The Worst Star Wars Movie Is Still Bad Even Though Its Stars Were Mistreated
One of the biggest victims of Star Wars toxicity is valid commentary. Things are so polarized that offering even the most fair and measured criticism toward any project in the franchise can get you labeled a toxic fanboy. One of the earliest examples of this is how it seemingly became automatically toxic to not like what is, in my opinion, the uncontested worst film in the franchise, The Phantom Menace–not because it’s a great film, but because of what the backlash against it did to Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best.
Neither Best Nor Lloyd Deserved The Horrible Treatment
Even before the biggest social media platforms became the monsters they are today, the toxicity toward the Star Wars prequels was legendary and took its toll, most infamously on Jar-Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best and the boy who played the young Anakin.
jake Lloyd retired from acting two years after the release of The Phantom Menace, and he blamed the bullying he endured from fans because of his performance in the film.
Best would be forced down a much darker path. In the podcast The Redemption of Jar-Jar Binks, the actor detailed how depressed he was after winning what initially was a dream role in The Phantom Menace. The backlash hit him so hard that he eventually found himself on the Brooklyn Bridge, contemplating suicide.
The Redemption Of Jar-Jar Binks
You would have to be a heartless jerk to say that either Best or Lloyd deserved the abuse they endured after The Phantom Menace, and in the case of the former both the franchise and the fans have been doing what they can to make up for past wrongs.
Shortly after Best revealed publicly what he went through, Simon Pegg–whose Spaced character went on one of the most famous anti-Jar-Jar rants of all time–was incredibly apologetic and regretful.
There was even what seemed like an olive branch extended in a recent The Boys episode when we find out that Pegg’s character and his son Hughie (Jack Quaid) had a dog named Jar-Jar.
Best even returned to the franchise, though not as his Phantom Menace character. In an Order 66 flashback in Season 3 of The Mandalorian, we meet Kelleran Beq–the Jedi who saves the young Grogu from the clones. Garbed in traditional Jedi gear, Ahmed Best played the role and fans were ecstatic.
It’s Not A Good Movie
The performances in The Phantom Menace are stiff and uninspiring, even from actors like Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman who often deliver nothing but pure gold.
There’s no clear main protagonist, the guy who was being sold as being the main villain has fewer lines than Boba Fett does in the original trilogy, and in its best moments the film feels like nothing but set up for something better.
Regardless of why, regardless of how such criticisms impacted Ahmed Best personally, the similarities between certain alien characters in The Phantom Menace and offensive racial stereotypes are startling.
There’s Jar-Jar, there’s Watto, and of course the Neimoidians of the Trade Federation.
The first time I heard Nute Gunray speak when I saw The Phantom Menace in the theater, I couldn’t believe Lucas had gotten away with it. He sounds exactly like a stereotypical Japanese officer in some kind of World War II era propaganda film. It was embarrassing to be facing the screen while you could hear his voice.
Two Things Can Be True At Once
It can be true that there were many valid criticisms against The Phantom Menace and, at the same time, that actors don’t deserve to be bullied for their performances regardless of how the public judges their performances and/or the film as a whole.
Yet it seems like we’ve collectively decided to agree The Phantom Menace was some kind of work of genius because we want to support Ahmed Best.
And yes, Best deserves to be supported, but what about all the people we haven’t heard about who went through hardship because a film or TV show wasn’t well received? Do we really think Best and Lloyd are alone?
Do we just pretend to love everything just to spare the feelings of everyone involved? Or do we just pretend when its popular to support one specific celebrity?
The Phantom Menace is a bad movie. Ahmed Best is, by all accounts, a great person. Two things can be true at once.
