Review: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Joe Gillis
By Joe Gillis
Not since "Gone With The Wind" in 1939 has Hollywood (or America, or the world
for that matter) experienced the type of rabid anticipation surrounding a
single film as we've seen for the arrival of "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom
Menace." In case you've spent the last couple of years in a cave in Tibet,
this is the long-awaited first chapter of the new trilogy that will serve as
prologue to the events depicted in the first three "Star Wars" films, the last
of which was released in 1983. Although the film's distributor, 20th Century
Fox, has yet to go into serious overdrive promoting the film, the film's fans
as well as the news media (and those holding licenses for toys and other
merchandise spawned by the film) have been on a feeding frenzy of late, and
every day closer to the official scheduled opening date (May 19) we get, that
frenzy will grow, possibly in mathematical proportion to the approach of the
premiere.
The problem with any film that is hyped so much in advance is that it the more
the hype, the better the film must be in order to satisfy the audience's
expectations. In recent weeks we've seen the release of the film's exciting
second trailer, the formation of photogenic lines of fans outside theaters in
New York and Los Angeles that will play the film, the release of the first of
the zillions of toys that will be bought and sold from now until our Democracy
falls, and the appearance on TV talk shows and in magazines of none other than
George Lucas himself to personally promote the film. All of this and more has
been brought into our homes by the news media, who have decided that the
arrival of "The Phantom Menace" qualifies as a MAJOR NEWS EVENT (whether or not
it finds the same place in the history of our civilization as the
Clinton/Lewinsky scandal or the Littleton shootings remains to be seen).
Anyway, there are now some serious questions to be answered:
Is "The Phantom Menace" the best film ever made? Not quite. "Citizen Kane,"
"Casablanca," and "The Godfather" will not be shaken from their well-earned
places atop the pillars of American film.
Is "The Phantom Menace" the best science fiction film ever made? No. "2001: A
Space Odyssey," "Forbidden Planet," and "Blade Runner" are still comfortably
ahead in my book.
Is "The Phantom Menace" the best "Star Wars" film ever made? It is certainly
the most ambitious. George Lucas has attempted to do more in this film than in
its three predecessors combined, and although he doesn't pull it off perfectly,
he does succeed in an entertaining and exciting manner.
The plot (and if you want to see the film "cold," then I suggest that you skip
the rest of this paragraph) concerns a blockade of the planet Naboo by the
Galactic Trade Federation. As two agents of the Imperial Senate arrive in Naboo
orbit to negotiate with the Federation Viceroy, the Federation is receiving
orders from the Dark Lord, Darth Sidious, to invade the planet. The Imperial
agents are Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson, and his apprentice
Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan MacGregor. Their negotiations end before they
have a chance to start, and the two Jedi sneak on board a Federation ship in
order to make it down to the planet;'s surface. Once there, they encounter the
Gungan, a race of cartoonish creatures, who help them to find Queen Amidala
(Natalie Portman), ruler of the planet's human species. The Jedi help her to
escape her planet so that she can make her way to the Imperial Senate on the
planet Coruscant, where she can plead her case against the Federation. On the
way, her ship (which was damaged in an attack and saved by the droid R2D2)
stops on the remote world of Tatooine, where Jinn meets the young Anakin
Skywalker, a streetwise slave boy who is a crack pilot and a whiz at building
machines (among them a protocol droid named C3PO). Immediately, he senses that
the Force is strong in Skywalker, and that he may be The Chosen One, who is
destined to bring balance to the Force. Jinn wins the boy's freedom in a wager
involving a pod race (a dizzying sequence that plays out like a 1990's version
of the chariot race from "Ben Hur"), and takes him to Coruscant, but not before
the Queen's party is attacked by Darth Maul, apprentice to Darth Sidious.
Maul's mission is to stop the Queen at any cost. As the Queen pleads her case
before the Imperial Senate (which is undergoing a loss of confidence in its
leadership), Jinn brings young Skywalker before the Jedi Council, and asks Yoda
and the other members to allow him to train the boy. The action eventually
moves back to Naboo where Lucas culminates the film with four simultaneous
battle sequences that leave one gasping for breath.
Above all else, this is a very entertaining film. It moves at a very quick pace
(although sometimes scenes end when you think that they're just getting
interesting), but be warned: some younger viewers may be bored or confused by
the political intrigues and infighting that are essential parts of the plot.
The kids will love the droids and creatures, and of course, the action. Nothing
here lowers itself to the kiddie level the way the Ewoks did in "Return of the
Jedi," and adults should have no reason to cringe.
Lucas and company present things we've never seen before (or even imagined,
such as a neverending variety of droids and creatures), plus a few surprises
(an old Jedi mind trick doesn't work the way we expect it to, and the joke here
is why it doesn't work). After giving us tantalizing hints in the first three
films of what a Jedi Knight is capable of, we get to see two fully trained Jedi
in action here, and they are truly fearless and fearsome warriors.
But the most exciting thing here is the underlying story, a tale of masters and
apprentices. Qui Gon and Obi-Wan, Darth Sidious and Darth Maul, Obi-Wan and
Anakin…we see the way that the torch is passed from generation to generation in
both good and evil. In addition, the people and events of the film are doubly
interesting because we see everything on two levels: what happens in front of
us and what future events (i.e. those of the first trilogy) they will
influence. We know where some of these characters will be fifty years after
what we see in this film, and we know how they will have changed. When Senator
Palpatine engineers changes in the Imperial Senate, we are grimly aware of
where that path will lead him. When he says that he intends to keep an eye on
young Skywalker, we laugh nervously, because we know that they will eventually
become master and apprentice on the Dark Side. And when Anakin is told "You
bring hope to those who have none," by his mother, whose freedom from slavery
can't be won in a wager, it breaks our hearts, because we know that hope won't
be his to bring. That destiny will lie with his son.
Technically, the film is awesome. The computer generated characters and
locations (including the beautiful palaces of Naboo and the "Metropolis"-style
cities of the planet Coruscant) are truly state of the art, and the sound
(especially in the battle scenes) will shake you in your seat. If possible,
catch this film in a THX certified theater.
For more reviews, check out www.buttnakednews.com
Michael Dequina
There are a couple of angles at which to approach
_Star_Wars:_Episode_I_--The_Phantom_Menace_: in comparison to the three
episodes that have been released; or, ideally, as an individual film, in
and of itself. In the latter regard, _The_Phantom_Menace_ is the type of
exceptionally well-made, highly imaginative science fiction adventure
that one would expect from the mind of series creator George Lucas, who
makes an impressive return to the director's chair after a self-imposed
22-year hiatus. It is in the former respect, however, that the film
cannot help but fall short.
The shadow of the first three films released in the series--1977's
_Star_Wars:_A_New_Hope_ (Episode IV), 1980's _The_Empire_Strikes_Back_
(Episode V), and 1983's _Return_of_the_Jedi_ (Episode VI)--looms large
over _The_Phantom_Menace_, and it's not just because those landmark films
have such an enduring legacy. Rather, it's because Lucas's
_Phantom_Menace_ script is a hodgepodge of different elements from those
three films. To start, the Gungan, an amphibious race on the planet
Naboo, are scrappy warriors along the lines of _Jedi_'s Ewoks; a pod
racing scene is pretty much _Jedi_'s forest speeder bike chase
transplanted onto the desert; dual light saber-wielding villain Darth
Maul (Ray Park) is a badass scenestealer in the tradition of Boba Fett,
who first appeared in _Empire_.
The installment that _The_Phantom_Menace_ most closely resembles,
however, is _A_New_Hope_. There's a wise elder Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neeson), not unlike _A_New_Hope_'s Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan is also
in this episode, in a younger, wilder incarnation (played by Ewan
McGregor) that recalls Luke Skywalker. Other similarities include a
lavish celebration scene, the destruction of a space vessel, and the
intricate, Princess Leia-to-the-next-level hair design of her future
mother, Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) of Naboo.
Unfortunately, _The_Phantom_Menace_ also falls into the same narrative
rut that _A_New_Hope_ did in its first act, but to a much larger degree.
After an interesting opening section, from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's rousing
slice and dice through squads of battle droids aboard a Trade Federation
spaceship to their rescue of Amidala from evil Federation forces on
Naboo, the story gets bogged down in exposition once our heroes land on
the desert planet of Tatooine. There, Qui-Gon discovers young Anakin
Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), the future Darth Vader and focal character of
this trilogy of _Star_Wars_ films. As Qui-Gon and Amidala's handmaiden
Pradmé get to know "Ani" and his mother (Pernilla August), the film slows
to a crawl. Making the proceedings no less tedious is the strained comic
agony (as opposed to "relief") of Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), a chatty
Gungan who becomes Qui-Gon's sidekick. Far from lovable, I wanted to
strangle the critter by his second scene.
Things pick up with the aforementioned pod race sequence (which, I must
say, is every bit the thrill ride the _Jedi_ speeder bike chase is), only
to fall into more talky exposition, which only serves to make
_The_Phantom_Menace_'s main story needlessly convoluted and, as such,
largely uninvolving. Basically the plot boils down to Amidala being
violently strongarmed into a treaty with the evil Trade Federation, which
has been working with the mysterious Darth Sidious (the "Phantom Menace"
of the title), whose main enforcer is the deadly Darth Maul.
However, this is not to say that the first two-thirds of
_The_Phantom_Menace_ is as dry as a Tatooine summer (or spring... or
fall... or winter). Far from it--though the story may not keep one
consistently engaged, there are other things that do. Always capturing
one's attention--and imagination--are the state-of-the-art visual effects
on display. One of the greatest delights of this and the other
_Star_Wars_ films are the new worlds springing from Lucas's fervid
imagination. Tatooine is the only familiar pit stop; also on the travel
itinerary are the Coruscant (briefly seen at the end of the _Jedi_
Special Edition), the city-covered planet that serves as the home of the
Galactic Senate; Naboo; and the Gungan's hidden undersea home on Naboo.
Then, of course, there are the various effects used to populate the
streets of these worlds with exotic alien creatures, as well as those
used to depict the spaceways and the crafts that travel them. Some CGI
shots are more convincing than others, but they never fail to be the
slightest bit believable or intriguing.
The new troupe of actors holds their own against the largely digital
landscape. Neeson exudes the right air of authority and solemnity as
Qui-Gon, as does Samuel L. Jackson in a much-publicized cameo as Jedi
Council member Mace Windu. While Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher did not
settle into their acting stride until _Empire_, Portman and McGregor have
comfortably nailed down their roles in their first outing, though
McGregor's fairly limited screen time is somewhat surprising. On the
other hand, not so surprising is the fact that Lloyd is the weak link in
the core four. In all fairness, he does an adequate job as a whole, but
that does not mean that he's immune to the stiff and cloying moments that
often befall child actors; prepare to cringe when Lloyd lets out a forced
"Whoopee!"
The numerous slow patches ultimately just makes one more appreciative of
the pure visceral excitement of the slam-bang third act. Lucas cuts
loose, following no less than four concurrent battles in which many shots
are fired from pistols and space craft, light sabers are crossed, energy
balls are flung, and more than a little property is destroyed. The
highlight by far is an exhilarating, series-best light saber duel pitting
both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan against that dastardly Darth Maul, who more than
lives up to his pre-release hype.
That mostly all of the action comes at the end will undoubtedly
disappoint die-hard _Star_Wars_ fans and casual moviegoers alike. But
with so much hype surrounding it (largely generated, in a nice change of
pace, by the fans, _not_ the studio), there was no way
_The_Phantom_Menace_ could live up to the overinflated expectations.
What it could have possibly lived up to is the _Star_Wars_ legacy, and in
time, it very well may--with _Episode_II_ and _Episode_III_ still yet to
come (in 2002 and 2005, respectively), it's impossible to judge how well
_The_Phantom_Menace_ plays within the context of the entire saga. At
this point in time, however, _The_Phantom_Menace_, as polished and
entertaining as it is, has nothing in it that quite compares to
_A_New_Hope_'s euphoric sense of wonder and discovery; the exciting
action highs and the despairing emotional lows of _Empire_; or the
emotional catharsis of _Jedi_'s highly resonant climax. (opens May 19)
__________________________________________________________
Michael Dequina
mrb...@iname.com | michael...@geocities.com
Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown
CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com
__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Christopher Null
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 1999 Christopher Null
filmcritic.com
[I promised no spoilers and I mean it. -CN]
Break out the R2-D2 costume, the Yoda puppet, and Jabba the Hutt:
STAR WARS is back, with EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE.
If this were any other movie, it would have had the most horrible,
over-long, dumb-sounding title in history. If this were any other
movie, I'd have been laughing at all the wrong places. If this were any
other movie... well, this *isn't* any other movie, is it? Far from it.
The most anticipated movie, some say, since GONE WITH THE WIND, and when
a screen of blue text reading "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far
away..." gets enormous applause, that's hard not to believe.
Let's cut to the chase. EPISODE I is a worthy entry into the Lucas
oeuvre, but die-hard fans of the series are bound to be disappointed,
mainly because, plot-wise, the episode is largely recycled from the
original STAR WARS and RETURN OF THE JEDI.
EPISODE I is at its most thrilling when it's doing something
completely new (and nobody's talking). In this case, it's the
much-vaunted "pod race," where a young Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd, destined
to become Darth Vader in an episode or two) shows off his uncanny
agility, cunning, and precognition. The pod race lasts maybe seven
minutes, and it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Lucas has really outdone himself when it comes to integrating
computer imagery with reality. Screw JURASSIC PARK: This stuff looks
real. I had originally thought the skinny droids from the commercials
looked a bit fake. Not so on the big screen. Finally someone has
crossed the line where reality and fantasy are indistinguishable.
Sadly, there's not as much luck with the Gungan, the race of
amphibioid creatures which our heroes (Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Neeson and McGregor, respectively)) band with to save the planet of
Queen Amidala (Portman). The Gungan, personified in the Chewy-esque,
floppy-eared Jar Jar Binks is not the best-animated digital persona I've
ever seen. And he speaks a pidgin English that becomes bothersome after
five minutes, incomprehensible after ten.
And let's not forget that Lucas's last film was JEDI, a good movie
when it came out in 1983, but hardly the best of the series.
Apparently, 16 years haven't resulted in many new ideas: The climactic
end of EPISODE I features (no surprise this one) intercutting among a
space battle, an all-out land war, and a light-saber duel. Sound
familiar? Well, that's the way all these movies have ended, more or
less. And frankly, it's getting a bit predictable and tiresome. I
won't tell you whether good or evil wins this time out.
My disappointment with the ending notwithstanding, EPISODE I is a
heart-thumper of a film. It really gets the blood going, and, for all
its cliches, my soul was with the good guys here. Yes, I'm ready for
EPISODE II, as watching young Skywalker become corrupted by the dark
side has got to be one hell of a story. Again, it's a cliché, but that
Good vs. Evil thing gets me every time.
No, it's already been said that THE PHANTOM MENACE is not a "Great
Film." It's an event movie. One made to be enjoyed on a visceral
level, not something that you watch for its witty dialogue (think Mark
Hamill).
In the end, you'll have to decide how you're going to watch the
movie. A piece of advice: Use the Force.
RATING: ****
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: George Lucas
Producer: Rick McCallum
Writer: George Lucas
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd
Christopher Null - nu...@sirius.com - http://www.filmcritic.com - Buy my
book!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0078825881/filmcriticcom/002-2549101-0837427
Wallace Baine
by Wallace Baine
Santa Cruz Sentinel
One of the enduring truths in the “Star Wars” cosmos is that the Force
cannot be manufactured. It’s either with you or it’s not. You can take
steps to attract it and manipulate it. But the Force defies mortal control.
In the filmmaker’s lexicon, the Force is that ineffable magic that
separates mere entertainment from the deeply satisfying stories that strike
something deep in the collective psyche. That cultural “aha” moment is the
Force and, I’m sad to report, “Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace”
just doesn’t have it.
Granted, expectations are impossibly high for the most hyped pop culture
event since Moses dragged the stone tablets down from Mount Sinai. But in
between the predictable reactions sure to follow from both the Skywalker
idolators and the resentful grumps with the light sabers aimed at George
Lucas is this one inescapable truth: For all its technical wonders,
“Phantom Menace” -- which opens on 2,500 screens nationwide a minute after
midnight on May 19 -- is severely lacking in the human appeal that burned
the original “Star Wars” into our imaginations 22 years ago. In this case,
the ghost in the machine is missing the ghost.
Let’s weigh the successes against the failures, but first a bit about the
story: As everyone over the mental age of six knows by now, “The Phantom
Menace” is the first chapter in a planned trilogy that precedes the
original trilogy in history by about 30 years.
A trade dispute between a giant, malevolent organization called the Trade
Federation and the proud queen of the planet Naboo results in the
Federation’s de facto invasion of the small planet. Two Jedi knights from
the governing Galactic Republic are sent to mediate the dispute only to
find that the Federation has no plans to talk to them. Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam
Neeson) and his young sidekick Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) quickly
become fugitives. With the help of Jar Jar Binks, a clownish outcast from
the bizarre Gungan tribe, the Jedis find the planet’s queen (Natalie
Portman) and spirit her away to Corsucant, the planet that serves as the
Republic’s capital.
Problems with their spacecraft, however, lead the heroes to the
out-of-the-way desert planet of Tatooine. There, in an effort to score
spare parts, Qui-Gon happens upon a nine-year-old slave boy named Anakin
Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) who, the older Jedi believes, is the “Chosen One” of
Jedi mythology (He is, in fact, the future Darth Vader). Qui-Gon shrewdly
wagers with the boy’s owner, a pot-bellied hummingbird-type creature named
Watto, to win both the spare parts and the boy’s freedom.
With the boy in tow, the Jedis and the Queen’s retinue finally make it back
to Corsucant where the Queen pleads for her planet’s safety to the Senate
and Qui-Jon tries to convince the skeptical Jedi Council that young Anakin
is the Chosen One. Eventually, the action shifts back to Naboo where the
stage is set for combat between Republic and Federation forces and between
the Jedis and the film’s dark lord, the evil Darth Maul.
The good: While George Lucas hasn’t directed a film in 22 years, his
animators at Industrial Light and Magic has been honing their chops for
about as long in dozens of lesser movies with hopes of producing something
transcendent in new “Star Wars.”
Under the Lucas’s supervision, the wizards of ILM have created no less than
four magnificent worlds: the white deserts of Tattooine; the claustrophic,
super-urbanized, vertically oriented cityscapes of Corsucant (imagine a
futuristic Tokyo that covers an entire plant); the lush Xanadu of Naboo;
and, perhaps most spectacularly, the underwater world of the Gungan, a
series of warmly lit, fairie kingdom bubbles hidden under the surface of an
otherwise anonymous lake on Naboo.
Many of the more stunning effects are, in fact, grace notes to the film’s
central themes. For instance, in a too-brief sequence when Qui-Gon and
Obi-Wan are cruising the waters of Naboo in search of an underground
passage to the planet’s other side, they are pursued by a number of
mind-boggling sea creatures. Just when it looks like the ship is about to
be snapped up by some disturbingly ugly serpent so big it makes a whale
look like a bath toy, here comes another even more immense creature to
dispatch that creature. “There’s always a bigger fish,” says Qui-Jon wryly
and indeed, the sense of scale of the underwater monsters is convincingly
rendered. “Jaws” will never scare you again.
The film’s computer-generated animatronics, virtually non-existent in the
first “Star Wars” triology, takes a giant step forward. Instead of actors
in wooly Chewbacca suits, Lucas this time opts for alien characters created
wholly from ILM software. The goofy Jar Jar Binks, a tall, floppy-eared,
horse-faced sidekick whose exaggerated gait suggests a drunk marionette
puppet, is convincing enough to blend in with the backdrop of his human
counterparts. Also impressive is Watto, a grubby, gambling Tatooine
junkdealer whose fluttering little bee wings labor to keep aloft his
bowling-ball belly. In the race to create wholly artificial live-action
characters, “The Phantom Menace” is a significant advance.
Also, this prequel gives “Star Wars” fans glimpses of those moments that
form the basis of the “Star Wars” mythos: We see the point when the famous
droids, C3PO and R2-D2, meet. When Qui-Gon introduces Obi-Wan to the boy
who would become Darth Vader, the moment will give you the thrill of fate
enjoined.
The not-so-good: The failures of “The Phantom Menace” seem niggling in
isolation. But taken together, they point to a frustrating lack of that
undefinable something that made the original movies -- particularly the
first “Star Wars” -- such a cohesive whole. They are, in the end, failures
of writing and serve as strong evidence that suggests Lucas is more
talented at marketing than storytelling.
For starters, the plot is built around an arcane dispute over trade policy,
not exactly a subject known for its sexiness. As a result, the reasons that
the Trade Federation moves in on Naboo are never clearly spelled out. The
planet’s stately queen, bedecked like a kabuki diva, intones about the
suffering of her people, but we see none of that.
More importantly, the story sorely lacks the kind of swaggering appeal and
defiant humor that Harrison Ford’s Han Solo gave the first trilogy. Han’s
rough-and-tumble cowboy ethos, which served as a nice counterweight to
Luke’s boy-scout earnestness, is nowhere to be found. Both male leads carry
the erect, humorless bearing of seminary students. Ewan McGregor, the
wild-eyed and charismatic indie-film star (“Trainspotting”), is
particularly gelded in his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is left as a weak,
me-too lieutenant to the older Qui-Gon, who himself is Jedi nobility
personified (read: dull).
So many of the thematic elements of the original are missing in action --
the sexual tensions, the loyalties, the relationships, the
this-is-never-going-to-work desperation -- with nothing to compensate but
stiff political posturing and quasi-mysticism. Even the evil is a pale
comparison: the horned nemesis Darth Maul, whose satanically painted face
makes him look like a comer in the WWF, is given hardly any screen time to
really scare you. His menace is measly compared to the labored, artifical
breathing under the black mask of Darth Vader.
Ultimately, however, this is the boy’s story and young Anakin is given a
chance to strut his Jedi fighter spirit in a prolonged set piece called a
“Podrace,” a no-holds-barred drag race through the desert vistas of Naboo.
The race predictably leads to Anakin’s first combat mission (an accidental
one, actually). It is here where the “Star Wars” cosmology gives way to
adrenaline-soaked, video-game sensation that quickly becomes tedious and, I
suspect, a stand-in for any kind of grand design.
Then there’s Jar Jar Binks who is clearly meant as the film’s comic relief.
The character’s braying pidgin English and exaggerated mugging never get
beyond annoying and the cast, as if sensing the thing is a flop, don’t seem
to get anywhere near him.
Finally, I think, “The Phantom Menace” is hurt by lazy thinking. The reach
into religious allegory is more than a little ham-handed. Young Anakin is
not only tabbed the “Chosen One,” he’s also the product of a virgin birth
(born as a slave in a dry desert landscape, no less).
What’s more, the Lucas worldview seems tainted by, if not racism, at least
ethno-centrism. Is it a conscious decision that the “Chosen One” is a
tow-headed white boy with nice Americanized vowels? The boy’s grotesque
owner, who speaks an Middle Eastern-sounding dialect, is a fat slob with a
lust for a good bet. Offensive to Arabs? The strange pidgin spoken by Jar
Jar and his fellow Gungan sound suspiciously like native Asians trying to
master English. Offensive to Asians?
George Lucas, the lord of Skywalker Ranch, clearly has a God complex and,
considering the astounding deference given him the last 20 years, who can
blame him? But George is as human as the rest of us with the same amount of
hours in his days. In the four-plus years since “Episode 1” has been in the
works, he has supervised the effects, controlled the marketing and
publicity as well as having written and directed what will be another
triology. Something had to give. “The Phantom Menace” shows the fruit of
his hard work and how he spent his energy. Unfortunately, it also shows
what he neglected. This time, the Force wasn’t with him.
August Ragone
<wba...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> isolation. But taken together, they point to a frustrating lack of that
> undefinable something that made the original movies -- particularly the
> first “Star Wars” -- such a cohesive whole.
Well, if you can define what it lacks, we can't help you.
> For starters, the plot is built around an arcane dispute over trade policy,
> not exactly a subject known for its sexiness.
What? This guy's been living in Santa Cruz (Berkeley By The Sea) for too
long -- man, you must've taken one dose too many of LSD in the '60s, pal.
The Trade Policy blockade of Neboo was instigated, so that it would
eventually force the leader of the senate out of office, and so that
Senator Palpatine (secretly Darth Sidious) could come to power as the
leader -- making it easier to impliment the destruction of the Republic,
and allow the establishment of the Galactic Empire, where Palpatine could
become Emperor.
Idiot. Now, I never read anything about the film (even the novel), until I
saw the film on Tuesday night's press screening -- and I could follow
that... you ape.
> planet’s stately queen, bedecked like a kabuki diva, intones about the
> suffering of her people, but we see none of that.
Yeah, we need to show you everything, moron... that's what you get for
your lack of vision.
> More importantly, the story sorely lacks the kind of swaggering appeal and
> defiant humor that Harrison Ford’s Han Solo gave the first trilogy.
Oh, let's have an exact carbon-copy of STAR WARS with people simulating
the original characters... how original! No one would accuse it of being a
pale copy, would they. Bastard!
> particularly gelded in his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is left as a weak,
> me-too lieutenant to the older Qui-Gon, who himself is Jedi nobility
> personified (read: dull).
Jedi Knights aren't known for their partying abilities, Jackass.
> So many of the thematic elements of the original are missing in action --
> the sexual tensions
Not getting any? I want action in STAR WARS... if I want sex, I'll have it
-- if I want sex in a movie, I'll rent a porno film. Dumbass.
> Ultimately, however, this is the boy’s story and young Anakin is given a
> chance to strut his Jedi fighter spirit
The STAR WARS saga (Parts I through VI) is about Anakin/Vader -- he's the
center, Neanderthal.
> What’s more, the Lucas worldview seems tainted by, if not racism, at least
> ethno-centrism. Is it a conscious decision that the “Chosen One” is a
> tow-headed white boy with nice Americanized vowels? The boy’s grotesque
> owner, who speaks an Middle Eastern-sounding dialect, is a fat slob with a
> lust for a good bet. Offensive to Arabs? The strange pidgin spoken by Jar
> Jar and his fellow Gungan sound suspiciously like native Asians trying to
> master English. Offensive to Asians?
Gimme a break! Get the F**K out of here, you twisted moron! You're reading
WAY too much into this -- GL has had asian and black cast members, now the
creatures need HUMAN RIGHTS!? Were you molested as a child? How far is
your head up you ass? You are so politically correct, that you are nothing
more than a facist reactionary -- a communist of the worst kind. Are you
gonna ban Bugs Bunny cartoons, because he speaks in a funny Brooklyn
accent? Elmer Fudd stutters, so it's obviously a slag on the "mentally
challenged"?
If you had anykind of an ear of dialects -- which you obviously don't (too
much pot smoking to have a clear head) -- Jar-Jar speaks what seems to me
with a Jamaican/Carribean-accent...
Anakin is thought to be the "Chosen One" of the Jedi Knights -- not the
entire Universe, you bleeding brain dead hippy.
> George Lucas, the lord of Skywalker Ranch, clearly has a God complex
I guess you have to say that about anyone who owns their own business. You
must be the Village Idiot of Santa Cruz.
> triology. Something had to give. “The Phantom Menace” shows the fruit of
> his hard work and how he spent his energy. Unfortunately, it also shows
> what he neglected. This time, the Force wasn’t with him.
Take a bath, Hippy -- and use a bar of soap.
Now, before you think I wrote this because he disliked the film (and I
loved it) -- I have to tell you that I have a problem with his
allegations, and balant stupidity attempting to dissect what he obviously
doesn't understand.
No wonder professional journalism is in such dire-straights.
May The Force Be With You,
--
August Ragone <to reply via e-mail remove "ductions" from my address>
Kaiju Productions: [http://monsterzero.org/henshin] under construction
Kamen Rider V3 Page: [http://home.netvigator.com/~jysls/riderv3.html]
G-Fest '99: July 23th - 25th [http://www.g-fan.com]
Ray Nicolet
Rich Handley
>Ever heard of the word "copyright", mother fuckers?
And this is a response to....?
Remember, kids -- withouth quoting, Usent posts often make no sense.
Sincerely,
Rich Handley (Card...@NO-SPAMunix.asb.com)
cointe...@my-dejanews.com
077.sirius.net>,
kaijupro...@sirius.com (August Ragone) wrote:
> Gimme a break! Get the F**K out of here, you twisted moron! You're
reading
> WAY too much into this -- GL has had asian and black cast members,
now the
> creatures need HUMAN RIGHTS!? Were you molested as a child? How far is
> your head up you ass? You are so politically correct, that you are
nothing
> more than a facist reactionary -- a communist of the worst kind. Are
you
Who's reacting to whom? Reactionaries are what communists call
capitalists. A fascist reactionary communist? That's an oxymoron, kiddo.
It's like saying U.S. military intelligence. Don't behave like a child,
resorting to name-calling when you should be addressing the issues. His
views may be erroneous; but that does not give you license to act like
a foul-mouthed uneducated braggart.
> gonna ban Bugs Bunny cartoons, because he speaks in a funny Brooklyn
> accent? Elmer Fudd stutters, so it's obviously a slag on the "mentally
> challenged"?
>
> If you had anykind of an ear of dialects -- which you obviously don't
(too
> much pot smoking to have a clear head) -- Jar-Jar speaks what seems
to me
> with a Jamaican/Carribean-accent...
--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
---Share what you know. Learn what you don't.---
Squirrel Police
>> For starters, the plot is built around an arcane dispute over trade policy,
>> not exactly a subject known for its sexiness.
This is something that I have seen in a _lot_ of reviews, and every time I
read it it makes me so annoyed that I want to tear lumps of hair from my
scalp. Doesn't anyone (or critic) get it? Adventure films are not "sexy", by
definition. And complicated plots and machinations are a hallmark of the
genre!
Lizard
Handley) wrote:
>Ray Nicolet <REMOVE....@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>Ever heard of the word "copyright", mother fuckers?
>
>And this is a response to....?
>Remember, kids -- withouth quoting, Usent posts often make no sense.
And then there are those who do the opposite -- quote 550 lines or
more to add 'Me too!' or 'you suck!'. I wonder which is worse...
When was Usenet not mired in Eternal September?
*----------------------------------------------------*
Evolution doesn't take prisoners:Lizard
Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice;
Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue:AuH20
http://www.mrlizard.com
DailyRich
>genre!
And every review of LA Confidential and Usual Suspects never failed to mention
their labrynthian plots as a VIRTUE, not a hindrance, yet somehow it's bad when
a Star Wars movie has a plot. I give up.
DailyRich
"The pee tube is out of alignment."
Oliver J. Hanau
*Minor Spoilers*
> And every review of LA Confidential and Usual Suspects never failed to mention
> their labrynthian plots as a VIRTUE, not a hindrance, yet somehow it's bad when
> a Star Wars movie has a plot.
Which it doesn't, really. (Which, in turn, doesn't matter, because
neither had the other episodes.)
Still, being told that the downfall of the Old Republic was brought
upon by a freakin' taxation dispute is somewhat ... sobering. (I can
get a kick out of it applying it to the real world -- as in, "business
conglomerates [will soon] run everything" --, but that's not exactly
something I watch Star Wars for.)
Oliver.
Eric Grossman
REVIEWED BY ERIC GROSSMAN
COPYRIGHT ERIC GROSSMAN
To give you an idea of how disappointed some “Star Wars” fans are going to be
with the “The Phantom Menace,” let me offer this anecdote. At the Electronics
Entertainment Expo, a haven for “Star Wars” fanatics, I stumbled across a
five-foot tall cardboard cutout of Jar Jar Binks, this episode’s all
computer-animated, cutesy sidekick. Jar Jar is an amphibian with long, floppy
ears and his speech is a cross between rhastafarian and Roger Rabbit (the voice
is by actor Ahmed Best). Anyway, so there is Jar Jar, looking all cute and
stupid, and stuck in his shoulder by means of a plastic fork is a piece of
paper with the words: “I ruined Star Wars.” I had to laugh because I couldn’t
agree more, except Jar Jar is just the beginning of why “The Phantom Menace” is
sadly, a letdown.
