Alright, this has just struck me.
How come when an album comes out and people say "It's a grower, you have to live with it" that's a good thing, and yet if you see a film that you don't instantly fall in love with that's a bad thing?
I don't get that - do you?
The Phantom Menace came out in 1999 to the wildest, craziest hype any film had ever and likely will ever be released to. It had 16 years of fan hopes and dreams to live up to, as well as comparison not just to one film but to an entire trilogy, the most beloved films of our generation.
Come on, if it was Citizen Kane it would have fallen flat on its arse.
And despite stellar box office it got flamed. Why? Because it wasn't Star Wars, it wasn't Empire and it wasn't Jedi.
And thank goodness for that.
Menace was hard work, no denying it. In many ways it's like a Simpsons episode. The kids get the visual humour, the adults get the jokes. And Menace took a lot of viewings to really appreciate. And yet it was criticised for that.
Why?
I plan on being around for a long time yet, and Menace will outlive me. So what if it took multiple viewings to get down to the core of the film and appreciate it for the excellent show it really is? I have a friend who professes to be an expert on all things sci-fi, but is actually just a sci-fi snob, who says that if you can't appreciate a film on first viewing then it's no good.
What a load of rubbish.
Here's an example for you. Any Metallica fans out there? Ok, Master of Puppets. In my opinion their greatest album, but it took me weeks to really get into it. It wasn't raw like Kill 'em All, or bombastic like Ride the Lightening. This was something else, an album that demanded your attention and your time. And after a number of plays it just clicked. I got it, and I love that album as much as any other I own.
The Phantom Menace is the same.
Clones and Sith, they are different. The guilty pleasures, like the girl you have a one night stand with and then decide you actually want to take home to meet your parents. I got those two on first viewing, no messing. Clones was a top action/adventure film with a lot of depth and mid-trilogy plot and Sith...what else needs to be said about Sith? It's neck and neck with Star Wars and Empire.
I guess what I'm saying is, why criticise The Phantom Menace, even after all this time, when nothing about it is going to change and when it's as much a part of Star Wars as Luke, the Death Star and Princess Leia's metal bikini.
And who here doesn't want to watch their Star Wars films again and again and again and again....