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

From: "Matt Pusateri" <[email-masked]>
Date: 3 Jun 1999 03:49:07 GMT

STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

Review by Matt Pusateri

Few movies evoke nostalgia, enthusiasm, and affection like George Lucas'
1977 classic, Star Wars.   The original blockbuster film and its two sequels
not only evoked wonder and passion in a generation of filmgoers, but has
deeply entrenched itself in American pop culture. Arguably, more Americans
today can explain what "The Force" or a "Jedi" is than a budget deficit or a
Serb.

So 22 years after the release of the original, and 16 years since the third
film, The Return of the Jedi, how can any new Star Wars film withstand the
weight of incomparable expectations and anticipation?  Can a new storyline
and a new cast of characters possibly compete with the legends of the first
trilogy - Luke, Han Solo, and Darth Vader -all cultural icons?  Against this
challenge, the fourth Star Wars film, Episode One: The Phantom Menace hit
the screens last week. And despite some early critical reviews in the major
media, the film is neither a flop nor a disappointment.  While The Phantom
Menace is certainly not the finest film in the series, it is nonetheless
engaging, exciting, and visually breathtaking.  It is a worthy sequel  - er,
prequel - to the original Star Wars films.

The Phantom Menace takes place decades before the setting of original films.
As the film opens, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), the wise old master who
introduced Luke to the Force in the original Star Wars, is only a young Jedi
apprentice, still learning from his fellow Jedi and instructor, Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neeson).  The Republic government has sent the two Jedi to settle a
trade dispute that has developed into a blockade of the planet Naboo by a
shifty Trade Federation.  The Jedi quickly find themselves not in
negotiations, but in the middle of a planetary invasion, rushing to protect
Naboo's young Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman).  Later, after eventually
rescuing Amidala and helping her escape Naboo, they are forced to stop at
Tatooine to repair their battle-damaged ship before bringing her to the
Galactic Senate to make an appeal for justice.  On Tatooine, Qui-Gon
discovers a young slave boy, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who not only can
help them get the parts they need, but displays uncanny intelligence,
insight, and instincts.  Qui-Gon senses the child is "unusually strong" with
the Force and begins to suspect that he may be "the One" prophesized to
"bring balance to the Force."  As anyone who has watched the original Star
Wars trilogy knows, far from being a galactic savior, the innocent-looking
9-year-old will in time become the ruthless Darth Vader. Complicating
matters further is a mysterious hooded figure, Darth Sidious, is behind the
trade blockade and invasion of Naboo, and sends out a lethal apprentice,
Darth Maul, to find and capture Queen Amidala.  While Amidala and the Jedi
fight to save her planet, they soon also have to deal with the deadly and
relentless Darth Maul.

If the plot sounds a bit complicated, it is. The Phantom Menace not only
introduces an earlier generation of characters and an immediate crisis, but
sets up the foundation for the events that will eventually lead to the fall
of the Republic, the demise of the Jedi knights, Anakin's turn to evil, and
the rise of the dark Empire of original trilogy.  But the complexity is not
overwhelming.  The story moves quickly, with the only drawback being that
many questions, predictably, remain unanswered at the end of the film,
setting the stage for the next episode.  One of the reasons the film's story
seems hazy is not that it is too confusing, but too unfocused.  It's unclear
whose story Phantom Menace is.  In the original trilogy, the movies were
clearly Luke's story, with the stories centering around his growth from
farmboy to rebel hero to Jedi knight.  But it's unclear whether this new
film is Anakin's story or Obi-Wan's.

If this trilogy is centered on Anakin, it's a shaky foundation.  Lloyd, like
many child actors, lacks the subtle acting skills of adult performers, and
as a result, his character seems shallow and unimpressive.  On screen, we
see nothing that suggests a dark side lurking underneath his little-boy
face, or for that matter, any presence that would make him seem so special
that Qui-Gon is willing to believe he is "the One."  The rest of the cast
does fine, though they often work with some iffy dialogue by Lucas. Neeson
is perfect as an aging Jedi knight. McGregor is well-cast as Obi-Wan and
conveys a balance of youthful energy and calm sensibility.  Portman fits the
role of a young queen well, but her lines were often very formal, giving her
little room to give her character much personality.

The biggest problem with The Phantom Menace is not the plot or the
characters, but the interaction between them.  Individually, the characters
in this new film are no less developed than those in the original Star Wars,
and the storyline is not more confusing than previous films in the series.
But unlike the previous trilogy, Lucas doesn't do as good of a job playing
the characters off one another.  In Star Wars, there were immediate
contrasts and memorable exchanges between Luke and Han, Han and Obi-Wan, and
Leia and Luke.  The ensemble played off each other and immediately showed
their distinct attitudes and personalities.  In the sequence in where Luke,
Han, and Chewbacca attempt to rescue Leia from her cell on the Death Star,
the audience learns a lot about all four characters in the ways they react
to the immediate problems and each other.  There is no comparable sequence
in The Phantom Menace to flesh out the characters and their relationships
with each other.  Individually, they are interesting characters with clear
motivations and interests, but Lucas develops little chemistry or tension
between the them.  This is perhaps the most glaring weakness of this film,
and is probably the reason it has disappointed many reviewers.

