The Phantom Menace is the most Star Wars Star Wars

I am 37. Right in the middle. Where I grew up watching the OG Trilogy, and the Special Editions were released when I was a kid, I saw the Prequels released as a teenager, have played most of the games and read the EU Canon (now Legends) and have since seen it Gisney-fied.I think what Jon Favreau has done to the series is god-like. I LOVED THE LAST JEDI. I think the overall best Star Wars movie is Rogue One. My favorite character has always been Boba Fett and I adored Book of Boba Fett.Anyway. I have never understood why The Phantom Menace gets so much hate among the fandom. It still to this day, seems to be the most polarizing Star Wars movie.And it’s the most Star Wars movie. It is most similar to the original film. It has new graphics technology that still holds up. It has the set design, costumes and score. It has the campy tone of the original…None of it is second rate or carbon copy, however. This was a fresh, interesting take on the series.We have Jedi and lightsabers within the first 10 minutes. And these people are afraid of these dudes, not like talking back to Darth Vader and using lightsabers as if they are Crayola Crayons.Immediately Palpatine. Shredding droids with lightsabers. Stowing down to the planet during a full invasion and going to an alien city underwater. Even as an adult I am so engaged in this film.The pacing is excellent - we have an action driven 30 minutes to set up Anakin’s introduction and Tatooine’s Mythos within the Universe.Then DARTH MAUL what. Don’t care how “underused” stop. He is awesome because he is mysterious. And his arc is perfect. He is a fantastic villain to set up Obi-Wan as a top Jedi.The mix of CGI and practical holds up surprisingly well, given it’s age. It is somewhat cartoonish and whimsical in a way that none of the other mainline Star Wars movies are and given the plethora of Star Wars content we have, with the sale to Disney, the Legends designation to the old Expanded Universe and the animated Clone Wars fable…You won’t find a more unique, fresh, daring or original Star Wars medium than the Phantom Menace. I still think it is a top moment in the series and one of the better films in the trilogy/trilogies/spin-offs.TL; DR: The Phantom Menace is the most Star Wars movie for all the same reasons that people say it isn’t. I have never had a bad time watching this movie and I regularly rewind entire scenes to watch them again - there is so much going on in this movie that is pure Star Wars from it’s source. Thank you, George. via /r/StarWars https://ift.tt/Jzlw76e