Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 3D / Review

Star Wars has always been a huge part of my life. As a kid I had the toys and read all the books. As a college student I ditched class to watch The Phantom Menace and as a working adult I waited for the midnight showing of Revenge of the Sith, only to go to work the next day completely useless.

When George Lucas digitally remastered the original I screamed in protest with the rest of the fans. GREEDO DID NOT SHOOT FIRST! How could you put Hayden Christensen in the ending of Return of the Jedi? Yet, I watched them more than once in the theater. In short, I am a Star Wars fanatic.

To critique the actual film would be a waste of time. It has been 13 years since it’s original release and I am sure everybody watching this movie will have already seen it. This review is for those who are wondering what to expect from yet another version created by George Lucas.

Because I went into the theatre knowing what to expect from the story, I was able to relax and enjoy the show. No worries about Jar Jar. Watching the opening crawl in actual 3D is an amazing experience. This was the effect Lucas was going for back in 1977 when we were first mesmerized by an epic space adventure, forever changing the world’s view on what science fiction should be. The crawl alone was worth the price of admission. I should clarify that statement. Thanks to a coupon my friend had we only paid 5 dollars.

My biggest fear when going into this movie was that extra scenes would be added to the movie as 3D gimmicks rather than for story purposes. I am please to report this did not happen. For the most part the movie was left alone and there was not a noticeable difference in the pacing. That being said although the pod race scene looks better it is still way to long. I finally timed it at about 10 minutes. This did not including the intro in the beginning and celebrating at the end. The pod race and Anakin’s acting is the only thing the 3D experience could not make me forget. Yippee!!! There were only a couple shots where the 3D looked awkward. The most notable of these were straight ahead cockpit shots looking out. Everything else looked great. It did not suffer in quality from the conversion like Clash of the Titans or Thor. It was a new experience that allowed the audience to enjoy the film in a whole new way. Where the 3D really shined was in the under water sequences and space battles. I can’t wait to see the opening to Revenge of the Sith.

Over all Star Wars was originally shot as a two-dimensional film and did not need to be converted to a three-dimensional format. It was a fun experience and if you are a Star Wars fan it is a great way to watch it on the big screen once again. If you miss this presentation don’t worry. I am sure Lucas will be releasing it on blu ray with all new special features soon enough.