George Lucas claims that “The Phantom Menace” is the kind of “Star Wars”
film he always meant to make and if this is true, the original and “The Empire
Strikes Back” must have been lucky accidents. It has been a trend in Lucas’
work since “Return Of the Jedi,” with its fuzzy little Ewoks and overall
childish tone, to pander to a younger and younger crowd (ironic since the first
two films were such a big hit with both young and old). The second and third
“Indiana Jones” movies became more and more juvenile, as was the “Young Indiana
Jones” television series. But the real tip-off that this latest film might be
geared for pre-schoolers was “The Star Wars: Special Edition,” where Lucas
tampered with the original films, not only restoring them but changing and
adding scenes, largely for the worse. Most notable is the scene with Han Solo
and Greedo the bounty hunter. This is a great, memorable showdown where Han,
who is staring down the business end of a blaster, slyly fires under the table
and fries the nefarious Greedo so as to escape losing a great deal of money and
possibly his life. Lucas felt that this was morally off-center, so he had his
wizards at Industrial, Light and Magic change the order so Greedo fires first
and then Solo shoots, which completely ruins the essence of the scene. There
are many other such changes that similarly detract from “Empire” and “Jedi.”
So it really is no surprise that “The Phantom Menace” is completely
geared towards young kids and has no edge whatsoever. The story is also less
compelling. It follows two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his
apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), as they travel to the planet of
Naboo in an attempt to prevent the evil Trade Federation, which are these green
creatures with Chinese accents, from invading the planet. The leader of Naboo
is Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), who refuses to sign a treaty with the Trade
Federation because it will be the end of her people. When the Trade Federation
invades with thousands of Battle Droids, who sound like the robot in “Short
Circuit,” the Queen is forced to flee with the Jedi Knights. In their escape,
they lose their hyper-drive and must land on Tatooine and it is there that they
discover young Anakin Skywalker, who we all know will later become Darth Vader.
Meanwhile, they are being chased by Darth Maul, a red and black faced dark-Jedi
who wields a double light saber. Maul is genuinely frightening looking and can
move with the grace of a master martial artist but unfortunately he is
underutilized and only seems to pop up for the occasional light saber duel.
The acting is decidedly mixed, with the humans faring better than the
computer generated creatures. Neeson has very strong actor’s faith and we
believe his character as he sells the poorly written dialogue that would have
snagged a lesser actor. But his character, along with McGregor’s and Portman’s
are shortchanged by the script. Aside from weak dialogue (it’s either stilted
exposition or bad jokes), there isn’t enough heroism or humor to make them
lovable. In fact, Qui-Gon really messes things up by essentially creating
Darth Vader and Obi-Wan has little to do until the last reel. Portman is a
fine actress but she is so stiff here and Jake Lloyd as Anakin, oh boy, I hate
to dump on a young actor but when people said that he should be called
Mannequin Skywalker they weren’t kidding. It is also odd that Anakin, who is
ten, is making the moves on the Queen who is a teenager. In fact, why did
Anakin have to be so young? It would have made far more sense if he too were a
teenager. The romance between Amidala and him would have been more palatable
and the scenes where he pilots a starfighter credible. My suspicion is that
Anakin’s age has more to do with the audience Lucas was trying to court than
any creative reason, or, maybe not. Maybe Lucas just thought it would be neat.
Lucas and his team of computer animators do give us a great deal of eye-candy
and they deserve credit for creating so many dazzling computer effects. There
is a riveting pod-race and the vistas from the different planets are stunning.
However, the conceptual design of the ships, droids and other items lack the
creativity of the earlier trilogy. Qui-Gon’s chrome spaceship lacks the charm
of the Millenium Falcon and the Naboo Starfighters don’t hold a candle to an
X-wing. The Battle Droids look as if one swift kick from a Storm Trooper could
knock them over and while they are better than the Ewoks, the Gun Gun and other
assorted creatures lack the character of a TaunTaun or even a Jawa. At least
the music by John Williams is still powerful and majestic, although there is
nothing to match the famous Imperial March but that would be asking too much.
My gripes may seem like the nit-picks of a hardcore fan but believe me
I wanted to like this film, I really wanted to like this film. “Star Wars,”
more than any other film captured the imagination of my generation and sent a
lot of us to film school. “The Phantom Menace” is better than dreck like
“Independence Day” and “Godzilla” but we should expect more from this movie.
Oh well, Lucas plans to make two more “Star Wars” episodes. Perhaps they will
capture more of the magic that the earlier films had. Perhaps.
Squirrel Police
been brought down by what boils down to a taxation dispute. Not the least of
which is certain British colonies in North America...
In article <3740a4d1...@news.snafu.de>, hw...@snafu.de (Oliver J. Hanau)
wrote:
August Ragone
> Who's reacting to whom? Reactionaries are what communists call
> capitalists. A fascist reactionary communist? That's an oxymoron, kiddo.
> It's like saying U.S. military intelligence. Don't behave like a child,
> resorting to name-calling when you should be addressing the issues. His
> views may be erroneous; but that does not give you license to act like
> a foul-mouthed uneducated braggart.
Waitaminnute, didn't you just commit the same act, as well? You have just
resorted to name calling, twice. Are you a "foul-mouthed uneducated
braggart," too? Because that is exactly what you are doing -- reacting the
same way you percieved that I did, in the same manner as you saw fit. I
guess that has something to do with arrogance -- please don't be so
pontificial. You are making assumptions about a person who you know
nothing about, and would hardly an authority on my experience or
education, nor I you.
May I see your "Braggart's License"? You got that wiggy thing from the
Magistetrial Office of The Pomp and Circumstance Bureau, right? Which is
located on the corner of Vainglorious Blvd. and Ostentatious St.?
Like it or not, Military Intelligence gave you the internet -- further
back, I guess it took no intelligence to overcome the threat of Hitler or
the contril of the Pacific Rim by Japan, fifty years ago -- correct? As
far as Communists are concerned, did I hit a sore spot? Please accept my
apologies; it's fine that you are one, but I shudder to think that
Communists never have been the slightest bit reactionary, or God Forbid,
facist? Please explain every Communist leader, then? Facists, all. For
starters, let's consider those lovely Gulag resorts, or how about that
wonderful show of human rights in Tienimen Square? Reactionary? No, not
the Communists... the pillar and guardians of Humanity and Freedom. Who
could ever forget the scared Communist quote, "We will bury you"? Simply
heartwarming humanity, eh? Oxymoron suitably explains the examples that
Communism has made with the brilliant experiments in The USSR and Red
China -- lest we forget beautiful Cuba.
Oh, I guess I shouldn't have said anything when responding to that review
of TPM... because you have to watch what you say in a Communist Police
State. Thanks, but this is a country my family fought to protect in both
the Pacific and Europe battlefeilds, and I'll be damned if I let anyone
censor or edit me. We still have a right to voice our opinions in this
country, and I have excersized my right to do so. Now, will you kindly
take a hike and kiss my ass, you platitudinous apparatchik.
Peace Out,
Rimrunner
Rich Handley <Card...@NOSPAMunix.asb.com> wrote:
>Ray Nicolet <REMOVE....@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>Ever heard of the word "copyright", mother fuckers?
>
>And this is a response to....?
>Remember, kids -- withouth quoting, Usent posts often make no sense.
Even *with* quoting, they often make no sense.
Rimrunner
belaboring the obvious
--
Murder of Crows: http://www.nwlink.com/~noah CD AVAIL, E-MAIL FOR INFO
"Hey, don't look at me; my ancestors only had six directions, and they
were only sacred if they led to lunch." -- Bill Woody
Squirrel Police
>>And this is a response to....?
Thank the maker, finally the voice of reason.
Rimrunner
Thanks, but I didn't say that, Rich Handley did. Watch those attributions,
'k?
Rimrunner
rampaging editor at large
Squirrel Police
>>>>And this is a response to....?
>>>>Remember, kids...Usent posts...make no sense.
>>
>>Thank the maker, finally the voice of reason.
>
>Thanks, but I...say that, Rich Handley [is Yoda]. Watch [Ally Mcbeal]...'k?
>
>Rimrunner
>rampaging editor at large
Nope. Not the voice of reason this time!
\
Luigi Ballabio
<kaijuproductions...@ppp-asfm06--102.sirius.net>,
August,
what is your brand of coffee? I might try it if I ever come to USA.
It must be close to the italian one.
Thanks,
Luigi
Bob Bloom
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). 3 1/2 stars out of 4.
Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman and Samuel
L. Jackson. Written and directed by George Lucas.
Something eerie happened when the 20th Century Fox theme blared from the
screen and those magical words, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away"
appeared.
I felt an adrenaline rush, and I leaned forward in my seat.
Then the familiar strains of John Williams "Star Wars" theme blasted from
the screen and I felt myself drawn into that mythical world created almost
a quarter of a century ago by George Lucas.
"Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" is not a great film, but it is
magical and majestic.
Many people will dismiss it as an overblown, kiddie, Saturday matinee
popcorn confection. And they would be right.
And that is exactly what makes "The Phantom Menace" a wonderful viewing
experience. It is a movie that resurrects the child in all of us. It
recalls a time of innocence in movies in which a clear demarcation existed
between the good guys and the bad guys.
Like its predecessors, especially the first "Star Wars" movie from 1977,
"The Phantom Menace" evokes a feeling of nostalgia, which is ironic, since
it is one of the most technologically advanced features ever brought to the
screen.
More than 2,000 effects were used in this 130-minute fantasy, yet the
movie does not feel cold or sterile.
"The Phantom Menace" is a two-hour-plus appetizer, produced to whet our
expectations for the saga to follow. That also is the movie's main
drawback.
It's more of a history lesson, a primer. Its main purpose is to introduce
us to its characters and explain a little about them.
The movie is like those briefings combat pilots get before flying sorties.
They are shown the lay of the land and its outstanding landmarks in order
to familiarize themselves with the topography. The only difference is that
"The Phantom Menace" is much more enjoyable.
The main objective of "The Phantom Menace" - besides being rousing
entertainment - is to show the beginnings of the downfall of the old
Republic as well as the machinations that lead to the rise of the evil
Galactic Empire.
Along the way we are introduced to younger versions of characters we have
met or heard about in the first trilogy: a young slave boy named Anakin
Skywalker; the Jedi master Yoda; a young Jedi apprentice named Obi-Wan
Kenobi, a work-in-progress protocol droid named C-3PO and a feisty, round
little droid called R2-D2.
We also meet some new characters: the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, young
Queen Amidala of Naboo, Jar Jar Binks, a clumsy, childlike amphibious being
belonging to an underwater race called the Gungans, Darth Maul, a Dark Lord
of Sith who wields a double-edged light saber, and Lord Sidious, his
master, who stays in the shadows as he plots to overthrow the Republic.
Lucas fills "The Phantom Menace" with much exposition, but it is balanced
with various and spectacular action sequences and jaw-dropping vistas.
One of the most awe-inspiring scenes involves a pod race won by the young
Anakin. It is the consummate high-tech drag race, inspired by its creator's
fond memories of his hot-rodding youth.
And, of course, what would a "Star Wars" film be without the obligatory
dogfight in space. As usual, computer-generated vehicles roll, dive and
soar like miniature hawks.
Lucas has been accused of lavishing more time on his props and computer
effects than on his human actors.
And while a case can be made that he seems to have left Liam Neeson as
Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor as young Obi-Wan to their own devices, it
appears he put in many hours with young Jake Lloyd (Anakin) and Natalie
Portman (Queen Amidala).
Neeson gives a stalwart, dignified performance as the veteran Jedi. But he
has played larger-than-life characters before ("Rob Roy," "Les Miserables,"
"Schindler's List"), so he is familiar with the territory.
McGregor ("Trainspotting," "A Life Less Ordinary") is one of the finest
young actors in movies today. And judging by his previous performances, he
also has an intelligence and instinct that leads him to make the correct
choices. However, to be fair, he really has little to do except say, "Yes,
Master,"" over and over to Qui-Gon, as well as engage in various laser
saber battles.
With young Lloyd, Lucas walks a tricky path. Anakin, ostensibly, is the
movie's hero. Lloyd is charming, confident and endearing, but ...
This is the boy who, when he becomes an adult, is corrupted to accept the
Dark Side and is transformed into Darth Vader, one of the most memorable
villains in movie history.
Lucas underscores this at time through the music of John Williams, who has
created a resounding score. His Anakin's theme is a bit pastoral, yet
undermining it are hints of the Darth Vader theme from the first "Star
Wars" trilogy.
Portman is regal and resourceful as the young queen, and it will be
interesting to see her mature if she retains the role in the two sequels.
Also bringing heart to the proceedings is Pernilla August as Anakin's
mother. Their scenes together are poignant, the best in the movie.
Also on hand are the vocal talents of Frank Oz as Yoda and, in what
amounts to a cameo, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, a member of the Jedi
Council.
Unfortunately, Jackson has little to do except sit, ponder and issue dire
warnings about Anakin's future.
The real stars of "The Phantom Menace" are the thousands of
behind-the-scenes people at Industrial Light and Magic who brought Lucas'
creations to life.
This movie is a good 95-plus percent computer-generated effects. Yet the
characters, especially Jar Jar Binks as well as the rest of the Gungan,
seem so real, so human, that you soon forget they are pixels and bytes.
"The Phantom Menace" is a rip-roarin' good time. Like its predecessors,
it's a throwback to an earlier era in movie history, while at the same time
it is in the vanguard of a cinematic future in which computers will create
worlds and landscapes we could only imagine.
The Force is alive and well and beats strongly in "The Phantom Menace."
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN.
He can be reached by e-mail at bl...@journal-courier.com or at
cbl...@iquest.net
cb
Carol Bloom of Bloom Ink Publishing Professionals
3312 Indian Rock Lane West Lafayette, IN 47906-1203
765-497-9320 fax 765-497-3112 cbl...@iquest.net
Committed to Lifelong Learning through Effective Communication
Curtis Edmonds
The opening moments of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace brought back some
memories for me, as it probably will for you. I remember sitting in my
dad's beat-up Chevy station wagon and watching the first Star Wars movie in
the parking lot of Texas Stadium. (They set up a drive-in theater in the
parking lot during the summer to make some money when the Cowboys weren't
playing.) I remember using my toy light saber as a flashlight to read
comic books in bed. I remember standing in line for the second and third
movies at the theater in the Forum Mall in Arlington, looking up at this
big Star Wars mural they had painted in the lobby.
But when I walked out of the movie, I was reminded most of this Pop Art
exhibit they had at the Dallas Museum of Art a couple of years ago. There
were the requisite comic book panels, of course, but there were quite a few
paintings that were these big close-ups of brushstrokes, great big smears
of color that I enjoyed, in an abstract way. (A little art humor there.)
What I really liked, though, was this Roy Lichtenstein sculpture of a
chair. The sculpture was comprised of the same kinds of brushstrokes I'd
seen in the paintings, just as though they'd been lifted of the
two-dimensional canvas and given new three-dimensional life. The sculpture
was dependent on the earlier paintings -- it wouldn't have made sense
without that context -- but converting the brushstroke images to actual
shapes caused the sculpture to transcend its origins and become a stronger,
better work of art.
Star Wars was a great movie. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is not a great
movie. Instead, it's a sublime work of art that's based on a great movie,
that uses bits and pieces of the earlier movie to fashion a new visual
masterpiece. Just as Lichtenstein transferred his imagery from painting to
sculpture, George Lucas has transferred his imagery from film moviemaking
to digital moviemaking. All of the elements are present -- light sabers,
droids, the Force -- but they're just the frame for an awesome,
unprecedented work of art.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is best described as an infinity of
dreamscapes. To mix a sci-fi metaphor, George Lucas boldly takes us where
no man has gone before: to the rolling plains of Naboo, the underwater
refuge of the Gungans, the twisted desert landscape of Tatooine, the
soaring towers of Coruscant, to a vast array of space battles and pod races
and laser swordfights. The Phantom Menace offers us an array of sights so
wonderful, so gorgeous, so jaw-droppingly amazing, that it's almost
impossible to describe them. (The people who do audio description for
moviegoers who are blind have their work cut out for them.) The
backgrounds are lavishly illustrated and ornately detailed, and the
foreground is filled with exciting, hyper-kinetic action and impressive new
creatures from the Lucas alien bestiary. This is a work of art to be
experienced on the huge silver canvas down at your local multiplex.
If you set Star Wars: The Phantom Menace next to groundbreaking special
effects movies like Titanic or What Dreams May Come, it emerges head and
shoulders above its competition. It's a superlative example of the
emerging new genre of computer animated movies, and art directors will be
copying from it for years to come. But The Phantom Menace is a Star Wars
movie, first and foremost, and it will ultimately be judged by the
yardstick of the three prior movies rather than on its considerable
artistic achievement. And based on that yardstick, The Phantom Menace
falls slightly short of the mark.
The Phantom Menace starts off full of promise, with audiences cheering the
return of the classic logo and the initial plot crawling slantwise up the
screen. Apparently, the peace loving planet of Naboo is being menaced by
the Federation, an alien race responsible for collecting taxes on Galactic
trade. The Federation is what the Internal Revenue Service would be like
if it controlled a vast army of robots, and one hopes that nobody at the
IRS gets any ideas. Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan
Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are dispatched to the planet to rescue the Queen
(Natalie Portman), fighting duckbilled androids and giant fish and Dark
Lords of the Sith along the way. The Jedi run across the young Anakin
Skywalker / Darth Vader (Jake Lloyd) at a pit stop on the desert planet
Tatooine, discover his innate Jedi abilities, and make plans to train him
in the ways of the Force.
The plot is not the problem with the movie, so I won't give any more of it
away than I already have. And the action scenes are on a par with anything
in the previous movies. What's missing here -- what's been lost in the
translation from adventure movie to work of art -- is the chemistry that
the characters have with each other and with the audience.
Neeson is fairly good as the elder Jedi statesman, but there's something
reserved in his portrayal of Qui-Gon. Neeson is at his best when he's
playing characters that have a fierce inner spark of motivation (Oskar
Schindler, let's say, or Rob Roy). That spark isn't really present here.
Neeson projects inner peace and Jedi self-discipline, but it might have
been more fun if he had some of the roguish qualities of Han Solo.
McGregor is given much less to do as Obi-Wan than you might think, although
one would imagine him to have a prominent place in the second and third
installments. He's a student here, not a teacher, and he has a subordinate
and passive role most of the way in.
Instead of Luke and Leia, we've got two very good young actors in Jake
Lloyd and Natalie Portman, but they don't do much for the overall chemistry
either. Lloyd, playing the six-year-old who is destined to grow up to be
Darth Vader, shows exceptional maturity and self-assurance in his role.
(If anyone out there is still interested in bringing Orson Scott Card's
novel Ender's Game to the screen, call this kid's agent.) Portman has all
the gravity and imperial bearing a Queen should have and does a fine job
behind her ornate costumes and makeup. (The dead-white makeup looks pretty
cool, but one hopes that it won't give Whoopi Goldberg an excuse to show up
at the Oscars in whiteface again.) But both actors are pretty reserved as
well. They don't bring with them any of the childish enthusiasm or passion
that made Star Wars so enjoyable.
Compared to their Star Wars predecessors, the characters of The Phantom
Menace seem stiff and lifeless. Even Darth Maul, the much-hyped super bad
guy, can't hold a candle to any of the formidable Star Wars villains.
Additionally, the obligatory cutesy alien, a floppy-eared amphibian named
Jar-Jar Binks, doesn't do a thing to help matters. Binks looks as though
he was designed by the same malevolent committee that allegedly built the
camel on Earth: he's got an incomprehensible computer generated lisping
Caribbean accent, lame dialogue straight out of Wayne's World ("Ex-squeeze
me?") or worse, Full House ("How wude!"), and an innate clumsiness we
haven't seen since Martin Short stopped doing Ed Grimley. I kept hoping
that Chewbacca would show up and pummel him.
These flaws exist, and they keep The Phantom Menace from being as
thoroughly fun and enjoyable as its predecessors. However, it would be
wrong to call the movie a disappointment, no matter how annoying or
pervasive the hype has been. The Phantom Menace is worth seeing, worth
marveling over, worth enjoying both as entertainment and as a luminous work
of art -- not to mention its considerable value as a passport back to
childhood. (Where did I put that old light saber, anyway?)
Rating: A+
--
Curtis D. Edmonds
blue...@hsbr.org
"First, you show up. Then you see what happens."
-- Napoleon Bonaparte
Scott Renshaw
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room
http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/
***
Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email!
See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject
"Subscribe".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Chamberlain
Starring Liam Neeson; Ewan McGregor; Natalie Portman; Jake Lloyd & Pernilla
August
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... I have to admit that when
those words appeared on the screen, my heart skipped a beat, even if only
ever so slightly. By the time the opening setup credits had finished, I was
all set for a good time. After seeing Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom
Menace, I was left wondering if I had seen the same movie that many film
critics had seemingly taken great delight in eviscerating in the weeks
leading up to its release. I certainly didn't experience the colossal
disappointment that many a critic were predicting that fans would suffer.
Nor did it appear as though anyone else in the sold-out theater where I saw
The Phantom Menace was overly underwhelmed. At least, not judging by the
applause that erupted when the film's end credits started to roll. Although,
I suppose that could have been from just being relieved that the worst 2
hours of their lives was now over. Call me crazy, but I don't think so. Let
me set the record straight on some of the more prominent criticisms of this
film. 1) That director George Lucas went a little crazy on the computer
generated aspects of the film. To be honest, the CGI was so subtle that I
hardly noticed most of it. Since 95% of the scenes were in some way
digitally enhanced, you would expect that it might get a little
overwhelming. Much of it involved scenes where some element of the
background had been enhanced in some small way. As for the big scenes such
as the dramatic battle between the Gungans and legions of battle droids, the
digital effects were so well done that I didn't even notice that everything
on screen was CGI. Criticism number 2 -- that the story was seriously
lacking. Admittedly The Phantom Menace is a setup for the next two films.
But the way in which Lucas sets up these cliffhangers that will be resolved
in the next films is brilliant. There are also more than a few winks and
nudges directed to those who are diehard fans of the movie. 3) The computer
generated character of Jar Jar Binks is really annoying. At first he kind of
is a bit, but I found that he grew on me as the movie progressed. He also
had some of the funniest lines in the film, provided you could understand
them. Of my complaints that is the biggest. Jar Jar's whole race spoke in a
backwards dialect that had its funny moments, but in most cases you really
had to work to make out what they were saying. 4) Jake Lloyd, who plays
young Anakin Skywalker, can't act. There are a few brief moments in the film
where it is painfully obvious why Lloyd has gained the nickname of Mannequin
Skywalker among some. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't half bad in most of
the movie. Which is a credit to Lucas for keeping Lloyd's dramatic scenes to
a bare minimum. Although, I certainly won't miss Lloyd in the next film. To
be quite frank, I found most criticism directed toward this film was blown
way out of proportion. I guess that is in keeping with everything
surrounding The Phantom Menace.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, for those of you who are just
emerging from your caves, is the first in a trilogy of prequels to the
original Star Wars saga. This trilogy concerns how young Anakin Skywalker
eventually grew up to be the evil Darth Vader (the father of Star Wars' Luke
and Leia). The Phantom Menace begins with a trade dispute between the Trade
Federation and the planet of Naboo. The Trade Federation sets up a blockade
of Naboo to force them into submission. The Galactic Republic dispatches two
Jedi knights, Qui-Gon Jin (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Ewan McGregor), to try to settle the dispute. Once there, the two Jedis
realize that there is something more sinister going on that just a trade
dispute. The mysterious Darth Sidious (even more mysteriously uncredited) is
secretly pulling the strings of the Trade Federation armies encircling
Naboo. He orders his men to commence the capture of the peaceful planet.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan manage to rescue the ruler of Naboo, Queen Amidala
(Natalie Portman), from the clutches of the Trade Federation's army, and
whisk her off to the planet of Coruscant where she can plead her planet's
case before the ruling Republic's Senate. On their way, their ship
experiences engine trouble and they have to land on the desert world on
Tatooine for repairs. There, Qui-Gon and Amidala meet a young boy named
Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) who seems to have a great connection with the
Force. The rest of the film is more of less the Jedi's and Amidala's
attempts to free her planet.
Much of The Phantom Menace is a setup for Episodes II and III. A good
portion of the movie is spent introducing the characters and their
forthcoming intertwining relationships which we all know will eventually
happen. At least those of us who have seen the first three films know what
is going to eventually happen. Episode I gives us a sneak peak of sorts into
what we know these characters are to become. For instance, we get the first
hints of the romance that is to blossom between the Anakin and Amidala (Luke
and Leia's parents). We also start to see the rise to power of the Senator
from Naboo named Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who would later become Darth
Vader's master, Emperor Palpatine. We also have the first indications from
the Jedi council, headed by Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L.
Jackson) that while Anakin may be strong with the Force, his future might be
less than rosy. All of this, and other subtle hints, will be to the great
delight of Star Wars fans. Those that have never seen the original trilogy
or haven't seen it in a while, may miss out on some of the more subtle
comments and hints. Lucas seems to have made The Phantom Menace as a teaser
of sorts for what is to come, and in that respect he has done it
brilliantly. The hints and anticipation about what is to come has left me
wishing that I didn't have to wait three more years to see the next chapter.
Aside from the setup for Episodes II and III, The Phantom Menace does stand
up on its own. The plot may be a bit light in places, but I certainly never
noticed. I was so caught up in the spectacle of it all. Visually, The
Phantom Menace is one breathtaking movie. The computer technology available
today has allowed Lucas' technical wizards to create whatever magical worlds
that Lucas can dream up. Particularly staggering were the capital city on
Naboo which featured grand waterfalls and ornate architecture. The
underwater sequences involving Jar Jar Binks' totally submersed home are as
stunning as anything you are ever likely to see on film. And of course, the
final battle involving the thousands of battle droids is something that
never could have been created without the use of computers.
"How about the actors?", you are no doubt asking yourself. Liam Neeson
displays the same abundant talent in this film as he did in Schindler's
List. He, along with Natalie Portman, is the heart of the movie. Portman is
incredible as the young Queen with the weight of an entire planet on her
shoulders. I feel obligated to note that when you take away the Queen's
strange outfits and even stranger makeup, Natalie Portman is absolutely
stunning. I realize that she was cast for her enormous talent as much as
anything else, but her classic beauty made me think that she was born to
play a queen. I was a bit disappointed that Ewan McGregor and Samuel J.
Jackson didn't have bigger roles in this film. I was especially shocked at
how little screen time McGregor got. But both be and Jackson gave great
performances in their roles. I also would have liked to see a bit more of
Darth Maul (Ray Park) who was other character that fit into the under used
category. The cast as a whole was an amazing one especially considering most
of them were acting with blue screens and not real actors at any given time.
And even those that weren't quite what they should have been (anyone who
sees the film will know who they are) didn't detract from the movie. In
fact, very little detracted from the movie. And if something did, you could
be sure that some other nifty thing would come along to take your mind off
any little bumps in the road. George Lucas threw enough small touches and
tiny details in to make up for any deficiencies that may have arisen.
Sure there were things that probably could have been done differently. I've
never seen a perfect movie yet, so I didn't expect this one to be flawless
either. Lucas has made a fun little movie that all ages will be able to
enjoy. It may not be quite as good as Star Wars, but it certainly stands up
well to The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. I only had one major
complaint as I walked out of this film -- that I have to wait 3 more years
to see the next one. That's the sort of complaint I wish I had with every
film.
10/10 -- Well worth the 16 year wait
Visit
The Movie Guy
http://members.tripod.com/~MovieGuy/index.html
James Brundage
Written and Directed by George Lucas
Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Llyod, Frank Oz,
Ray Park, and Ahmed Best
Cameo by Samuel L. Jackson
As Reviewed by James Brundage
Seeing as I've been turning in about two reviews a week for several
weeks now, there is no possible way I could have been standing in line all
this time. No, I was smart about the affair. I found the best sound systems
in the theatres outside of the city and then reserved a ticket. Opening day,
I was surprised to find that there were still seats available, but that is
another story. No, I'm not a Star Wars fanatic, and no, I didn't make
lightsaber noises when I was stick fighting as a kid, but I like the
trilogy.
I've heard the hype by the people and I've heard the hype by the
critics. Although I am not a Star Wars fanatic, I have had my own obsession
about the movie that proves the 2nd Rule of the Critics Bible: Time,
formerly measured in years, is now measured in movies. I mean who (besides
the people CNN hand-picked to say they didn't) didn't know that May 19, 1999
was the day?
I knew… that's for sure.
Let's face facts, Star Wars has always been an event. It was an event
22 years ago when it came out, it is an event today when it attempts to
break $200 million in the first weekend by enforcing a very strict embargo
on passes. Star Wars was an event in box office records, always has been and
always will be. It was also always an event in special effects, which it is
now only by bulk. It was also always a story. In the case of The Phantom
Menace, however, the story is its weak point.
People have said that the weak point of George Lucas is that he has
lost his touch directing. He hasn't. People have said that the weak point of
George Lucas is that he can no longer think little. He can't, but that's not
his mistake. His weak point in The Phantom Menace was threefold: he didn't
hire someone to help him write the script, he didn't know when to stop with
the Special Effects, and he didn't find a better coach for his actors.
I will tell you first, before I begin my ripping of the bad, that The
Phantom Menace is by far the most fun I have had at the movies since The
Matrix, and is a fine adventure film.
Taking the bad points down, the script for The Phantom Menace displays
the bad dialogue that adventure films are infamous for. It isn't terrible,
but its dialogue that gets on your nerves. Star Wars creates good
characters, but The Phantom Menace seems to gain a few bad ones in the need
for comic relief. A perfect example is Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), an
annoying computer-generated creature that seems to serve no other purpose
than to annoy adults. Good characters include the young Anakin Skywalker
(Jake Lloyd), Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor), and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Following my normal suit, I
really love the central villain of the film, the already infamous Darth Maul
(Ray Park). Yoda (Frank Oz) is the funny little guy he's always been.
Another annoying tidbit about the script is that it is completely
predictable.
The special effects are best described in a Fruedian slip that I said
on the way out: "The sloppy effects aren't as special as I expected them to
be." The Phantom Menace represents a new era of film: one where the line
between animation and live action is irrevocably blurred. One must remember
that, in the field of special effects, blurred lines are exactly what we
loathe. The animation is impressive in the fact that they were able to
successfully incorporate as much as they did, but the special effects (which
will, despite my vehement protests, win the 2000 Award for Best Special
Effects) were highly inferior to the rather reserved and very innovative
effects used in The Matrix.
As far as the actors go, I hated the kid. I am extraordinarily glad
that he is not, to my knowledge, signed on for the next one. If I have to
stand through one more forced "Yippee" being uttered from the little boys
lips, I will boycott Star Wars movies. Ewan McGregor, normally an excellent
actor, does a fine job of his physical acting but fails utterly in his
attempts to control his voice. He seems not to be able to decide whether he
wants a British accent, a Scottish accent, or an American accent. Natalie
Portman pulls her weight and then some, but, as I compare her performance in
1994's Leon (known in America as The Professional) and her role in 1995's
Heat, I can only think of an ironic comparison. Her transition between
character-driven stories without lavish sets and huge special effects to the
world of computer animation and eight week dress designs is one of going to
the dark side. Liam Neeson is a great Jedi Knight, and the only actor about
which I have no problem.
