucas gave to the artists to come up with so many ideas and push technology to the brink.
This is what I watch TPM for. Ik it's not the most entertaining film and def has its faults but just to see the designs and visual aspects is really cool. The most interesting star wars in this aspect, it's also my favorite star wars score. This is probably the most distinct star wars got
1000%. I think the backlash from the reaction to the film as a whole meant they totally pulled back on this side of things for the following two films. Which is a shame, for the visual world and design to feel like they did in 1999 after so long of no star wars, it felt (and feels) like this was the way forward for all future star wars media. It felt like the authentic fleshing out of the world George wanted to portray.
George is great when it comes to World Building and Episode I showcased it perfectly.
It was all stolen from "Dinotopia", a series of books that Lucasfilm considered making into a film but Lucas had other ideas. Look it up.
I just started college in 2002, and everyone I knew was into midnight showings of Episode 2, and doing the same for LOTR. As a Culture, we need to bring back those shared experiences
It happens automatically if there's something good. But the prequel trilogy is not that good. It rode the coattails of the originals.
@@esbenm6544 True...but I havn't been to a midnight showing of anything since probably Return of the King. Media is taken in differently now...not like the Olden Days
Bro, your MCU: Endgame though?
@@Ruddline I mean yeah...yeah, I never went to a midnight showing for that. But, it was a pretty big cultural event.
ya'll forgot about Barbie, oppenheimer, and Avatar?
I remember watching The Phantom Menace when I was a child. I loved the last 5 minutes. As an adult, that sentiment still stands. Thanks to this movie, I love Liam Neeson and green lightsabers.
Episode 1: Racer was indeed fucking awesome! That alone made Phantom Menace worthwhile
I recall watching an interview of Jake Lloyd where he discusses his experience on the film, and he says there’s a 9-hour cut that he’s seen when he was younger but it’s forever locked away in the Lucasfilm vaults.
They could release a miniseries with that cut
@@jessehcreative They still haven’t released the original pre-edited theatrical cuts of the original trilogy, so the chances of them releasing the unseen Ep1 footage is extremely unlikely unfortunately
Taking my nephew to see this later today, as seeing it in theaters is a core memory of mine. He has seen a lot of Star Wars stuff, but apparently he's never seen Phantom Menace.
I've banned my nephew from watching disney Star Wars. I'm taking him to watch TPM too
@@CrispyHulk1 my nephew is 10, he seemed to enjoy the movie a lot. Laughed at Jar Jar Binks and seemed genuinely excited during the pod race and end battle. Glad I was able to take him to see it. Although I don’t enjoy any of the Disney Star Wars, I still thoroughly love the originals, prequels and old Expanded Universe.
@@greenirez2798Honestly I’m glad there will still be some kids who enjoy these movies rather than the sludge nowadays. Thank you guys lol
Haven’t watched this yet but here I am for the engagement and what I wanted to say is this: this look is great, Jeremy. You’ve really locked it in with this beard and this haircut. Looking very, very sharp. Carry on!
I was 6. We were visiting family down in England and it launched when we were visiting. My family had the original 3 on VHS and I watched them back to back in my uncles suggestion. My life course was so dramatically altered that day.
So we went to the cinema in July when it came out in the UK (during the summer holidays) and my mind exploded.
Regardless of quality of story or anything... This movie (like LotR) forever holds a special place in my heart
I was 9 when the phantom menace came out and it was an amazing experience seeing it in the theatre. I was hospitalized most of my childhood and the 1995 THX remaster original trilogy got me through a lot of it. George Lucas’ Star Wars will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️
Saw it yesterday. Cinema was packed, we all knew what we were getting, and you know what? It was great! The film is ten times better on the big screen with audience. And i realized for the first time that the themes of sadness, seperation and joy are very palpable. We had a blast, guaranteed. 2/3stayed until the credits were off.
