Star Wars Rewatch I: The Phantom Menace
from Motion Picture Pals Hosted by Motion Picture Pals
Welcome to Star Wars Rewatch, where the Hitpoint Pals crew are meeting once a month to revisit the Star Wars films and re-contextualize them against the current pop culture climate. This month we're kicking things off with The Phantom Menace, the first film in the prequel trilogy and a follow up to 1983’s Return of the Jedi. The Phantom Menace premiered to a lukewarm reception, failing to live up to the expectations fans accrued over a 16 year period of no Star Wars, while at the same time making great technical strides with groundbreaking visual effects, and its financial success set the stage for an entire slew of franchise revivals, from Terminator to Batman. On the inaugural episode of Star Wars Rewatch we discuss the dramatic tonal shift from fantasy adventure to intergalactic political drama. A confounding opening crawl about federations and blockades raises the question: who is the audience for this movie, which intersects senate hearings with the antics of Jar Jar Binks? The nostalgia is strong in this millennials-hosted discussion. The four of us take time to reminisce on our childhood Star Wars memories, while at the same time try to rationalize Lucas's choices, and most importantly ask, is that Baby Greedo? Star Wars Rewatch is co-hosted by William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Cam Call, and Travis Lien, who also produces and mixes the show. Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions. Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.
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