Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

So I watched this at a midnight screening when it was released (the first time midnight screenings happened...). The blast of horns for John Willams' score occurred and the title scrawl happened, droidikas appeared - I had a buzz going. But that buzz got less and less as the film wore on. Jar Jar appeared...and then Anakin trying to crack onto Padme...Darth Maul appeared and I got excited, but the dialogue continued like a child had written it and the excitement had dissipated by the time the Pod Race started. It was the first time I had really been deeply disappointed by a movie. The came the Lego Star Wars games...and this movie became alright. Probably because Lucas had made this film for kids (hence the overly simple plot and dialogue), is why it worked so well with Lego characters miming scenes. I have watched this now countless times as a part of the 4-6, 1-3 order of Vader being a villain, redeeming himself and then becoming a villain. And my appreciation of it has grown a little. The CGI for the time was great - it has become old though; and the movie relies on this too much, so some scenes do not feel grounded (or have people looking into space rather than at a character). Im now OK with the pod race as a homage to Ben Hur - the details that have been thrown into it are grand, and it is a good length for the film. And I really like that Lucas tried to expand what goes on in this universe. He started the world building quite well, but this meant A LOT of exposition to catch people up on how things are different to 4-6. I dont mind that, there was a lot of exposition in 4 as well. And as always, Lucas put in details that you didnt expect, like Yoda's comments to ObiWan that he could see QuiGon in him, or the spinning parts in C3PO, or R2's introduction and his quippy nature from the start. Setting part of the film on Tatooine is actually smart (Anakin hates it, so Vader wouldnt go searching there between 3-4). And having a planet that is not just a desert, or show, or a forest, or lava, or a city, but that is like Earth is refreshing in this series. I dont even mind the Midichlorian comcept - why wouldnt an advanced society try to find out how "magic" happens and find a way to test for it? But you can also see the things where Lucas just tried toooo hard- they stand out like nothing else. And here are the usual topics for this film - JarJar, having to go to Atlantis (you could take both of these things out and the plot and character development wouldnt change at all), the under-developed plot and dialogue, Anakin being "bratty". The Pod Race also feels kind of superfluous - written into the plot as Lucas wanted to "homage." And Ill give it credit for actually trying to do something and expand the universe (unlike the dreadful Ep 7, but thats another story). There are consequences in this universe and foreshadowing of some things to come. we got to see how the Jedi worked in their prime (and moreso in Ep 2). As movies go, this one is really mixed. But it is a great computer game.