The only thing that saves TPM

Even Piell

Qui-Gon Jinn is the character that kept TPM moving. Jinn was the main character.

Even Piell "saved" the very phantom menace? So he IS a sith after all

Sids and maul. Else it would have been very bad indeed.

The sith, i mean without them you would not have a movie...i mean the movie is where the sith come out of hiding...and they mad a big impression.

2 characters do me justice to TPM is Qui-gon how a jedi master should be in pre-clone war days there's so much depth to qui-gon that drove ep1 and Darth Maul for me just because his the best Villain that came out of starwars and im a big Maul fan aswell.

I think it was the stunning visuals. =\ Maul and the Pod-Race helped a bit.

Jaaba cameo!

That first shot of Theed was spectacular.

Qui Gon and Darth Maul. If it wasnt for them, I would never watch TPM.

Personally I find very few flaws in TPM. I think it has great character development and a smooth and well paced plot. The visual effects were stunning, the musical score was on par and it set up everything that needed to be put in place to start the saga. I don't find Jar Jar to be that annoying, in fact I find him humorous at times. Jake LLoyd is playing a naive 10 year old boy, what did you expect him to act like? Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Ian McDirmaid(sp?) all deliver great performances and come across with solid and believable characters. I could keep going, but this is not an essay so I will end by sayin this.

Perhaps TPM was not up to your expectations, either storyline wise or cinematically but either way your opinion is your opinion and if you don't like it then that is fine. But just to let you know, there are many of us who did enjoy it!

Cheers

Happy Saint Paddys Day!!!

Four words.
Duel of the Fates.
Enough said.

I don't get it. How is Even Piell the saving grace of TPM?

In my opinion...the beginning of the movie is the savior. Force talk, lightsaber action, droids and droidekas, frightened Neimoidians. This leads right into the Droid Invasion theme until the movie dies down for a good while.

Pod race is the best part of the film in my opinion; and it keeps you eager for more. Finally, the 4 end scenarios playing out to the Duel of the Fates gives you a good feeling about the movie in the end. This is why I am able to overlook most of the bad parts of the movie...the good parts are just so good!

And the bad parts aren't all that bad or at least are no worse than the bad parts in the rest of the saga.

Darth Maul the best villain to come out of Star Wars? I feel faint...Palpatine, Vader, Tarkin, Jabba, Dooku, and you think MAUL is the best villain holy crap!

I was always quite partial to Piell myself. They need more of him in the EU.

IMHO The Phantom Menace does not need saving. It just needs to be seen with more open eyes. I think the main reasons for this film being frowned upon so much is that on its initial release most folks were expecting something like the OT. Logically there is no way this could happen because in Episode 1, there is no Empire. It's a totally alien enviroment. It's the Republic. No stormtroopers, no Death Stars, no TIE fighters, no Emperor and no iron fisted rule by fear mentality. Instead we have Jedis, the Senate, droid armies, the Trade Federation and a more open and free society.
I think Lucas did the right thing by giving the film a more childlike and innocent feel. As Anakin is a thoughtful and caring child, so is the galaxy. But as we know the more unbalanced he becomes, so to the galaxy. Seen this way, I think The Phantom Menace is probably one of the most important of the films because of it's very alien look.

The Duel of Fates and the burning of Qui-gon.

I don't think that TPM was bad at all. But it definitley would not be as awesome without Even Piell.

Now that I think about it, the battle between Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gonn was pretty awesome. =\

How long did it take you to figure that out?

How long did it take you to figure that out?

Hahaha. Well at the time I was thinking that it was just another ordinary battle. Plus I haven't watched it in over three years. But it was nonetheless original and superior to the battle in AOTC.

Three years man!!! That's crazy! If you had forgotten how awesome the duel was, I can't imagine what else you forgot.

AOTC action far surpasses the TPM's

TPM would be nothing without the Eopie Fart.

How dare everyone count out Nute Gunray. He's the first character introduced in the Star Wars world. His picture should be up there on the banner instead of Jar Jar's.