"Star Wars: Episode I" returns to theaters today, in 3D. But let’s flash back for a few moments to May 19th, 1999 – the day “The Phantom Menace” was originally released. If you were a die-hard “Star Wars” fan, like I was, you were going to see this movie regardless of what the critics wrote about it. You ached to hear, once again, that familiar yet exciting 20th Century Fox fanfare before reading the opening crawl. You may have camped out on a dirty sidewalk for hours, days, weeks even, just so you could be one of the first to experience it.
But if you weren’t one of “those” fans, you might have waited and checked out the reviews before making the decision to see “The Phantom Menace.” The following is a sampling of what you’d have read.
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'Star Wars' Fan To George Lucas: 'Stop Messing With My Yoda!'
Posted 15 hours ago by Tami Katzoff in Commentary
The release date of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” in 3-D has come and gone, and the news is not so great for Mr. George Lucas. Though the film didn’t exactly underperform in its opening weekend (it took in $22.5 million), three other new films did better. Fourth place: there’s not even a medal for that.
I can’t say that I’m surprised; most adults who have already seen the film probably wouldn’t care to see it again, even in 3-D. And the new generation of young moviegoers was likely distracted by “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”
As for myself, there will be no trip to the megaplex to watch “Menace” once again on the big screen. But my avoidance of “Episode I” has little to do with midi-chlorians or Jake Lloyd or Jar Jar Binks. It’s because of the most heinous, sacrilegious act perpetrated by The Creator: the CG-ification of Yoda.
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Tags Phantom Menace, star wars, The Comlink