

Star Wars:  Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

a review by Christian Pyle

I had the good fortune to be eight years old in 1977 when "Star Wars" appeared
at the recently-constructed two-screen theater in Danville, Kentucky.  I
vividly recall how the destruction of the Death Star seemed the most
spectacular thing I had ever seen.  I saw the movie several times and
accumulated an impressive collection of action figures which has long since
disappeared with my lost youth.  I remember reading in "Dynamite!" that George
Lucas planned for "Star Wars" to be the fourth part of a nine-movie series: 
three trilogies, the next to be set fifty years before "Star Wars," the third
fifty years after.

Twenty-two years later, Lucas has lowered his expectations to six movies and
has finally released "episode one" of the saga.  By its very nature, "The
Phantom Menace" will probably disappoint a lot of moviegoers:  it's the first
chapter of a serial, so it only hints at the conflicts to come.  We shouldn't
be surprised; after all, we've already seen the second half of the serial and
know how it all comes out.

After seeing "The Phantom Menace", I shoved the fourth, fifth, and sixth
episodes into the VCR and reflected on what a tall task Lucas had set for
himself in making "episode one."  There's no Empire and no Rebellion; all of
that will come later, out of the events set in motion in this chapter. 
Instead, "Phantom" concerns a smaller conflict as the Trade Federation, spurred
on by "the phantom menace" of a Dark Lord of the Sith, creates a blockade
around the peace-loving planet of Naboo.  The Republic, also a peace-loving
bunch, dispatches two Jedi knights to settle the conflict.

Enter Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor).  Within a few minutes, the two Jedis are being chased by the bad
guys, befriending the Naboo queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), and taking on a
comedy sidekick, Jar Jar Binks (a computer-generated character voiced by Ahmed
Best).  Escaping from Naboo, they take refuge on the desert planet of Tatooine.
 While hunting for parts for their ship, Qui-Gon discovers a slave boy, Anakin
Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who seems to have a powerful connection to the Force. 
Anakin, we learn, was a virgin birth (prediction:  the Christian Coalition will
not be happy about this), and Qui-Gon becomes convinced that Anakin is the
prophesied Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force.  (This is a puzzling
turn-of-events-Darth Vader is the Jedi Messiah?  But I suppose by being both
the champion of the Dark Side and the father of Luke and Leia, who eventually
defeat the Dark Side, he did bring balance.  Or maybe Qui-Gon was just wrong.)

Meanwhile sinister forces are brewing.  The Dark Lord Darth Sidious sends his
apprentice, Darth Maul (body of Ray Park, voice of Peter Serafinowicz -- it's
strange they paid somebody to do the voice; Maul's dialogue is limited to "Yes,
master") after Qui-Gon.  Naboo's Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who will
become the evil Emperor Luke faces in "Return of the Jedi," uses the conflict
to begin his rise to power.  (The movie hints heavily that Palpatine is Sidious
without actually revealing it even though it hardly seems surprising since we
know that Palpatine is Darth Vader's master).

Along the way, we find some old friends:  R2-D2 and C-3PO (played as always by
Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels), Jabba the Hut, and Yoda (voiced as always by
Frank Oz).  As required there are several big battle sequences and a climactic
light-saber duel.  John Williams provides a score with many familiar themes.

There are a lot of reasons to dislike "Phantom Menace."  First and foremost,
there's Jar Jar Binks, who seems to be universally hated by fans and critics
alike.  He is a slapstick oaf who speaks in a pidgin English usually reserved
for native sidekicks in old adventure movies (you'll also discover that the
Trade Federation leaders sound exactly like Japanese officers in WWII movies
and that Tatooine junk dealer Waddo sound like an Arab with a head cold).  Jar
Jar even brings with him manure and fart jokes, which seem out of place in the
"Star Wars" saga.

Also, many of the most interesting characters, especially Darth Maul and
Obi-Wan, are underdeveloped.  Lucas seems more concerned with creating
impressive computer-generated aliens and landscapes than in dealing with the
human characters.  He should remember where this all started.  The special
effects of the original "Star Wars" are, by contemporary standards, cheap and
cheesy, but that movie has pleased audiences for twenty years.  Special effects
are a means, not an end.  There's a huge battle sequence between Jar Jar's
people and a legion of battle-droids that generates little interest -- no
character we know except Jar Jar is involved, so we don't care who wins.

And the movie's most impressive "special effect" doesn't come from Industrial
Light and Magic.  It's McGregor's Alec Guinness imitation, which is entirely
convincing.  When he was cast in the role, my first reaction was "Obi-Wan the
young heroin addict?" and my second was "how  the heck can he pull off the
illusion that his Obi-Wan will grow up to be the old Ben we know and love?"  He
did a great job; I only wish his part was bigger.

Despite the film's weak points, I still enjoyed "Phantom Menace."  The primary
reason is that Anakin appeals to the nine-year-old in all of us.  He gets to
pilot a starfighter in battle with R2-D2; that's all I wanted when I was nine.

To enjoy "Phantom," you have to view it as "Episode One" -- it's the first
chapter in a six-chapter serial.  The goal of the first episode is to set the
central conflicts in motion and to get you to come back for the second episode.
 I can't wait.

Grade: B-

© 1999 Christian L. Pyle

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