When trying to formulate a list of Star Wars films from best to worst, deciphering my top 3 was surprisingly not difficult. What was difficult however, was figuring out my bottom 2 and 3 spots. As much as I love Dave Filoni, the animated The Clone Wars movie is my least favorite of the Star Wars films. Trying to unravel which film I liked more between, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones proved to be the most difficult part of the list. I know a lot of people think the new Disney films are worse than both movies, but for me, the battle for the worst live-action Star Wars film comes down to these two. I made a breakdown of the two, to help me parse out the specifics of each film.
Characters:
There is a lot of crossover between these two movies. Padme is a prominent character in both movies, and I neither like nor dislike this character. I think Ewan McGregor, Frank Oz, and Ian McDiarmid are great in both films. Additional characters from The Phantom Menace that I like include Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn. The Phantom Menace did however give us Jake Lloyd’s Anakin and Jar Jar Binks. Although I don’t personally dislike Jar Jar Binks, I can’t ignore the fan backlash this character created. Attack of the Clones doesn’t have any additional characters that I was particularly fond of; I thought Jango Fett and Count Dooku were both fine. I wish George Lucas didn’t use Dooku as the Sith in this film, but I can’t discredit Christopher Lee’s performance. So even though I don’t like the character, I wouldn’t count him as a negative. The only character I find to be annoying in this film is Hayden Christensen as Anakin, but I think a large portion of this is due to the dialogue.
Winner: Attack of The Clones. Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd really bring The Phantom Menace down a few notches.
Script:
I think the most obvious flaw with The Phantom Menace’s script is the lack of a central protagonist. At some points, it feels like Qui-Gon Jinn, and at other times, Anakin or Obi-Wan. People often criticize the blockade and trade negotiation aspect of this movie. I have no strong feelings toward this plotline, but still think it could have been edited down a little. I did enjoy Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan traveling through the core, the first encounter with Maul, and the Podracing scene. For the most part Attack of the Clones is Anakin’s story, we have the Obi-Wan plotline, but Anakin is the driving force behind a large portion of this movie. I liked learning about the creation of the clones, and when Jango Fett is trying to hunt down Obi Wan, it just felt shortchanged by lesser scenes. Both movies have storylines and things I like, they are just overshadowed by the inclusion of less interesting facets, i.e. the trade negotiations, and love scenes.
Winner: Tie.
Favorite Scene:
Both films provide us with some great sci-fi action scenes. The Phantom Menace gave us one of the best lightsaber duels ever with Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan. This scene is heightened by the John Williams score, and the spectacular choreography. The intercut scenes of Anakin taking down the Trade Federation space-station can bring down the tension of the fight, but in a vacuum, the lightsaber fight is one of the best in Star Wars. My favorite scene in Attack of the Clones is the Colosseum battle near the end of the film. When the Jedi arrive to save our heroes from the Geonosians and the Separatists, we get to see so many fan favorite characters fight in the epic battle. Like its predecessor, intercut scenes can diminish the tension, this time we get C-3PO with his head on a droid. Both scenes give us monumental shifts in the larger Star Wars narrative.
Winner: The Phantom Menace. I am a big Darth Maul fan, so I prefer this scene.
Biggest Flaw:
The biggest flaw in The Phantom Menace would have to Jar Jar Binks. As stated before, I don’t particular dislike this character. My problem with Jar Jar Binks isn’t because I find him annoying, he just comes across as unnecessary. I understand he contributes to the plot, but I wish George Lucas have provided us with an alternative, and used the Jar Jar screen time to focus on the Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon relationship. Jar Jar is one of the leaders in the battle for Naboo, but I didn’t care if the Gungans lived or died, so the stakes were limited.
The biggest flaw in Attack of the Clones is pretty much every scene on Naboo. The whole storyline between Anakin and Padme is essential to the overall Star Wars narrative, but it is poorly executed. The dialogue is disjointed and awkward (just think of all the memes) and these scenes can ruin the pacing. We go from learning about the clones or exploring Geonosis, to scenes of Anakin cutting a pear, or the two rolling around in a field. These scenes made me feel something I had never experienced while watching Star Wars before, boredom.
Winner: The Phantom Menace, the love story between Anakin and Padme in Attack of the Clones is both awkward and dull.
Other Notes:
Neither movie has particularly great dialogue. However, the dialogue between Anakin and Padme in Attack of the Clones is stilted and not believable.
Conversely, both films have exceptional scores composed by John Williams. The Phantom Menace gave us “Duel of the Fates” and Attack of the Clones gave us “Across the Stars”.
Attack of the Clones is the longest Star Wars film (soon to be The Last Jedi) and it feels it.
Winner:
The Phantom Menace. I think a lot of this comes down to a few keys factors, specifically how much you hate Jar Jar Binks, and how much the love story in Attack of the Clones bothers you. I give The Phantom Menace the slight edge over its sequel because of how much I like the “Duel of the Fates” battle scene, and although some characters are annoying, I would rather be slightly annoyed than bored.