Damn! Congrats on 15 years dude 👍🏻
I’m relatively new to your content, so I wasn’t aware of your opinion on Star Wars until this video. Seeing you talking about how you appreciate the prequels more gets one reaction out of me:
“A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one”
I didn't like the idea of bringing Maul back from the dead initially but when they actually did something substantial with his character I got over it. That's the difference between bringing him back vs Palpatine.
Maul had 0 character in TPM so bringing him back and actually giving him development was a great move. Maul was pure cool factor in looks only before Clone Wars
Bringing Palpatine back is ok too, it was just done badly is all. Old EU always had The Emperor come back. Besides wanting "UNLIMITED POWER!!!" he wanted to live forever. Those were his 2 main goals.
@@jediryan9454 oh sure I don't completely disagree with that. I probably didn't say it well in the initial comment, but if it were executed better than i wouldn't have had a huge issue with him returning in the sequels.
You mean "somehow" wasn't a great explanation for Palpatine to return?? Best explanation ever! 😅
Watched all movies recently, and thought one of the main issues with the prequel trilogy was killing maul he should have lived and killed by anakin instead of him killing Christopher lee, lees character feels like shit we don't have someone for our heroes to go up against, anakin should kill maul taking his place the same way luke receives the same offer in return of the jedi.
that radio impersonation is spot on!
This man is talented!
I've always loved TPM. I was seven when it came out in theaters. It was the first one to be released in my lifetime. I already loved Star Wars before this. I also loved Anakin because, as a little boy, I wanted to be him. I have nostalgia attached to this film for sure.
Wonderful analysis and commentary, Jer!
To give credit to Count Dooku, both the Clone wars and Tales of the Jedi really flesh him out too and they really drive home just how much Qui-Gong Jinn mattered not just to Anakin but to Dooku as well because Anakin lost a father and Dooku lost a son
You what I noticed just now? At the end of Episode 2, count Dooku just waltzes into Corusaunt on his ship without any hustle to meet Palpatine. So, before the empire, ships could just go anywhere without a serial number or anything. Everything past Episode 3 is really regulated.
I dunno why I just thought about that but... 🤷
@@walrusArmageddon You know what I noticed coming out of Phantom Menace today, and I knew that Kiera Knightley was the double but even now there are still times I was going, wait, was that Natalie Portman or Kiera Knightley, and I'm talking when both are in the full Queen getup with the makeup and everything
@@Tadicuslegion78 a lot of that is because they dubbed natalie portman's voice over kiera's mouth, I am pretty sure. They look somewhat similar under the makeup, but Kiera's face is much longer and slimmer, and Natalie's is rounder. I knew pretty quickly into the movie that the switch had happened, but I was also 22 at the time. Of course, I knew who Natalie Portman was from the movie Leon, the Professional, but didn't know Kiera until Pirates 1 (never saw Bend it Like Beckham).
“If you haven’t seen that then let me welcome you to Earth” had me dying 😂
After that line I expected him to punch us like Will Smith in Independence Day
@@reventon_4442 foreshadowing in a way
@@jr2904 How so?
Man, I couldn't agree more with everything you said. Particularly your thoughts on how Clone Wars immensely helped flesh out the prequels and seeing them through a new lens. Great video!
Thank you for this video. It's the closest I've felt to my childhood enjoyment of Star Wars in years.
I remember watching these as a kid and they always fascinated me, the prequels made the galaxy far far away feel truly big and alive. It felt like an actual, different world than our own. It was incredible. And I honestly quite enjoy all the sides of it as I've gotten older and it's my favorite period, especially with the addition of the Clone Wars show too (though that was well down the line before I even knew it existed).
"All six movies worth." Indeed, sir. Indeed.
😂
I was 8 years old when The Phantom Menace was released, so I have always loved the Prequels. (And I had already seen the Original Trilogy multiple times by then, so the Prequels weren't my introduction to Star Wars.)
I remember my brother collecting the Pepsi cans with characters from TPM. He had them all lined up in his room. It was exciting when we found a new one he didn't have yet.
