STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1999 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: George Lucas Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Ray Park, Samuel L. Jackson, Terence Stamp, Olvier Ford Davies, Ahmed Best, Frank Oz, Kenny Jones, Anthony Daniels, Warwick Davis, Brian Blessed
How the hell do I even write this review? That's been the question on my mind ever since I became a critic, as amateur as I am, since the announcement that a new Star Wars film came out long before I even began to write these things. I'm a Star Wars fan, I may admit it; though I'm not a "die hard fan" (amongst the scariest people in the world, I assure you...though a quaint second compared to Star Trek fans), and because of this personal problem, I have a huge bias against judging this film on a fair basis. I love the other three, though hardly on equal levels, and would easily and without much trepidation award each of them the coveted four star rating - yes, even 'Jedi' - but how does one even begin to put into logical order the thoughts concerning the viewing of the newest installment in this saga, let alone the first in nearly 16 years? I pictured early drafts of this review that would lapse into considerable amounts of hyperbole, virtual years before seeing the actual movie, and I swore tonight, a mere hour after leaving the theater, that I would: a) write the review and get it out there before I passed out from fatigue; and b) try not to do what I feared I would do under pressure.
But though the temptation may have been strong to over-dramaticize the greatness thereof before, it's remarkably easy not to after actually having seen it. As people talked about how incredible it was on the way out, remarked about the action sequences with flustered enthusiasm, and already began speculated about the way everything we saw is incorporated with the other three, I kept a mild and reserved contain on my emotions. A big grin plastered on my face, not merely because I had actually seen the most anticipated movie of all time two weeks before it is released to the general public in America (a feat I am almost certain I would have been killed for, or at the very least tortured inhumanely for), but also because it did in fact work for me. Thanks to several unexpected disappointments within the past couple years with highly anticipated movies that had actually blown, I made a conscious decision, say about six months ago, to not get too pumped up for any movie (and this includes new films from the likes of Greenaway, Egoyan, and Leigh), and thus lessen the impact of disappointment on me. Instead of building this new film up to be the Most Incredible Motion Picture Experience Or Else, I kept a handle on things, and by walking into the movie, I was more excited about actually being there, seeing a big exec from 20th Century Fox in person, et. al., than I was about the fact that what would unfold in front of me in a very short amount of time was yet another movie in the saga that is the most embraced cinematic saga of all time, and a personal favorite of mine. I was prepared for the mediocre, to put it bluntly.
That may have backfired on me though. Instead of either really loving it above all or hating it above all, I just really liked it. I sat there watching the movie, nearly forgot that it was a Star Wars movie from time to time, and was just really entertained. The story was well told, the characters were for the most part nicely drawn, and the action was phenomenal. Even the CGI effects, which I swore would be its downfall (I mean, it looks so...fake...), worked extremely well and didn't bother me for a second. So in short, very recommended. But my big problem is this: do I really like it because I wasn't expecting much and it delivered more than I thought it would; and if so, am I sure this movie isn't really the mediocre mess my friend made it out to be (a non-Star Wars fan, for the record, who must be glad I haven't targeted him for scorn in this)? There were things that bugged me, namely the fact that instead of running smoothly like the other three, it seems to have adopted an ebb-n-flow technique that isn't incredibly satisfying, at least not as satisfying as it should be. It introduces elements to us that are terrific and mesmerizing in theory, but does it work as a whole in execution? I'd answer that with a reasonable "sort of, for the most part." Looking at the plot structure of the film from afar makes it sound incredibly incredible. The Federation may be overtaking the Republic with an illegal attack that may run its course due to corrupt politicians and legal technicalities. The Queen of the Republic of Naboo is saved by two Jedi Knights who stop by Tatooine on the voyage to safety due to a damaged ship and stumble upon no less than Annakin Skywalker at the ripe age of about eight. He helps them in their current predicament, gains their trust, and the fact that he is a Jedi is made known to everyone.