To laud the film, I will say that I had a great amount of fun. The
battle scenes are a treat for the eyes, the chase scenes something to be
praised on their energy (they are high-octane while not using fossil fuels).
Lucas does an excellent job of setting up the film for his next one. Despite
what others may think, it resembles his other films only peripherally. It is
neither Star Wars, nor Empire Strikes Back, nor Return of the Jedi. Nor is
it a mixture of the three. It is, instead, a film of its own. However,
unlike the trilogy, of which each film can stand on its own, The Phantom
Menace relies on the support of the other three. They are a tripod that
surrounds the movie.
The plot, to wrap up, is a very simple one. A planet is facing invasion
and trade embargo. Two Jedi's are sent to negotiate, which sparks a
conflict. Good and evil face of over the span of two hours, of which one
hour is used to set up parts II and III. They enlist the help of aliens for
impressive battle scenes and eventually, as always, good wins… with a shadow
of evil in the wings waiting for the sequel. I still have no idea what the
title means.
It's enjoyable. It is a landmark. It is Star Wars, and this is the year
of The Phantom Menace. If you are going to see it, my review will mean
nothing to you. If you're not, than my review does nothing either. The very
few people who are up in the air, I am giving it my blessing, albeit
somewhat reluctantly.
Christopher Meadows
A film review by Christopher E. Meadows
Copyright 1999 Christopher E. Meadows
MPAA: PG (sci-fi action/violence)
Written and Directed by George Lucas
Produced by George Lucas (Executive) and Rick McCallum
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, etc
Review Rating: 8 out of 10.
(The first part of this review will be spoiler-free; if you haven't
yet seen the movie, feel free to read it. There will be a spoiler
warning and pagebreak at the end of the safe zone.)
Long live _Star Wars_!
I have only vague recollections of seeing _Star Wars_ when it first
came out. I was only four years old at the time, and all I remember
is that I found the Jawas really scary.
Articles and even books can be and have been written on what _Star
Wars_ was and is and did for our culture. On the face of it, it's
such a simple thing--it took elements from mythoi as old as humanity
itself and blended them together into an epic saga. Critics have
attacked it for this very simplicity, calling it a predigested
mishmash of old stories that are much better in their original form
. . . and yet, are not _all_ stories taken from earlier inspirations?
Regardless of what one thinks of the trilogy now, or what Lucas has
done with it since, there can be no denying that when the original
_Star Wars_ movie came out, it burst like a bombshell into young
minds, and fired the imaginations of a generation. Who in his late
twenties or early thirties now can hear that opening fanfare, see
those famous words in blue appear on the screen, and not still feel
that stirring deep inside? All right, I'll grant that some of you
might, but I'll bet you're in the minority.
Now, George Lucas is hoping to pull it off again for the youth of
today's generation. Can he? Well . . . I doubt it. Not for lack of
trying on his part--_Phantom Menace_ is a spectacular movie, and if
you were to transpose it chronologically into the place of the
original _Star Wars_, I have little doubt that audiences would respond
just as well. But the atmosphere is different now.
In 1977, _Star Wars_ signalled the end of what had been a ten or
twenty year drought in big science fiction movies, and did it in a
rather eye-popping way. There hadn't been a story quite like _Star
Wars_ in a very long time--or ever, by some definitions. Not only was
it science fiction, it was a science fiction _action_ movie; a movie
that didn't just invent new worlds and technologies but _took them for
granted_. While the audience is oohing and ahhing appreciatively at
the Millenium Falcon, Luke says, "What a piece of junk!" It spawned a
variety of imitators . . . even to this very day. And there's the
problem.
Sadly, if you show a kid of today the original _Star Wars_ trilogy, or
even the _Star Wars Special Edition_, the odds are good he'll shrug
and reply, "So?" and perhaps even make disparaging remarks about the
films' special effects. The eighties and nineties have been, by and
large, the biggest decades for cinematic science fiction since the
horror movie era. Perhaps even bigger. Searching on "Genre: Sci-Fi"
in the Internet Movie Database shows, at the time of this review's
writing, 2,404 titles, and at a glance, most of these titles seem to
be post-1977. Not having grown up in those days of little-SF-then-
Star Wars, they simply don't see it as anything special. Unless
they're _big_ science fiction fans, no matter how much they might like
it, it's "just another science fiction movie." And so, I suspect,
might _The Phantom Menace_ also be.
I couldn't help but be amused by the contrast in opinions between a
co-worker of mine and a person I happened to be standing next to in
the movie line today. My co-worker was saying that _Star Wars_ should
be for kids, and was complaining about all the adults who were
snapping up tickets. This moviegoer, on the other hand, was saying
that the first showing should be just for people who were old enough
to see the original, and that anyone younger than that shouldn't be
allowed in. Both of these people were being at least reasonably
facetious in their opinions, of course, but it struck me as amusing
and at the same time poignant--this new movie, _The Phantom Menace_,
might have been _meant_ for the youth of today . . . but I suspect
that, in large part, only those people who grew up on the original
_Star Wars_ will truly appreciate it. George Lucas might have made it
for the physically-young, but it will let those of us who are older
relive our youth again--if only for a glorious two hours and fifteen
minutes.
And now we come to the movie itself. A comment posted to the Slashdot
news-for-nerds website pretty effectively sums it up--"as good as we'd
expected, but not as good as we'd hoped." The movie had action,
adventure, special effects, and science-fiction settings in plenitude,
and yet somehow it didn't quite manage to live up to the hype. This
should come as no surprise; it is doubtful that even the original Star
Wars could have lived up to this degree of hype, much less The Phantom
Menace.
But the big question is, is it worth the money? If you ever liked any
_Star Wars_ at all . . . undeniably. If not . . . well, it's still a
fairly good SF/action flick.
If you have not yet seen the movie and wish to remain unspoiled, read
no further. Mark this post unread, save it to a file and come back to
it later, or otherwise wait for it. Don't spoil yourself. If you
read further, on your own head be it.
Like former _Star Wars_ films, _The Phantom Menace_ is action-packed
from the very beginning. It starts with the two Jedi, Qui-Gon and
Obi-Wan, arriving at a Trade Federation battleship to negotiate for
the end of the trade blockade on Naboo. The Trade Federation
representatives, under instruction from a shadowy cloaked figure we
know and love from the later movies, try to kill them, and fail. They
escape to Naboo, meet a friendly (albeit overcutified) alien, Jar Jar
Binks, and go on to find a way through the "planet core" to the human
Naboo settlement to warn them of an impending invasion. They arrive
too late, however, and the rest of the film revolves around their
quest to get Queen Amidala of the Naboo to Coruscant to plead for her
people before the Senate, then to return to the planet to save it.
Along the way, they pick up young Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine, who
proceeds to save the day several times (which is sure to infuriate
those people who dislike Wesley Crusher and his ilk). We also meet
such worthies as R2-D2 (who saves the day once or twice himself) and
the "naked" C-3PO (who was put together by super-prodigy Anakin to
help his mother around the house), and of course Senator Palpatine,
Naboo's senator, who uses the crisis on Naboo to become the Senate's
new High Chancellor and, as those of us who've seen _Star Wars_ IV-VI
already know, is also the mysterious figure in the cloak; he turns out
to be a Sith Lord to boot.
"Always there are two," Yoda says, "no more, no less. A master and
his apprentice." The shadowy master (whom we know to be Palpatine),
dispatches Darth Maul, his apprentice, to find and deal with the Jedi
and the Naboo Queen. And deal he does, though he barely has five
minutes of screen time and most of that is the climactic lightsaber
duel with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. In the end, though there are
sacrifices made, the Trade Federation is defeated, and peace and
goodness reign once more . . . though as we older fans know, this will
not last for very long. In fact, it is fairly easy to tell that
_Phantom Menace_ is meant primarily as build-up, a prelude to the
second movie that will, like _The Empire Strikes Back_, tell a darker
story.
Where to begin? The movie was very much a _Star Wars_ film. There
was a new world, Naboo, an older world we'd not yet visited directly,
Coruscant, and an old familiar place which will, I suspect, pass into
and out of the _Star Wars_ limelight a number of times in this trilogy
as well as the next--that being Tatooine. There were new races, new
monsters ("There's always a bigger fish"), new characters, and new
ships. The technical aspects of the film were, by and large,
flawless. If the story and the acting fell a little flat . . . well,
these things can be forgiven.
It was good to see _familiar_ places and races and people again, too,
to see how the Jedi lived in their heyday. A number of questions were
answered, and others posed. As a friend put it, "The sourcebook [for
the _Star Wars_ roleplaying game] for this one is going to be
amazing." It's hard to say just when it really hit me--this _is_ a
_Star Wars_ film. When you fully realize that, when you feel it deep
inside of you . . . you just sit back and enjoy the ride.
The fight choreography was stunning. From the very beginning, when
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan mow through combat droids as though smashing
pinatas, it's apparent. They move with a grace and skill that is
almost poetry in motion, and makes quite a contrast to the later
trilogy.
There are, of course, a few things that are odd or don't make sense,
but that's to be expected. A small sampler: are we supposed to
believe that the Jedi actually journeyed through the center of the
planet? And the sacred place of an underwater-dwelling people is
above ground? How can Obi-Wan's master be Qui-Gon when he's said in
the latter trilogy that it was Yoda? Then there's the fact that Jedi
abilities apparently come from the equivalent of mitochondria
. . . who are also, if you can believe it, Anakin's "father." And
Jabba the Hutt seems a lot _bigger_ than "young Jabba" is in _A New
Hope Special Edition_ . . . though perhaps this is meant to be Jabba
Senior.
And a couple of things are slightly annoying, not the least of which
is super-genius-cum-Chosen-One, Anakin Skywalker. I'm not a
Wesley-hater by any means, but I still find it a bit hard to swallow
that this pre-adolescent boy could do all these things--make C-3PO,
win the pod race, singlehandedly destroy the Federation ship
controlling the droid army . . . it's kid wish-fulfillment. There's
nothing wrong with that by itself, but this is laying it on just a wee
bit thick for my tastes. Jar Jar Binks was a bit tiresome after a
while, too, but not to an onerous extent. Oh, well. Chalk it up to
incipient Ewok syndrome.
Also annoying is that after all the buildup, all the "Join the Dark
Side" T-shirts and caps with his face plastered all over them, the
Darth Maul pocketwatches that say "At last we will have our revenge"
when you open them . . . Darth Maul only has about five minutes of
screen time, and most of that is lightsaber dueling. It would have
been nice to see more of him, to make him more of a menacing character
the way Darth Vader was, rather than a one-off throwaway. Oh, well
. . . he wasn't meant to be the true villain of the piece at any rate.
Perhaps we'll see more menace in Episode Two.
As for the acting, Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor were the stars of the
piece, and they both seemed to handle their roles quite well. Ian
McDiarmid also shone as the diabolical Senator-then-Chancellor
Palpatine; it was interesting to see him sans makeup for a change. I
completely didn't recognize him until I heard him called by name. If
Jake Lloyd was a bit wooden in his acting, it is forgiveable; children
often lack the experience they need to make their portrayals seem more
real, and at any rate, he acted better than some adults I've seen.
The same could be said for Natalie Portman.
The special effects were top notch. It was easy to forget that Jar
Jar Binks's head, as well as those of the rest of his race, was
completely computer-generated. It all seemed so _real_. _Star Wars_
has finally moved beyond the realm of rubbery alien masks into
completely lifelike CGI alien faces . . . and it's about time. The
monsters in the "planet core" were also wonderfully done.
The score is very interesting for the themes Williams chose to reuse
(or foreshadow). You can hear hints of the later Imperial March in
"Anakin's Theme," especially toward the end, and at a couple of points
in the movie the distinctive wistful horn solo associated with Luke
Skywalker in Episode IV makes its appearance. "Duel of the Fates,"
_Phantom Menace_'s signature theme (which is receiving airplay even on
pop music stations, oddly enough), seems to have been inspired by the
piece "O Fortuna" from "Carmina Burana". There is also, of course,
the de rigeur "alien band"--"Augie's Great Municipal Band," which
performs just before the end credits.
In conclusion, _Star Wars_ Episode One: The Phantom Menace_ is not a
_great_ film . . . but then, the original trilogy plus the
uncontrolled _Phantom Menace_ hype are nearly impossible to live up
to. But it _is_ a _Star Wars_ film to the hilt. The atmosphere, the
effects, the _feeling_ is there. It's hard to explain, but for a
brief two hours and fifteen minutes, it's like being a kid again,
seeing the Trilogy for the first magical time. For a _Star Wars_ fan,
no amount of wooden acting or mediocre writing can sour that (as the
past amply demonstrates--consider _Return of the Jedi_). If you're a
fan, this is a must-see . . . but then, you probably already know
that. If you're a _Star Wars_ agnostic or, Force forbid, have never
seen a _Star Wars_ film in your life, it will still be an entertaining
ride. If you never really cared for "those _Star Wars_ films," well,
be advised that this is another one.
Review Rating: 8 out of 10.
[This review is copyright 1999 by Christopher E. Meadows. Permission
granted for Usenet distribution and associated archival, including the
Internet Movie Database, but other distribution rights reserved to the
author.]
--
Chris Meadows aka | Co-moderator, rec.toys.transformers.moderated
Robotech_Master | Homepage: <URL:http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/>
robo...@eyrie.org | PGP: <URL:http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/rm.key.txt>
robo...@jurai.net | ICQ UIN: 5477383
Edward E. Johnson-Ott
Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Pernilla
August, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Oliver Ford Davies, Hugh Quarshie,
Ahmed Best, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Park, Peter Serafinowicz, Ralph
Brown, Terence Stamp, Brian Blessed, Sofia Coppola. Music by John
Williams. Written and directed by George Lucas. 131 minutes.
Rated PG, 3.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly
www.nuvo-online.com
Archive reviews at
http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott
To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests
On a Wednesday afternoon in 1977, I casually decided to catch an
opening day matinee of "Star Wars." I knew nothing about the movie.
Aside from a large, nondescript ad in the Sunday paper, there was no
local hype for the film. The last sci-fi picture to play Indianapolis,
"Logan's Run," proved quite a disappointment, so my expectations for
this new offering were nil. At the uncrowded theater (the frenzy
would not hit until the weekend), I entered with an open mind and
emerged with an ear-to-ear grin on my face.
22 years later, I tried to attend a critics' screening of "Star Wars:
Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" with a similar frame of mind. To
hell with the hype, to hell with analytical viewing, and to hell with
the plot, for that matter. I would just sit back and let the movie
wash over me. When I left the theater 131 minutes later, my grin was
far less broad than in my youth, but it was still a treat to revisit
George Lucas' universe.
"The Phantom Menace" is a feast for the eyes and ears. The images of
exotic cities on distant worlds are spectacular and the myriad alien
species wildly imaginative. John Williams' rich, sweeping score
enhances every aspect of the production, from the action scenes to
the quiet moments. Lucas offers larger than life characters and a
mythic storyline tempered to a degree by comic relief. But despite
the presence of so many of the right elements, the production leaves
an oddly distant feel, because Lucas forgot the all important Han
Solo factor.
This film desperately needs a wisecracking swashbuckler, someone for
viewers to identify with so we can vicariously experience the story
rather than simply observe it. In Episodes Four, Five and Six, Han
Solo fit the bill perfectly, always ready with a caustic remark, a
glib aside and open expressions of anger, fear and, occasionally,
heartfelt sentiment. He humanized the proceedings in a way that no
character does here.
In "The Phantom Menace," the primary players are a boy, two Jedi
knights and a Queen. The Jedi Master and his apprentice project the
inner serenity appropriate for disciples of the Force. The Queen, due
to her station in life, must maintain an air of dignity and the child
mostly remains in awe of the incredible goings-on around him. As a
result, we witness a grand adventure enacted with far too much
restraint and reserve. To truly engage us, we need at least one full-
fledged adventurer. Instead, we must make due with a kid surrounded
by royalty and Mennonites. The actors are all fine, but Lucas plops
them into a stifling stylistic box.
Comic relief is provided by Jar Jar Binks, a computer-animated
sidekick who speaks in a fractured fashion reminiscent of Jamaican
patois and falls down a lot. Initially, Jar Jar is phenomenally
annoying, but he grew on me as the film progressed and, towards the
end, was almost likable. Other humorous touches include a two-headed
sports announcer who provides lively commentary during a high-speed
race, and Ewan McGregor's hair. The Jedi apprentice sports a close-
cropped 'do with a long rattail, the kind of style that was popular
in the '80s and now is worn only by the young sons of aging rednecks.
McGregor's hair serves as a reminder that the story is indeed set "a
long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Later scenes feature a vast
army of battle 'droids whose bowling-pin heads suspiciously resemble
that of Crow, the wiseacre robot from "Mystery Science Theater 3000."
Coincidence? Perhaps, but I suspect their appearance is a sly homage
from Lucas.
Although set decades before "Star Wars: A New Hope," several
treasured characters from the initial trilogy appear in "The Phantom
Menace." The ever-cranky Yoda pops up, as does plucky little R2-D2
and a not-yet-finished version of C-3PO, history's first gay robot.
As a young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ewan McGregor adds a nice touch of
continuity by echoing Alec Guinness' vocal cadences.
But, for better or worse, personalities are the least of "Star Wars:
Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." The main pleasures of the film come
with the spectacle of it all; from a wild flight past a magnificent
underwater city to a razzle-dazzle pod race that is half "Ben-Hur,"
half Indy 500. While "The Phantom Menace" is emotionally remote, it
is also unquestionably sumptuous. This installment of George Lucas'
self-described "Saturday afternoon serial for children" may not be
the best in the series, but it certainly has its share of rewards. To
enjoy the production, do your best to forget all the hype and just
let the movie wash over you.
© 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott
Chuck Dowling
*** out of *****
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian
McDiarmid, Samuel L.
Jackson, Terence Stamp, Frank Oz, Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis, Brian
Blessed, Anthony Daniels
Written and Directed by: George Lucas
Running Time: 131 minutes
Date Reviewed: May 19, 1999
I always wondered how I would review the original Star Wars trilogy if
I was seeing it today for the first time. After all, I'm not a
wide-eyed, impressionable youth anymore. Now I'm a tough-to-please,
sarcastic, cynical film critic. I thought I would have this
opportunity when George Lucas released the "special editions" of the
original Star Wars trilogy back in 1997. The fact of the matter was
that even though I hadn't seen these films in the theater in ages, too
many childhood memories came flooding back as I viewed them to sway my
opinion at all. Simply put, I love the original Star Wars trilogy.
Growing up, I must have seen those three films hundreds of times. So
now that there's a new chapter in the Star Wars saga, Star Wars
Episode I - The Phantom Menace, I get my chance for an unbiased
review.
The Phantom Menace is a prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy,
which were episodes 4-6 of George Lucas' science fiction vision. When
the first trailer for The Phantom Menace hit theaters last year, I saw
it once... maybe twice. I tried my best to withhold judgment against
everything I saw, simply because I didn't want to have any
preconceived notions about anything for the film. Months passed, and
a second trailer was released. Again, I only saw it once, trying not
to get my hopes up. I didn't read anything online about the film's
production, and only briefly scanned through the preliminary reviews
that flooded the web after the initial press screenings.
On a side note: I saw all the people waiting in line for tickets weeks
before the film's release, and I saw all those same people standing in
line again so they could be the first ones into the theater for the
Wednesday, May 19th 12:01am show. On a whim, I walked up to my local
gigaplex at 12:15am that Wednesday and asked if there were any tickets
available for the second show at 12:30am. I was told that over 300
were still available. So I purchased one, walked into the theater and
got my usual middle of the theater seat... all of which took me about
60 seconds to do. Waiting an extra 29 minutes saved me hours of
standing in line.
When the 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm logos appeared on screen, the
crowd I was with cheered. Those cheers exploded into energetic frenzy
when the Star Wars logo came on screen to the familiar John Williams
score. At this moment, I actually had a chill of excitement run
through my body. I was seeing the new Star Wars movie. But despite
my attempt at low expectations, by film's end I was disappointed.
I won't even bother getting deep into the plot of The Phantom Menace
simply because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to you reading
this because I'm sure you already know it, and it doesn't matter much
to me because quite frankly, it's not very interesting. Two Jedi
warriors try to save a queen and prevent a war... amongst trade
negotiations and political debate and Senate meetings and the like.
Most of it is as exciting as watching a futuristic version of C-SPAN.
Yawn. At the center of all the political blah in the film is the
introduction of Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd, not doing a very good
acting job I'm afraid), who of course grows up to be the father of
Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, and also becomes Darth Vader.
Now I must admit, one thing that I knew I would have a problem with is
the character of Jar Jar Binks. Put simply, this might be one of the
most annoying characters not only in the Star Wars films, but in film
history. Completely computer generated and talking in an embarrassing
Buckwheat-style slang, Jar Jar is an abomination to the Star Wars
universe (take the annoying Ewoks and multiply them by a million and
you still don't have the annoyance factor that this character
produces). George Lucas has stated that he made this movie for kids,
and so kids are supposed to love Jar Jar. Good for them. As a kid
though, I hated the Ewoks... and I'm pretty sure I would have hated
Jar Jar too. What makes me sad about this "kid humor" factor is that
Lucas feels that fart jokes and Jar Jar stepping in piles of crap are
funny. Is that how you reach a kid of the 90s? Poop?
Now yes, the special effects in the film are great... but they are CGI
effects. Now I don't know about you, but I just don't like CGI
effects because to this day they just don't look real. Give me models
and guys wearing latex masks and puppets any day. Until CGI effects
blend in with real action, I'm not going to be a big fan of them. Of
all the huge effects in the film, my favorite was the underwater
sequence in the first hour of the film. Many will say that the pod
racing sequence was their favorite, and maybe it would have been one
of mine, but at that point in the film we've seen oh... 10,000 CGI
effects! Nothing about it stood out, except maybe how annoying the
two headed CGI creature that was announcing the race seemed to be.
The most disappointing thing about the entire film is it's lack of a
main villain. Darth Maul (Ray Park) is the closest thing the film has
to a villain... he's the apprentice of another villain of sorts in the
film Darth Sidious (who becomes the emperor that we see in both The
Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). But the character of
Darth Maul (like all the characters in the film) is so underdeveloped
that the only way you know he's a villain is because he scowls at our
heroes when he sees them. As a matter of fact, you'll see more of
Darth Maul at your local Taco Bell than you will here. This character
had huge potential, and I would have loved to see more of him. But as
I've said, Lucas didn't make this movie for me (nor does it seem he
made it for the die hard fans either).
A positive note for the film is it's final 20-30 minutes or so.
Cutting back and forth between a land war, a space battle, and a
lightsaber duel between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor),
and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), the sequence is what Star Wars is all
about. Had the whole film been on this level of interest and
intensity I'd be delighted.
Quick questions about the film: Why do the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 not
recall any of the events in this film when we see them in Star Wars?
Why are the battle droids used in mass number for anything? Sure they
may look pretty cool, but the battle droids are the most ineffectual
fighting force I've ever seen. I think I saw them hit exactly one
target that they were shooting at throughout the course of the film.
Why not use more of those droids that could roll into a ball and chase
after you? Those were much more effective. What on earth was that
force field contraption that the Jedi get trapped in during their
battle with Darth Maul? And finally, what does the title The Phantom
Menace even mean? Who is the titular phantom menace? Technically,
this film could also be called The Pesky Ghost, or The Troublesome
Spectre.
When I left the theater I was left with the question "Is the new Star
Wars film any good?" It's so hard to really say. Is it as good as
the original trilogy? Definitely not. Is it even a good science
fiction movie? Almost. The story lacks a human element to it.
There's no Han Solo character for the audience to identify with,
instead there's just a lot of Jedi jargon which sounds dangerously
like Star Trek inspired technobabble.
I'll say this for it though, even though at about thirty minutes into
the film I started to feel the effects of the silo full of soda which
I was enjoying, I didn't even consider leaving my seat. I wasn't
going to miss a second of the film. Despite all of my disappointment,
that has to say something about the film. So to you George
Lucas... you made me not want to go to the bathroom. Cheers to you.
[PG]
The Jacksonville Film Journal -- Film Reviews by Chuck Dowling
URL:http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/
Email:chuc...@leading.net
© 1999 of The Jacksonville Film Journal. No reviews may be reprinted
without permission.
Neivh
theater was only 20% filled. Im an avid fan but I was also disapointed. The
characters made the original trilogy and The Phantom menace lacked characters.
As a kid, everyone loved Luke and feared Darth Vader. We also loved Chewy, Han
Solo, Leia, R2D2, and C3PO, and Yoda. In the Phantom Menace, we cant attach
ourselves to any of the characters. Jar Jar was annoying. Obi Wan was like the
boy wonder to Qui Gons Batman, Annakin was too childlike, and the queen lacked
Leia's bite.
Questions about the film:
1. Annakin has the highest level of metachlorites ever but hes too old to be
trained, yet Luke was like 20 when he was trained and it took him like 1 year
to complete.
2. In the original trilogy, didnt Obi Wan tell Luke that he served with Annakin
when they were pilots and that it was he who discovered that the force was
strong with him so he took it upon himself to train him?
3. In the original trilogy, didnt Obi Wan make references to the fact that he
was trained by Yoda and thats why he trained Annakin, because he thought he
could do as good a job?
This is for Chuck Dowlings review, Darth Sidious is not the emporer in 5 and
6Palpatine is.
MasonBarge
based their critiques on what the movie was trying to do, instead of sniping at
it. Although tastes do differ, I still remember vividly all of the sniping at
Star Wars when it first came out and the lukewarm reviews. Critics generally
just don't seem geared to be able to give moviegoers a good idea of just how
enjoyable a movie like this one will be to most people.
- Mason Barge
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me
some coffee." -- Abraham Lincoln
Phil
> Nice review. I wish more of the critics had just enjoyed the movie first and
> based their critiques on what the movie was trying to do, instead of sniping at
> it. Although tastes do differ, I still remember vividly all of the sniping at
> Star Wars when it first came out and the lukewarm reviews. Critics generally
> just don't seem geared to be able to give moviegoers a good idea of just how
> enjoyable a movie like this one will be to most people.
> - Mason Barge
>
I think the main problem with a lot of reviewers is that after having to see a
couple of movies every year they just get bored and jaded and a bit out of touch
with popular tastes. For example, I noticed that local critics were gushing all
over A Midsummer Nights Dream, which I'm sure is a fine film, but one which will
probably be buried and forgotten within a week or two.
---PHIL
JFriend
>
>Questions about the film:
>1. Annakin has the highest level of metachlorites ever but hes too old to be
>trained, yet Luke was like 20 when he was trained and it took him like 1 year
>to complete.
>
well, we know that it is actually Luke who is the chosen one. His
training was pretty damn fast. He went from Papawan (sp?) to Knight
rather guickly. But he's not a master....uh, I think.
Sakura
Neivh <ne...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>Questions about the film:
>1. Annakin has the highest level of metachlorites ever but hes too old to be
>trained, yet Luke was like 20 when he was trained and it took him like 1 year
>to complete.
Luke was also the last hope, and Obi-Wan didn't have a Jedi council to
deal with.
>2. In the original trilogy, didnt Obi Wan tell Luke that he served with Annakin
>when they were pilots and that it was he who discovered that the force was
>strong with him so he took it upon himself to train him?
Obi-Wan also said "Darth Vader betrayed and murdered your father."
>This is for Chuck Dowlings review, Darth Sidious is not the emporer in 5 and
>6Palpatine is.
Heh. Just who do you think Darth Sidious is? He makes all sorts of
promises to the Nemodians about how he will do this or that in the Senate,
and Palpatine carries them out. I think the only way Lucas could have made
it more obvious is to hang a sign around Sidious's neck...
J
--
Hostes aliengeni me abduxerent. Jeff Johnston - je...@io.com
Qui annus est? http://www.io.com/~jeffj
Jeremy Moran
>>third movies at the theater in the Forum Mall in
>>Arlington, looking up at this big Star Wars mural
>>they had painted in the lobby.
WOW! And here I was I thought I was the only one who would ever mention
this! That theatre was the SHIT in the early 80s. Every big
blockbuster movie was given one of those murals, and they weren't just
thrown up there, they were detailed, professional works. Unfortunately,
that mall has gone so to hell that no one cares any more, and you're
more worried about getting shot when you go there than enjoying a movie.
Which I'd taken some pictures of those murals... they were so great.
+ +
Jeremy Moran, Official Usenet WebTV Apologist
= =
"I shall be watching your career with great interest, young Skywalker."
- Senator Palpatine, Star Wars: Episode 1
August Ragone
<luigi.b...@caboto.it> wrote:
> August,
>
> what is your brand of coffee? I might try it if I ever come to USA.
> It must be close to the italian one.
Luigi,
Beni, beni! I only drink Italian coffees -- even Italian-style Cafe
Americano is stronger than weak American coffees.
Ciao Bello,
Smilodon
JB> on the way out: "The sloppy effects aren't as special as I expected them
JB> to be."
??!!?
JB> The Phantom Menace represents a new era of film: one where the
JB> line between animation and live action is irrevocably blurred. One must
JB> remember that, in the field of special effects, blurred lines are exactly
JB> what we loathe. The animation is impressive in the fact that they were
JB> able to successfully incorporate as much as they did, but the special
JB> effects (which will, despite my vehement protests, win the 2000 Award for
JB> Best Special Effects) were highly inferior to the rather reserved and
JB> very innovative effects used in The Matrix.
??????!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only were they amazing just as special effects
but they were so far beyond being just mere special effects.
There was wonderful design and artistry here. It should get nominated for
effects, cinematography, art direction and costumes (and very possibly
win all, although it is still early in the year).
JB> As far as the actors go, I hated the kid. I am extraordinarily glad
JB> that he is not, to my knowledge, signed on for the next one. If I have to
JB> stand through one more forced "Yippee" being uttered from the little boys
JB> lips, I will boycott Star Wars movies.
I didn't think he was that bad.
JB> Ewan McGregor, normally an excellent actor, does a fine job of his
JB> physical acting but fails utterly
JB> in his attempts to control his voice.
Yow, I thought he did a superb job with this. This is the first time
I've ever seen this complaint brought up.
JB> The plot, to wrap up, is a very simple one. A planet is facing
JB> invasion
JB> and trade embargo. Two Jedi's are sent to negotiate, which sparks a
JB> conflict. Good and evil face of over the span of two hours, of which one
JB> hour is used to set up parts II and III. They enlist the help of aliens
JB> for impressive battle scenes and eventually, as always, good wins… with a
JB> shadow of evil in the wings waiting for the sequel. I still have no idea
JB> what the title means.
You may have missed a HUGE deal here. Also, if you completely missed even
an hinting of an
idea of what the title was about you really need to go back and watch 4-6,
read up some more and then carefully re-watch TPM.
JB> It's enjoyable. It is a landmark. It is Star Wars, and this is the
JB> year
JB> of The Phantom Menace. If you are going to see it, my review will mean
JB> nothing to you. If you're not, than my review does nothing either. The
JB> very few people who are up in the air, I am giving it my blessing, albeit
JB> somewhat reluctantly.
Smilodon
CM> above ground?
Why not?
CM> How can Obi-Wan's master be Qui-Gon when he's said in
CM> the latter trilogy that it was Yoda?
Yoda did train him at least a little bit judging by some of
Obi-Wans comments in this movie. Perhaps this will be explained in
better detail later on.
CM> Jabba the Hutt seems a lot _bigger_ than "young Jabba" is in _A New
CM> Hope Special Edition_ . . . though perhaps this is meant to be Jabba
CM> Senior.