Prequels were my childhood. I was 13/14 in theaters watching Phantom Menace. I remember the time of the Prequel Hate and I always defended those movies. Pod racing was awesome, the Droid army was awesome, light saber fights were awesome, collecting Coke cans was awesome.
I can't believe it's been 25 years of the release The Phantom Menace. It's my fourth favorite movie of Star Wars.
It’s my 2nd favorite.. With Attack of the Clones being the 1st. Although that decision has changed, over the last coupla’ years because Revenge of the Sith used to be my no.1.
I grew up with the prequels, and Revenge of the Sith was and still is my favorite movie experience. Went to go see it on my 10th birthday on opening weekend and it was the first time going to the movies was an experience. The opening crawl started and the fans were cheering, it was just something I didn't know people did at the time. Ended up seeing ROTS 4 times in theaters as a kid and picked up the DVD immediately when it released.
Just saw the re-release of Phantom Menace last night and though it was not a crowded theater, there were still cheers with the 20th Century Fox logo and opening crawl combo, and cheers whenever an audience member turned on their lightsaber. No one knew anyone's stance of whatever movie, it was refreshing just to be in a theater with people who loved Star Wars and nothing more. No internet squabbles here, just thunderous applause.
Thanks for sharing that. Saw it last night with two nephews, and it was a blast!
I saw phantom menace when I was 5 it was the first movie I ever saw in a theater , I remember that it was crazy packed
I specifically went my way to watch the movie last night in a crowded theater. It was so nice. Especially the applause at the end, opinions didn’t matter at that point, it was the experience that was worth sharing. I went my way to talk to the guy beside me who told me about dial up and how he had to have a T1 connection at the computer lab to get to download a crappy small video of the Episode I trailer. There was a guy in front of us who geeked out and talked to that dude about T1 connections and all his memories were flashing before his eyes. It was one of the only experiences where I had a nice interaction with a stranger.
Most movies we see as children aren't good movies. We all know this right? Kids have shitty tastes
@@SynthTerror dude, I still watch the prequels to this day and enjoy them. Maybe you didn't or don't like them and that's fine, but to say most movies people saw as kids are shitty is too broad and vague of a statement to be accurate. It's like saying The Lion King is a shitty movie because we watched it as kids, or How to Train Your Dragon is shitty because kids saw it a decade ago, or more recently the Spider-Verse films are shitty because kids have shitty tastes.
Also, kids' tastes for entertainment doesn't automatically equal shitty, it's juvenille because the real world is boring to their imaginative minds. It's pretty narrow-minded to view all media primarily meant for children as an absolute rule that it will be shitty when those kids are older.
John Williams nailed it. Always will remember when I saw Anakin going to save his mum and the sound of the speeder bike making that noise was like another instrument in the orchestra. It gives me goosebumps to this day. It's a piece of genius.
"prequel hating era" "all six movies" - its like poetry...
Duel of the fates is still the best thing Star Wars has ever done
It elevated the battle to another level. John Williams is the 🐐
Battle of the Heroes is DEFINITELY up there
A Hero Falls also from Revenge of the Sith
@@josephaaron4985and across the stars
Nah amn if it's music it's battle of heroes
Since Disney took over Star Wars I lost that magic feeling I would get when watching Star Wars. Recently I watched the prequels and originals again. I got that magic feeling again and it reminded me why I fell in love with Star Wars in the first place. That feeling will never be matched again.
I get it from watching the animated stuff and Andor, but a lot of the live action stuff doesn’t have that magic that Lucas’ films have.
A fair amount of the disney shows are quite good. Just ignore the films and you are fine.
The sequels were a mess, but that doesn't mean the prequels were good. There's good in there, but nostalgia has clouded how disappointing the Phantom Menace was. There were also things like the Ewoks movies (plural) and cartoon, the Droids cartoon, and the Holiday Special. Meanwhile, we now have Rogue1, Mando, Andor, and some of the shows/cartoons.
