My son took me to see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D last Friday.  We had a great time.  As far as the film goes, it was a little of a letdown, not that I expected a great film, as The Phantom Menace is the low point of Star Wars.  It is so bad that I have actually heard people say things are “episode 1 bad.”  Since the movie wasn’t made for 3D, there were no cool 3D effects which shot out the screen at you.  I expected this, but one would have thought Lucas could have added some, especially when the spaceships blow up.  Also the 3D seemed to make some of the very cool effects look less realistic.  I’m not sure why, but there you go.

I saw an article on Yahoo the other day in which a commentator espoused the superiority of I-III over IV-VI, saying that the plot was richer and more complicated, that the politics were more layered, and the effects were of course superior.  I have two words for him– JarJar Binks, possibly the worst Science Fiction character ever created.  I also find him racist (JarJar Binks, not the writer), though I’m not exactly sure why– maybe it’s the pigeon English he speaks.

On the plus side, the fight between Obi Wan and Darth Mal may be the best Jedi fight scene ever.  And everyone wears such cool hooded robes.
I have to say I’m not a huge fan of 3D anyway, but when it’s done right (like Avatar) it’s pretty impressive.  I’d go see Star Wars just about under any condition, but really, it wasn’t worth $20 for the 3D, especially when I have the DVD at home.