Hehehe, yeah he did. He was much more like in ROTJ. Perhaps a SSE
will be out soon for ANH or maybe he starved during the clone wars
or something and it takes a long time to regrow.
Christopher Michael Jones
> Questions about the film:
> 1. Annakin has the highest level of metachlorites ever but hes too old to be
> trained, yet Luke was like 20 when he was trained and it took him like 1 year
> to complete.
Luke was the last hope for humanity (or at least the second to last),
he got some training before he went to Yoda, and he never completed
his training on Dagoba.
> 2. In the original trilogy, didnt Obi Wan tell Luke that he served with Annakin
> when they were pilots and that it was he who discovered that the force was
> strong with him so he took it upon himself to train him?
More or less, this does not conflict in any way with the story in Ep. 1.
> 3. In the original trilogy, didnt Obi Wan make references to the fact that he
> was trained by Yoda and thats why he trained Annakin, because he thought he
> could do as good a job?
This seems to be the worst incongruity yet, although there are a few
ways out of it. For example, Yoda might very well have trained Obi Wan,
the stuff with Qui-Gon might be merely the next level of training, the
completion of training, and / or an apprenticeship (real world
experience, much like with doctors).
> This is for Chuck Dowlings review, Darth Sidious is not the emporer in 5 and
> 6Palpatine is.
Gee, I wonder if there is some connection between Darth Sidious and
Palpatine?
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Jones
My Web Page - "http://www.cs.uoregon.edu/~cjones/web/"
My Space Page -"http://www.cs.uoregon.edu/~cjones/web/Space.html"
Bill Chambers
-a review by Bill Chambers ( star...@filmfreakcentral.net )
(For more critiques you'll disagree with, visit Film Freak Central:
http://filmfreakcentral.net
Bring a friend!)
starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd
written and directed by George Lucas
I want this review of Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace to
stand out from the pack you’ve been reading, so I will forgo my
typical essay-style approach and discuss the film in bits and pieces.
I can’t promise not to spoil anything, but I will do my best to avoid
giving too much away.
The Plot:
Menace takes us back three or four decades before the original Star
Wars (A New Hope to us dweebs). It is the story of Qui-Gon Jinn, a
rebellious Jedi master who becomes, along with his pupil Obi-Wan
Kenobi, embroiled in a trade war. The plot seems vaguely modeled on
The Last of The Mohicans’: Qui-Gon plays reluctant guard to nobility
(including Queen Amidala) as he treks a path to freedom; his band is
pursued by the Magua-esque Darth Maul, a bloodthirsty aide to the
Trade Federation. The similarities to James Fenimore Cooper’s tale end
at the point when Qui-Gon stops on Tattooine for vessel repairs and
discovers a preternatural little slaveboy possessed of rare mental and
physical gifts. Qui-Gon swears the kid, Anakin Skywalker, is "the
chosen one," the future Jedi who will bring balance to the force. He
even stakes his (shaky) reputation on it before the Council, which is
headed by Yoda and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson in a cameo).
The Characters:
Qui-Gon, who stands tall, walks swiftly and speaks softly, is the most
compelling new presence in the Star Wars universe. Liam Neeson’s
performance recalls the authority of Alec Guiness in the later films,
which is most appropriate, given that Guiness portrayed the mature
Obi-Wan—it’s now as if Qui-Gon’s self-confidence rubbed off on Obi-Wan
more than any other aspect of his training. Lloyd also shines,
especially in his scenes with Yoda and company; he has a sweet and
innocent face, but there’s a trace enough of mischief in his narrow
eyes to leave no doubt this cherubic munchkin will one day submit to
his darkest urges. Jar Jar Binks ("Stomp" dancer Ahmed Best), the
rabbit-eared, six-foot reptile (part of a race called the Gungan) who
follows Qui-Gon around like a loyal servant (and talks like the
stereotypical plantation worker, circa 1800s, an attribute sure to
rankle those members of the black population who already feel
misrepresented in the original trilogy), sporadically amuses but
mostly annoys, especially with his inept soldier schtick during the
climactic battle between the Gungan and hordes of Battle Droids.
(While I’m on the subject of droids, C-3PO and R2-D2 make curiously
perfunctory appearances in The Phantom Menace—though they normally
supply the comic relief, only Jar Jar’s theatrics are mined for laughs
this time around.)
Also of note are Portman, McGregor, and Ian McDiarmid. The former
plays surely the most beautiful queen in any galaxy—with or without
the Kabuki make-up, she glows like a young Audrey Hepburn, but
Princess Leia she’s not. Amidala is ballsy but lacks the sauciness
that endeared Leia to little girls (and, yes, little boys) across the
world. McGregor is marginally more successful as the eager Obi-Wan,
but he is more or less a walking action figure, someone who asks a lot
of questions mostly for the sake of nudging us into the next sequence.
Finally, McDiarmid, as Senator Palpatine, brought a smile to my face
whenever he was on screen; whether by virtue of some fine acting or
the knowledge that Palpatine eventually becomes the dreaded Emperor, I
cannot say.
Perhaps the most disappointing character in Menace is Darth Maul. Fans
have hitched their wagon to the wrong train, it seems (Maul was the
most popular costume at the midnight premiere, and products bearing
his likeness are the best selling Menace merchandise so far), for Maul
is no less robotic than the machines who fight for his cause. His
entire persona is summed up by his double-bladed lightsaber: cool at
first, silly upon reflection.
The Special Effects:
Lucas didn’t want to make another Star Wars movie until CGI equipment
caught up with his imagination. Indeed, Menace is
brimming—overstuffed—with special effects whose detail is impressive.
Yet there’s nothing sparklingly original about them, especially
concerning the animated beings. Star Wars and Star Trek share a common
flaw in their creature design. As weird as the bodies and skins get,
the aliens of both galaxies usually have humanoid faces: two eyes, a
nose, and a mouth. Lucas also continues a trend begun in his
refurbished editions of episodes 4, 5, and 6: the monsters of Episode
1 are clownish or juvenile (the appearance of a small Greedo-type
recalls Jim Henson’s "Muppet Babies") and, dare I say it, uniquely
synthetic. While the technology now allows for a group of
computer-generated Gungans to flop around like so many Stephen
Fetchits, I still find digital flesh, ninety percent of the time,
thoroughly unconvincing. (The wisest directorial decision Lucas made
was to have Yoda return in all his foam rubber glory, replete with
strategically placed props to disguise puppeteer Frank Oz.)
More successful are the CGI cityscapes of Couriscant and Naboo, as
well as the many interiors and exteriors of ships. In fact, most of,
if not all, of the non-creature F/X work is breathtaking enough to
give pause to the most jaded viewers.
The myriad explosions and close-calls and laser blasts do tend to
overwhelm Menace’s narrative, but it’s safe to say that Lucas is a
solid enough filmmaker that he pulls off the Pandemonium with much
more grace than we’re accustomed to seeing in summer pictures of this
sort. Yes, we’re dealing with a different George Lucas than the one
who made Star Wars back in 1977—that director had budgetary
restrictions imposed on him that really taxed his imagination. The
trash compactor sequence in Episode IV, so basic it could easily be
duplicated by enterprising teenaged videomakers, holds more suspense
than any similar moment in Menace. ('90s Lucas is also the parent of a
preschooler, and therefore eager to please all ages.) Sometimes, less
is more. Why mince words? Less is always more. That’s also why a
simple breathing appartus used by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan for an
underwater jaunt in Menace fascinates more than the complicated
machinery on display, because it's the kind of goofy prop one might
find in schlocky B-movie serials, one of Lucas’ obvious inspirations.
The Final Word:
I’m tempted to say The Phantom Menace is uninspired, but it’s not. I’m
tempted to say it’s uninvolving, but it’s far from that. The movie is
burdened with having to lay the groundwork not only for two
hypothetical movies, but a completed series of beloved films, and the
best scenes in Menace (the Jedi Council conferences; Obi-Wan’s big
number) indicate that episodes two and three will be more stimulating
affairs. I’d have to say it’s a better picture than Return of the
Jedi, but falls into the same third-act trap of juxtaposing a terrific
swordfight with boring, slapstick scenes of combat.
Ultimately, I’d like to see The Phantom Menace again, because there is
so much to drink in. If I have some advice for Lucas it is this: for
the sequel (read: second prequel), write and write and write until
you’ve defined your characters, because (as any true fan will agree)
it was the rock-solid personalities of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker,
Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2—and the chemsitry between
them—that endeared the Star Wars trilogy to audiences, not nifty
production values.
-May, 1999
ram.sa...@stanford.edu
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/star_wars.html
A long time ago, in our own galaxy and on our own planet, three movies
became so popular that they created an intense amount of anticipation
and hype for what would come next. The long wait is finally over with
the release of /Star Wars: The Phantom Menace/, the fourth installment released
by creator George Lucas but chronologically, it is the first episode
in the /Star Wars/ universe.
Could the movie live up to such hype? I wasn't sure but I didn't care.
I went into the movie with the greatest amount of anticipation and I
figured if George Lucas could live up to my high expectations, it
would make this movie an incredible experience for me (more so than if
I had gone in with lower expectations).
I came away from the movie thinking it was perfect. That in and of
itself isn't so unusual (recently, I felt the same way about /The
Matrix/) but it is rare (many films in my mind have failed to live up
to hype, including the recent /Saving Private Ryan/). What makes
/Star Wars: The Phantom Menace/ special is that I had to overcome my
bias against the hype to think it was perfect, since it was undergoing
a more critical initial viewing than most films do.
The plot is one of the most complex among the four movies, rivalling
the rich dialectic observed in /Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back/
and definitely superior to the first and third episodes. Lucas takes
advantage of the fact that a lot of the famous characters, such as
Jabba the Hut, Yoda (voice by Frank Oz), R2-D2 (voice by Kenny Baker),
C-3PO (voice by Anthony Daniels), and the evil Emperor are already
familiar to us and narrates a story where these characters and the
ancestors of the primary protagonists in episodes IV-VI interact
together in an incredibly natural fashion.
In the film, we're introduced to Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a
slave boy who is freed by two Jed Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his
apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). We're introduced to Queen
Amidala (Natalie Portman) who we later know marries Anakin and gives
birth to Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. We're also introduced to
Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), a Sith Lord, who later becomes the
evil Emperor (aka Darth Sidious), slowly consolidating his power.
The film is primarily about Palpatine's first efforts to gain control
of the Galactic Republic (while remaining consistent with the first
three films and telling a self-contained story). In order to do this,
he pitches the Trade Federation against the planet Naboo (ruled by
Queen Amidala). When the planet is overrun by the Trade Federation
droids, Queen Amidala and the two Jedi Knights sent as ambassadors
feel but end up being briefly stranded on the desert planet of
Tatooine, where they run into Anakin. After freeing Anakin, they go
back to Coruscant to warn the Jedi council of Darth Maul (Ray Park/Peter
Serafinowicz), an apprentice of the Sith Lord trained in the ways of
the Jedi. Qui-Gon also asks the permission of the council to train
Anakin. The final confrontation features the Knights, the Queen and
her aides, and the Gungans, a group of amphibious creatures living on
the planet, together trying to re-take control of Naboo.
There have been several criticisms about the film but I find them
baseless. The notion that this is a film for children for example
only serves to illustrate, as I have long believed, that most adults
are incapable of comprehending such subtle complexity. The movie adds
just a bit more knowledge to our understanding of the Zen-like nature
of the force and builds upon the previous mythology in an exciting
manner. The effects are terrific but they are not over used. Lucas
takes his time telling the story and fleshing out the characters
slowly, and the pacing is just right. Each character is extremely
well-developed yet the amount of time spent on a given character is
perfect. For example, when the focus is on the evilness of the
Senator, it's just enough to let us realise he is not what he seems to
be but yet it's not so blatant as to be insulting.
The look and feel of the film is exceptional and retains the same
comfortable aesthetic we're familiar with from episodes IV-VI. The
Darth Maul character is extremely effective and Ray Park's stunt work
in this regard is brilliant. The martial arts-inspired fight sequences
are extremely well choreographed. The acting is excellent---Liam
Neeson is aptly cast as a stubborn Jedi Knight and Ewan McGregor is
perfect as an earnest Obi-Wan. Jake Lloyd does a great job as young
Anakin Skywalker and even at his age the chemistry between him and
Natalie Portman is readily apparent. And the score... while the heavy
passage announcing the arrival of Darth Vader in episodes four through
six is barely present, the other parts of the score by John Williams,
mixing the old with the new, sent shivers down my spine.
The reason this movie worked so well was because it induced goose
bumps in me on several occasions. These thrilling moments included the
pod race which determines Anakin Skywalker's fate, and the battle
scene at the end where Anakin destroying the droid control ship,
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan battling a ferocious Darth Maul, and Queen Amidala
taking control of her throne, are all juxtaposed with each other. This
is the reason also it was able to live up to my expectations--it was
exactly like I was watching the original trilogy when I was twelve or
so. I can't think of a single thing that is wrong with the film and I
can't wait to see it again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
email@urls || http://www.ram.org || http://www.twisted-helices.com/th
Movie ram-blings: http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies.html
James Sanford
working with Ingrid Bergman in the 1940s. Bergman, Hitchcock said,
wanted only to appear in masterpieces and feared starring in a film
that wouldn't live up to her lofty standards. Hitchcock couldn't
understand why she spent so much time fretting over every single
aspect of her work.
"Ingrid," he told her, "it's only a movie."
Those words could also apply to the fanatics who have camped out in
theater parking lots, traded bits of trivia on the Internet and
counted down the days until the opening of "Star Wars: Episode I - The
Phantom Menace," the first of writer-director George Lucas' "Star
Wars" prequels.
It turns out it is, after all, only a movie, and nothing ever
committed to celluloid could possibly live up to the astonishing
amount of hype surrounding this one. "Episode I" doesn't even come
close. It's merely a two-hour parade of mesmerizing images, set to a
stirring John Williams score and featuring an assortment of faces old
and new.
Is it fun? For the most part, yes. Is it a life-changing experience?
Only if you reach puberty, give birth or die while watching it. Set
alongside the previous installments, "Episode I" has considerably
fewer cliffhangers than "Star Wars" and none of the complexity or
terror of "The Empire Strikes Back," and shares with "Return of the
Jedi" a fondness for the kinds of cuddly creatures only a toy vendor
could love.
What makes the movie a worthy addition to the series is its visual
sense. Practically every frame of the film is drenched in bold colors
and even the backdrops - such as an underwater city made of shining
golden bubbles, or a planet entirely consumed by urban sprawl - are
fascinating to study. Those who see "Episode I" more than once will
want to take a closer look at the extraordinary details packed
intoevery scene.
Several of those scenes are exceptionally fine. "Episode I" kicks off
with an exciting escape, follows that up with a dazzling invasion
sequence then moves on to a nail-biting episode involving fish
monsters and gigantic mutant eels. A "pod race" on the desert planet
Tattooine is also smashingly well-crafted and a climactic, multi-level
battle between Jedi Knights and a bloodthirsty Sith Lord provides a
much-needed kick to the story's third act.
"Episode I" introduces some memorable characters, a few of whom will
figure prominently in the next two chapters: Amidala (Natalie
Portman), the youthful queen who dresses like a supergeisha and fights
like Princess Leia; Qui-Gon (a suitably heroic Liam Neeson), the
stalwart Jedi mentor of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, who does a
perfect vocal imitation of the young Alec Guinness); and Darth Maul
(Ray Park), a merciless assassin in Kabuki makeup who brandishes a
lethal double light saber and whose head is crowned by a ring of
horns.
Unfortunately for those over the age of 10, "Episode I" also brings in
an asinine amphibian named Jar Jar Binks who speaks in mock
Rastafarian tones and appears to have been inserted in the story by
the merchandising arm of Lucasfilms. He's irritating from the moment
he first appears and goes a long way toward bogging down the action.
The movie further caters to the kiddie audience by casting the
button-nosed Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker, the fledgling warrior
whowill someday grow up to be Darth Vader. Cute he may be, but an
actor he is not.
Then again, many of the performances here seem underdirected, even
that of the generally on-target Portman, who has some initial
difficulty bringing Amidala to life. A similar problem keeps Pernilla
August from making Anakin's mom into anything but a smiling
cipher. The movie's dramatic sequences are frequently tepid and
overlong, perfectly designed for trips to the concession stand.
They're also indicative of the film's greatest failing, its inability
to exert any sort of emotional power whatsoever. This might be
partially due to the nature of the material itself; after all, this is
basically a lengthy backstory for the intrigue and romance yet to
come.
But as a director, Lucas seems more caught up in dishing out digital
magic than in working with flesh and blood. "Episode I" routinely
dazzles the eye without ever engaging the other senses.
Those expecting to stand up and cheer at regular intervals might be
taken aback by the movie's almost weird restraint. Imagine taking a
roller coaster ride after swallowing a handful of Valium and you get
some idea of the tone.
Awash in state-of-the-art sound and fury and devoid of feeling,
"Episode I" is a technical triumph that seems untouched by human
hands. In manufacturing, that's a plus. In filmmaking, however, that's
not a good thing. James Sanford
David Sunga
Review: Star Wars: Episode I --The Phantom Menace (1999)
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4.0)
********************************
Key to rating system:
2.0 stars - Debatable
2.5 stars - Some people may like it
3.0 stars - I liked it
3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out
*********************************
A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: George Lucas
Written by: George Lucas
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Natalie Portman
Synopsis:
In Phantom Menace the galaxy is divided into power groups whose interests
will inevitably collide in later sequels. There is an overarching galactic
United Nations-type organization called the Senate presided by a weak
Chancellor. Within the senate two camps are at odds: a bickering,
isolationist alliance called the Republic and their aggressive rival the
Trade Federation. Preserving law and order are a council of Jedi Knights
who are meanwhile searching for a prophesied chosen one of virgin birth.
Manipulating events behind the scenes is a dangerous, reemerging clan
called the Dark Lords of Sith, so shadowy and secretive that they comprise
a "phantom" menace.
Jedi knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Ewan McGregor) witness an invasion of teenage Queen Amidala’s home planet
Naboo and befriend a Gungan named Jar Jar (Ahmed Best). On the desert
planet of Tatooine the two Jedi, Jar Jar, and Amidala (Natalie Portman)
attend a lengthy drag race involving the young boy Anakin Skywalker (Jake
Lloyd). The five protagonists try to solicit help for freeing Naboo by
visiting the city planet of Coruscant where a lot of debate and political
maneuvering takes place. Can they free Amidala’s helpless planet?
Opinion:
On TV last night I watched young, wannabe celebs pay $400 a ticket and come
running out of theaters to bask in front of news cameras, gushing with
testimonials of The Phantom Menace’s greatness in exchange for a few
seconds of being on national television. Given this kind of media mania I
wondered if Phantom Menace, the most anticipated movie of 1999, could
possibly live up to the extraordinary hype that preceded it. Does Phantom
Menace match the exaggerated hype? Director George Lucas answers, "It’s
only a movie."
To me, any movie with Russian-sounding accents for bad guys, Jamaican
accents for good guys, and Middle Eastern-sounding accents for seedy
gamblers accents can be expected to be more tongue in cheek than profound.
Visually, Star Wars: Episode I --The Phantom Menace (1999) is a kid show
where parents can take their young ones to marvel at child-friendly CGI
characters and wondrous backdrops even if the character dialogue (mostly
geopolitics) is beyond the level of children. It is left to parents to
patiently explain the conversation: droid origins, family lineage, the
definitions of terms like blockade, appeasement, federation, alliance,
symbiosis, satellite-controlled robots et cetera. At least this much is
clear: there’s plenty of eye candy, and in the last few minutes it’s good
guys and Joe Camel lookalikes versus a caped, horned red devil character
and his mechanical hordes.
Weaknesses:
Weaknesses lie in the writing and in the performance. At first it seems
like the film is to be an invasion story, but then Phantom takes an
hour-long detour to cover one chariot race before returning to the invasion
theme. This dilutes the central story. Additionally, smaller scenes seem
written self consciously, as if they were added more to fill us in on
extraneous background information for other movies rather than form an
integral part of the present movie. Veteran actors Liam Neeson and Ewan
McGregor noticeably outperform the other acting leads. Better ensemble
chemistry between the five leads and background information that is central
to a tight story line could have made have given Phantom stronger
performances and storytelling punch.
Strengths:
On the bright side Phantom Menace as a big-budget production is far ahead
of the competition in terms of making whimsical creatures, worlds and
vehicles appear real. The film boasts sophisticated, top-of-the-line
visuals and quality exotic costumes, a musical score entertaining enough to
stand alone, and three worthwhile sequences in the second half.
Bottom line? Seeing the film is entertaining and informative, like a visual
theme park with Star Wars filler information serving as dialogue between
impressive money shots. We are bound to be completely inundated by Star
Wars publicity, music and tie-ins for the next few months.
Reviewed by David Sunga
May 19, 1999
Copyright © 1999 by David Sunga
This review and others like it can be found at
THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com
email: zook...@criticzoo.com
Stacey Oziel
by Stacey Oziel
You've heard all the hype. You've seen all their faces -
Natalie Portman (The Professional) as Queen Amidala,
Liam Neeson (Schindler's List) as Qui-Gon Jinn, Ewan
McGregor (Trainspotting) as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jake
Lloyd (Jingle all the Way) as young Anakin Skywalker.
If you've read any reviews, you've also probably heard
that this movie fails to live up to the magic and humanity
of the first trilogy. You also may have heard that this
one's too kiddie-friendly, and doesn't have enough content
for adults.
Believe the hype.
The effects are stunning, the digitalized creatures are
amazingly realistic, the lightsaber duels are amazing,
and Queen Amidala's sumptuous robes are fit to be
worn by Queen Elizabeth.
But there's something missing here, and it isn't budget
or effects - it's everything money *can't* buy.
The actors struggle as best they can to flesh out
broad-stroked and flat characters. The most successful
at this is Liam Neeson who, as Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi
master to young Obi-Wan Kenobi, has quiet dignity
and a wise, commanding presence. He is the anchor
to this movie, as he is the one character who George
Lucas apparently spent some time fleshing out.
Portman's Queen Amidala and McGregor's Obi-Wan
Kenobi don't fare nearly so well. Amidala, the future
mother of Luke and Leia and the queen of a peaceful
planet being invaded by the Trade Federation (?!?),
comes off as stoic, stilted and caricatured (it appears
as though she was a Vulcan Geisha in a former life).
And Obi-Wan, although McGregor makes him very
endearing, has so little screen time that he's nothing
but a Robin to Qui-Gon Jinn's Batman.
However, McGregor does struggle manfully to infuse this
surprisingly small supporting role with a spark of genuine
insight and humanity, and he does a good job. He also
absolutely NAILS Alec Guiness' (Obi-Wan in Episode
4 - 6) Scottish accent, and that really makes his presence
in the film more profound than it might have been
otherwise.
In fact, Lucas seems to bank on that preexisting
knowledge quite a bit, and that's one of the problems
with this film. I would never call myself a "Star Wars"
fan - especially not considering what it means to be
a fanatic these days - but I've always enjoyed the films
along with everyone else in America. However, if you
are the one person in America who *hasn't* seen the
films at all or even recently, or who doesn't bother
to brush-up on the names of obscure characters, you
may be hopelessly lost.
For example, one of the film's main (nefarious) characters
is Senator Palpatine. For those of you not recently steeped
in "Star Wars" trivia, Emperor Palpatine is that scary hooded
apparition who was Darth Vader's master in "Return of the Jedi"
and "Empire Strikes Back." So, obviously, his appearance in
"Phantom Menace" is meant to stir some echoes of his later
role in the series, thus making his role here more meaningful.
A lot of the movie is like that. R2-D2 and C-3PO make token
appearances, and it's obvious that Lucas is banking on the
audience's pre-existing fondness for them... because he
doesn't do much to add to it in any way. Same goes for
Jabba the Hutt, who doesn't look as much mean here
as he does corpulent and lazy. Even *planets* make
foreshadowing guest appearances in this film - Tatooine
(the desert world where Luke grew up), Coruscant (the
cloud city from "Empire Strikes Back"), and Alderaan
(Leia's home planet - which we never actually see -
that gets blown up in "Star Wars") show up or are
mentioned briefly in passing.
What's the result of tying so many plot points and
characters to future films? The answer is that this one
seems surprisingly empty. There's no meat - no substance -
that makes you want to love the characters as they are,
not as they will be.
Another problem is that there are actually *too many*
alien characters in the film. I was distracted by the
fact that two of the main evil characters - strange
looking aliens who looked like Gila monsters -
had mouths that barely moved, making them
look more like Muppets than actual characters.
And Jar Jar Binks, a silly Roger Rabbitish amphibious
character, is intended as comic relief, but what he
really becomes is annoying - and fast. Unlike
Chewbacca and C-3PO, who got their humanity
(if you'll pardon the expression) from their interactions
with the human characters, Jar Jar is often left to
interact mostly with others of his kind, at times
making the movie seem like nothing more than
a very expensive "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Furthermore, the dialogue is often stilted and corny,
and sometimes downright infantile, thereby rendering
some characters into nothing more than bystanders
to the plot. Oddly, this isn't just *my* judgment -
Lucas has said that he designed this film for kids.
Well, he's done a good job.
The hero of this film, of course, is young Anakin,
but it was very hard for me to feel any kinship or
identify with an eight-year-old boy. That's not
Jake Lloyd's fault, though - he does a good job
of being a cute kid, which is apparently all Lucas
asked of him. That's another mistake, of course,
because the cute tyke becomes Darth Vader.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!!!!
In my opinion, there was not nearly enough
foreshadowing of Anakin's future evil in the film.
The boy is all blond flowing hair and rosy cheeks,
and there's nothing more than a spark of aggression
in him throughout the entire movie. He has a doting
mother (Pernilla August, making her first English-
language film) and is a slave to a gross flying gnome
on Tatooine. But the only indication the audience
gets that this kid isn't all hearts and roses is Yoda's
hesitation in allowing him to train as a Jedi under
Qui-Gon Jinn. His explanation? "His future is clouded."
(Warning: MAJOR spoiler ahead. Enter at your own risk.)
Of course, the noble Qui-Gon dies at the hand of
Darth Maul, a scary-looking Sith lord who excels
at the Jedi arts, but has turned to the Dark Side.
This dude has maybe two lines in the entire movie,
but he establishes his presence through his amazing
moves with his double-sided lightsaber, and his
scary facial makeup.
Because Qui-Gon never gets a chance to train the
young Anakin in the ways of the Force, Obi-Wan,
Qui-Gon's young Padawan apprentice (one level
below Knightdom), must take over the training
himself.
So, at the end of the movie, we end where the saga
actually begins - with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young
apprentice, Anakin "Darth Vader" Skywalker.
Did this story need to be told? I would say no. But
is it a worthwhile movie to see? Absolutely. If you
don't enter the theater with Jedi-size expectations,
and you simply want to be treated to an enjoyable
visual spectacle, then this is your movie.
The Tatooine pod races are a triumph of effects
and computer animation. The digitalized backgrounds
on some of the planets are an astonishing sight.
And Yoda and young Obi-Wan are worth seeing
for their origins in a simpler, happier time.
Above all, this is a fun movie. Not deep, not
meaningful, and not profound. But fun.
Maybe next time, Lucas will hire Lawrence
Kasdan to co-write the script, and the guy
who directed "Empire" will direct. Because
if Lucas does the next one himself, it will
be lacking the one thing it needs the
most - potential. :)
My Grade: B.
Stacey Oziel
Cheng-Jih Chen
"Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father... C3PO, _I_ am
your father."
We waited out in the rain at the 34th and Lexington movie theater.
There were umbrellas up and rainslickers worn, but no lightsabres, no
one dressed as Chewbacca. This was the 8:30PM show, and I suspect the
folks who would have come that way were going to the Ziegfeld at
midnight. The line started to form at about 6PM, though it didn't get
serious until after 7PM. The smartest man on line had gotten there a
bit earlier, and was sitting in a portable chair underneath the movie
theater's marquee, out of the rain. We were in the first dozen feet of
the bunched together line, half the group in the rain, half out of it.
We did have a box of Krispy Kremes, so we were reasonably prepared. I
have to admit -- sheepishly -- I took a bit of organizer's prerogative
and ducked out for half an hour to have a burrito dinner at Blockheads
out of the rain.
I think "Star Wars" was the first movie I saw in a movie theater. I
guess I was seven. This was the old RKO Keith's in Flushing, now a
burned out shell after a real estate development dispute. A pity: it
was a landmark, decked out in a Beaux Arts style. There's, of course,
great affection for the saga, though I realize that there's a certain
cheesiness to it all, that Harrison Ford doesn't figure out how to act
until about halfway through "Empire", and so on. The momentum of the
movie carries all such deficits away, making them irrelevant. It's
part of our secular mythology.
The new movie does well, and is not a godawful Godzilla-sized
disappointment, which is what some of the worst reviews make it out to
be. Not as fun as "Star Wars", not as dark and somberly open-ended as
"Empire", but not as stupidly goofy and Ewok-ridden as "Jedi", it's
more an introduction, the first step on a path to Anakin's Greek
tragedy two films away. Despite the cluttered plot and the slow wait
for things to get moving, it's not bad. We see new vistas and familiar
characters in different settings; since this movie cannot be seen
outside of context, there is a purposeful, barely perceptible cloud of
doom hanging over some of these first meetings. The action, once it
gets going in the second half, is fantastic, culminating in the
lightsabre duel between Darth Maul and the two Jedi.
It's a worthy beginning, but it could have been better. As noted,
things took a while to get moving. In "Star Wars", before we settle
into the story, there was a fantastic first punch of action with the
boarding of Leia's ship. No such luck here -- the pacing failed for me
-- though we do have a fascinating view of what fully trained Jedi in
their prime can do, how much of a One Man Army they are. Yes, it's
just like the computer game.
Darth Maul had too little to do. We understand that he's bad, but he
doesn't do more than be the apprentice of a greater power, and
participate in the climatic sabre duel. Vader, at least, had more to
do in the first film, and especially in the second. His casual evil is
demonstrated in action, not simply signified in bad-ass black garb.
That the whole conflict was sparked by some sort of trade dispute is
somewhat silly. I think it's Lucas's attempt to create a relatively
inconsequential reason for the Federation to go to war against Naboo:
mercantile issues shouldn't motivate combatants with thoroughgoing
passions in the way nationalistic fervor, the will to power or the
fight for freedom might. At the end of the movie, the Federation's
leaders can be carted off for trial and the stripping of their trade
privileges, leaving the status quo ante relatively intact but the
insidious motivator still hidden. My problem with this sequence of
events is that the trade dispute turned massively bloody. It is far
too pat an ending. I'm sure someone could have come up with a more
credible conflict to get things rolling.
I disagree with Lucas's attempt to give a pseudo-scientific explanation
for the Force. It's deeply lame, deeply distracting: you think they're
basically mispronouncing "mitochondria", which is a real symbiotic
bacteria found in multicellular life. This attempt robs the Force of
its mysticism, undermining the long-elaborated theme from the previous
films of spirit triumphing over machine. Better for the Jedi to feel a
great stirring in the Force when around Anakin than to take a blood
sample. I'd be thrilled silly if the following two movies never bring
up this point again. By the way, I'm not touching Anakin's immaculate
conception with a ten-foot pole.
The fight choreography of the lightsabre duel between Darth Maul and
the Jedi is spectacular, far more dynamic or energetic than the duels
between Luke and Vader, or the somewhat stiffly geriatric duel between
Vader and Kenobi. I suspect this is due partially to better effects
technology: a guy doesn't have to sit there and hand paint all the
glowing sabres frame by frame, because a computer can do this,
following the arc of a fast moving sabre more effectively. Perhaps
more importantly, the fight choreography of martial arts films has
become more mainstream than it was in the Seventies and early
Eighties. We expect flashy aggressiveness and balletic spins in this
sort of combat. Anything bordering on stiff and clumsy is deemed
insufficient.