Disney is the best thing that happened to star wars since 1977
I think it’ll take George Lucas’ sequel trilogy to regain that magic again. To some degree, at least.
I grew up with the prequels so they're pretty nostalgic and I felt they were underrated for so many years
Great video man. You put Into words what a lot of us are thinking.
When phantom menace was released it was closer to the first Star Wars release then we are closer to the release of phantom menace, Times flying!
Saw this again in cinemas last night,
I was in a state of childlike wonder for 2 and a half hours, the prequels were my Star Wars before I saw the OG, and even TPM contains more wonder and feels like star wars than anything released in the last 6 years
Great review JJ, as always, my dear boi.
I have always loved The Phantom Menace. For the record, I was born in 1977, so when Ep. I was launched I was 21 but I had experienced theatrical releases of the Special Editions two years prior.
I was 28 & had both trilogies, loved em both.
Same here. Dec 2 1977. Loved the prequels when they came out. Still do.
Damn , is it already 25 years passed? It feels like it was yesterday when i was hyped as child waiting to see this new Star wars movie. Time does fly
Don't care what you think 😊
@@nolancho and I don't care about you not caring 😂
Of the prequels, I honestly think The Phantom Menace is my favourite of the three. Like the Clone Wars, Phantom Menace still makes use of a lot of practical sets and models and actually feels closer to the Original Trilogy in terms of tone, story beats and dialogue than the The Attack of the Clones and even Revenge of the Sith (and especially the sequels). Revenge of the Sith had an excessive amount of CGI (which makes sense, considering the scale of the war, but it made it feel less like the OG than the other prequel films).
Also, the action and music was epic.
You forget the main piece of technical uniformity it has with the Originals, the fact that it was the only entry of the trilogy that was shot on film.
I feel the same way as TPM is shot on film and uses a lot of sets. Lucas decided to do more green screen in the next films plus shot on digital camera. He laid foundation for what we have today. It does not hold up as well but he broke that ground.
The story and dialogue are hard to watch at times but at least the prequels are made by a creative guy and not a corporate house like the modern ones are. A new trailer just dropped and Disney will milk every corner between the existing films it can find… I can’t be bothered with it.
That is why I give the prequels more praise now. It tried something new. Didn’t work at every level but at least it tried.
Videos like this are why I’ve stuck with you since revenge of the fallen
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is one of my favorite movies of all time! So glad we got to see it in the theaters this year! Thanks for talking about it!
I remember watching it as a kid in the theaters when it first came out. The moment I saw Darth Maul, I knew he was going to be a fan favorite. Phantom Menace had its flaws, but it still felt like a Star Wars universe.
I've always enjoyed the prequels and to me, the best part about the prequels was the foundation it created for more Star Wars stuff to jump off of. From book to video games, to the amazing micro series Star Wars Clone Wars by Genndy Tartakovsky. Remember, without the prequels, we would not have Star Wars KOTOR 1 and 2.
See, I'm not sure I buy that the Prequels were the reason we got KOTOR. Multiple Star Wars video games were released every year in the 90's and early 2000's, some of which were great (ex. the "Dark Forces" series, the "Rogue Squadron" games for N64 and Game Cube, etc.) and nearly all of which were highly profitable. I think we would have gotten KOTOR no matter what...
So the best part about the prequels is that is actually led to good material?
Thank god I was too young to understand this prequel hate. I grew up with them and loved them.
When I was a kid, I used to make Star Wars 3D cartoons with my 8mm Kodak camera. Then my next door neighbour friend started helping me, so we made 'The Empire Strikes Back' ( using cardboard cutouts, Lego action figures and lots of flour for snow, lol ). Eventually I gave up on the cartoon making thing but my friend kept it up and eventually ended up working for ILM and became the supervising animator for Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. How cool is that!
