

STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE
(20th Century Fox)
Starring:  Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman, Ian
McDiarmid, Ray Park, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Ahmet Best.
Screenplay:  George Lucas.
Producer:  Rick McCallum.
Director:  George Lucas.
MPAA Rating:  PG (violence)
Running Time:  131 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

     Contrary to conventional wisdom, The Force is not a mystical,
all-encompassing power; it's what George Lucas must be feeling in the
middle of his chest as he revives the STAR WARS saga after a 16-year
hiatus.  In one sense, of course, EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE is the
ultimate can't-lose proposition.  It's also the ultimate can't-win
proposition, a monolith nearly impossible to separate from the ridiculous
expectations.  Curiously, critics face a similar predicament.  A rave
could be interpreted as succumbing to the hype, while a jeer could be
viewed as anti-hype backlash.  How do you talk about a film that virtually
demands the creation of a new set of rules -- for the film-maker, for the
media, for the audience?

     I can only explain my reaction to THE PHANTOM MENACE this way:  when
John Williams' now-iconic fanfare burst forth over the sound system, I was
9 years old again, shivering with anticipation at being transported by
Lucas' singular mythology.  And transported I was...into a hard drive.
There's no other way to explain the chilly experience of THE PHANTOM
MENACE, which opens with Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his
apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) on a diplomatic mission to
resolve a dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo.  When
it becomes clear that the Federation's trade blockade is part of a more
sinister plan, the Jedis flee Naboo with the planet's Queen Amidala 
(Natalie Portman) and amphibian Gungan Jar-Jar Binks (Ahmet Best).  A
repair stop on the planet Tatooine introduces us to young Anakin Skywalker
(Jake Lloyd), a slave boy whom Qui-Gon believes is the Chosen One destined
to bring balance to the Force.

     There are plenty of other plot fragments floating around in THE
PHANTOM MENACE -- most of them involving political machinations -- but the
ho-hum plotting may actually be the least of its flaws.  Quite simply,
this is a film devoid of personality, filled with characters who never
inspire affection or close identification.  STAR WARS, for all its dazzle,
had three fundamentally solid characters at its core:  conflicted
hero-on-a-quest Luke; tough, no-nonsense Leia; and lovable rogue Han.  THE
PHANTOM MENACE counters with the stoic Qui-Gon, the slightly-less-stoic
Obi-Wan, and the stoic-in-a-slightly-different-way Amidala.  Meanwhile,
young Jake Lloyd brings little gravity to the character which will become
the crux of this universe, and Jar-Jar's brand of comic relief is
intensely grating.  It's almost funny to hear Qui-Gon described as 
rebellious, since he seems about as capable of a rash act as he is of
cracking a smile.  There may be heroes in THE PHANTOM MENACE, but there's
really no one to like.

     And, for that matter, there's really no one to hate.  Darth Sidious,
the Sith who will be Emperor, is the primary villain of the piece, yet he
only appears in the form of a jittery transmission, hardly the stuff of
genuine menace.  Darth Maul, meanwhile -- he of the marketing-friendly
Day-Glo visage -- is effective considering his limited screen time, yet
he's really a glorified henchman for all his double-bladed lightsaber
tricks.  THE PHANTOM MENACE is missing that unifying, ultimately hissable
bad guy that makes for great archetypal conflict.

     What we do have is a triumph of art direction and technology which
creates alien worlds like no film ever has before.  The streets of a
Tatooine town bustle with creatures both familiar and unfamiliar; the
megalopolis of Coruscant, capital of the Republic, features eye-popping
architecture and the kind of traffic flow of which civil engineering
legends are made.  Though the pacing of the opening hour is on the pokey
side -- which places it in good company with the first STAR WARS -- Lucas
eventually produces a few dynamic set pieces like the desert pod race.
When THE PHANTOM MENACE goes for pure visual satisfaction, it usually
delivers.

     Ultimately, though, there's a more basic satisfaction the film lacks.
Its structure and imagery are reminiscent both of STAR WARS and RETURN OF
THE JEDI -- particularly the latter in its three-ring climax -- but it
doesn't even achieve JEDI's level of old-fashioned fantasy fulfillment.
When Gungans and battle droids clash on the fields of Naboo, every last
figure a digital concoction, you begin to sense the absence of a primally
appealing human story in this blockbuster.  It may be true that it will
feel more complete a few years hence when its backstory has turned into
relationships between Obi-Wan and Anakin, between Anakin and Amidala.  For
now, all that remains is spectacle without resonance, without magic, 
without even all that much fun if you happen to be over the age of 10.  In
this era of computer wizardry, Lucas has sapped his story of the thing
that made it a phenomenon in the first place.  The result is an adventure
that feels...well, Forced.

     On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 manic episodes:  5.

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