When The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, it became one of the most heavily criticized movies in Star Wars history. Fans attacked its dialogue, its politics and especially Jar Jar Binks, while some of the actors involved later spoke openly about how difficult the backlash became.
Liam Neeson, however, has never turned against the movie.
During a 2020 appearance on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, Neeson was asked about the criticism surrounding The Phantom Menace. Rather than distancing himself from the film, he immediately defended it.
“I liked the movie. I’m proud of it.”
Neeson said he loved getting the opportunity to play a Jedi and still looked back positively on his time as Qui-Gon Jinn. For him, the experience of working with George Lucas and becoming part of Star Wars was not ruined by the reaction the movie later received.
However, the part of the backlash that seemed to bother him most was what happened to Ahmed Best.
Best played Jar Jar Binks, a character who quickly became the main target of criticism after the movie’s release. The attacks went far beyond audiences simply disliking the character. Best was personally mocked and blamed for decisions that had been made by the filmmakers, and the abuse became so severe that he later revealed he had considered taking his own life.
Neeson remembered a completely different version of Best from the one created by the backlash.
He described him as one of the funniest and most talented performers on the set. According to Neeson, Best constantly made the cast laugh, including George Lucas. Neeson was so impressed by him that he called his own agent and said he believed Best could become “the new Eddie Murphy.”
Instead, the reaction to Jar Jar damaged Best’s career.
Neeson said the criticism “really hurt his career,” despite the fact that Best had simply performed the character he had been hired to play. His comments made it clear that he did not blame Best for how Jar Jar had been written or used in the movie.
Years later, Neeson learned that Best had received a standing ovation from fans during Star Wars Celebration. He described the moment as beautiful, especially after everything the actor had experienced following The Phantom Menace.
The response showed how much the conversation around the prequels had changed. Many younger fans who grew up with the movies now viewed Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, the podrace and even Jar Jar with far more affection than audiences had shown in 1999.
But Liam Neeson did not wait for that reassessment before defending the film.
He remained proud of The Phantom Menace, proud of playing Qui-Gon Jinn and especially protective of Ahmed Best, whom he believed had been unfairly punished for a performance that had brought laughter to everyone on set.