Interestingly, while the wonderful dynamics of the sabre combat exists
when the Jedi face Darth Maul, but it's not quite there when the Jedi
hack their way through hordes of battle droids. Partially, this is
intentional: the droids pose no serious challenge to Jedi. A more
compelling argument is that the actors have nothing to react to when
they're supposed to be facing the droids, whereas Darth Maul is
physically there in the form of Ray Park wielding a prop sword. I
remember at least two instances where Ewan McGregor twirls and swing
the sabre casually into a droid. There seemed to be no force, no
urgency in the action. Well, there was nothing there to act against.
No wonder, then, that Liam Neeson wants to quit movie acting; no wonder
McGregor found the filming a chore: they spent a great deal of time
interacting with CGI characters. This can't be fun for an actor,
spending weeks in front of a blue screen, talking to things that aren't
there. Such is the result of technical change over the past decade.
Perhaps an intriguing analogy may be made with the introduction of
sound in film. Silent film actors who were adept at the exaggerated
facial expressions and gestures of that type of film had a difficult
time adjusting. What we may see in coming years is a cadre of actors
well-suited to the blue screen for one reason or another. Consider,
though, Ebert's statement about an upcoming golden age of visual style
at http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/clear18f.html.
I suppose we'll have to see what happens in the subsequent films.
Clearly, Anakin, as an apprentice Jedi, will attempt to free the slaves
on Tatoonie, and perhaps his passion to save his mother will be his
undoing, the tragic flaw through which he becomes Vader. Hopefully,
Obi-Wan will be less stiff and constipated, with more screen time.
We'll just have to see, but I think it's a good start.
Chad Polenz
Chad'z rating: ***1/2 (out of 4 = very good)
1999, PG, 131 minutes [2 hours, 11 minutes]
[fantasy/science fiction]
Starring: Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn); Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker); Natalie
Portman (Queen Amidala); Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi); produced by Rick
McCallum; written and directed by George Lucas.
Seen May 19, 1999 at 5 p.m. at the Crossgates Cinema 18 (Guilderland, N.Y.),
theater #1, with my brother John for $8.50. [Theater rating: ****: excellent
seats, sound and picture]
(Critic’s note: This review is the longest I’ve ever written and still only
scratches the surface. I’d recommend this be read only by those who have seen
the film as a form of critical analysis.)
As my friend and fellow film critic Ted Prigge said in his review of
“The Phantom Menace” - how do I even write this review? Never mind the fact
that I’ve been waiting for a new “Star Wars” movie since I was seven years
old. Never mind the fact everyone on the Internet had already dissected and
discussed the movie before it was even released. Never mind that there’s so
much going on in this movie in terms of plot, action, special effects and
long-term story that to analyze every aspect would take a lot of time and
energy and still wouldn’t cover everything.
And also like Ted does in all of his reviews, I’ll try to review this
in a way different from my usual reviews and instead write as casually as
possible as if I was talking directly to you, the reader.
Before we can begin analyzing the specific aspects of the film, many
of the most general and most significant factors must be considered (to get
the specifics of the film, skip this and the next four paragraphs). As has
been made obvious for the last several years, another trilogy of films will
be produced to account for the [missing] initial three installments of the
“Star Wars” series (the first of the films was actually episode four, not
one). George Lucas, the creator of the series, has probably just assumed most
people know the first-produced trilogy (“Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes
Back” and “Return Of The Jedi”) is actually the second trilogy,
chronologically. In media interviews in the past he has explained why the
movies were made out of order, but I can’t recall his reasons. With this new
film he as writer and director has also assumed viewers are at least vaguely
familiar with the storylines and significant plot points of the first trilogy
(err... second trilogy... well you know what I mean). And in order for this
review to be thorough many of those significant points must be mentioned
which, unfortunately, may serve as spoilers so proceed with caution.
[Critic’s note #1: It is one my personal policy not to intentionally
analyze spoilers because I would like my reviews to be able to make sense to
the reader both before and after viewing the film reviewed, but it would be
nearly impossible to do the film justice here without breaking the rule.
Critic’s note #2: Reviewing this film also breaks the universal critics’ law
of reviewing movies, which as Roger Ebert coined, “It’s not what a movie is
about, but how it is about it.” Because so many outside factors come into
play in the film’s plot and significance as part of a trilogy, and just
considering modern society, it again would be difficult, if not impossible to
simply review the film as a completely autonomous story.]
First of all we have to catalog what we know about the film before
even going into it. We know that young Anakin Skywalker will grow up to
become the evil ruler Darth Vader who is also the father of Luke Skywalker,
who will lead a successful revolution against him and his Empire. We know
Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi was the trainer of Anakin in the ways of “The Force” in
attempts to become a Jedi Knight, but would fail and thus Anakin would fall
to the “Dark Side.” We also know something about “The Force” itself, that it
is some kind of universal force which determines fate and can be manipulated
by those whose minds are expanded enough to believe in it and feel it (the
Jedi).
What we don’t know for sure is the history of the ruling of the
galaxy, which is most likely much longer and more complex than any government
we have had here on Earth. To me, this was one of the most fascinating
aspects of the first three films because there seemed to be a subtle,
definite order to all the complexity.
Also, it seems that we’re supposed to be familiar with a few other
details about the story which have come out of the thousands of comic books
and paperbacks published in the years since the movies ended. Most notably,
details regarding the Emperor from “Empire” and “Jedi,” and that he was once
a senator and his last name is Palpatine. For those who haven’t kept up with
all the “Star Wars” paraphernalia over the years, there is still a way to
know these details simply by recognizing an actor (or his voice at least).
With “The Phantom Menace” being the first chapter of a long saga, one
would assume the basic groundwork would be laid, including the history behind
all the major factors of the series, especially “The Force” and the Jedi
Knights. Unfortunately, this film does more of the opposite as it simply
builds on top of what must be a history so long and detailed it could never
be explained.
I didn’t liked that aspect to this film and is one of the reasons it
falls just short of greatness. If you’re going to tell a story from the
beginning - tell it from the beginning (is it possible that after this
trilogy is complete there could be another trilogy of episodes -1 through -3
to clarify the back story even further?).
But I digress. I’ve said so much and yet I haven’t even touched on
the specifics of the film itself. All these necessary “disclaiming” elements
should go to show just how vast the story of the “Star Wars” series is and
this individual film itself.
What we get here is a movie not unlike any of the other three we’ve
come to know and love since the late 1970s. Its similarity to the other films
helps to keep the spirit of the series familiar, but at the same time seems
to be a flaw in the filmmaking process itself since it sometimes rings of
unoriginality.
The basic story is rather sorted, complex and even confusing at
times. We’re told that an army known as “The Trade Federation” has set up a
blockade around an seemingly insignificant planet called Naboo. We’re not
given too many details to clarify the back story of what the federation is
and what their purpose is, instead the film opts to get its story moving
quickly.
We’re introduced to two Jedi, the master Qui-Gon Jinn (Neeson) and
his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor). The two are acting as ambassadors
of some sort in hopes of ending the obvious hostility between the federation
and the planet’s queen, Amidala (Portman). The leader of the federation, an
alien called Viceroy, is following the orders of a strange, mythical
character - an older human man whose face and body are covered and shadowed
by the black robe and hood he wears. He is referred to as Lord Sidious but
considering his appearance, and especially that creepy evil voice of his, he
is a obviously one of the most significant characters in the series.
Sidious communicates to Viceroy only through digital transmissions
and never in person. Clearly his actual whereabouts are something he wants to
keep secret because that would also reveal his identity (which is never
openly revealed in the film, but should be clear to most viewers. I have a
feeling we’ll delve into his background in the next two films).
But it doesn’t take the film long to spring into action and within
minutes our hero Jedi are fighting for their lives and the film’s story
begins to move along.
The film doesn’t have one specific plot and works in the same manner
as the other films in the series where as what we get is one mini-plot and
adventure on top of another. There are so many of these
mini-plots-within-plots in this film I would not describe them all because it
is what gives the movie its hook. The other films have relied on this type of
storytelling, but because of the limits of the technology at the time, the
films’ screenplays were also limiting.
The sense of limitlessness here is what gives “The Phantom Menace”
its unique traits.
As we already know, the film takes place at least a generation or two
before the original “Star Wars” trilogy which means a lot of the background
which was unclear and/or unexplained may be cleared up here as it is the
beginning of the vast epic story. And here the most significant storyline is
that involving the discovery of 10-year-old Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd), by
Qui-Gon Jinn and his introduction to the Jedi Council.
To briefly summarize the story, Jinn stumbles upon Skywalker in an
attempt to buy parts for Queen Amidala’s spaceship which was damaged in
efforts to free her from the federation. Their meeting on Tatooine is mostly
chance but of course Jinn chalks it up to the will of the Force. Jinn can
feel that Skywalker has a great natural power in the Force, and through
another sub-plot involving a bet on Skywalker in a fantastic race he will
enter, more and more details of his significance begin to reveal themselves.
This also provides for a new elaboration and explanation of the Force
which has never been mentioned before. In fact, it seems to be something so
important it is upsetting it has never been mentioned before. The element
seriously undermines the mystical aspect of the Force and transforms it into
something more physical and scientific which is completely unnecessary.
By the film’s third act all the major significant elements become
tied together in a rather familiar execution of the plot. It’s funny how the
reality of the “Star Wars” world seems so embedded in mythology, New Age-like
philosophy and religion and yet the solution to all the major conflicts in
the series has been violence.
Not that this technique hasn’t been used in movies and in real-life
situations countless times throughout history. And at least it’s all in the
spirit of the ultimate powers of good versus evil in a fun and exciting
matter. It does border of the cartoonish sometimes, but that’s just the film
appealing to our inner child, which is the basic reason the entire saga
exists and has become such a big part of our modern society.
“The Phantom Menace” delivers exactly what you’d expect from a “Star
Wars” film which is why it succeeds as well as it does but is always why it
never truly achieves greatness. So many things in the film we’ve seen before
and done with more heart because the filmmakers concentrated just a bit more
on story and character because they were limited. But this film is far from
bad because it at least embraces the spirit of sheer fun at the movies.
Toys Rubba
This is the first episode.
There will be a cliff hanger in Episode 2, resolved in episode 3
Dustin Putman
Directed by George Lucas.
Cast: Liam Neeson, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Pernilla
August, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Park.
Voices: Ahmed Best, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker.
1999 - 131 minutes
Rated PG (for mild violence).
Reviewed May 20, 1999.
"Star Wars" fans across the nation have been waiting sixteen years for
the promised prequels to the most popular series in motion picture
history. The original trilogy somehow captured viewers' imaginations
like no other movie possibly could, taking them on a wild ride through
never-before-seen places and meeting unforgettable characters and
creatures. The most die-hard fanatics have been sitting outside the
Mann's Chinese Theater in L.A. for over a month, simply to be the first
in line to see director-creator George Lucas' latest opus. On Wednesday,
May 12, advance tickets went on sale at 3:00 p.m., and I was instantly
in amazement, arriving at the theater almost two hours before the
tickets were to be sold, to see a line going all the way around the
building. Many people were said to have camped out overnight (and this
is in the small town of Frederick, MD!), and the two guys next to me in
line both said that they had called off work on that day. Ultimately, I
waited three hours to get tickets to the 7:30 nighttime showing on "May
19," a date that will probably be forever ingrained in some peoples'
minds. Expectations were so high for the film, with many nearly treating
the impending release as "The Second Coming." On the other hand, I have
never been that big of a fan of "Star Wars." I like them, and in the
case of 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," I nearly loved it, but I am
far from a crazed devotee. I couldn't, however, pass up going to see
this "Event" on the day it opened.
The film in question is, obviously, "Star Wars: Episode 1--The Phantom
Menace," set many years before the goings-on in the original trilogy,
Episodes IV, V, and VI. Going in, I chose to not have any sort of
expectations (although they admittedly were kind of low), but to simply
hope the film would do its job in amazing and exciting me. Early
critical reviews have not been very kind, but there have been a slew of
overwhelmingly positive ones, including Roger Ebert and Janet Maslin (of
"The New York Times"). And so, without any certain presumptions, the
final word on "The Phantom Menace" is that it is perhaps the most
visually astounding motion picture I have ever seen, far more
stimulating than the previous "Star Wars" movies, due to such
extravagant technological visual effects advancements since the
late-'70s/early-'80s. Unfortunately, those movies by-and-large had one
vital element that this movie is sorely lacking, and that is any sort of
character involvement. While Han Solo, Lucas Skywalker, and Princess
Leia were likable characters with distinct personalities, "The Phantom
Menace" holds no such close scrutiny. But then again, that leads to
another predicament, which is that this film is only the first in a
planned prequel trilogy, meaning that many of the characters will, no
doubt, be further explored and development in the later installments,
currently due out in theaters in 2002 and 2005. Problems abound in "The
Phantom Menace," many more than there needed to be, but George Lucas
truthfully had an overwhelming amount of elements to handle here, as he
had to do the most difficult thing so far in the series, and that is to
start it with the first vital chapter in the "Star Wars" legacy. You
would be out of your league to say Lucas succeeded on every level, but
he did do a respectable job, and treated me to extraordinary images that
are worth the price of admission alone.
"Episode 1" begins as The Trade Federation are preparing an attack on
the planet of Naboo, headed by the 14-year-old Queen Amidala (Natalie
Portman), whose life is in jeopardy. After a narrow escape from the
Federation, who turn out to be more twisted and corrupt than expected,
two Jedi Knights, the no-nonsense, scruffy Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson),
and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), set off for Naboo to
rescue the Queen and take her to Tatooine, a planet of safety. When
their spacecraft breaks down, they venture out into a small desert town
where they come into contact with two slaves, Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla
August) and her 9-year-old son, Anakin (Jack Lloyd). Sensing the Force
is with Anakin, and that he is destined to become a powerful Jedi, he
hesitantly leaves behind his mother to join Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan,
promising to return and set her free one day from a slave life.
Since "The Phantom Menace" has the tiresome task of setting up
everything to come later on, the villains come off more as an
afterthought. The main one, I suppose, is Darth Maul (Ray Park), a
fiendish sith with red-and-black face makeup, but he is literally given
about four scenes and three lines of dialogue. How are we supposed to
feel negatively towards Maul when we don't really even know who he is,
and we never actually see him do any bad things, save for the inevitable
climactic lightsaber battle between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and himself?
Villains probably aren't the point in this installment, though, and
since they are so uninvolving and slight, it doesn't come off as a major
problem.
Sure, this movie is basically an arrangement for everything to come, but
that still isn't an excuse for what does come off as a problem, and that
is the performances, which are as lifeless as a piece of chopped-up
wood. Neeson and McGregor are the centerpiece of the film, but we learn
almost nothing about them, and they recite their lines without any
feeling, as if their hearts weren't really into it. Maybe it is not the
actors' faults, since they are so thinly written. At any rate, I'm sure
McGregor felt especially out of place since he is a real actor, and
probably not used to being what is essentially a background prop who
stands there like a good boy and rarely says anything. Jake Lloyd, as
young Anakin Skywalker, later to become Darth Vader, is an unctuous
child actor if I ever saw one, with almost nary a line of dialogue that
he is able to pull off. Surely, Lucas could have found a stronger, more
assured actor to fit the bill of what is the most vital character in the
film, as Lloyd is annoying and seemingly always aware that he is "in" a
movie. Out of the four central roles, Natalie Portman easily fares best,
but did you expect anything less of her? At 17-years-old, she is already
a near-veteran, popping onto the scene in 1994 with her heartbreaking
performance in "The Professional," and carrying it over to what was a
performance snubbed of an Oscar nomination, in 1996's "Beautiful Girls."
Portman knows how to make a scene work, even when the material isn't up
to her level, and it will be intriguing to follow her character's
development in Episodes II and III. Pernilla August, a Swedish actress
in her first American film, is touching as Anakin's solemn, caring
mother, and in each of her scenes she gives Neeson and Lloyd a run for
their acting money. Also making brief appearances are Yoda (voiced by
Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), who sense an underlying
uneasiness within Anakin, as well as friendly androids, R2-D2 (voiced by
Kenny Baker) and an unfinished C-3P0 (voiced by Anthony Daniels).
Brought to life as "Star Wars"'s first-ever major character that is
completely computer-generated is the amphibious Jar Jar Binks (voiced by
Ahmed Best) who, judging from his thick accent, must have been born and
raised in the outskirts of Jamaica. Much talk has been raised about how
Jar Jar is an annoying, kid-friendly addition to the film, and although
he is probably more targeted for the children in the audience, I
actually did like him, and his goofy, lovable nature. He is integrated
seamlessly into each frame, never really looking like a special effect,
and gives a better performance overall than any of the humans do.
If the characters are lacking depth and three dimensions, no one can
accuse "Star Wars: Episode 1--The Phantom Menace" of not being original
and often awe-inspiring. The landscapes and marvelous city vistas are
never anything less than powerful, majestic, and sumptuous,
picture-perfect images that I could stare at for hours on end. Words
really can't describe the visual experience of "The Phantom Menace," but
every frame in the 131-minute movie is gorgeous to look at. Some images
I will never forget include: the atmospheric, dreamy overhead views of
the city skyscrapers in the planet, Coruscant; the endless green fields
in Naboo where a climactic war is held; the Queen's kingdom, which is
surrounded by curved, bubble-like buildings, as well as a crystal-clear
waterfall leading into a river; and an underwater city in Naboo,
populated by fish, giant water creatures, and Jar Jar Binks' own race of
giant, floopy-eared pseudo-hares. "The Phantom Menace" is such an
optical triumph that, like "Terminator 2"'s liquid-metal and "Jurassic
Park"'s dinosaurs, stands as a new turning point in visual effects
artistry, this time proving that every frame can look completely
believable, as if no effects were even actually used. If I didn't know
better, I'd say that Naboo, Tatooine, and the underwater city were
actual places that exist.
"The Phantom Menace," although more dialogue-oriented than
action-inclined, as in 1977's "Star Wars," nonetheless includes some
startling setpieces, including an exciting, superbly-crafted pod race
that Anakin enters in with a pod he has made himself. Soaring through
rock passageways and down cliffs, this sequence is the first true sign
that we are back in "Star Wars" territory, and it is further carried out
in the climax, which intercuts between three separate action storylines,
including a war in the fields of Naboo between an army of robots from
the Confederation and the amphibious Naboo residents; a fight to the
death between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi; and the weak
link, due to the corny, throwaway one-liners and weak acting by Lloyd, a
space battle between Anakin and enemy troops.
Flawed as it is, "Star Wars: Episode 1--The Phantom Menace" captured my
imagination and I enjoyed it. With a more tightly-written screenplay and
characters, George Lucas would have really had something, but just as
with "Episode IV," you have to look at the movie as a jumping-off point
for the two later films, which most likely will be better on the story
and, hopefully, on the performance levels. Going into "The Phantom
Menace," I wasn't actually a "Star Wars" fan, but coming out I wanted more;
I wanted to see what was going to happen next. "Episode II" may be three
years away, but I'm already highly anticipating it, and the
imperfections of "Episode I" have only sparked my interest even more
since, like "The Empire Strikes Back," it is sure to be superior.
- Copyright 1999 by Dustin Putman
Http://hometown.aol.com/FilmFan16/index.html
Brian Takeshita
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: *** out of ****
The opening crawl tells us that the galaxy is in turmoil over the
taxation of trade routes, and the greedy Trade Federation has used
it's armada of powerful space battleships to blockade the planet
Naboo. We soon find that the Federation plans to invade the planet
with an enormous army of warrior robots and force Naboo's ruler, the
young Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) to sign a treaty giving the
Federation control. However, the galactic Republic has sent Jedi
Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor)
as emissaries to the Federation in order to negotiate for the ending
of the blockade. No sooner do they arrive than the Federation leaders
are instructed via holographic transmission by a mysterious cloaked
figure to destroy the Jedi, and the first battle begins.
It seems that for me and thousands of people like me, the love for
George Lucas's trilogy of STAR WARS movies has only grown over time.
We're the fans, not the freaks. We won't go dressing up like Darth
Vader (although you have to admit those Imperial uniforms are pretty
darn cool), and we won't incorporate lines from the script in our
everyday conversations (not all the time, anyway), but if someone
wants to challenge us to a little trivia contest, we're throwing down.
All right, stop looking at me like that.
We have been faithfully and patiently waiting. Waiting for this movie
ever since the end credits of RETURN OF THE JEDI started to roll. You
see, The Trilogy is not just a set of movies, but a religion of sorts
to we, the faithful disciples, and THE PHANTOM MENACE is tantamount to
the second coming of the Messiah.
Unfortunately, it is not Our Savior. For weeks beforehand, I was
going around telling people that this movie had better be damned good
- stupendously good - miraculously good. Anything less and it'll be
the biggest disappointment of the century. I didn't want the
doomsaying prophecy to come true, really I didn't, but this film
nevertheless fails to reach the pinnacles of filmmaking.
Character development is virtually nonexistent. With the possible
exception of Qui-Gon, most of the film's characters seem left with
nothing to do but go through the motions. None seem very affected by
their experiences, and few even show any passion at all. Contrast
this with the horribly irritating comic relief we are nearly
continuously subjected to in the form of Jar Jar Binks, a creature
belonging to a race which lives in underwater cities on Naboo, in
precarious symbiosis with the land dwellers led by Amidala. Jar Jar's
life is saved by Qui-Gon early in the film, and travels with our
heroes for the sole reason of making us laugh (or supposedly so). His
speech mannerisms are so "cute-ified" that I couldn't understand a
third of what he was saying, and the slapstick he performed was just
distracting. His head gets caught in an electronic field, his foot
gets caught in the stirrup of some large beast, he describes being in
trouble as "deep doo doo," and even manages to step in some of the
same while walking around in Mos Eisley Spaceport. Therein lies a key
difference between this film and one of its predecessors. In STAR
WARS, we had Obi-Wan telling us Mos Eisley was a "wretched hive of
scum and villainy." In THE PHANTOM MENACE, we get doo doo.
The films of The Trilogy took me away from my everyday life and
immersed me in a story "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."
This film, on the other hand, constantly reminds me that it's only a
movie by including situations and phrases that are so uniquely modern
American that they seem incredibly out of place and serve to jerk the
viewer from the experience. Perhaps the most blatant offense occurs
during a scene where young Anakin Skywalker enters into a pod racing
competition (it's kind of like chariot racing with large engines
instead of horses), and there are a couple of commentators in a press
box delivering Indy 500-like play by play. I liked the pod race; it
was really exciting and ratcheted the tension, but when the heck did
Lucas think up the idea of putting in the sportscasters? The race
would have been even more exciting without the distraction. This
aspect, coupled with the emphasis on humor simply baffled me. I
suppose one may say that Lucas was trying to appeal to the younger
viewer, but would more intelligent scenes and dialog hurt this appeal
at all? Didn't millions of youngsters still go back to see the
original STAR WARS in 1977 over and over again? Didn't the action
figures still sell like hotcakes? Of course they did, and it's only
poor judgment that allows the most-eagerly awaited film in history to
be marred by pandering to children who would still have enjoyed a film
with more appeal for adults.
One aspect that will appeal broadly, however, is the use of special
effects. The people at Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic, the
world's premiere effects house, outdid themselves in providing
seamless integration of computer-generated images and real-life
footage. Some of the scenes have to be seen to be believed,
especially the shots of a land battle between the Federation's robot
army and Jar Jar's countrymen. The space battles are also impressive,
although improved over past efforts by only subtle margins to the
casual observer. This, however, is a testament to the work which ILM
produced two decades ago and still holds up well today.
John Williams is back, of course, providing a score for the film as
only he can. His music is pervasive throughout, as rousing and as
dramatic as ever, always serving to punctuate scenes noticeably and
appropriately.
Since this film is supposed to be the first installment in a
nine-episode story (STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF
THE JEDI being episodes four, five and six, respectively), THE PHANTOM
MENACE has the daunting task of setting up the origins of several
characters we know already, in addition to those with whom we
unfamiliar. As a result, attention to history and characterization
was spread a little thin. It would have been nice to get more in
depth with Yoda and Obi-Wan, for example, but given the fact that
there were several new characters to cover, it is understandable that
some of the development has been left for the next two films.
One of the new characters is Darth Maul, hailed as the new villain
with as much hype as marketing forces could muster prior to this
film's release. In spite of the hype, Darth Maul is a character which
almost didn't have to be in the film, his role is so insignificant.
He has maybe three spoken lines (believe it or not, a second actor
voices the character) and the rest of the time just scowls and looks
mean. With that working against him, he never has a chance at being
interesting and instead ends up an utter disappointment.
Lucas seems to have wanted to develop the spiritual nature of the STAR
WARS universe, something which has been prominent throughout.
However, he does so largely by paralleling the STAR WARS spirituality
with the bible, offering an easy out for story-writing and once again
bringing the viewer back to planet Earth with a real-life connection.
Oddly, while trying to capitalize on spirituality, Lucas at the same
time introduces the fact that mastery of The Force is dependent upon
having little Force-loving parasites in your body's cells. This only
serves to de-mystify the workings of The Force a few notches by
offering a scientific connection.
Don't let me mislead you too far. THE PHANTOM MENACE, by most
standards, is a good film. It contains a lot of visual treats, sets
the stage for an epic story, gives us a bit of excitement here and
there, and even allows us to revisit some of our old friends. It's
just that when held up to it's predecessors (and to not do so would be
unrealistic), this film simply pales.
Review posted May 20, 1999
Homer Yen
The hype has finally begun to diminish and after months of waiting (and
years for others), the highly anticipated “Phantom Menace” has finally
come to a theatre not too far, far away. Even I was swept with
anticipation, for I am of the Star Wars generation. I bought my ticket
a week in advance, and I was ready to once again be a part of the Star
Wars phenomenon. The crowd showed an equal level of heightened
enthusiasm. When I arrived at my local Loews theatre 30 minutes in
advance, many of the seats were already taken. I was lucky enough to
find a good spot, and when the lights dimmed, a hushed silence swept
across the rows of patrons who had come, like me, to relive our
childhood and who had hoped that the film would live up to its hype.
In many ways, the film does live up to its hype. Like the original
Star Wars that changed the landscape of movie making, this film shows
off many new advances in sound and imaging technology. Visually, the
movie is absolutely gorgeous – eye candy galore! Clearly there is much
imagination at work that can be seen in every shot. Colors are
breathtakingly beautiful, settings are wonderfully detailed, and scenes
are beautifully envisioned. For example, there is a bustling
metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers and an underwater city
whose landscape resembles a collection of light bulbs on a crystal
chandelier. I was impressed with a battle scene pitting thousands of
evil battle droids against a small army of humanoids that looked like a
cross between a dragon and a duck and was captivated by a race sequence
that can only be described as a futuristic combination of Ben Hur and
Speed Racer. The sound was equally impressive, especially a scene
involving a Senate debate. To truly appreciate the spectacle of this
film, you’ll need to see this film on a big screen with an advanced
sound system. But is there as much force with the story and characters
as there is with the visual and sound effects?
The answer, unfortunately, is no. The beauty of the original Star Wars
is that it involved uncharted frontiers and growing up in the face of
adversity. That’s not really the case here as it is a story about an
epic battle that may shift the balance of power. In Episode I, the
evil empire is determined to assert its power and dominance. They use
a group called the Trade Federation to further their goals and take
over planet Nabooie, which has immense importance in terms of regional
commerce. But to secure their victory, they must force the noble and
strong queen (the Geisha-adorned Natalie Portman) to sign a treaty.
She escapes with the help of Jedi Knights (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan
Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). In their quest to regain control of her home
world, they also meet up with the future Darth Vader, Annekin Skywalker
(played by Jake Lloyd). Annakin is able, inventive, and becomes a
great asset to their cause. To stop the good guys, the empire
dispatches an evil warrior who has tremendous agility and fighting
skills. He does battle with the Jedi knights with a very unique light
saber staff.
Though impressive, this film couldn’t manage to evoke that same feeling
of awe that I had hoped. I’m sure that the amount of hype that
preceded the movie biased me as I watched the film. Also, the
characters were not as well-defined nor as memorable as Luke Skywalker
or Han Solo. I also think that when I saw the original Star Wars, I
was only 11, and at that time in my life, I was completely mesmerized
by what I had seen on screen. As I’ve matured, my tastes have taken my
senses in a different direction that favors stories about the darkness
of humanity (like “The Matrix”) over films brimming with cuddly
extra-terrestrials and star ships. You won’t come out of the film
feeling that you’ve experienced an event. But, this is a film that is
stunning in many ways and always manages to be enjoyable.
Grade: B+
_____________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com
Zuben
I don't follow this logic.
Dave
Glenn Saunders
>>
These flaws exist, and they keep The Phantom Menace from being as
thoroughly fun and enjoyable as its predecessors. However, it would
be
wrong to call the movie a disappointment, no matter how annoying or
pervasive the hype has been. The Phantom Menace is worth seeing,
worth
marveling over, worth enjoying both as entertainment and as a luminous
work
of art -- not to mention its considerable value as a passport back to
childhood. (Where did I put that old light saber, anyway?)
Rating: A+
<<
How can one criticize a movie and still give it an A+? This is so
wacked out. Give it the damn B- that it deserves, okay?
Zuben
Saunders) wrote:
>
>>>
>These flaws exist, and they keep The Phantom Menace from being as
>thoroughly fun and enjoyable as its predecessors. However, it would
>be
>wrong to call the movie a disappointment, no matter how annoying or
>pervasive the hype has been
Er, what if I watched it and WAS disappointed? I'm in a morally
indefensible position?
Dave
>
Glenn Saunders
>refurbished editions of episodes 4, 5, and 6: the monsters of Episode
>1 are clownish or juvenile (the appearance of a small Greedo-type
>recalls Jim Henson’s "Muppet Babies") and, dare I say it, uniquely
>synthetic.
FYI, I know you don't like CGI, but the boy Rodian was obviously a kid
in a mask, not CGI, no less real or synthetic than Greedo in ANH.
Glenn Saunders
>I came away from the movie thinking it was perfect. That in and of
Get thee to a mental institution.
>There have been several criticisms about the film but I find them
>baseless.
Ditto.
>The notion that this is a film for children for example
>only serves to illustrate, as I have long believed, that most adults
>are incapable of comprehending such subtle complexity.
Like the subtle complexity of Jar Jar stepping in a pile of shit or
the two-headed announcer mugging for the camera or the pillsbury
doghboy pod-racer who looks like a Bugs' Life reject?
>takes his time telling the story and fleshing out the characters
>slowly, and the pacing is just right. Each character is extremely
>well-developed yet the amount of time spent on a given character is
>perfect. For example, when the focus is on the evilness of the
>Senator, it's just enough to let us realise he is not what he seems to
>be but yet it's not so blatant as to be insulting.
Watto's cheech and chong impression really fleshed him out well,
didn't it? How about the Namoudians' fu-manchu silliness?
Didn't you want MORE time devoted to the Jedi council? Most of the
council members were nothing more than out of focus backdrops. The
Jedi council scenes were shot in such a brief, casual, matter-of-fact
style that it degraded the majesty and heroism that such a scene
should have had.
>Darth Maul character is extremely effective and Ray Park's stunt work
>in this regard is brilliant.
Too bad Lucas forgot to give the fight scene some dialogue like there
was in all the other SW light-saber scenes.
>pod race which determines Anakin Skywalker's fate, and the battle
>scene at the end where Anakin destroying the droid control ship,
Anakin showed as much skill in doing that as Jar Jar did on the
surface, i.e. none.
