Review: STAR WARS Episode I 3-D

Here we go again, George Lucas is messing around with the classic Star Wars saga again, he's doing that for years and he will keep doing as long as he wants. Now, he's adding 3-D features into all six films and re-release The Phantom Menace (a.k.a. the prequels) first.


I've decided to watch this in the cinema because I've never watch the whole Star Wars in the cinema, The Phantom Menace included. Star Wars is a kind of movie that should be experienced in cinemas, even you're not a fan. So, for a fan like me, re-watching it in 3-D is no brainer.

First thing first, this is a 3-D review, not the whole movie as a whole, because everyone already knows The Phantom Menace is not as good as the original trilogy, and it never will.

But let me rant about the bad things about The Phantom Menace first, it is not the definitive Star Wars, it's not as good. The young Anakin Skywalker is really annoying, Jar Jar Binks, although funny at times, is an awfully poor character, annoying as well.

Let's get into the good stuff, the 3-D is far better than my expectation, and I'm not saying that because I'm a big fan of Star Wars, but because the 3-D is really good in the sense of that it worked well with a movie that's12-years-old. In many post conversion 3-D movies, the video quality there's multiple layers of 2-D image in the picture, not in the case for The Phantom Menace though, the 3-D looked natural in the eye and the quality doesn't affected by the conversion.

The 3-D is also very "healthy" for the eyes. In many 3-D videos, the image will look dimmed due to the 3-D effect, The Phantom Menace looked surprisingly clear, crisp and bright, very easy in the eye. The Phantom Menace is also the first time I do not feel tired or having a tired pair of eyes after watching a 3-D movie, I feel comfortable and I even watched another movie after that!!!

The main highlights of The Phantom Menace 3-D are the podracing sequence and the final battle of Naboo. With 3-D, the podracing is even more exciting with racers whooshing through the screen. And the final battle in space and the duel between Obi-Wan, Qui Gon and Darth Maul are fantastic!

The Phantom Menace is not the best Star Wars movie ever made, look bland compared to Revenge of the Sith and The Original Trilogy. But, for die hard Star Wars fans, this is a great opportunity for you to watch it in theaters again And for those who haven't watched Star Wars, please go and watch it, you're missing one of the greatest film series of all time! The surprisingly good conversion is worth the ticket.

Verdict: 4/5 (This score only count the 3-D, the movie as a whole is not included)