But despite the need for a richer dialogue and stronger character
interaction, the film is still very engaging.  Many of the wonderful
elements of Lucas' previous films make The Phantom Menace both memorable and
entertaining.

First, of course, is the remarkably rich and imaginative universe Lucas
creates.  The characters visit magical underwater cities, evade
dinosaur-sized sea monsters, fight battle droids and menacing "destroyers"
on Venetian-looking planet of Naboo, watch a spectacular event, part
Roman-chariot race, part Nascar circuit, on the arid desert planet of
Tatooine, then head to Corsucant, the gothic urban capital of the Republic
and home to the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Council.  Each location is
elaborate and complex.  Lucas never settles for vague ideas about the look
of his settings, he creates rich, spectacular landscapes, palaces, and
skylines. Most of the new special effects in his re-released Special Edition
trilogy in 1997 were changes that allowed him to give the earlier movies the
look and feel that just weren't possible when the films were made.

More than ever, in this new film, Lucas' universe is filled with a menagerie
of creatures, robots with personalities, and a supporting cast of aliens who
interact with the main characters.  The best such character is Watto, a
greedy Tatooine junk dealer who owns Anakin and his mother as slaves.  Watto
has a scratchy Italian voice and a short, paunchy body with oddly mismatched
wings that flutter like a hummingbird as he floats around the room.  Of all
the computer-generated characters in the film, Watto is the best done and
most enjoyable.

Speaking of computer-generated characters, no review of The Phantom Menace
is complete without mentioning the most controversial figure in the film:
Jar Jar Binks.  With more than 80 minutes of screen time, Jar Jar is the
realization of George Lucas' dream to include a fully computer-generated
character into the cast of the new trilogy.  Jar Jar, a clumsy amphibian and
member of the Gungan race, literally stumbles his way into the path of the
Jedi knights early in the film and becomes Qui Jon's accidental sidekick.
Jar Jar usually performs a comic-relief role in the film, lightening scenes
with his mishaps and inability to stay out of trouble.  The animation of Jar
Jar is nearly seamless, and he interacts with the characters throughout the
film as if he were really on the set with the actors.  However, despite the
technological magic that makes his character possible, Jar Jar isn't
completely convincing.  He still moves and sounds too much like a cartoon to
blend into a scene.  Throughout the movie, Jar Jar never transcends a "Roger
Rabbit"-like presence.  You accept that he's there, but you never lose sight
of the fact that he is an animated character.  Initially, I found Jar Jar
annoying, but grew to enjoy the humor he added to the film. On my second
viewing of the film, Jar Jar was a lot of fun and I didn't mind him at all.

A second reason this film continues the fine tradition of Star Wars movies
is that the film is replete with humor and small details that flesh out the
world Lucas creates.  Despite all the film's struggles between good and
evil, and the sober musings about one's destiny and "the Force," like all
Star Wars films, The Phantom Menace never takes itself too seriously.
Fortunately, Lucas hasn't lost sight of the fact that his films are
entertainment, not high art.   From the bumbling Jar Jar, to a one-man,
two-headed announcer team calling the action at the film's thrilling
pod-race sequence, to a cameo appearance by E.T. in the film, The Phantom
Menace is simply a lot of fun, with lots of half-hidden jokes and humor that
can easily be missed.

And finally, The Phantom Menace works because, as in all his films, there is
no shortage of speed and action.  From beginning to end, there are
light-saber battles, hair-raising chases, and thrilling duels between good
and evil.  The pod-race sequence on Tatooine is one of the most entertaining
and exciting scenes in any Star Wars film, and the final showdown between
Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul is arguably the best choreographed, most
thrilling fight sequence Lucas has filmed.

The Phantom Menace won't win any major Oscars.  It probably won't beat
Titanic's box office record.  And it's not even the best Star Wars film (I'd
put it third, after the original and The Empire Strikes Back).  But it's an
exciting and entertaining film, far better than your typical summer
blockbuster.  The film can't live up to it's hype - no film, not even the
original Star Wars, could have done that.  But it's still worth seeing...
probably more than once.

GRADE: B+

Copyright 1999 Matt Pusateri
Check out other film reviews, game reviews, features, and columns at The
Separate Radio Volume Knob (http://www.pusateri.org/knob.htm)