It was only a matter of time before George Lucas decided to bring the “Star Wars” saga back to the theaters in 3D. This weekend, 1999’s “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” returned to theaters nationwide for the first time since its initial debut, allowing both old and new generations alike to experience it on the big screen again—this time, with a few tweaks.
For a film that was never made with 3D in mind, the final product is better than expected. Nothing pops out of the screen, but there are scenes that have quite a bit of depth to them. The opening scrawl (still thrilling to see and hear no matter what “Star Wars” movie it prefaces), the pod race (one of the film’s still-impressive highlights) and the Battle for Naboo all look particularly good. In most of the scenes, however, the 3D is not as detectable and really isn’t necessary. It will be interesting to see, however, how the next couple of films, with their much more epic battle sequences, will look in 3D (that is, if Lucas follows through on his promise to convert the whole series; in that case, we should be seeing “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” around this time next year).
“The Phantom Menace”, the first of the series’ prequel trilogy that explores the origins of Anakin Skywalker, in this film a young boy who goes on to become the most powerful Jedi—and later most feared villain—in the galaxy, is easily the most panned “Star Wars” movie. We all know what everyone thinks about it already, so I’m not going to dwell so much on that here. If you didn’t like it in 2D, you aren’t going to like it any more in 3D. Suffice it to say, I am a huge “Star Wars” fan. I loved “The Phantom Menace” when I first saw it in theaters as a child, and while now I recognize the glaring flaws in it (horrible acting, even from Natalie Portman, stood out to me the most this time around), I still enjoy it as a piece of the universe that I have come to know and love.
So is “The Phantom Menace” in 3D worth seeing? If you are a huge fan of the series, then any opportunity to see it on the big screen should be taken advantage of, 3D or not. If you aren’t, then the 3D effects are decent, but not impressive enough for you to run out and see it. And if you haven’t seen it before, or have children who weren’t around when it first came out in theaters, then by all means give it a chance. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to introduce newbies, especially children, to the series.
Let me put it this way: if I hadn’t loved “The Phantom Menace” when it first debuted, I probably wouldn’t be the movie fan I am today. So it can’t all be bad, right?
Runtime: 136 minutes. Rated PG for sci-fi action/violence.
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