>I can't think of a single thing that is wrong with the film and I
>can't wait to see it again.
Lucas must be counting on there being a lot of people like you.
Unfortunately, I think you are a small minority.
Marizhavashti Kali
>
> Questions about the film:
> 1. Annakin has the highest level of metachlorites ever but hes too old to be
> trained, yet Luke was like 20 when he was trained and it took him like 1 year
> to complete.
Luke's training never was completed, TMK. He was never up to what the Jedi
pulled off in this movie.
> 2. In the original trilogy, didnt Obi Wan tell Luke that he served with Annakin
> when they were pilots and that it was he who discovered that the force was
> strong with him so he took it upon himself to train him?
Obi Wan also told Luke that Darth Vader killed his father (and never told
Luke his father's name). He *also* didn't tell Luke that Leia was his
sister.
> This is for Chuck Dowlings review, Darth Sidious is not the emporer in 5 and
> 6Palpatine is.
Darth Sidious *is* Palpatine, potentially.
--
Deird'Re M. Brooks | xe...@teleport.com | cam#9309026
Listowner: Unofficial Fading Suns mailing list
Listowner: Unofficial Trinity mailing list
http://www.teleport.com/~xenya | http://www.telelists.com
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian
McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Oliver Ford Davies, Terence Stamp,
Pernilla August, Frank Oz, Ahmed Best, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels
Screenplay: George Lucas
Producers: Rick McCallum
Runtime: 131 min.
US Distribution: 20th Century Fox
Rated PG: mild violence, thematic elements
Copyright 1999 Nathaniel R. Atcheson
A fellow critic once stated his belief that a reviewer should not speak
of himself in his own review. I've attempted to obey this rule in
recent months, but to do so would be impossible in this case. The fact
is, nearly every person who goes to see The Phantom Menace brings
baggage in with them. The original Star Wars trilogy means so much to
so many people. For me, they calibrated my creativity as a child; they
are masterful, original works of art that mix moving stories with what
were astonishing special effects at the time (and they still hold up
pretty darn well). I am too young to have seen Star Wars in the theater
during its original release, but that doesn't make me any less dedicated
to it. On the contrary, the Star Wars trilogy -- and The Empire Strikes
Back in particular -- are three items on a very short list of why I love
movies.
When I heard that George Lucas would be making the first trilogy in the
nine-film series, I got exited. When I first saw screenshots from the
film, well over a year ago, I embarked on a year-long drool of
anticipation. And when the first previews were released last
Thanksgiving, I was ready to see the film. But then there was the Hype,
the insane marketing campaign, and Lucasfilm's secretive snobbery over
the picture. In the last weeks before the picture opened, while
multitudes of fans waited outside of theaters and stood in the boiling
sun days in advance just to be the first ones in the theater, I was
tired of hearing about it. I was tired of seeing cardboard cut-outs of
the characters whenever I went to KFC or Taco Bell. I just wanted to
see the movie. Reader, do not misunderstand. I did not have an
anti-Hype reaction. The Hype was unavoidable. I understand and accept
the Hype -- it's just what happens when the prequel to the most widely
beloved films of all time get released.
Five minutes into The Phantom Menace, I knew there was a problem. "Who
are these Jedi knights?" I asked. "Why are they churning out stale
dialogue with machine-gun rapidity?" "Why aren't these characters being
developed before their adventures?" "Why is there a special effects
shot in nearly every frame of the entire film?" These were just some of
my questions early on. Later, I asked, "Where's the magic of the first
three films?" and "Why am I looking at my watch every fifteen minutes?'
By the end of the film, I was tired, maddened, and depressed.
George Lucas has funneled his own wonderful movies into a pointless,
mindless, summer blockbuster. The Phantom Menace is no Star Wars film.
Take away the title and the Jedi talk and the Force, and you're left
with what is easily one of the most vacuous special effects movies of
all time. It's an embarrassment. I looked desperately for a scene in
which a character is explored, or a new theme is examined, or a special
effects shot isn't used. There are a few of each, but they're all token
attempts. The fact is, George Lucas has created what is simultaneously
an abysmally bad excuse for a movie and a pretty good showcase for
digital effects. This is not what I wanted to see. I didn't want to
leave The Phantom Menace with a headache and a bitter taste in my mouth,
but I did.
The story centers mostly around Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson, looking lost
and confused) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, who
scarcely has a line in the film) and their attempts to liberate the
people of the planet Naboo. Naboo is the victim of a bureaucratic war
with the Trade Federation; their contact on Naboo is Queen Amidala
(Natalie Portman), the teenage ruler who truly cares for her people.
After picking up Jar Jar Binks (a completely CGI character, voiced by
Ahmed Best), they head to Tatooine, where they meet young Anakin
Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and his mother (Pernilla August). Qui-Gon knows
that the Force is strong with young Anakin, and so the Jedi Knights take
the boy with them on their journeys. The bad guys are Darth Maul and
Darth Sidious, neither of whom have enough lines to register as
characters.
There isn't anything particularly wrong with this story when looking at
it in synopsis form. The way Lucas has handled it, however, it
unsatisfactory. First of all, we don't learn one single thing about
Qui-Gon Jinn. Not one thing. What was his life like before this film?
Well, I imagine he didn't have one. That's why he feels like a plot
device. This probably explains why Neeson looks so hopeless in the
role, and why he's recently retired from film (I don't blame him,
honestly). Obi-Wan, a character I was really looking forward to
learning more about, is even less interesting. McGregor has just a few
lines, so anyone hoping to see the engaging young actor in a great
performance is urged to look elsewhere. Since these two men are the
focus of The Phantom Menace, Lucas has served us a big emotional void as
the centerpiece of his movie.
Things start to pick up when our characters reach Tatooine; young
Anakin is perhaps the only truly fleshed-out character in the film, and
Lloyd does a thoughtful job with the role. I was also hugely impressed
with the sand speeder scene; rarely is an action sequence so fast and so
exciting. And when Anakin says goodbye to his mother, I found it
moving. Also fairly good is Portman, and she manages to give a little
depth to a character where no depth has been written. Jar Jar Binks is
one of the most annoying characters I've ever had to endure, but he's
more interesting than most of the humans.
As soon as the relatively-brief segment on Tatooine is over, it's back
to the mind-numbing special effects and depthless action scenes. I've
seen many movies that qualify as "special effects extravaganzas," but
The Phantom Menace is the first one I've seen that had me sick of the
special effects fifteen minutes into the movie. The reason is obvious:
George Lucas has no restraint. I can't say that I didn't find the
effects original, because I did -- the final battle between Darth Maul,
Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon is visually exceptional, as is most of the film.
But I also found the effects deadening and tiresome.
My breaking point was near the end of the picture, as Anakin is getting
questioned by Yoda and the other Jedi masters; in the background, we see
hundreds of digital spaceships flying around through a digital sky, and
I wanted that to go away. Can't we have one stinking scene that isn't
bursting at the seems with a special effects shot? I got so sick of
looking at the CGI characters and spaceships and planets and backgrounds
that I really just wanted to go outside and look at a physical landscape
for a few hours.
And then there's the question of magic. What was lost in the sixteen
years between The Phantom Menace and Return of the Jedi? I have a
feeling that Lucas was so focused on how his movie looked that he forgot
entirely the way it should feel. John Williams' familiar score is no
help, nor is Lucas' direction. I think it comes right down to
characters: there are none here. I longed for the magnetic presence of
Han, Luke, and Leia, but I got no such thing. And what about the
ridiculous expectations? Mine weren't that high; I simply wanted a film
that showed me the roots of the films that I grew up loving, a story
that had a few characters and a few great special effects. Instead, I
got two hours and fifteen minutes of a lifeless and imaginative computer
graphics show. I don't hate The Phantom Menace as much as I resent it:
I'd like to forget that it exists, and yet I can't. It's here to stay.
I can only hope that Episodes II and III have something of substance in
them, because if they don't, then Lucas will have pulled off the
impossible task of destroying his own indestructible series.
Psychosis Rating: 3/10
**********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************
Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at
http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
**********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************
Jon Popick
It’s hard to effectively rate a movie like The Phantom Menace. If you
compare it to its previous three films, it comes up a bit short. If the
first three films were never made, viewers would likely be as floored as
they were when the first Star Wars film was released over twenty years
ago. Was I disappointed? A little. Am I going to see it again? Yes.
Two more times? Probably.
Taking place about forty years before the beginning trilogy (Star Wars,
The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), Menace shares only a
few characters familiar with audiences. Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) is
back and appears to have less ear hair. A much younger Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting) plays a limited role, but promises to be
a much bigger force in the next two installments, due in 2002 and 2005.
But, most importantly, a very young innocent named Anakin Skywalker
(Jake Lloyd, Jingle All the Way) – soon to become the enigmatic Darth
Vader, as well as the father of Luke and Leia – is discovered by Jedi
Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson, Les Miserables).
Menace seems like more of a set piece for Episodes Two and Three of
George Lucas’ current trilogy. This is the first film Lucas has
directed since the first Star Wars film – and it shows. Acting and
story take a back seat to the special effects, which are nothing short
of goddamned unbelievable. The script offers too many flat one-liners
and jokes geared to pre-school-aged kids. And don’t get me started on
the Muppets and computer-generated characters. The worst is Jar Jar
Binks, a horrible Roger Rabbit knock-off that is immediately hated by
anyone without either a diaper or a pocket-protector. (2:11 – PG for
violence and the possible implication that Qui-Gon banged Anakin’s slave
mother, Shmi)
Brian Adelstein
**** Stars out of ****
Short Background/ Why Star Wars fans SHOULD love this Movie
I would like to personally start off by mentioning that I am NOT a
die hard Star Wars fan and have never been one. I did enjoy the
original trilogy, but I found Empire Strikes Back (1980) to be one of
the most boring films of all time as no one really died and no special
"war" took place. The whole Hoth scene was simply filler. I think
people have been mystified by the unbelievable relevation "Luke, I am
your father!" and have gone ga-ga over it more than anything else As
for Return of the Jedi, I think my enjoyment quickly ended when Teddy
Ruxpin and his buddies started slugging the empire. I mean, come on! I
was laughing my way through the whole thing. That leaves us here,
almost sixteen years later. Would Star Wars go back to its cutsie roots
from Jedi or bore us to sleep like Empire? I am happy to say,
definately NEITHER.
The TRUTH
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace has to be considered one of the best
films of the year, definately better than the last two sagas. I mean,
think about this: There were REAL ACTORS in this film!! Sit back and
think about it: Mark Hamill has done nothing since the trilogy and
Carrie Fisher has disappeared off the face of the earth too. The only
actor of any merit who survived was Harrison Ford, and he hadn't learned
how to act by the original trilogy either.
Liam Neeson and Ewan MacGregor were masterful in their roles and
kept me smiling the whole way through. Ewan even mimiced Sir Alec to a
certain extent! As for the rest, Natalie Portman did her job and little
Jake Lloyd was fine too. I mean, did you really expect to hear those
infamous hissing noises from a little boy? Give me a break...he played
the role very well. Lastly, I really LIKED Jar-Jar Binks. His so
called "accent" was not intentional in my humble opininon. He was just
a little side kick who did his job. For your information, I truly HATED
C-3PO from the original trilogy. Talk about an annoying piece of space
trash! All he could say was "You did it!" and "Oh my, Ive forgotten how
much I hate space travel" yada, yada, yada. Let it go. I let C-3PO go
too.
What made this episode really special were the action scenes and
REAL intellectual stimulation. Just in case you didn't catch it, (and
LOTS of you didn't, unfortunately) "Master" Darth Sidious IS the Emperor
from the first Trilogy and Senator Palpatine is one and the same. That
is the whole concept of the Phantom Menace: Darth Sidious was the one
wrecking havoc on the Star Wars universe by making an issue out of an
otherwise non-important "trade" dispute and influencing Princess Amidala
to have himself promoted in the Senate. Consequently, the victory on
the planet down below was a hollow one and probably "forseen!". As far
as the action scenes, they were much better than the original trilogy as
well. Darth Sidious may not have talked, but he was pure evil
nontheless. As far as I am concerned, if Phantom Menace is heralding
similar sequels, I am happy for it. If I wanted the original trilogy, I
would wish for bad acting and a silly, brainless love triangle in
space/evil father/ soap operal plot. Phantom has none of the above.
What a fantastic film!!
-Brian Adelstein
Dennis Schwartz
STAR WARS: EPISODE I--THE PHANTOM MENACE (director: George Lucas;
cast:(Qui-Gon Jinn) Liam Neeson, (Obi-Wan Kenobi) Ewan McGregor, (Queen
Amidala) Natalie Portman, (Anakin Skywalker) Jake Lloyd, (Jar Jar Binks)
Ahmed Best, (Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother) Pernilla August, (Yoda)
Frank Oz, (Mace Windu) Samuel L. Jackson, (Darth Maul) Ray Park,
(Chancellor Valorum) Terence Stamp, (Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious)
Ian McDiarmid, (R2-D2) Kenny Baker, 1999)
The new Star Wars trilogy, as a prequel to the Star Wars saga, will go
back in time a full generation to tell the story of Anakin Skywalker,
the innocent boy who will one day become the dreaded Darth Vader, who
was the father of Luke Skywalker, the young farmboy who became a hero in
the struggle to overthrow an evil empire and had to confront one of the
Empire's staunchest henchmen, Darth Vader.
In this movie, that goes beyond the boundaries of what a movie is,
because it has become a trademark name that is as easily recognized as
any popular brand name is; if I mentioned KFC, you would know that I am
talking about a fast-food chain that sells fried chicken (ugh!), and if
I mentioned Star Wars (ah!), the same familiarity would ring a bell with
you. Since the movie first surfaced in 1977, it has been a very popular
film, basically over-taking many other types of films that took on the
moral battle of good and evil, such as the Western, and it created a new
myth that does not challenge the old myth, but incorporates pieces of
mythology not only from the Judeo-Christian roots of the Bible, but from
the Eastern religions, as well. It has become so commercially successful
a film and enterprise, that even though the film cost about 115 million
dollars to make, its profit margin is a sure thing, since it has
merchandise deals tied into its release, that are estimated to be around
3.5 billion dollars.
With this in mind, there can be no ordinary viewing of this film, since
it is already hyped and promoted beyond any reasonable level of
expectation, it is therefore hardly likely that it could meet such
expectations, even with its fanatical fan base, willing to stand on long
lines for a long time in order to get tickets and who will most likely
see the film a number of a times, and a public that is primed and ready
for the product. How many times will viewers want to see it, is hard to
gauge at this early date, though what is guaranteed, is that it will
draw large crowds and pump life into the movie industry, as many will
see this film as an event, therefore making it critic-proof and ensured
of being a legendary film no matter what might be perceived of it on
screen.
What takes place on screen, if I can consider myself, a voice of
moderation on this subject, is not as terrible a storyline and acting
job as one could be led to believe by listening to some film critics,
nor is it as great a film as many unabashed fans might think, who feel
taken with the innovative special-effects, and are really caught up in
the aura and excessive exuberance the total film's package presents to
them, from John William's recognizable Star War themes, to some original
musical scores he added, as special for the film. There should be
something in this film for everybody to like, especially in a THX
theater, where the digital sound system and wide screen is best suited
for viewing it. The tremendous effort put into the details and scope of
its project, makes it seem stupendous at times, and, even throughout the
film, when there are lulls in its story, it still sets a very galactic
mood, that is trance-like and illusionary in a positive hypnotic sense,
but it does suffer, at times, from being too talky and lacking enough
emotions and depth in its story and in its characters, and is scripted
with a banal dialogue, plus there is no romance in it, which makes it a
film that is more geared to a younger audience, an audience that will be
around to follow all the other episodes that will surely come forth.
As a positive feature of the film, it is not interested in gratuitous
violence, and for that it scores high marks, as there is no blood in it,
as all the action scenes involve mostly robotic things being dismantled.
As we read the screen for the opening scene, we learn that two Jedi are
off to arbitrate a dispute caused by the Trade Federation against the
planet Naboo, that is being interfered with unjustly by the Federation,
who are blockading it. The two Jedi sent, are master Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neeson), who is a first-timer to the Star Wars series, and his
apprentice, Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who was played by Alec
Guinness in Episodes IV, V, and VI. They encounter difficulties and get
caught in a trap sprung by the evil Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), who
wants to take over the Galactic Republic, and they are forced to use
their lightsabers to fight their way out of the jam, which they
successfully do, then realizing that they could use someone familiar
with this planet to be their guide, as they escape Naboo, they use this
thing they came upon when entering Naboo, someone named Jar Jar Binks
(Ahmed Best), a non-stop talking and jittery alien, who is some sort of
a combination of a frog, who acts like a cartoon creature that children
could gravitate to, but whom I found somewhat offensive because of his
speech patterns, which were subservient and stereotypical, like
Hollywood sometimes uses to depict certain ethnic groups, only in this
case, he is only a representative of these Gungan creatures on Naboo,
except he did talk in a West Indian patois.
After the Jedi rescue the 14-year old Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman)
from the planet and her favorite droid, R2-D2, they are forced to land,
due to broken parts, in a remote desert planet called Tatooine, that is
not part of the Federation. Here the Jedi meet Anakin Skywalker (Jake
Lloyd), a slave child, born by means of immaculate conception, working
for a junkman that has the parts to fix the space craft. Qui-Gon Jinn
recognizes in Ani, the possibility of him being "The Chosen One", that
is, a special Jedi, with a tremendous potential in the Force, though
there is, also, a sense of uncertainty about him. Darth Maul (Ray Park),
is the evil force, with Jedi-like powers, who is sent here by Sidious to
track and kill the Jedi and prevent help for the people of Naboo.
The pace of the film picks up with its most innovative addition, an
exciting and, I might add, dizzying racing sequence featuring "pod"
space ships, as Ani has to win the race to gain freedom for himself and
for the Jedis to get their needed space craft parts, as a wager is made
with Ani's junkman boss on the pod race. This is pure video game stuff,
that should thrill its younger audience, perhaps more than it did me,
but it was effective and added something new to the Star Wars legend.
What gives Star Wars all its charged up energy are its great duels, with
lightsaber weapons, as good versus evil is clearly the theme that
propels it, and here the duels are accomplished in a top-notch fashion,
better than in other episodes, as the villain, with a painted
black-and-red
tattooed devil's face and short horns, and menacing sneers and graceful
martial-arts movements, Darth Maul, battles the master Jedi, admirably
portrayed, by a low key Liam Neeson, in a role that he doesn't seem to
be having much fun in, but is, nevertheless, convincing as a wise Jedi,
teaching his more rambunctious apprentice Jedi, Ewan McGregor, the
ropes, as they both have a chance at dueling with Darth Maul.
Delving into the evil nature of politics, there is the dual role played
by Ian McDiarmid, as Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious, cast perfectly as
a shadowy villain and a hypocritical senator, who in future episodes
will become Emperor Palpatine and should provide more chills for
viewer's to reckon with. Without its frightening villains, Star Wars
would be stripped of its soul.
Some of the actors did not impress me enough as the above mentioned. It
is probably not fair and not nice to criticize a youngster like Jake
Lloyd who plays Anakin Skywalker, but I thought, that though he was
sometimes bearable to see on the screen, as when he played with his
computer toys, he was, nevertheless, miscast and did not have the skills
to pull off the difficult role he was asked to fulfill. Anikin's mother,
the great Swedish actress, Pernilla August, is just right for the part;
in fact, she is too good for the part, because she makes the boy seem
very amateurish and not caring enough when he is teamed with her and
can't respond with the proper emotional responses expected from his
role, while she is fluid and graceful in her role, even though she is
stuck in a wooden part.
There were non-distinguished cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence
Stamp, that have neither added nor distracted anything from the film. I
would have preferred seeing unknown actors in those minor roles, giving
them a chance to get known and earn some "bread."
Some of the more exciting scenes, that weren't crammed too tight with
every computerized gizmo Lucas could throw at us, so that we were
literally choking on too much alien and droid consumption, came from the
just gorgeous and eye pleasing set designs on the planets, such as the
submerged underwater city on Naboo, filled with dangerous sea monsters,
and a Coliseum-like stadium on Tatooine, where the "pod race"
transpired, covered by talking head sport's personalities. Then there's
Coruscant, the Republic's capital - a planet where the single city
encompasses the entire globe.With its soaring skyscrapers and a sky
filled with exotic spaceships and its views of the world, that was just
too stunning to fully grasp. That is where the council chamber is, where
Queen Amidala makes a plea for her people, amidst the overwhelming
effects of the Senate chamber floating in space. All these space
landscapes gave the film all the color and spectacle it could ever need,
making it a most entertaining and enjoyable movie experience, which is
really what this movie is all about anyway, since I find it difficult to
get too worked up over its so called "new mythology," Joseph Campbell
blessed or not, since this movie only expresses what is just a shell of
what myths can mean to a society. Be that it as it may, I do understand
that many feel that what is missing in today's society, is some kind of
positive myth, that there is something that has gone wrong with our
culture, and this film does offer some encouragement for those who feel
movies have caused a certain amount of degeneracy in this country's
cultural war, and they should be pleased that Lucas's film reasserts,
his personal belief, that good can triumph over evil, as many feel
restless and unsure about the world they live in and need reassurance
that we have the same positive values other generations of Americans
have had, and they should look forward to seeing a film such as this
one, that has such a rosy outlook.
And again, it should be remembered that this is an action film, that
lives for its battle scenes, that has the "bad guy" droid army fighting
the "good guy" army of Naboo, in a computer game war, as the victorious
Naboos feel the pride and relief of victory over their enemy, for the
moment, as the film ends with the insidious Senator Palpatine taking
over the Galactic chancellorship.
It is a movie about the taming of nature in the future but made for the
age we live in, and will be remembered by future movie viewers, not for
its trite dialogue, but as a step up the ladder in our technical and
computer skills, and in our deep yearnings to find hope in the world we
live in. It seems regretable that we have to wait three more years for
the next installment of these episodes to be released. I would say that
this imperfect film, is still, a not-to-be missed film, and even if it
has become tied-in with corporate America, nevertheless, George Lucas
used his great technical skills to make this film as artistically good
looking as he could, not aiming to make an exploitive film. And for
that, we should all be grateful. I have immensely enjoyed the film for
what it was and was not overly concerned about what it was not.
I think it is fair to say, that when you plunk down your money and see
this film, you will be getting your money's worth.
"May the force be with you!"
REVIEWED ON 5/19/99 GRADE: B
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
=A9 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ
Mac VerStandig
3 Stars (out of 4)
Reviewed by Mac VerStandig
cri...@moviereviews.org
http://www.moviereviews.org
Director George Lucas' fourth undertaking of the Star Wars legacy is his
strongest. Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace has qualities that
make it a fine film. The special effects are some of the most dazzling and
amazing ever seen on the big screen. In addition, the acting is excellent.
However, that is met by an exceptionally weak plot that makes the 130 minute
film, about a half-hour too long.
The latest Star Wars installment takes place in the realm of space at a time
unknown. The evil Trade Federation is plotting to take over the planet
Naboo. The key to this task is having Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) of the
Naboo people sign a treaty. Having intelligence and courage far beyond her
young years, the Queen refuses in the interest of her people.
In an attempt to negotiate a trade agreement, Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam
Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) come to the Trade
Federation, acting as peacekeepers of sorts. The Trade Federation is opposed
to the Jedi, and therefor tries to kill these two ambassadors at once. If
this situation seems a little sketchy or lacking explanation and detail,
that is probably because the movie has none, something that is inexcusable
for a film calling itself "Episode One."
As the plot, or lack thereof limps along for the next two hours, you meet
several new characters. This long list includes some robots called R2-D2 and
C3-P0, creatures named Jar Jar Binks and Yoda, and a little boy named Anakin
Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) who is thought to be the so called "chosen one" of
the Jedi Force.
The other blunder in relation to the story is its complexity. This is a film
aimed at all audiences, proudly wearing a PG rating. But some of the
political aspects are far too elaborate for young audiences. A key point of
the film's later stage focuses around an intergalactic senate. As is, that
is a concept needing explanation for children. But almost all youngsters are
bound to be lost when the primary focus of a scene shifts to a no confidence
vote, again with no definition offered for those who are not already
familiar with this form of political assassination. In this aspect, the film
fails to truly reach a versatile audience of all ages.
Some 22 years ago, a little film called Star Wars revolutionized special
effects. The director had created something once thought to be an oxymoron:
low budget eye candy. Today Lucas has once again produced a film that is
delightful to watch. The light saber fights that the series is famous for,
are astonishing to see once again. For instance, take a climatic scene where
Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi find themselves fighting an evil creature
named Darth Maul (Ray Park). This is a moment that would ordinarily be
ruined by the gross predictability of the scene, but the dazzling
choreography and vivacious site of laser beams striking each other, hold the
audience over and actually makes watching the moment a voluptuous surprise.
Despite early bickering to the media about the experience of making an
effects driven science fiction film, Liam Neeson gives an immense
performance. Ewan McGregor does so as well. They bring quality to a script
plagued by obscenely distressed dialogue. Almost always on screen as a duo,
the two clearly have chemistry together. The finest example of this occurs
in the beginning of the film when the two are acting as ambassadors in the
Trade Federation, and come into their first battle scene alone together. The
surprise displayed by the two as they realize an attack upon them is
imminent, in combination with their performance fighting the creatures, is
simply magnificent.
Despite the positive screen presence of the film's key actors, and enjoyable
effects, Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace is about a half-hour
too long. It is slow to start in the beginning and there are fewer action
sequences in this installment than previous versions. It would come as
little surprise if the die-hard fans who stood in line for days to get
opening night tickets, caught up on some much needed sleep during the film's
slower parts.
Some movies are just different. They are not like the other films that come
out each year. They are unique. That is not necessarily to say that these
productions are the best works of cinema. Star Wars: Episode One - The
Phantom Menace is certainly one of these movies. It does not matter how good
or bad the various elements of this production are, because most people
aren't going to see it for the normal reasons. When you consider the
aforementioned fans that camped out for tickets, the 22 year legacy of the
series, and just the overall zest that Lucas gives each of these works, you
come to a simple conclusion: Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace is
not so much a film as an event, and because of that, everyone should see
this movie.
Steve Kong
A film review by Steve Kong
Edited by Steve Kong
Copyright 1999 Steve Kong
Don’t Miss Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.
There’s just so much to say about this film. But, lets get one thing out
of the way before we begin. Does The Phantom Menace live up to the hype?
No. This doesn’t mean that it’s not a fantastic film though. This film
has enough eye candy, ear shattering sound effects, and action to satisfy
everyone. Strip away the hype and what you have is a popcorn film that
entertains for its full running time. The Phantom Menace is a feast for
the eyes and ears but not the brain it’s all dessert and no main course.
Much like the first film in the original trilogy, this film serves as the
basis and introduction for the coming two films. Being so, the film has a
lot of exposition which sometimes slows the film down, but this isn’t a bad
thing because when George Lucas lets loose of his imagination, it is
something that makes you forget about all the slowness of the film.
There is an evil force working to eliminate the peace that exists in the
galaxy and to also take control of the Galactic Republic. When the Trade
Federation sets a blockade of a peaceful planet, Naboo, a Jedi Master,
Obi-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and his Jedi Appretice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor), are sent to negotiate. The two Jedi’s are met by an attempt on
their lives, which sends them down to the planet of Naboo. At Naboo they
work to protect Princess Amidala (Natalie Portman) but are no match for the
army that is sent down to the planet. From here the movie moves to the
planet of Tatooine where the group meets Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and
the apprentice to a mysterious Sith Lord, Darth Maul (Ray Park).
>From Tatooine the movie moves to a few other worlds and the story moves
along with a reasonable pace. The Phantom Menace story does not have any
of the wonder or awe that the first three films had, nor does it have a
strong character that people can like from the original trilogy I found
Han Solo the coolest. Among the other characters featured in the film are
some familiar faces like Yoda, Jabba the Hutt, R2D2, and a barely
recognizable C3P0.
The actors in the main roles all give decent performances, though most of
them are a bit wooden. Liam Neeson is perfect as Obi-Gon Jinn, a Jedi
Master who is wise yet sometimes rebellious. Ewan McGregor picks up the
mannerisms and voice of Alex Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi from the original
trilogy) perfectly. He is enjoyable onscreen, but he is not given enough
screen time though I think this will change in the second and third films.
Natalie Portman is somewhat flat as Queen Amidala, but she does fulfill
her role adequately. The only performance that I thought was sub-par was
that of young Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker. He does fine in the quiet
moments, but when he is asked to become ecstatic onscreen it comes off
wrong watch as he flies around in a Naboo defense fighter near the end of
the film.
The cameo that I enjoyed the most was that of Samuel L. Jackson. I knew
that Jackson had a cameo in the film, but I didn’t know when and where.
Jackson has been high on my must-see actors list for a long time now and it
was a joy to see him in a movie of this magnitude though he did have a
role in the second largest first-day-grossing film, Jurassic Park, his
presence in The Phantom Menace was more memorable. I hope that he has a
larger recurring role in the next two films.
Another actor who didn’t get many speaking parts but was very memorable was
Ray Park as Darth Maul. Park doesn’t get to speak much, but with that
hideous make-up and his lightning quick moves, his presence onscreen is
ominous and quite scary. His make-up, for me, at first made me wonder what
Lucas was thinking. But, after seeing Ray Park with the red and black face
paint and the little devil horns in action, I was convinced that Lucas is
brilliant in bringing Darth Maul to life in such a manner. Is Darth Maul
as fear-inducing as Darth Vader? No, but he’s more of a formidable enemy
than Darth Vader was, as Darth Maul sports a double Lightsaber and has the
moves of a martial artist on speed.
I got John Williams’s score for the movie the day it was released, about a
two weeks ago. I enjoyed listening to the score especially the track
titled “Duel of the Fates” but, a film score is always missing something
when you hear it before you see the film. After listening to the score
many times, I got used to the cues that were presented in the score and
during the screening of The Phantom Menace I got a taste of just how
brilliant a composer John Williams is. Williams’s score plays for most of
the two hour plus running time of the film and at the 74 minute capacity of
a CD, you can see that there was a lot of music missing on the CD. The
film score adds a whole new dimension to the movie. As George Lucas writes
in the insert for the CD, “I like to think of the Star Wars films as silent
movies, movies whose stories are carried forward visually and by a musical
score.” John Williams not only helps tell the story with his musical
score; his score at times is the story. His score is restrained enough
that it does not overwhelm the audience and distract them from what is
onscreen, but it is powerful enough to move you. Kudos to John Williams
for this dazzling score.
Lucas uses The Phantom Menace not as a storyboard to tell an elaborate
story with twists and turns. Instead, he uses the film as a canvas. At
the most basic level, The Phantom Menace is a film as a painting. The
beautiful settings and sets in the film are enough to go see the film again
just to enjoy the views. From the waterfall laden valleys in which the
capital city of Naboo resides to the underwater city to the ever-busy
Coruscant to the raceway on Tatooine to the Senate chamber, The Phantom
Menace screams of polished art, set, and production design. The Phantom
Menace is a visual feast.
Not to let the art, set, and production design overwhelm you, Lucas throws
in gobs of “Isn’t this cool?” type special effects. Most every scene in
the film seems to have something digital added. This brings me to one
complaint, although special effects can be used to help an audience see the
image that a director has in mind, sometimes the overuse of special effects
is detrimental. And in some places in The Phantom Menace, the special
effects are just gratuitous, which jars the audience. Science fiction has
to be somewhat believable and with some of the special effects Lucas pushes
the use of special effects a bit too far. The biggest example of this
would be Jar Jar Binks, a completely computer generated actor. Serving no
real purpose next to some comic relief, every time this character was
onscreen I flinched a little his presence was not as bad as the Ewoks in
Return of the Jedi though. Don’t get me wrong, there are some special
effects that are jaw dropping good. The best example of that would be the
pod race.
