10 Things Learned From Re-Watching Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

10. Just How Strong Some Of The Performances Were (And How Bad Others Were)

While it's nothing new to note that the likes of Liam Neeson and Ian McDiarmid put in some truly fine work as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and the eventual Emperor Sheev Palpatine during this particular Episode, a rewatch of The Phantom Menace makes you realise just how unfairly a young Jake Lloyd was treated back when it premiered all those years ago.

Lloyd simply did not deserve the level of criticism and hate sent his way following on from a performance that actually feels like one of the more charming and moving on show during a revisit. 

The youngster's exchange with Pernilla August's Shmi Skywalker as he leaves his mother behind on Tatooine is one of the most powerful and underrated beats of the picture, and hopefully Lloyd - who has been dealing with mental health issues in the years following his appearance as Anakin, but still loves the worlds Star Wars, according to his mother, Lisa Lloyd (via ScrippsNews) - is given a bit more love for his turn in 2024.

Elsewhere, though obviously not helped by Lucas' infamously awful dialogue at times, a young Natalie Portman just comes across as painfully flat and uninterested for much of her debut as Padme Amidala, often delivering her lines as both the 14-year-old (!) Queen of Naboo and undercover handmaiden like she was reading them right off the page.

Again, you can only do so much with dialogue this robotic. But a usually mesmerising Portman's first turn as Luke and Leia's mother is somehow blander than you likely remember, and serves as a reminder of just how much her talents were wasted under Lucas' direction.