I genuinely like The Phantom Menace and it’s my favorite of the Prequels
I can see why it was seen as a disappointment to many back in 1999, but I’ve always liked it honestly.
I enjoy the characters and overall storyline. Qui-Gon especially is a standout but I like Obi-Wan, Anakin, Shmi, and Padme as well. It’s also the best looking prequel due to being shot on film unlike 2 and 3, and uses more practical effects than those two as well.
Jar Jar never bothered me much honestly, and the Gungan’s in general I always found neat and I loved their underwater home. Really great visually and has a fun set-piece with all of the fish.
It’s definitely my most re-watched of the Prequels too, and I personally like how disconnected it is to the rest of the trilogy. It’s more of a stand alone entry with what feels like a complete story by the end of the movie (same with A New Hope, which is my favorite Star Wars movie.)
To me it’s got the best lightsaber duel of the trilogy, the best music of the trilogy, the best sound mix of the trilogy (the pod race is so good,) and I think it’s an overall solid movie. Revenge of the Sith is usually seen as the best of the prequels and I like that one too, but I enjoy watching TPM more.
It’s an overall fun time for me despite some cringe moments. It gives me this strange feeling of nostalgia and comfort even though I got into Star Wars with the sequel trilogy, and I think people were too hard on it initially. Personally I really enjoyed seeing it in the theater for the first time back in 2024.
I’d love to hear others thoughts on it in the comments!