Roger Ebert praised ‘The Phantom Menace’ as an “astonishing achievement”
Hype can often be a dangerous thing, especially for any movie that doesn’t quite live up to its billing. Admittedly, such things are all down to personal opinion at the end of the day, with Roger Ebert deciding that one of the most hotly-anticipated films ever made was worthy of the utmost praise.
That’s not to say that it isn’t, because there are many who felt exactly the same as the lauded critic. However, it would be an understatement to say the title in question was a wildly polarising one, and it ended up generating both the highest levels of praise and the most vocal amounts of vitriol.
After rebranding the original trilogy as Episodes IV, V, and IX, it was clear that George Lucas was going to eventually get around to telling the first three stories. Absence inevitably makes the heart grow fonder, and given the position of Star Wars as perhaps the single biggest brand in pop culture at the time, expectations had reached fever pitch well before The Phantom Menace hit cinemas in May 1999.
Much like the original more than 20 years previously, the fourth instalment in the franchise pushed the boundaries of visual effects technology to new heights, albeit not always in a good way. Even the mere mention of Jar Jar Binks can send a shiver down the spine of a Star Wars fan to this day, while the preference for digital backdrops and CGI over practical effects gave The Phantom Menace a constant sheen of artifice.
The story wasn’t up to much, either, with Lucas’ skills as a screenwriter seemingly having diminished over the decades, with his wooden dialogue and paper-thin characterisation more obvious than ever. A lot of people loved The Phantom Menace, to be fair, but just as many abhorred what Star Wars had become.
Of course, the exact same can be said today in the throes of the Disney era, but at the time of its release, Ebert was happy to celebrate Episode I as “an astonishing achievement in imaginative filmmaking.” However, comparing it to the first Star Wars in a positive fashion is where many would draw the line.
“If it were the first Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace would be hailed as a visionary breakthrough,” he wrote. “But this is the fourth movie of the famous series, and we think we know the territory. Many of the early reviews have been blasé, paying lip service to the visuals and wondering why the characters aren’t better developed.”
The obvious counterargument is that Star Wars won eight Academy Awards for its technical innovations to go along with further nominations for ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Original Screenplay’, and ‘Best Supporting Actor’, something The Phantom Menace could only ever dream of.
Episode I did earn three Oscar nods in the technical categories but lost them all to The Matrix, whereas it was shortlisted for seven Golden Raspberry Awards including ‘Worst Picture’, ‘Worst Director’, and ‘Worst Screenplay’. Needless to say, history did not repeat itself.