The rest is, of course, predictable, but just look at the situation, by god. Annakin, the same guy who becomes Darth Vadar even before the original 'Star Wars' (or probably to be forever recognized under the more dour title, 'A New Hope'), becomes the completely ironic hero of the film! Star Wars geeks get to have a field day with this situation! If the most prominently figured character - a Jedi Knight named Qui-Gon Jinn (played marvelously by the ever-reliable Liam Neeson) - is the most wise character in the film, and he fingers Annakin as the messianic one of the Jedis who will bring everything together in peace and harmony, he's in fact dead wrong, isn't he? Or is he? Isn't by training Annakin to become a Jedi Knight only to have him turn to the dreaded Dark Side the good option since his becoming evil actually causes everything to come together so neatly in 'Return of the Jedi?' This is loads of fun to think through, especially for anyone who's ever given any serious thought to the 'Star Wars' saga in terms of novelistic entrapments, but does this automatically make this new film - called 'The Phantom Menace,' by the way, though there doesn't appear to be an 'official official' title for it - a brilliant piece of art? Is it great merely because it comes fourth in being made but first in terms of order, thus giving it a weight it wouldn't have to begin with? Lucas may have stumbled onto something quite clever by making the fourth episode first, but it doesn't automatically make this film anything great.
Yet what I admire, perhaps most about this film, is how it doesn't at all play up to this contrivance. There isn't a lot of Lucas pointing out irony here in the delicious situation he's cooked up for us; no clever asides that gawk at the brilliance of himself, how he managed to make an entire movie that could potentially hold onto the reins of the previous moneymaking machines without doing any of the steering for itself. In fact, it seems, quite refreshingly, that Lucas is actually working to make this good. He actually cares about the storyline and isn't automatically set to shoot anything in front of us and feel confident that everyone will like it because it's Star Wars. No, Lucas is the real deal. He doesn't bullshit us with all the work he's done before creating this universe. He makes it all seem incredibly real and fresh and new. In fact, it hardly seems a thing like the other three. The irony is here, not only with Annakin, but with Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), the gentle, kind man who becomes the head of the counsel, but who by the next trilogy becomes the dreaded Emperor who shows up prominently in 'Jedi' and is done away with nicely by Vadar/Annakin (McDiarmid, by the way, is great). This paradox hadn't even occurred to me during the run of the film (though Diarmid also portrays Darth Sidious, who like Emperor Palpatine in the other films, is only seen with a cloak brought down over his head mysteriously), and only afterwards did this hit me. This kind of thing makes me excited, not only because this means we also get to follow his assured path to evil, but because that means this film is for real because it doesn't play it up. Even Annakin isn't overblown. The kid they've chosen to play him, Jake Lloyd, plays him like he was playing just a normal kid who's entranced with everything he sees. There's no sign of Vadar in him yet, and if you hadn't seen the other three (and had subsequently been living on Mars in a cave with fingers placed firmly in ears), you'd have no idea of the tragedy about to ensnare him. That he plays this completely straight is marvelously commendable for anyone else would have wanted to brag about the fact that they've developed something so immensely adroit.
For most of it, it's an exciting, engrossing motion picture, mostly because it's slow paced enough to take in the situations and interestingly enough structured. Neeson commands most of the movie, bringing a realistic and natural feel to the first act and it's more standard escape-from-the-bad-guys stuff, and thus to the rest of the movie which plays out a whole lot smoother. In fact, once Annakin has popped up for the first time by around the 40 minute mark, the film begins to really take off. He becomes a source of selfless aid to Neeson and company (including his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi - played with dour temperament by Ewan McGregor - and Queen Amidala - played with reserve, dignity, and head dresses galore by Natalie Portman) during their tenure on Tatooine, and though some of the plot points are contrived (as are their explanations: "Nothing happens by accident." - gimme a break), it at least feels fresh while happening, mostly due to a state of intellectual tension that's there (read: if you think about the fact that if they don't hurry up and get the Queen to her rendezvous, more and more people will die, though they hardly keep reminding you). I was even impressed by the way Lucas seems to purposely gloss over the inclusions of characters from the next trilogy, including a brief appearance by Jabba the Hut, a couple scenes with Yoda (as a senator, walking cane firmly in hand), and introductions to both R2-D2 and C3P0. R2-D2 is even glanced over when he first appears, and C3P0 is given such a brief role that it's refreshing that Lucas didn't pander too much to his audience. The same goes for the inclusion of Samuel L. Jackson and Terence Stamp, two terrific actors given unglamorous cameo-sized roles.
