Review of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Written and Directed by: George Lucas Rating: **1/2 out of ****
Perhaps the only thing I find more disturbing about the fact that I had to give such a disappointing rating to the first episode of Star Wars, is the fact that part of me feels overly generous about it. I mean, I'm talking about Star Wars, the film series that has transcended the boundaries of the silver screen and infused itself as part of our social consciousness. Everyone who is alive and actually interacts with the rest of society knows the story of Star Wars; and they know who all the characters are; and they know at least a handful of quotes from the film. Even if they've never seen the movie.
So I find myself in a rather frustrated position when I have to sit down and announce that this film simply isn't as great as it's predecessors, because the reality is: it isn't.
The story opens as two Jedi knights: Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) set out to diffuse a potentially hostile situation dealing with unfair taxation levied against the small planet of Naboo by the Federation. Unfortunately, for all those involved, the hostile situation changes from potentially to authentically, and the Jedis have to rescue the Queen of Naboo (Natalie Portman) before she is taken prisoner. Eventually they all leave Naboo to find Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Also, on the surface of Naboo, the Jedis meet up with Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), an amphibious creature who thereafter becomes a central character. Now if I were forced to point out one reason why I had such distaste for this film, well it's Jar Jar Binks. In all honesty, this character should have been completely written out of the picture. His brand of intellectually deprived humour is so unbearably annoying, that I'm still in shock that Lucas thought it was a good idea to include him in the cast. The pain of having to watch this character is roughly equivalent to someone screeching their fingernails endlessly on a chalkboard hooked up to a guitar amplifier turned up to 10. If the mindless banter provided by C3P0 even slightly annoyed you in the previous films, prepare to be squirming in your seat and squinting in pain as you endure the cinematic catastrophe that is Jar Jar Binks. After enough exposure to this character, I was lamenting the fact that the concession stand didn't sell painkillers to help ease my Jar Jar viewing experience.
This illustrates another fundamental problem of Episode One: the tone of the picture is far too light-hearted. Not for one minute did I feel that any of these characters were in any real danger (with the exception of the Jedi duel towards the end of the picture, but I'll discuss that later). There are also no characters which challenge what's being presented to them, they just sort of go from point A to point B as if their lives are a scripted movie (and although there's a pretty cool sense of irony about that, it's not a good thing). In the previous three films, Han Solo was the character whose motivations were, to a certain extent, guided by personal interest. He also perfectly counterbalanced the juvenile antics of C3PO. None of that is present in this picture.
However, it would also be a mistake to argue that there is nothing in Episode One which deserves commendation. Of course, the special effects are breathtaking, and the scenes which focus on the Jedis are especially interesting. If the film had only decided to examine more of the lives of the Jedis and brought more screen time to the antagonist Darth Maul (Ray Park); Episode One could have easily been the greatest entry into the series. The lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul is absolutely incredible and managed to alleviate a lot of the boredom I felt from earlier parts in the film.
I really wanted to love this picture. Personally speaking, I love the Star Wars trilogy - not in the quasi-insane "I'll camp out for eight weeks to get tickets for a movie that will be in theatres for eight months" way, but I do think they're really great movies. What Lucas has produced with The Phantom Menace unfortunately resembles a two-hour cartoon rather than an epic tale of good and evil. I hope that future Star Wars films will be an improvement over this one.
Reviewed by: A. Estey Copyright 1999, by A. Estey (gbv_adam@hotmail.com)
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