

Star Wars, Episode I – The Phantom Menace
directed by George Lucas
starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman, Samuel
L. Jackson, Frank Oz
Rated PG (sci-fi action and violence)

*** out of **** / B+

I wish I could say that there is something more to the new Star Wars
installment than what you see in the commercials, but there isn’t.
George Lucas is an expert at crafting triumphant, special effects-bound
flicks and he has done it again.  This is the first Star Wars film I’ve
seen on the big screen, so, of course, the impact was much greater than
when I watched the three original episodes on video.  What is compelling
about The Phantom Menace is not its disposable story, but its amazing
visuals.

Basically, the film’s plot is centered around trade disputes between two
planets.  Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) and his young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Ewan McGregor) set out with the animated Jar-Jar Binks to fix the mess
that may result in war. When their ship breaks down and they are
stranded, they find a young boy, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and his
slave mother.  Qui-Gon strongly believes that Anakin is destined for
Jedi greatness and immediately takes him under his wing.  Anakin
participates in a heart-pounding Podrace, one of the highlights of the
film, to get the equipment needed to fix Qui-Gon’s ship. However, most
everyone is doubtful about entrusting the future to some unknown slave
boy.  Meanwhile, Queen Amadala (Natalie Portman) is frustrated and at
wit’s end, being naïve and young and having so much responsibility on
her shoulders.

There are hardly any emotional scenes in the film- even when we discover
that Anakin will be leaving his slave mother behind to begin Jedi
training, the frenzied excitement of the whole film wears down the
poignancy to the size of a crumb.  This does not prove that The Phantom
Menace is poorly made for it is brilliantly made.  In all the Star Wars
films, human emotions that we, the audience, can identify with are
usually nil, but the films are for pure enjoyment, not for uplifting
purposes.  Despite the fun of watching the movie, The Phantom Menace is
not without flaws.  For starters, we have the ill-conceived, moronic
character Jar-Jar Binks who should be considered a threat to Star Wars
galactic society and to the audience.  What a klutz!  George Lucas
clumsily tried to create a fun character that would be as memorable as,
say, Yoda, R2-D2, or C3-PO, but, alas, his efforts were in vain.
Secondly (this may be good or bad, depending on your point of view), the
movie’s atmosphere is so different from the familiar comic-book feel of
the previous three Star Wars installments.  This is due, perhaps, to the
utter complexity to this movie’s plot and the higher level of
sophistication of the visual effects used here.  The movie seems to be
reaching for epic proportions.

I can’t say much about the acting, though acting has never been what you
saw Star Wars movies for anyway.  However, there is absolutely no
pizzazz to the performances- they are straightforward and, at times,
stale.  Natalie Portman has a great presence, but her turn as Queen
Amadala makes the queen a stoic, unfeeling… enigma.  There is nothing we
can hold onto in her performance to make us believe the trade
predicament is anything of importance.  Jake Lloyd is the only actor
here who has an ounce of evident spunk.

Despite the inevitable faults, there is so much to enjoy about the
movie.  The heightened excitement of the final sequences doesn’t quite
surpass the famous The Empire Strikes Back climactic scenes, but they
are amazing and edge-of-your-seat fun in their own rite.  The film is a
treasure to look at.  The visual effects are astonishing 99.8% of the
time- the awe-inspiring, mouth-opening, eye-popping sight of the
underwater city is nothing short of production design and special
effects genius.  Not since 1997’s The Fifth Element has there been a
film as drenched in visual treats as this one.  The production design is
reminiscent of The Fifth Element, the previous Star Wars movies,
Kubrick’s 2001, maybe even of Fritz Lang’s classic silent Metropolis.
However, all the sets are so original.  The original Star Wars movies
can’t even match the grandeur of this film’s visuals and that is a sheer
pleasure for the viewer- it gives us hope of even greater things for the
upcoming episode.

The costumes are remarkable and have Jean-Paul Gaultier written all over
them.  Whether its Queen Amadala’s gigantic wardrobe complete with
gold-embroidery and feathers, or the Jedis’ simple brown uniforms, the
costume designer has fused talent with outrageousness.  The costumes are
one of the true delights of watching the movie.

As for John Williams’ score, I don’t think he’s done one as complex or
powerful since… I can’t even remember.  It is as epic as his Schindler’s
List score and as thrilling and zestful as Jaws.  It includes the bare
bones of his music from the previous three films, but Williams has added
on, made the music much more intense and moving.

What with the overwhelming hoopla that circled this movie, one might
come in with high expectations and be disappointed.  There is very
little to hate in the film: it’s a very accomplished and skillfully made
flick.  It is the best "fun" film and the best big-budget film out
today, most definitely.

by Andrew Chan