The action in The Phantom Menace is top notch. The two standout sequences
are the aforementioned pod race in which we get to experience, both
visually and aurally, a high-speed race. The race utilizes small pods
mounted behind big jet engines that gain speeds that are break-neck. This
race had me at the edge of my seat, even though I knew how it was going to
turn out. The way that the special effects were integrated and used in
this sequence was amazing. The second standout action sequence is the
Lightsaber battle between Obi-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul.
I’ve never been so engaged by an action sequence before. The sound in this
sequence shook the floor every time Lightsabers clashed the floor shook
and the visuals of this sequence had my eyes glued to the screen. The
sequence shows just how exciting a well-choreographed and tightly edited
fight sequence can be. Both of these sequences were exhilarating.
Is The Phantom Menace flawed? Yes. Does it overcome its flaws? Yes.
Should you go see the film? It probably doesn’t matter what my answer is,
but, yes, you should see this film. Don’t Miss Star Wars: Episode 1 The
Phantom Menace. This movie can be enjoyed if you leave all the hype that
you’ve been exposed to at the front door of the theatre. This film doesn’t
have the awe of Star Wars or the smooth storytelling of Empire Strikes Back
but what it does have is enough visuals to make you want to come back for
multiple screenings.
May the Force be with you.
---
Steve Kong rev...@boiledmovies.sbay.com
if you love movies, i love you.
i'm your hard boiled movie guide.
http://boiledmovies.sbay.com/
Mark O'Hara
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
A Film Review by Mark O'Hara
Visit Online Film Critics Society at http://www.ofcs.org
The verdict: my wife and two children and I liked it more than we thought
we would.
With all of the hype surrounding the first episode of the 'Star Wars' saga,
who would expect any mere human effort to succeed completely? Yes, we had
heard lots of lukewarm reviews from critics - but hey, critics are not the
main target audience of George Lucas. As for us, we were enthralled more
than we were skeptical.
The premise we knew before going to view: LucasFilm's finely-tuned
advertising had exposed us umpteen times to the main characters and their
quest. At the heart is political intrigue: the huge Trade Federation has
blockaded the small planet Naboo, whose queen is Amidala (Natalie Portman).
Two shady heads of the Federation have already tried to assassinate the Jedi
knights sent as ambassadors - Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his master,
the hulking Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). After the Jedis liberate the queen
and her retinue, her highness appears before the galactic senate,
complaining about the persecution of her tiny planet. What follows is a
series of complications typical of the other installments. The underdog,
equipped with cleverness and unfailing determination, faces off with the
darker forces, equipped with superior numbers and weaponry. The hidden card
is a supposed legend: the Federation lackeys report to a mysterious Sith
lord named Darth Sidious. We discover that the Sith are in fact real, and
that there are only two at any one time; Sidious' apprentice is named Darth
Maul.
Really the plot is thin. Lucas is obliged to incorporate countless elements
that had their genesis in episodes four, five and six - so many that there
is little room for plot development, aside from the knights guarding the
queen from being coerced into signing a treaty with the despicable trade
ministers. Another necessary plot detail is the introduction of Anakin
Skywalker. He's a slave boy on Tatooine, the planet where the Jedis have
landed to repair their ship on the long voyage to Coruscant. The boy,
played by Jake Lloyd, soon joins up with the venerable warriors. His
advantage is that the Force seems incredibly strong within him. Qui-Gon
(pronounced 'KWAI-GONE') recognizes this latent gift, and insists the boy
become another apprentice. The plot detours into various complications, but
it turns out that this boy has talents that belie his years.
On the whole, the movie has preserved a good deal of the light-heartedness
and camp of the earliest treatment. True, there is not a character of Han
Solo's ilk, nor of Chewbacca's; but the tone is light in the right places,
and the pace does keep the interest it needs to keep. I had the impression
that the plot would find better and grander settings sooner than it did.
Hence my judgment that the first minutes could have moved faster, a la
flicks in the 'Star Trek' series. The wandering plot builds, however, a
series of wonderfully rich subtexts. We see an astonishing underwater city
inhabited by the Gungans, the home of the computer-generated Jar Jar Binks.
The other architectures are equally eye-catching: Amidala's Italian
Renaissance palaces, for instance. It's true in this episode that the
backgrounds - and thus the special effects - play an even greater role than
they did in the other episodes. Perhaps this prominence is noticeable
because some type of CGI appears in 95% of the shots; but perhaps it is
because of some lapses in acting.
Jake Lloyd is cute, but some of his lines include the Beaver-like "Yippee!"
Plus, in many scenes he looks like he's trying to act: the absence of
contrivance is not yet perfected. Even worse, when Queen Amidala dons a
disguise, dressing as the handmaid Padme, Natalie Portman delivers the most
wooden style in the picture. She is much better as the subdued queen.
Then there is Liam Neeson as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. His bearing is
always natural and stately, and he delivers his lines with the dignity and
wisdom fitting his role. Qui-Gon is especially effective when chiding
Obi-Wan, his apprentice who is almost a full-fledged knight. I'd argue that
just as imposing a presence as Neeson is McGregor - this actor commands our
attention in much the same ways as the originator of the role, Sir Alec
Guiness; McGregor seems to have the solid demeanor of a host of British
actors - Trevor Howard, even Claude Rains. In short, if you are reading
this, Mr. Lucas, put more focus on the best actors that you probably already
have in the bag for the next two films! Ewan McGregor should be the
cornerstone of Episode Two. Finally, the baddest villain here is the
physicality of Darth Maul, played by Ray Park. His evil stare is unmatched
by the threatening visages of any other baddie in 'Menace'. The light saber
fight - a three-way between Maul, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan - is perhaps the best
small-scale combat footage in all of 'Star Wars'! (On the topic of combat,
my son complained about the paucity of space dog-fights. I personally
missed Wedge, who appeared in Episodes 4, 5 and 6.)
As for Jar Jar Binks, he is a wonder of computer animation, but does speak
in a quasi-Carribean accent that makes him annoyingly marble-mouthed. He's
an ineffectual side-kick, along as a guide as he owes a life-debt to
Qui-Gon. He provides occasional comic relief, especially in a large battle
with the Federation's droids. But, uh, Mr. Lucas, say it won't be Jar Jar
who is the only Chewy wannabe in the next flick!
Some assorted tidbits of amusement: we get to see the origin of CP30, the
droid voiced by Anthony Daniels. Typically, in his first acquaintance with
R2D2, CP30 acts flustered over his nudity (his gold "coverings" are not yet
installed). "Artoo" collects his laurels of heroism by saving the queen's
ship, and later by acting as the rear-riding sentry in a craft filched by
the precocious Anakin. A bigger bit of fun is the pod race, which has been
compared to the chariot races in 'Ben Hur' (in keeping with the Biblical
symbolism that pervades the narrative); this race is exciting and fast.
The vehicles themselves are plain cool, uncontrollably dangerous - two
jet-like engines with a cockpit suspended somehow behind them, a stream of
neon electricity coursing about. Though it is gripping and displays
Anakin's prowess as a pilot and thinker, the race does not play an important
role in the plot - unlike the speeders in the forest of 'Return of the
Jedi'.
Cartoonist Jim Borgman of the 'Cincinnati Enquirer' drew two teens emerging
from a cinema showing 'The Phantom Menace': "The movie was good, but I
liked the hype better," is what one says, which leads me to believe
overexposure can hamstring the best of entertainments. But entertainment
value is high with this episode, and I have to admire the PG rating. As
parents of a girl nearly eleven, we would have had to compromise our usual
enforcement of the ratings. Go to see 'The Phantom Menace' and do it in a
theater first; it's never the same on a home screen.
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
Jamey Hughton
A Review by Jamey Hughton
***1/2 (out of five stars)
Starring-Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor,
Natalie Portman and Jake Lloyd
Director-George Lucas
Rated G
For more MOVIE VIEWS by Jamey Hughton, visit:
http://welcome.to/movieviews
With all the hype that Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace has been
receiving, it seems almost impossible to avoid interest in seeing the
film. The movie is easily the most anticipated motion picture ever, with
a marketing campaign so strong it has brought Colonel Sanders, the Taco
Bell Chihuahua and Pizza Hut together. Can George Lucas succeed yet
again with transporting us back a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far
away....?
YES. This Star Wars prequel may be the worst of the bunch, with
amateurish dialogue and an overall lack of humanity. But that doesn’t
mean it fails to comply on the basis of solid entertainment. The Phantom
Menace features the most eye-catching, jaw-dropping visual look in
cinematic history. The tremendous action sequences will have you
clinging to your arm rest, and the special effects are nothing short of
the best (and most plentiful) to ever be caught on film.
The vast digitized worlds and sheer imagination that was applied to this
project is astounding. The Phantom Menace is a delectable feast for the
senses, even if it has some disappointing aspects.
After we’re treated to the famous prologue in the sky, with John
Williams’ thundering score, we meet Qui-Gon Jonn (Liam Neeson) and young
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), a Jedi master and his trainee “Padawan”.
They are on the ship accommodating the fleet headquarters for the evil
Trade Federation, and have been sent to settle disputes regarding the
taxation of trade routes to the planet of Naboo.
Oh, but enough about that. The prime concern for this prequel is
introducing young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) into the picture. As you
already know, this seemingly charming lad is the boy who will soon
become Darth Vader.
A spectacular Pod Race comes soon hereafter. This particular race is the
most exciting, energetic, high-octane action sequence that you’ll ever
see. One of the delights of the series is meeting the newest set of
strange alien creatures that Lucas has devised, and The Phantom Menace
is no exception. I loved Sebulba, the rat-like scoundrel whom Anakin has
to face in the Pod Race, and Boss Nass, the leader of the Gungans (who
are a neighbouring species to Naboo). One character who has been subject
to criticism is Jar-Jar Binks, a member of the Gungan race. Jar-Jar
speaks like Roger Rabbit on a hallucinogenic drug, and is there for the
sole purpose of supplying comic relief. Yes, he is initially annoying,
but I can admit to laughing over some of his harmless, goofy antics.
There is some lack of dramatic pull in this Star Wars entry, but the
presentation almost makes you forget the plot and character lapses. The
final light-saber battle, between the Jedi’s and the horrific (and
terminally underused) villain Darth Maul, is spectacular to behold.
Jabba the Hutt, Yoda, C-3PO and R2-D2 have cameo appearances.
Lucas has not forget how to captivate an audience, even if his latest
shows obvious signs of tiredness. One can only wonder what the possible
technology will present for the next two installments, Episode’s I and
II. When they arrive, you’ll know where to find me.
....................
MOVIE VIEWS by Jamey Hughton: http://welcome.to/movieviews
movie...@hotmail.com
Paul McElligott
Liam Neeson: Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman: Queen Amidala
Jake Lloyd: Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid: Senator Palpatine
Samuel L. Jackson: Mace Windu
Written and directed by George Lucas
Having seen the original Star Wars films more times than I can count
(more times than any adult cares to admit), I so wanted to love this
movie. I was mentally prepared to be swept back into a world I haven't
seen anew since I was 17. With the imagination behind the first trilogy
re-invigorated by a long rest, and equipped with technology not even
imagined in 1977, I expected an unequalled triumph of the imagination.
Okay, there were a few warning signs along the way. Two years ago, when
the first trilogy was re-released with new effects, the key scene where
Han Solo (Harrison Ford) guns down the bounty hunter Greedo was
re-edited so Greedo fired first. Not only did the new version look
ridiculous, it also emasculated a key character, softening his rough
edges. This told me that Lucas was not making creative decisions purely
on artistic merit, but that a politically correct element had crept into
his thinking.
The trailers, however, looked good, filling me with hope that Episode I
would take the Star Wars saga to new heights.
Such is not the case, however. The Phantom Menace is such a mixed bag
of small pleasures and major disappointments that it's hard to decide
whether or not I actually liked the movie. (I'll probably have to see
it four or five times to be sure).
The biggest problem with the film is the relative flatness of the
characters. The first film had clearly defined personalities that
contrasted well. They were archetypes, of course (the farm boy, the
princess in distress, the soldier of fortune and the old wizard), but
they were well-drawn archetypes inhabited by talented actors. In The
Phantom Menace, everyone seems to be of the manor born, always speaking
in high, formal language. None of the personalities stand out well from
the others. In the first film, even when the characters were speaking
more formal tones, there was still a spark of humanity and humor ("I
thought I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board").
Something else missing was a clearly defined threat to care about, such
as in the first film, when the Rebels had to destroy the Death Star to
keep themselves and their planet from being blown to tiny bits. There
is no such easily understood threat here. Part of the problem is that,
although we are told that the people of Naboo are suffering greatly at
the hands of the Trade Federation, we don't see any example of that on
screen. I'm not asking for the film to wallow in unpleasantness, but
rather just for anything that would have personalized the situation and
given it some urgency.
In a sense, the title of this film seems rather apt, since the true
villain of this peace never really materializes. The on-screen threat,
the Trade Federation viceroy and his battle 'droids seem to be a poor
substitute for Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin and Imperial Storm
Troopers. The really interesting threat, in the persons of the Sith
Lords Darth Sidious and Darth Maul, get far too little screen time.
Darth Maul is a great villain, as far as he goes, but is far too
underutilized here.
I'm not going to fault the quality of the acting too much, since the
actors were given so little to work with. Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan
Kenobi) seems especially wasted in a rule that should have had far more
spark and humor. Liam Neeson () gets a little more meat to chew on, but
even he seems a hemmed in this role. And as much as I like Samuel L.
Jackson (Mace Windu), I have to wonder how much of a long distance bill
he ran up while basically phoning in his brief appearance.
On the plus side, Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) brings sweetness and
surprising strength to her role. Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker), despite
early rumors that his performance was a problem spot for the film, is
also charming and affecting as the ordinary boy who grows up to be Darth
Vader. Ian McDiarmid is also effective as Senator Palpatine, the future
Emperor, but it is the two young stars that almost save this film's
bacon.
I have to admit that I did not mind the character of Jar Jar Binks,
Qui-Gon Jinn's reluctant comic sidekick. So much negative hype about
how annoying this character was going to be had spread like wildfire
though the Star Wars fan community that it was impossible for Jar Jar to
live down to it. My only reservation about this character is that he
was essentially the only source of humor in this film, and it was almost
all slapstick. There was none of the witty dialogue that typified the
characters of Princess Leia and Han Solo ("It was a boring conversation
anyway") in the first trilogy. That is one element this film sorely
needed.
I won't give away too much, but the ending of this film seems to depend
far too much on luck and accident, both in the ground battle and up in
space. As far as the space battle goes, it may be Anakin's abilities
with the Force manifesting themselves, but that is not made clear enough
if it is true.
>From a technical standpoint, of course, the film is faultless. Director
and writer George Lucas creates totally fantastic and believable worlds
on which we can feast our eyes. Never once did I find myself looking at
a creature or environment in this film and thinking, "That's a special
effect."
It's a shame that the story doesn't quite live up to the setting. Of
course, Titanic had the same problem, and it didn't do too badly.
Still, Lucas needs to get a better handle on dealing with characters and
the actors who play them as he goes to work on the next film. I can't
help but think that a director who hadn't been in the chair in more than
20 years could have tried a smaller, more intimate film before
attempting the most technically ambitious film of all time.
On the plus side, this film more than whets my appetite to see Episode
II, coming in 2002. The Phantom Menace sets up a number of future
sub-plots that are potentially far more interesting than anything in the
film.
I give the film a 7.5 out of 10. That's 5 out of 5 for technical merit
and 2.5 out of 5 for artistic impression
This review copyright to
Paul McElligott
http://home.earthlink.net/~plmcelligott
"Subvert the dominant paradigm"
DailyRich
>Binks, a horrible Roger Rabbit knock-off that is immediately hated by
>anyone without either a diaper or a pocket-protector
or anybody not told to hate him by reviews like this...
DailyRich
"The pee tube is out of alignment."
Eugene Novikov
http://www.ultimate-movie.com
Member: Online Film Critics Society
***1/2 out of four
Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman,
Samuel L. Jackson. Rated PG.
The event of events is upon us. People have waited twenty-two years for
the prequel to Star Wars and die-hard fans have been camping out at
theaters for months to get tickets to see it. I don't think that America
will ever actually recover from what this hurricane of a film has
caused. It is not a bit of an exaggeration to say that this is the most
highly anticipated movie in history. Anyone who tells you "It's just a
movie" is either lying or clueless.
It is clearly obvious that after the waiting and the hype actually
seeing the movie will be anticlimactic. The second coming of the Lord
could not live up to the kind of buzz (which is far too weak a word)
that Star Wars Epsode I: The Phantom Menace so effortlessly generated.
But that does not mean that the film itself is bad. In fact, it is
terrific. I strongly suspect that many of the people who were
dissappointed by it have simply surrendered to the media machine and the
inevitable backlash.
It is set some decades before the events of the original 1977 Star Wars
took place. The film focuses on the fledgling Republic of Planets and
the conflict that is raging: The Trade Federation, angry at some tax
raise that was recently put in place has invaded the small, peaceful
planet of Naboo. The Republic sent two Jedi Knights (people that can
actively communicate with what is affectionately known as "The Force"),
Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) to
negotiate. Unable to stop the tide of events that was about to occur,
the Jedi and the Queen of Naboo (Natalie Portman) escape Naboo and head
for Coruscant to try and get the Republic Senate to intervene.
On the way they get sidetracked to a planet called Tatooine, where they
meet the movie's real focal point, young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
He is an innocent slave boy, but "the force is strong with him" so Qui-
Gon is determined to take him with them to the Jedi counsel and get him
trained as a Jedi. As any self-respecting Star Wars fan should know,
Anakin will grow up to be Darth Vader and give birth to Luke Skywalker.
>From the beginning it is evident that this is not an actor's movie.
Around 70% of the characters, if not more, are computer generated in one
form or another, and though the effects are seamless, the movie lacks
soul. I think that although the computer has played an incredibly
instrumental part in moviemaking this decade, cinema should still be a
human art and The Phantom Menace nearly defies this.
This is the lightest installment in the Star Wars saga thus far, with
plenty of broad comic relief to go around, much of it courtesy of an
irritating knew character named Jar-Jar Binks. He's essentially a
computer-animated sidekick who says things like "Exqueeze Me?" and "Mesa
go now, okeday?", and although it is often amusing it is also inherently
annoying.
The visual effects are astounding (although director George Lucas often
chickens out by cutting away from them) and the movie is a thrilling
triumph. If it lacks in plot and in acting it makes up for it through
imagination and excitement. The climactic lightsaber battle (oh, come
on, as if you didn't already know), among other things, is outrageously
entertaining and defines the term "popcorn movie".
What made me surrender and give this movie ***1/2 stars was the score by
John Williams. Even though it does seem like the man scores every single
movie that comes out these days, his work here is nothing short of
brilliant. His use of opera during the climax really does add a punch
and his ingenious way of utilizing the Imperial March as a sort of
prophecy is chilling.
The Phantom Menace is probably most effective as pop nostalgia. When you
see "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away", when the familiar
music plays, when the words "Star Wars" appear on screen, you'll feel a
tingle even if you didn't see the movie when it first came out in '77.
It feels oddly exciting to be introduced to young Anakin, a boy whose
innocence, we know, will be taken away and who will soon cross over to
the dark side. It is the perfect example of dramatic irony to see the
Jedi masters aspire to get him trained in the Jedi arts; we know that it
will do more harm than good, but they do not. We not only feel more
involved in the story, but we feel like we're seeing the beginning of a
saga that we have cherished for years.
The Phantom Menace, although lacking in human aspects of the story, is a
very worthy installment in the Star Wars. It works as an action flick,
visually eye-popping and often paralyzingly exciting; it also works as
an elicitor of memories, a piece of exquisite nostalgia.
©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
A. Estey
Written and Directed by: George Lucas
Rating: **1/2 out of ****
Perhaps the only thing I find more disturbing about the fact
that I had to give such a disappointing rating to the first episode of
Star Wars, is the fact that part of me feels overly generous about it.
I mean, I'm talking about Star Wars, the film series that has
transcended the boundaries of the silver screen and infused itself as
part of our social consciousness. Everyone who is alive and actually
interacts with the rest of society knows the story of Star Wars; and
they know who all the characters are; and they know at least a handful
of quotes from the film. Even if they've never seen the movie.
So I find myself in a rather frustrated position when I have
to sit down and announce that this film simply isn't as great as it's
predecessors, because the reality is: it isn't.
The story opens as two Jedi knights: Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam
Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) set out to diffuse a
potentially hostile situation dealing with unfair taxation levied
against the small planet of Naboo by the Federation. Unfortunately,
for all those involved, the hostile situation changes from potentially
to authentically, and the Jedis have to rescue the Queen of Naboo
(Natalie Portman) before she is taken prisoner. Eventually they all
leave Naboo to find Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Also, on the surface of Naboo, the Jedis meet up with Jar Jar
Binks (Ahmed Best), an amphibious creature who thereafter becomes a
central character. Now if I were forced to point out one reason why I
had such distaste for this film, well it's Jar Jar Binks. In all
honesty, this character should have been completely written out of the
picture. His brand of intellectually deprived humour is so unbearably
annoying, that I'm still in shock that Lucas thought it was a good
idea to include him in the cast. The pain of having to watch this
character is roughly equivalent to someone screeching their
fingernails endlessly on a chalkboard hooked up to a guitar amplifier
turned up to 10. If the mindless banter provided by C3P0 even slightly
annoyed you in the previous films, prepare to be squirming in your
seat and squinting in pain as you endure the cinematic catastrophe
that is Jar Jar Binks. After enough exposure to this character, I was
lamenting the fact that the concession stand didn't sell painkillers
to help ease my Jar Jar viewing experience.
This illustrates another fundamental problem of Episode One:
the tone of the picture is far too light-hearted. Not for one minute
did I feel that any of these characters were in any real danger (with
the exception of the Jedi duel towards the end of the picture, but
I'll discuss that later). There are also no characters which challenge
what's being presented to them, they just sort of go from point A to
point B as if their lives are a scripted movie (and although there's a
pretty cool sense of irony about that, it's not a good thing). In the
previous three films, Han Solo was the character whose motivations
were, to a certain extent, guided by personal interest. He also
perfectly counterbalanced the juvenile antics of C3PO. None of that is
present in this picture.
However, it would also be a mistake to argue that there is
nothing in Episode One which deserves commendation. Of course, the
special effects are breathtaking, and the scenes which focus on the
Jedis are especially interesting. If the film had only decided to
examine more of the lives of the Jedis and brought more screen time to
the antagonist Darth Maul (Ray Park); Episode One could have easily
been the greatest entry into the series. The lightsaber fight between
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul is absolutely incredible
and managed to alleviate a lot of the boredom I felt from earlier
parts in the film.
I really wanted to love this picture. Personally speaking, I
love the Star Wars trilogy - not in the quasi-insane "I'll camp out
for eight weeks to get tickets for a movie that will be in theatres
for eight months" way, but I do think they're really great movies.
What Lucas has produced with The Phantom Menace unfortunately
resembles a two-hour cartoon rather than an epic tale of good and
evil. I hope that future Star Wars films will be an improvement over
this one.
Reviewed by: A. Estey
Copyright 1999, by A. Estey (gbv_...@hotmail.com)
Sai Tiau
by Fontaine L.
(SPOILERS. SOME YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT, SOME YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T.)
**This review is dedicated to Lori “McGregor,” who yelled “SEXY!!” whenever
Obi-Wan appeared on-screen.**
“May the force be with you.”
Imagine someone who’s never seen or heard about Star Wars before coming up to
you and asking you what “Phantom Menace” was about and what kind of movie it
was like. It would mostly likely be difficult to describe creature fighting
with atomic gumballs, a little boy who is allowed to race “pods” at hundreds of
miles per hour, and villains who are never entirely introduced without some
misgivings. But this is “The Phantom Menace,” the prequel sequel to what is
perhaps the most successful science fiction franchise in the history of the
western hemisphere. This is LucasFilms moviemaking, where they rely on
mindboggling effects, breathtaking graphics, and moviegoers’ partiality to win
the hearts.
This comes from me, X-Phile extraordinaire who has never been especially
inebriated by the Star Wars phenomenon. I am no “Star Wars groupie,” as a
friend attempted to label me a few days ago. I have no Skywalker or Han Solo
action figures. I never dressed up as Princess Leia during Halloween. I never
_wanted_ to be Princess Leia. I don’t own the trilogy. I don’t _remember_
most of the trilogy. I did not see “Phantom Menace” the first day it came out.
But nonetheless, the characters in Star Wars has become as familiar to me as
they have become to the millions of Star Wars fans out there. R2D2, C3PO,
ewoks, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Jabba the Hut. Oft-used terminology. To
sum it all up, I find it extremely difficult not to extol this movie with high
enthusiasm and let that be the end of it.
The idea that the “complete” story will be told in three sequels is enticing,
ingenious, but unfortunately, the integrity of “Phantom” was sacrificed because
of the same reason. Those of you who were under the delusion that we would
find out how little Anakin becomes evil will be disappointed. Most of the
characters were given little treatment, with the primary focus being in Anakin.
At the end of the movie, we know little about Qui Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan, or even
Queen Amidala (except that she is an extremely dedicated queen.) These are all
characters that I would’ve liked to spent more time with. Darth Maul, who
makes an interesting villain, only appeared when he was required to look
intimidating or to be the enemy of the good forces. He makes an appearance in
only two to three fantastic “duels” but is killed off too swiftly, too easily.
Goodbye, painted face. The primary villain in the movie is thus wasted. The
federation, it seems, is entirely subject to the control of the hooded
hologram, and the hologram’s purpose remains unknown (a story to be told in
Episode II, I suppose.)
Most of the action scenes are filled with typical Lucasian improbabilities.
The Naboo troops never seem to take aim when they fire, and yet they rarely
suffer even a bruise. The ultimate improbability comes when the movie pulls an
Independence Day -- oh no, we can’t disable their shields, here comes little
Anakin who can do it just be flying into the ships interior and flying
randomly, thus enabling a swift victory on ground. Of course I realize that
all of these events are essential for the movie to continue, and they weren’t
quite so annoying given the context. This is Star Wars, after all. The cheesy
dialogue is no rumor, folks; it seems great directors are incapable of writing
sensible dialogue (see Chris Carter’s monologues or James Cameron’s “Titanic.”)
Any angst I felt during the Anakin/mom parting scene dissipated with the soap
opera ish writing. In contrast, the Qui Gon Jinn death scene was more
effective because it had more matter, and less art. Again, the cheesiness
seems oddly in place in the scheme of things. Nobody goes to this movie
expecting “The English Patient.”
Most annoying character of the year goes to--yep, you guessed it- Jar-Jar. He
is comical, yes, maybe even funny (though I find most of the humor forced), if
he hadn’t been used so much and if his jokes were more aptly-placed. Portman,
McGregor and Neeson were all reasonably satisfying in their roles: Portman
successfully portrayed the different qualities of the queen all-dolled up, the
decoy queen, and the gentle “handmaiden” queen. She looked for all the world
a 14 year-old teenager forced to take on the responsibilities of a planet yet
strong enough to shoulder it. Neeson was also convincing as the wise Jedi
Knight, and his “moves” were none too shabby for a man his age; McGregor was
often reduced to saying “Yes, master,” but when the occasion called for it he
put an admirable amount of intensity into Obiwan Kenobi, foreshadowing the
future that is to come. All three were aptly cast. Jake Lloyd is extremely
adorable, but sometimes the artificiality of his acting comes through; but I
suppose that’s okay, because 12 year-olds don’t have a tremendous degree of
depth anyhow. In any case he compensates with his innocence and charm, which
is all the more poignant given the fact that Anakin turns into the monstrous
Darth Vader. Most of the other minor characters (for example, Anakin’s mother
and the captain), however, seemed lifeless.
I think most will agree that the most successful element of the film was its
graphics and effects. Lucas combined his powerful vision with state-of-the-art
technology and the best artists in the trade to produce a world more
breathtaking than even the previous Star Wars trilogy. Tattooine excites a
degree of nostalgia; and the underwater city, the Capitol, and the Naboo city
are all works of arts on their own. Each city offers its share of curious
creatures: the amphibians, the oddballs at the Tattooine marketplace, the
creatures of the Jedi Council (I especially got a kick out of Mr. Conehead).
The dress and language seem to be successful combinations of different world
cultures -- I did not have a big problem with the accents as others do. I
think it is mere coincidence that many of the creatures ended up sounding like
some ethnic groups on this planet. After all, if an actor is to emulate an
accent, he’s got to model it after something he knows. It just goes to show
the diversity that exists in the Star Wars universe. Some people also find the
CGI art to be to unrealistic, but this also wasn’t a problem with me -- this is
a fantasy, and how can you make a fantasy world look realistic? It would take
away the surreal quality of it.
While I am mindful of the flaws this film has (plot, characterization,
acting), I admit that for the most part they went unnoticed during the 2 hours
and some minutes I was in the theater (except Jar Jar -- you just *can’t* tune
him out). I was simply too much in awe that I was watching Star Wars, that I
had a chance to participate in this even like my parent’s generation had been
able to do with the first three Star Wars movies. Seeing Portman and Mcgregor
I couldn’t but see shades of young Hamill, Harrison, and Fisher. However, I am
not saying the flaws are excusable; I make no attempt to disguise the fact that
I am extremely biased when it comes to Star Wars. It’s Star Wars. Basically
it comes down to this: if you are as enchanted with the universe that Lucas
singlehandedly created as I am, you will enjoy this film; if you go in as a
casual viewer, you’d enjoy the film as well; but if you watch the movie as a
critic, you probably won’t enjoy the movie. I say let go for a while. Let the
force take over for a bit.
It’s Star Wars.
(I will say that again and again, and I am sure its meaning will not escape
anyone who is in tune with pop culture to any extent. When you see the movie
in this light, it becomes not just a movie but part of a whole, an event that
symbolizes the creation of an entire new world. A continuation (precursor?) of
the saga. A chance for two generations to connect in the collective worship of
a phenomenon. As mentioned in the beginning, this film relies heavily on the
success of its predecessors to engage the audience and to make them care for
its characters. I’d say, for me at least, that they’ve succeeded. I think
I’ve found the ideal fantasy heros for my generation.)
It’s light and magic, sound and effects, heroes and princesses, science
fiction and drama, the allegorical good and evil. And y’know? It’s funny how,
in the end, no matter what misgivings and cynicism I might have had about the
film, it all added up to one neat little ball of elation and belief.
It’s Star Wars.
“There’s something about that boy.”
Rating: A- (First viewing, 5/21/99)
*Tip I got from somebody: Stay till the end of the credits. You’ll get a
“surprise” (or more like a foreshadowing).
*The federation aliens look a lot like the “little green men” we are so
familiar with today.
*Thanks to Catherine for the “amphibians” idea, and Spero for the character
names.
Silver-Screen List Administrator and PVPHS Class of '99
http://members.aol.com/saitiau/welcome.html
donte...@aol.com
> Star Wars: The Phantom Menace has to be considered one of the best
> films of the year,
Umm....I have an idea: Go to the theatre, buy a ticket for any other movie,
and it will likely be better than TPM.
> definately better than the last two sagas.
Oh my God....
> I mean, think about this: There were REAL ACTORS in this film!!
Great actors. No direction. Friend, you know shit about film...
> Sit back and think about it: Mark Hamill has done nothing since the
> trilogy
Mark Hamil's performance in any of the SW trilogy walks circles around
anyone in TPM. As for his "doing nothing", it's called type-casting. And
for your information, Mark Hamill is in reality, a very competent actor. He
just never had a chance to express his talents outside of Luke Skywalker.
