I’d like to add a couple of my own opinions here in response to your review, Lightning…
Requests:
-I miss the first scene with the Droidekas at the start of the movie. With this scene absent, there is no introduction to these droids. When they appear later, their destructive power has not been established and it feels like it should have been. I also like this scene in general and didn’t know anyone disliked it. Could I request that it be reinstated to the max edition?
This was removed because we need to remove the Force speed/teleport. This ability doesn’t show up anywhere else in Star Wars canon, and it introduces a plot hole when Obi-Wan is trying to catch up to Qui-Gon and Maul later on.
-I’m also confused why the scene was cut in which Jar Jar comes out of the water saying the Gungans aren’t there. I don’t remember any annoying antics with Jar Jar there. The new edit of this scene is awkward with Jar Jar’s voice talking while the screen pans over to the Gungan sacred place (it suddenly seems like Jar Jar is narrating the film).
Admittedly, while I agree this is kind of awkward, I also think its exclusion helps with the pacing of the movie a lot. We’re coming off the tail end of a bunch of political scenes (and now even the midichlorian exposition) so it’s important to get into the action quicker.
-I sort of wish even more of the underwater scene was reinstated (the part with the giant eel in the cave), but at the same time I also hate all the antics with Jar Jar here, so I’m sure it would be VERY difficult to edit him out and keep that scene at all…
I think the underwater sequence is at a perfect length at the moment. The pacing feels like it lines up with how long it would take for the droids to reach the city.
Anyway, thanks again for an awesome edit! I’d say this is my personal favorite for Phantom Menace.
Agreed!
Edit: As for the scene with the Gungans, I also realized the conversation between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was cut. This also feels like a loss to me. I think this scene is necessary as a conclusion to the conversation that took place at the Jedi Council. It shows the bond between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Without this scene, there is less gravity behind Qui-Gon’s death. It also shows the compassion Obi-Wan has for Qui-Gon and how he is willing to overlook his faults because of it. It ties everything together between the master and the padawan.
This is a scene which I do think could be hypothetically reinstated. I don’t know enough of the history of this edit as for why it was initially removed, but if I had to take a guess, it’s probably because of Obi-Wan’s bad wig and also because it foreshadows Qui-Gon’s death too much. Characters don’t talk like this unless something bad is about to happen lol.