'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' Honest Trailers: Once a Bad Film Always a Bad Film

By Petr Navovy | Videos | May 25, 2024 |

By Petr Navovy | Videos | May 25, 2024 |

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is twenty-six years old in July. It’s not a good film. It’s never been a good film. Ludicrous yet boring and filled with the awkward dialogue that has always been a hallmark of the films but without the sense of magic, fun, and wonder that could sometimes balance it out, it’s a film that occasionally flirts with captivating the audience but which never fully manages it.

Yet despite that, it’s become almost a cliché to re-appraise it in the years and decades since its release. It’s fascinating in many ways, and there’s a lot to unpack there about nostalgia and the industry overall, but, really, let’s be honest: Disney relentlessly grinding the Star Wars property into the dust is possibly the biggest reason behind that. Honest Trailers decided to have a … well, honest…look back at what was always a bad film, but which now does sometimes feel bad in refreshingly different ways relative to what we have now.