Still, a lot of the film feels like it was pasted together out of neat ideas that don't gel terribly well together, something not present in the other films. There's also an odd air of "we should be completely enthralled though we aren't that enthralled" throughout. My reason for this is because, with the exception of Annakin and Qui-Gon Jinn, there's no real source of emotional appeal. Neeson's likable just because he's commanding and wise and confident, and Annakin's likable because Lloyd makes him so darned appealing (also, kudos to Pernilla August for playing his mother so damn well, adding a considerable amount of emotional weight to the film). But most of everyone else is a bit disappointing. Amidala is underwritten, and the same times two goes for Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor turns in a 'not bad but not great either, is it?' performance, consisting of trying too hard to appear like a young Alec Guiness and coming up with vacuousness). The other films, even the first one, had sharply drawn characters that were full of personality if nothing else and only got better as the series went on. With these characters, I doubt much can be done, though. Amidala possesses some of Princess Leia's feistiness from time to time (probably because she's her mother), but she's mostly authoritative and kinda cold; I can already picture her reasons for wanting to marry Anakin in a later episode. And Obi-Wan's future seems painfully clear already: he'll learn more and more and become stern and wise as he gets older. For Annakin, though, it's wonderfully vague. I'm nearly anticipating the second episode already, just so I can see where Lucas takes his character on his journey to assured evil.
While this all factors in the fact that I shan't be giving this a four star rating like the other ones (sorry, guys), I was at least totally thrilled with the film's final act, a juxtaposition a la 'Jedi' where three battles go on simultaneously and are shown via cutaways at key moments, that was exciting, filled with originality, and pulse-pounding. The inclusion of the character Darth Maul plays a key role in the impact of this section as he's probably the most incredibly fascinating minor character in the saga since Boba Fett: his face is painted red and black stripes, he has horns on his head that aren't revealed till the finale (and with lots of 'oo's and 'ah's from the audience), and he says all of one or two lines. A mysterious character like this, especially one so menacing, is all this film needs, and his final battle with both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon is nothing short of breathtaking. The orchestra adds choir voices and then pounds away with intensity, the acrobatics and choreography are probably better than the stuff in 'The Matrix,' and there's so much tension, namely in the survival of Qui-Gon, that it's sublime. Only problem is the other two aren't nearly as captivating, though still terrific, and every cutaway is like a massive jolt that lasts until the next time they come back to it. Same thing happened with 'Jedi'; why this structure wasn't avoided at all costs by Lucas is beyond me (well, really not; he probably thinks 'Jedi' is just flawless stuff).
But still, this entire section, plus a nifty (and short) denouement cap the film off with an enjoyable feeling, leaving the audience pumped up. And while I left with a big stupid grin on my mouth, the thing I really respected is how divorced this is from the other films. It doesn't try and play like one of those films, and by playing it so differently, the CGI effects actually work. They don't look too unreal, as I feared, but they do give it a whole other feeling that wasn't there in the other films, which relied mostly on puppets and real creations, not CGI. But that all works with this film. The characters seem to have more life in them, and we're able to visit places where more diverse creatures dwell in large numbers. This didn't work at all in the re-releases (where you could visibly tell where they injected CGI), but it works here because it's consistent and clearly defines its reality (the flip-side ot this is it seems to have given Lucas the chance to add broad comedy to the brew - mostly in the form of 'comic relief' Jar Jar Binks - most of which falls flat and proves quite annoying). It'd be nice for a return, just because I prefer the look of those films, but if this is the direction Lucas is taking this trilogy in, I'm glad to follow along. His dialogue may still be shit, and he's lost a bit of his storytelling magic, but 'The Phantom Menace' is at the very least incredibly satisfying, which is commendable since this is, in fact, the most highly anticipated film of all time. It's nice not to be letdown by such a film, even if you have turned skeptical.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
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