Okay. I'm going full geek here. Some of us did refer to the Emperor as Palpatine. Y'see, the Star Wars tabletop RPG (released years earlier) actually stated that the Emperor's name was Palpatine. Okay, going back to the basement now.
Take care 🫡
Yeah, "Emperor Palpatine" was definitely a known thing, but since it was never said in the films, a lot of people didn't know about it. I thought it was interesting talking with fans at the time who didn't know he would be the Emperor (and were even shocked when it happened in EP III). I kept my mouth shut so they could enjoy it in real time, lol
Man I just wish Star Wars could come up with a card or board game that actually met success and wasn't canned.
I enjoyed the D20 RPG….and the CCG card game….and early Star Wars Galaxies….you are among friends
@@KevinKrayden Not true, the Imperial officers called him Emperor Palpatine once or twice in the OT.
An Austin Powers 2 VHS Flex?!?! On Star Wars Day?!?!? How dare you sir!!!!
He got away in that rocket that looks like a giant-
@@WH250398 -Chewy! Pay attention! We almost hit that fighter that looks like a long-
@@anthonyfrancois-ospinaDick? Is it you?
I grew up with the prequels and it’s always really interesting hearing about the time before they came out and the subverted expectations. Great video Jeremy. I do feel like these thoughts added to the conversation. It’s interesting how our perception of entertainment changes over time!
"They're still a product of true passion and imagination from someone who actually loved and respected the characters." Wow, this is truly it.
Happy may the 4th
25 years??? Holy shit. It doesn’t even feel THAT long ago. I’m 29 and vividly remember watching this in theaters with my uncle
Same age, vividly remember Attack of the Clones in theaters. Saw Phantom Menace on VHS, but Phantom Menace is definitely the better one!
Same age
I always loved this movie my dad took me to see it as a kid and it was epic
I was working Wizard's of the Coast retail store in Washington state at the time. They play the Phantom Menace trailer non stop. I was finally able watched in the movie theater back 1999 about a month after it came out. I was warned by coworkers to keep an opened mind. What the really meant was keep your expectations low. I did really enjoy it compared 4, 5, or 6. The edge that was Star Wars was lost on 1. I felt that way about the prequels. I prefer the OG movies. I have not watch 1,2, or 3 . in at least 10 years. Now I dig me some Clone Wars. I got both my sons into the Clone Wars!
Sooo much to love from the Phantom Menace... The beginning of the saga (1-6)... The greatest villain of all time... Shown as a young innocent child dreaming of a life bigger than himself... Young Obi-Wan coming to fruition as a Jedi Knight... A maverick Jedi in the form of Qui-Gon Jinn... The Podrace... The Jedi on Coruscant... MAUL AND DUEL OF THE FATES... And the greater meaning behind Duel of the Fates as well as the battle of Naboo (the symbiote circle etc...). I love this film 🖤🎥 Just watched it again today! Continuing on with the rest of the saga... 1-6 🖤🎥
Now this is pod racing!
Let's try spinning! That's a good trick
@@josephaaron4985 I love those lines. Never bothered me, personally.
My testies hide in my body when I hear that line
25 years later I still hate it... for me it's on the level of Canto Bight, over the top ridiculous and mostly pointless...
At first I thought it was pog racing
Years ago.😄
Loved hearing your updated thoughts! Am looking forward to the 25th anniversary Episode II review ⭐️ we will be there!
Damn. I remember watching this when it came out. Still like it today.
I saw it on the big screen rather than TV for the first time yesterday and it blew me away
Right? It was awesome and this time I paid attention to the plot and it still made sense, I don't get all the hate, it's a classic.
@@drewescobar3847 Totally
I will always die on the hill that Phantom Menace is a fantastic Star Wars movie
Holy shit! I've been watching your videos for nearly 15 years?
I was 7 when phantom came out. Loved it then, love it now! Finally saw it in theaters this year. Still awesome! I have my gripes. But, it still holds up as a fun interesting time. "NO alcohol required". As a famous man once said! Love yuh jeremy. 👍