Subject: Review: Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999)

From: [email-masked] (DeWyNGaLe)
Date: 20 May 1999 05:46:21 GMT

STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE 
by DeWyNGaLe (John Sylva)    Rating: A+

http://members.aol.com/DeWyNGaLe

There is only one word in the English language that can describe my feelings
right now.  That word is "Woah!"  Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace,
which is the most anticipated movie of the century, was released into theaters
this week.  Many early reviews have trashed The Phantom Menace, accusing it of
not developing characters, and stating many other negative aspects of the film.
 How could you dare trash this amazing masterpiece?  Many reviewers have
reviewed the film in comparison to the other three Star Wars films that were
released from 1977-1983, but not the actual film itself.  Well, here's a review
of the film itself, and I hope it's what you are looking for.

The Phantom Menace takes place a few decades before the events in Star Wars
Episode IV: A New Hope occurred.  In The Phantom Menace, we are introduced to
two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), who is a newcomer to the Star Wars
series, and Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who is depicted in Episodes IV,
V, and VI by Sir Alec Guinness.  The two Jedi are off to save the innocent
planet of Naboo from the evil forces of the Trade Federation, which is
threatening to take over the planet.  Upon their arrival at Naboo, they come
across a creature of the species "Gungan", named Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best),
who they have tag along for their adventures to serve as a guide to them.  The
two came to Naboo to hopefully rescue the 14-year old Queen Amidala (Natalie
Portman) from the planet before it is too late to save her life.  Knowing that
the Trade Federation isn't in existence on the remote planet of Tatooine (sound
familiar from Episode IV?), they take her there to hide her, and on their
journey, discover a young child named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) who they
believe has the force strong inside of him.  Also discovered at Tatooine is a
new Sith, Darth Maul, played by Ray Park.  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan realize that he
has Jedi training and could be a huge threat to themselves, as well as the
worried Queen Amidala.

Above is a basic plot outline of The Phantom Menace, but there are many more
details to each one of the plot, which all tie into Episodes IV, V, and VI. 
One of these major plots is the fact that Anakin Skywalker is actually a young
Darth Vader, and if you have seen Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, you know so. 
The Phantom Menace ties in with Episodes IV, V, and VI in every way.  It was
amazing how George Lucas enabled everything to fit together so nicely, making
it seem as if this film was released before the other three Episodes.

The acting in The Phantom Menace isn't what I would call the best acting in a
movie ever, but it certainly added much content to the film.  Liam Neeson and
Natalie Portman in particular stood out from the cast, making every line that
came out of their mouths believable and realistic.  Ewan McGregor, who I think
should have been used more in the film, turned out the best performance of his
career in the time that he was present on screen.  Many reviewers are also
trashing Jake Lloyd's simple but effective performance as the young Anakin
Skywalker.  Remember folks, he is supposed to be nine years old, so most likely
his acting performance will be very immature and childish.  Considering Jake
Lloyd was supposed to be playing a nine year old, he did a great job.  Ahmed
Best, who brilliantly voices the cute, realistic, and hysterical Jar Jar Binks,
was sometimes hard to understand, but added much comic relief to the film.

Although I have stated some characters were underused, I am not saying it took
away from the film at all.  The point of Episode 1 was to build a bridge to the
next two Episodes, and that it did.  Sure, I would have loved to have seen
Darth Maul for more than ten minutes, or some more of Samuel L. Jackson's
character of Mace Windu, but nothing was taken away from the overall effect of
the film.

Where do I even start about the marvelous special effects?  I guess I will just
put it plain and simple- The Phantom Menace contains the best special effects
you will ever see in a film.  The armies of battle droids, the ships flying
through the air, and the amazing podrace sequence soar above any special effect
that I have ever seen used in a film.  Those who were wondering if The Phantom
Menace would have better special effects than The Matrix have now had their
questions answered.  The special effects in the lightsaber battle scenes are
extraordinary.  The choreography during these sequences is much better and are
much more exciting than the lightsaber battles in Episodes IV, V, and VI.

The use of sound in The Phantom Menace is overwhelming.  I can certainly award
The Phantom Menace with the loudest movie I have ever seen.  Don't get me
wrong, the sound is not loud and obnoxious, and it is loud when it should be
loud, and quiet when it should be quiet.  The sound of podracers and ships
speeding through space were the most effective of the many different sound
effects in the film.

Costume design and makeup both added quite a bit to the film as well.  As you
can probably tell, Queen Amidala makes up the majority of each one of these
categories.  Her outfits are so original, creative, and fun, it is amazing. 
Others, such as the eerie Darth Maul, or Senator Palpatine (later to become the
dreaded Emperor Palpatine seen in Return of the Jedi), all of the outfits for
each and every character are stunningly original.

What George Lucas has done with The Phantom Menace is simply genius.  How many
filmmakers would be willing to do a prequel to the biggest movie saga of all
time with little known actors, sixteen years after the last one has been
released?  I can only think of one, and that would be George Lucas.  The
Phantom Menace is done with style, and I mean George Lucas style.  It follows
pretty much the same feel, despite what others say, that Episodes IV, V, and VI
followed.  Although comparing the film to others is not any part of my rating,
The Phantom Menace soars above all three of the other Star Wars films.  In
almost every way, The Phantom Menace stood out.  I would say it is most like
1983's Return of the Jedi, which used to be my favorite of the Star Wars bunch,
but has now been replaced with this brilliant piece of work, Star Wars Episode
I: The Phantom Menace.

The Bottom Line- Argue with me all you want to, but I think I just found the
best movie of all time.