> and Carrie Fisher has disappeared off the face of the earth too.
She's no Oscar nod, but her demon is drug addiction.
> The only actor of any merit who survived was Harrison Ford, and he hadn't
> learned
> how to act by the original trilogy either.
Are you really being serious with this post?
> Liam Neeson and Ewan MacGregor were masterful in their roles and
> kept me smiling the whole way through.
Your e-mail is now officially irrelevant.
Higa23
>From: donte...@aol.com
>Date: 5/23/99 7:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <3748888B...@aol.com>
>Mark Hamil's performance in any of the SW trilogy walks circles around
>anyone in TPM
:::snip:::
LOL, sorry but that was way too funny.
soft...@geocities.com
Watching it was, for me, a little like finding an old love. It’s
fairly easy to speak intellectually about my memories, like it was to
review the original trilogy, but sitting there in a darkened theater on
opening day with the darkened lights, seeing the words “Episode 1 – The
Phantom Menace” scroll up the screen, I had that kind of inner reminder
of how much I love the “Star Wars” series.
I was on the edge of my seat through nearly the entire movie, stressing
and cheering and laughing along with the characters and the plot,
exactly the way I should.
The controversial elements, Jake Lloyd’s acting, Jar Jar Binks, etc.
all worked out for me. The things Jar Jar said that seemed so
obnoxious, didn’t seem so in context and Jake Lloyd’s performance as
the young Anakin Skywalker was quite good, I felt. The only major
complaint I’d offer is with the underwater sequence, which I didn’t
think did much to move the story along and lacked any sort of dramatic
tension. It merely felt like it was there to keep some “action” in the
film and to introduce the “There’s always a bigger fish” philosophy,
which was something of a running theme.
The level of sophistication, which is the key issue people take with
the film is a more complicated subject. Reducing a movie that hinges
on complex political plotting to a “kiddie” movie somehow doesn’t make
sense, yet it would seem equally ridiculous to try to pretend that a
movie with Jar Jar Binks and a child prodigy military pilot is some
kind of new Manchurian Candidate. It fits into a very strange gray
area that I think is part of what makes the “Star Wars” series such a
delight.
A lot of the information that comes in layers, but you have to be
paying attention. The story of Queen Amidala and Padme is woven
carefully through the story, using both Lucas’ storytelling and Natalie
Portman’s acting, developing her as an interesting, believable and well-
rounded heroine – and ultimately among the smartest characters in the
movie.
The villainous background scheming, which being the “phantom menace” is
of more importance than the foreground dueling and droid battling, is a
delight, but still feels incomplete. We’ve clearly only begun to learn
the whole story of where this goes…
But all of that is to somehow neglect the ass-whuppin’ Destroyer
Droids, the mighty fighting Gungans, which I think manage to more
effectively do what the Ewoks were meant to, the breathtaking views of
Coruscant, the dazzling effects, the highly engaging pod race scene,
the assorted fun characters and the best light saber duel ever. The
action moves quickly and intensely, but that should go without saying…
although I guess some are saying differently.
And then there’s Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi played by Liam Neeson with a
level of cool just below the level with which Alec Guinness played the
old Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is the focal character. He leads the story to
where it’s going and he is the gel that holds it together. He has a
calm that feels very real and plays well off the younger Obi-Wan and
his attempt to accomplish that state. Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan is a
brilliant step of a brash young man trying to become the Obi-Wan we saw
in the later films and a promise of what he will do with the part in
the next two films.
I think that’s the problem that haunts judging this film is that it’s
like trying to judge a long prologue to a book. It can seem at once
shallow and sophisticated and it will be impossible to judge properly
until 2005 when I can watch all six movies and see how all the pieces
fit together.
As for my movie-going experience in itself, loving something the way I
love this series can blur one’s ability to judge properly. Sometimes
they look and feel better than maybe they are, but this I can say for
sure. The Phantom Menace is more fun than The Empire Strikes Back but
not quite as fun as Star Wars. The writing is deeper and more
sophisticated than the writing for Star Wars but not so much as the
writing for The Empire Strikes Back. The sum of that equation is that
it’s definitely right in there in the middle of the best of the series,
but isn’t quite as good as either of them overall.
That’ll do for now, I guess.
When does the line form for Episode II?
Thanks for listening…
… and may the force be with you.
N.S.
--
The Bleeding Tree
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/3271/
Zuben
Saunders) wrote:
>Lucas must be counting on there being a lot of people like you.
>Unfortunately, I think you are a small minority.
>
>
We are at least two.
But, then, there are ALWAYS two, aren't there?
Phah!
Dave
soft...@geocities.com
Michael Redman
Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace
A Film Review By Michael Redman
Copyright 1999 By Michael Redman
***1/2 (Out Of ****)
"The Phantom Menace" is possibly the most anticipated film of the last 50
years. "Star Wars" has transcended cinema to become one of the world's
mythologies. Obi-Wan Kenobi may not be more popular than Jesus Christ, but
he's giving him a run for his money.
For the two people who don't know, here's the <I>Cliff Notes<I>. This film
takes place a few decades before the first <I>Star Wars<I> movie. Obi-Wan
Kenobi (now Ewan McGregor) is a young Jedi apprentice to master Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neeson). The two are dispatched to the planet Naboo which is being
blockaded by the Trade Federation. There they meet teen queen Amidala (Natalie
Portman) and amphibian Jar Jar Binks (played by a computer program).
Then they make a stop on Tatooine and encounter Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd),
a slave boy exceptionally strong in the Force and destined to become Darth
Vader. The bad guys are Sith Lords Darth Sidious and Darth Maul. There are
lots of light saber battles, weird creatures and space ships.
First of all: yes, it's great fun. The effects are magnificent, the best of
their type ever seen. A phenomenal high-tech hot rod race is guaranteed to
wake up the dead. The battle between Darth Maul and the two Jedi is the most
stunning yet. The eye candy is beyond reproach. Forget the popcorn. Forget the
cokes. Forget the restroom. Don't take your eyes off the screen.
It's strange watching the first part of a story you know the ending to. When
young Skywalker's mother tells her son to go with the Jedi and live his dream,
you can almost hear a deep voice saying "To rule the universe."
As usual, director George Lucas cobbles together pieces of various cultures to
create an eerie but familiar atmosphere. When hordes of faceless droids under
the command of the Trade Federation Viceroy with an Asian accent attack the
peace-loving orange-robed inhabitants of Naboo, it feels like an intergalactic
re-enactment of the Chinese invasion of Tibet.
But then there's the rest of the movie.
Acting has never been the strong point of the "Star Wars" films. Mark Hamill
worked well as Luke Skywalker, but if you want to judge his acting skills,
take a look at the Marsh commercials.
It's especially disappointing in "Phantom Menace" because of the caliber of
actors. Neeson is remarkably flat. Samuel Jackson in a cameo as a Jedi master
is horrendous. Darth Maul seems to exist primarily to sell action figures.
There is an odd emotional distance to the movie. It's telling that the only
character who shows much humanity is the computer-generated alien Jar Jar.
There's no one the audience can identify with. The Jedi are too squeaky clean;
the villains, too dastardly and the kid, too damned cute. Where's Han Solo
when you need him?
There are flaws with the story. The Force is a mystical energy. Attempting to
explain it away with scientific babble is a bone-headed mistake. Too many
things happen by happy accident. The attack droids fall over at the slightest
provocation and are terrible shots. You know how the battles are going to turn
out: the good guys win.
Or do they? The major problem with the plot is that a very important element
isn't clear. Exactly who or what is the "phantom menace" is guesswork. The
relationship between the future Emperor and another character is key to
understanding what is going on and that relationship is only hinted at.
Revealed in the "Star Wars" novels, but not in the film, this knowledge
completely changes what the film is about.
Having said all of that, I'm going to make a confession and the first few
words of the next paragraph will forever brand me as an unrepentant fanboy.
Watching the film the second time a few days later, all of my problems with it
melted away. Jar Jar became enjoyable rather than annoying. Having figured out
the relationship mentioned above, the movie was much more intricate.
Expectations gone, I could settle back and have a great time.
Despite numerous flaws, it's still "Star Wars" and I was a kid again. That's
good enough for me.
(Darth Redman has written this column since before the first "Star Wars". He
considering starting to re-live his own prequel.)
[This appeared in the 5/27/99 "Bloomington Independent", Bloomington, Indiana.
Michael Redman can be contacted at Red...@indepen.com.]
--
mailto:red...@indepen.com
This week's film review: http://www.indepen.com/
Film reviews archive: http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman
Y2K articles: http://www.indepen.com/
George Wu
Reviewed by George Wu
**1/2 (out of 4)
Like it affected others of my 20-something generation, Star Wars left its
indelible impression upon me. It defined the ultimate goal of escapist
cinema for the worse, though that was not George Lucas' intention. Star
Wars came amidst attempts by other directors to make the Great American
Film -- from Nashville to The Deer Hunter, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
to Network. But it was Lucas who succeeded, at least in the minds of the
American public. And he did it with an (apparently) apolitical fantasy.
Today, (attempted) apolitical fantasies are practically all Hollywood
produces. Because this is the context that Star Wars: Episode I - The
Phantom Menace arrives in, it is only special because it has been 16 years
since the last Star Wars film.
Whatever one thinks of the original Star Wars, it did not lack what The
Phantom Menace suffers from -- a strong sense of vision. Despite Star
Wars' comic book-like origins, Lucas refused to play it for camp and for
the most part, that worked. The lack of self-consciousness about the
material helped make Star Wars feel new even though its story was not.
Lucas loses that focus in Menace, which is entirely too cute and
self-aware. R2-D2, C-3P0, even Jabba the Hutt are not here because of the
demands of the story, but because they serve a sentimental purpose. The
result is to make the Star Wars universe entirely too incestuous. It was
bad enough that Lucas made Luke and Leia siblings in Return of the Jedi.
Now we learn that Luke's father, Anakin, created Luke's later happenstance
companion C-3P0 and that Anakin was also assisted by R2-D2 in his own
fateful space battle. This is just too capricious. Seemingly taking part
in every major event in galactic history, R2-D2 must be the Forrest Gump of
the Star Wars universe.
Lucas' lack of focus leads to a very uneven motion picture. The story
begins with two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan
Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), attempting to reconcile a (unspecified) conflict
between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo. After a failed
assassination attempt against them by the Federation, the Jedi stowaway on
ships bent on invading the planet. There they encounter the Gungans,
amphibious creatures who inhabit an underwater city. The sole purpose of
this meeting is to set up the Gungans for later in the plot, and as such
this otherwise seemingly pointless encounter feels incredibly awkward.
However, the worst thing to come out of this is that the Jedi get a Gungan
companion named Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar's sole purpose is to act as comic
relief, but not only is he not funny, his perpetual jabbering is endlessly
annoying. Jar Jar's reputation as the first fully-digitized character in a
live-action film falls into the same category as The Jazz Singer's being
the first talkie -- unmeritorious.
Too much of the time, Menace feels like its only going through the motions.
Qui-Gon seems to take for granted that he can take Anakin (Jake Lloyd)
from his mother (Pernilla August) and neither will object. When the time
comes to do so, Anakin and his mother display only mild hesitation. This
would have worked perhaps if the film had stressed their lives as slaves so
that Anakin's mother would obviously want him to escape to a better life.
As it is, the mother has some vague notion that Anakin is special, so why
not put him in the hands of this Jedi she hardly knows? The whole scenario
in which Qui-Gon gets Anakin under his wing is convoluted and could have
been greatly simplified. The Menace script needed two more drafts.
Despite the obfuscated plot, the film feels very rushed. Establishing
shots go by quickly, often wasting the effort that went into creating some
stunning digital landscapes. The climax mirrors that of Return of the
Jedi, intercutting among a lightsaber duel, a ground war, and a space
battle, but the pacing is too frenetic. Although sporting supposedly
superior special effects, these sequences are less involving than those in
Jedi. This is particularly surprising with the space fight. This sequence
suffers from the film not establishing how to accomplish the goal. When it
is finally achieved (and who doubts that it would be), it happens
completely by accident.
In terms of action, the highlight of Menace is the lightsaber duel in which
Darth Maul takes on Qin-Gon and Obi-Wan. The choreography, taking note of
Hong Kong cinema's recent influence in Hollywood, far surpasses that in the
three previous Star Wars films. On the other hand, there seems to be far
less at stake. Taking the conflict for granted, Lucas does not even have
the antagonists speak to one another, thus lessening the emotional
involvement over why they are fighting. In only a couple of instances
during the duel do we even get a sense of momentum shifts. The beauty of
the choreography takes precedence over who wins or loses.
None of the actors ever really get to let loose. They all feel too
uptight. One of the problems is that they do not have an internal
conflict, only an outside goal. In the original Star Wars, Luke yearned
for more in his life but was also plagued by the self-doubt festered upon
him by his uncle. Han Solo had to decide what was more important to him,
money or risking his life to help others. The only internal conflict in
Menace is Qui-Gon deciding whether to break the Jedi council's prohibition
to train Anakin and this situation only arises halfway through the movie.
Everyone else's main goal is to save Naboo. Characters who have no inner
life are not very interesting.
Instead the focus should have been put on Anakin. Menace hints at his
desire to free the slaves on Tatooine, but this is only spoken, not shown.
Yoda cites Anakin's fear, but this too is enormously abstract.
Unfortunately, Jake Lloyd would not have been up to the task to carry the
film anyway. Like most American child actors, he overacts or is too
self-conscious (which I blame on the watching of too much television
acting). Compare Lloyd's performance to that of the children in the
British Hope and Glory or the Swedish My Life as a Dog, and we see how much
is wanting. Lucas does not help him by putting all sorts of 1990s
colloquial expressions in his mouth, which will date the film quickly. (In
general, the film is filled with bad dialogue.)
Anakin's relationship with the Naboo Queen, Amidala (Natalie Portman), also
feels forced (no pun intended). While we know the two will eventually
become Luke and Leia's father and mother, the strains of their caring for
each other rings false when these two barely know each other. No chord is
struck between them. Perhaps had Lucas given them the playful antagonism
between Han Solo and Leia, this could have worked. As it is, their
relationship is sterile.
All this said, the appeal in The Phantom Menace is simply that it gives us
the first chance in 16 years to return to the Star Wars universe. In terms
of fulfilling this nostalgia, from the opening fanfare to the lightsaber
duel, Menace succeeds. Menace is also more of a stand alone story, a
prelude to the "epic" events to come, like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Luckily, Lucas can use Menace as a testing ground and learn from his
mistakes for the next two installments, which will be desired all the more
for the lackings in this one.
http://pages.prodigy.net/zvelf/index.htm
Roger Gerbig
Dir: George Lucas
The Thumbs For Sale! review by Roger Gerbig
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Believe it or not, these Thumbs! hitchhiked all the way from the sunny
Central Coast of California to Columbia, Tennessee (business trip)
to catch an opening night show of "Star Wars: Episode I - The
Phantom Menace." Sometimes you do what you have to do. After all, this
self-styled movie critic and his army of droids--er--interns is but
one of the legion of complete and total "Star Wars" fans who when all
else seems boring and mundane, turn to tracking small disturbances in
the Force like some turn to bickering about tiny variations in a day's
weather.
That's what I call an active lifestyle.
Fortunately though, I never let this obsession get the best of me.
I've remained cool, collected and placidly normal over the
years--never even once showing up to a job interview brandishing my
lightsaber.
In the sixteen odd years since the last installment, some things in
the "Star Wars" universe have changed, while others haven't. "Phantom
Menace" opens up roughly 30 years (or about the time it would take
George Lucas to crank out 5.45 "Star Wars" movies) before the original
trilogy. The tiny planet, Naboo--featuring what may be the first
viable ecosystem of any planet visited in the Lucas universe--is under
siege by the Trade Federation, which appears to be quite a sinister
Political Action Committee replete with deep pockets, an army of
droids, and leaders who have no noses. And judging by their near
complete inability to lip sync to their dialogue, the Viceroy and his
sidekick may just have been borrowed from the Japanese touring company
of "Star Wars on Ice."
Being that this is sort of a dicey situation, the Republic wastes no
time sending in a couple of Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Neeson) and
Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor), to negotiate a settlement of sorts. Of
course, things go a bit wrong and soon those lightsabers are pressed
into action. Then things get worse when the Trade Federation decides
to stray from the peaceful pasture of planetary orbit and stage a
full-blown invasion of Naboo.
All of which illustrates the first major problem I had with this
flick. You see, the Jedi are basically a couple MBAs (that's Mythical
Bad Asses in Thumbs! speak). Every line they utter (when not rehashing
"classics" from the first trilogy) drips with self-importance and
excessive knowledge of the way things are. And Lucas makes it
abundantly apparent that when it's a lightsaber vs. a legion, the
lightsaber reigns supreme. Sure, in the first 45 minutes alone they're
chased by battle droids, forced to stow away on enemy ships, nearly
stomped on by the Federation's war machine, hunted mercilessly by the
really big fish in the pond, and finally driven to flee to the far
corners of the galaxy. But there's never really any sense of danger
during any of this turmoil. They're just a couple of Jedi, caught in
an amazing universe of special effects.
The furious pace of plot and planet hopping are nearly guaranteed to
make you feel like you've embarked on an extended bus tour of the
universe. Sure, it's great to see the sights, but Lucas the driver
leaves you wondering if you'll ever get a chance to make a pit stop.
In fact, it's debatable whether or not this tour guide would ever stop
long enough at a roadside stand for you to buy some trinkets for the
folks back home.
The rather thin plot labors under being a setup piece for parts II and
III of this trilogy, and suffers from some ill-begotten cloning of
certain characteristics of "Return of the Jedi." When all the films
are completed, I can assure you that this one will be the least able
to stand on its own.
As our heroes rocket across the galaxy collecting cast members and
bumper stickers (Tattooine is for Lovers!), it suddenly occurred to me
how deficient the characters were--at least in comparison to those in
the first series. It's not bad acting, it's just the purely functional
nature of the dialogue. Apparently, as a species, humans aren't all
that funny (Han Solo being a notable exception). Just forget your
dream of having a career in stand-up comedy in the ring of clubs
dotting the edge of the Republic. Unless you've got floppy ears, fur,
or skin tones that lean toward the blue end of the spectrum, that is.
Which leads us to the requisite Jar Jar Binks paragraph. Every other
critic has one, so why can't I? For those of you doing time in Jabba's
dungeons, Mr. Binks is the klutzy amphibious alien dude entrusted with
96% of the humor present in the script. Already the most controversial
character in the "Star Wars" universe, I'll limit my critique to one
point: Upon occasion, someone really needs to come between Lucas and
his marketing "yes" men and casually mention that, "um...this ain't
necessarily funny."
Now, if we could just schedule him and a squad of Ewoks to engage in a
little Ultimate Fighting between themselves... There's a pay-per-view
event even I'd pay for.
While it's obvious that I have a few complaints, I will say your
entertainment dollar isn't wasted. Not only are the visuals
spectacular, but Lucasfilm had enough common sense to keep some of the
better ones out of the previews. And, if you missed subtlety the first
time around, as I did, rest assured. A second viewing does wonders for
the actors' performances. Portman's regal Queen Amidala makes a
plausible case against business casual dress in the workplace, and
Darth Maul's actually pretty evil despite his vaguely devilish good
looks and M.C. Hammer-inspired getup. Subtlety also befriends the
finer points of production design. These are fabulously-realized
worlds we're visiting here, though I still wish I could open the bus's
window!
Unfortunately, I'm completely incapable of lowering my expectations of
an event such as this, which didn't serve me well. "Phantom Menace"
just isn't a good enough movie to shatter said expectations. But it is
an event. It is entertaining. And it's got enough of those classic
holes in the plot (why wasn't Obi-Wan able to sense a certain dark
presence when he was standing less than five feet away?) to merit much
frivolous discussion over the next few years until the next
installment arrives.
And here's one perhaps all of you can help me out with: since main
Jedi characters tend to have hyphenated first names like "Obi-Wan" and
"Qui-Gon", why wasn't that other famous Jedi named something like
"Luke-Warm Skywalker?"
At any rate, a good show!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the Thumbs! online at www.thumbsforsale.com
©1999 Roger Gerbig
Serdar Yegulalp
* * 1/2
A movie review by Serdar Yegulalp
Copyright 1999 by Serdar Yegulalp
Let me start by stating the obvious. "Star Wars, Episode 1: The
Phantom Menace" is wonderful to look at. Every scene is littered with
activity: ships flitting across the horizon, people and creatures
scurrying from hither to thither. One of the major characters, the
splendidly-goofy-bordering-on-annoying Jar Jar Binks, is entirely a
creation of computer graphics, and we're never less than convinced that
he's there in front of us at all times. This is one of the hallmarks
of the "Star Wars" universe: things that would be the centerpiece of
another movie will simply insert themselves casually into the frame.
The movie is exploding with sights and sounds.
And that's the problem. Here is a film that was created with the most
magnificent of panoramas, and one of the most flimsy of screenplays.
It's full, but not fulfilling. It does everything... except tell a
story that engages us emotionally. Friends of mine have said that the
movie improves on repeat viewings -- but shouldn't a movie like this
just work the first time around, period?
Twenty years, it seems, have made all the difference, in both us and
George Lucas. "Star Wars" exploded out of nowhere and changed the
level of expectations for moviegoers everywhere, permanently. "The
Phantom Menace" is evolutionary, not revolutionary, and for that reason
is not as remarkable a movie. But it's also hampered by a muddled, one-
dimensional drama and a gallery of characters who engage everything
except our sympathies. "Star Wars" was about adventure; this movie is
about people talking at each other and occasionally fighting. No one is
REALLY put to the test. The movie is worse than soulless -- it is
gutless.
In the abstract, there's plenty of story to work with: a brutal
blockade of a planet that could turn into a full-out war; light-saber
duels; closed-chamber politicking; a forbidden attraction between a
queen and a young slave; a father-and-son apprenticeship; a deadly and
mysterious assassin with vicious weapons. But somehow, Lucas and his
team of compatriots haven't spun these elements together in a
compelling fashion. The film drags. There are far too many scenes of
people explaining everything to each other, again and again; there are
endless moments where we HEAR about what's going on instead of SEEING
it, or its consequences. For a "kid's movie", as Lucas has billed it,
it's distressingly complex, static and talky. There is no one person
we are carried through the whole of the story with -- and no suspense.
Nothing ever really seems to be at stake; it all just seems to be a
rather large inconvenience.
Some examples. Part of the movie's major lack of empathy is found with
Natalie Portman's character, Queen Padme. Her planet is being blockaded
by the Trade Federation, and she has to go undercover (in a sense) to
save her planet. Lucas goes to great effort to present her to us as a
queen, but all of her sympathy for her people is verbal, not tangible.
We admire her, but we don't care about her. (PLOT SPOILER!) There's
some tedious bait-and-switchery with one of her handmaidens that's less
fun than it should be -- probably because we're not privy to it until
it's too late to delight in the subversion.
Then there are our two Jedi, who feel obligatory without feeling
neccesary. Ewan McGregor is excellent as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi; he
inhabits the part with great grace and unforced style. He is fun to
watch. Liam Neeson, as Qui-Gon Jinn, however, seems vaguely bored and
dissatisfied with the whole thing; his expression always seems to be
saying, "As soon as I can get out of here and have me a Guinness..."
I also mentioned Jar-Jar Binks, who is so convincing as a digital
creation that it only makes him all the more insufferable. He is a
comic relief whose lifespan was extended far beyond any reasonable
amount. And then there is Jake Lloyd, as the young Anakin Skywalker. He
is possibly one of the few totally unproblematic things in the movie --
he is simply nine years old, nothing more than that, and we accept that
on face value. The problem is the movie often exploits that for
developments that aren't even internally consistent -- such as when he
strikes a blow for the heroes by accident... again and again.
Another problem is that watching all these characters deal with each
other is a chore. Lucas has written his own script, and the dialogue is
cheesy without ever being enjoyably so. It doesn't have the fun and
frolic of a high-camp adventure. Instead, it's just pained and forced.
There's none of that kidding by-play we all loved. When Leia
said, "Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?" we all
laughed. Nothing is that spontaneous and unforced here.
The high points, of course, are when the movie's set-pieces kick in.
Here is the only time "The Phantom Menace" actually feels like a "Star
Wars" movie. The action centerpiece of the movie is a high-tech race
sequence that borrows freely from "Ben Hur", "Bullitt", and even the
speeder chase from "Return of the Jedi"; apparently Lucas's creative
exhaustion has extended to the point of autocannibalization. Yes, the
chase is exhilarating and excellently done -- but because it's not
hooked into anything we really care about, it's disposable. It's just
another random something to look at.
My criticism of "The Phantom Menace" is not with its surfaces, but with
its core. The original "Star Wars" movies possessed a kind of cultural
telepathy, a power to tap directly into a silent sense of wonder and
possibilities. Yes, it WAS possible for a farm boy from Tatooine to
become a Jedi knight (and have Darth Vader for a father), and for a
band of rebels to strike a blow for freedom against the all-powerful
Empire. Goofy and hokey as it was, we bought it.
The new trilogy, judging from its opening chapter, is full of images,
but somehow none of the wonder and the narrative gravity. In place of
wonder, we have comings and goings, explanations and justifications,
and never a quiet moment when we are allowed to have it all sink in. In
place of narrative, we have picaresqueness without impact. We go a lot
of places, but we never really get out of the bus.
Roger Ebert reported in his own review of the movie: "We are standing
at the threshold of a new age of epic cinema, I think, in which digital
techniques mean that budgets will no longer limit the scope of scenes;
filmmakers will be able to show us just about anything they can
imagine." True. But digital filmmaking technology is like the movie
camera itself. Point it at something and all of its attributes are
magnified, good and bad. "The Phantom Menace"'s visual splendor
explodes tenfold when given a CGI treatment, but so does the thinness
of its underlying story.
Epic movies like "Lawrence of Arabia" were full of intriguing people
and conflicts; "The Phantom Menace" is little more than a glossy tour
booklet, all setup and no payoff. Presumably, that's by design, but
the original "Star Wars" movies also worked magnificently as
standalones. I re-watched them before seeing "The Phantom Menace" and
felt like I was revisiting old friends at a party. "The Phantom Menace"
plays more like a noisy Shriner's convention where nobody really wants
to talk to anyone else.
One more thing. There is a single moment in the original "Star Wars"
where Luke Skywalker stands outside his house and watches a dual
sunset. The suns bathe Luke's face in red; the music swells; we feel
his need to escape. It's an elementally simple moment, unadorned and
moving, and it works. "The Phantom Menace", too perpetually busy to be
really interesting, never lets itself have a moment like that.
VioletRex
I'm sorry to say, but I thought The Phantom Menace was worse than even Return
Of The Jedi. It was almost a parody of Star Wars.
I am now convinced that young Anakin Skywalker will surely grow up to be the
menacing Dark Helmet.
Rating: D
Todd
Milo D. Cooper
>
> STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)
>
> Reviewed by George Wu
>
*Damn*, that was a great review. Especially fine was the bit
about the lack of personal goals unrelated to saving the Queen
for the characters. Nice work, Mr. Wu.
--
____________________________________________________
| Milo D. Cooper http://www.milos-chalkboard.net/ |
| EverQuest character modeler |
| http://www.station.sony.com/everquest/ |
| |
| Stanley Kubrick (1928 - 1999) |
| Rest In Peace |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Milo D. Cooper
>
> Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999)
> Then there are our two Jedi, who feel obligatory without feeling
> neccesary. Ewan McGregor is excellent as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi; he
> inhabits the part with great grace and unforced style. He is fun to
> watch. Liam Neeson, as Qui-Gon Jinn, however, seems vaguely bored and
> dissatisfied with the whole thing; his expression always seems to be
> saying, "As soon as I can get out of here and have me a Guinness..."
Someone else noticed this, I see. Neeson just oozed "I'm tired
of this crap" through the entire movie. It was written all over his
face, and one can sense more of the same while watching his televised
interviews. What was it that Harrison Ford said about Lucas'
scripting skills? "You can type this sh*t, George, but you sure
can't say it."
--
____________________________________________________
| Milo D. Cooper http://www.milos-chalkboard.net/ |
| |
David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1999 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
It was an overcast, muggy Tuesday afternoon, the day before the
eagerly-awaited "Star Wars" prequel was slated to blast into theaters. I
walked up to the bored-looking ticket seller at my local multiplex
(twenty-four screens to be precise) and asked "So what's the deal with
"Star Wars" tickets?" Anticipating a long, drawn-out answer about nothing
being available until the 27th and having to wait "over there," the
lethargic teenager simply asked me what show I wanted to see. "When's the
first one?" I asked. "10am." "And you still have tickets?" "Yes." "Then
I'll take one for the ten o'clock show please."
Hmm... No hoopla. No lines. I didn't even have to camp out!
At 9:30am the next morning the parking lot was already pretty full,
and you can bet people weren't there for the new Jet Li movie. The ticket
taker told me to hang onto my stub at all times, and to sit as close to the
middle as possible, as the show was sold out. For a sold-out show there
were a lot of empty seats, but by that point all I could think about was my
hankering for some gummi sourpatch nightcrawlers.
If you go to see "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," as
it's correctly called (and I suspect you will), I recommend you get there
early. Not just in case your particular show happens to be sold out too,
but to listen to "Star Wars" junkies complaining about this, that, and the
other. My favorite comment came halfway through the film when some
numskull whispered reverentially "Shmi Skywalker's the Virgin Mary!"
I saw the original "Star Wars" back in 1977 when it first came out.
A lot of hoopla surrounded it at the time and for the most part it was
deserving. The special effects were light-years ahead of their time and
the story was a classic case of good vs. evil, beautifully realized, and
inspired by Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress."
That blast from the brass section as the "Star Wars" insignia
appears from out of nowhere and slowly pushes its way into the starry
screen still gives me goosebumps.
A little context for you. Although I can't tell a bantha from a
Grand Moff Tarkin, I do believe that Harrison Ford can't act his way out of
a brown paper bag. I believe that Mark Hamill didn't even try. I believe
that Carrie Fisher is a better novelist than she is an actor, I believe
that Chewbacca was the series' best character and they should have brought
him back for "Episode I," and I believe that the Ewoks were a big mistake
(their TV series spin-off an even bigger one). I believe in the twin moons
of Tatooine, the golden orbs of Unrath, the curve of Natalie Portman's
back, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three
days...
But getting back to "The Phantom Menace." What did I think of it?
It's okay.
We've been so deluged by special effects-laden movies in the 1990s
that we take a lot of today's technical wizardry for granted. The new
"Star Wars" film is purported to contain some 2,000 "effects shots"
(compared to the 800 or so in "Titanic"), the most in any one movie, but
all that stuff seems like overkill at times. We miss what we're supposed
to be looking at because there's just too much of it. "Star Wars" did
exponential things with technology. Relatively speaking, "The Phantom
Menace" would have required special footwear, probably, to have had the
same impact.
Nevertheless there are some glorious paintings, models, and
backdrops in the film. These cities and civilizations really come alive.
The craftsmanship is top-notch, state-of-the-art, exquisite. The costumes,
not to mention Natalie Portman's hairdos (she plays Queen Amidala of Naboo)
are breathtaking. That's right, breathtaking hairdos. The Jedi commission
is made up of a bunch of funny-looking characters ... and Samuel L.
Jackson! Terence Stamp is barely in the film. The baddie, Darth Maul, is
appropriately named because he looks like some WWF spokesperson in a monk's
habit. He's pretty cool.
On the other hand, the Federation's computer-animated droids can't
hold a light saber to those imperial storm troopers. Ewan McGregor (as
Obi-Wan Kenobi) is as stiff as a post and I hate to say it but the film
actually gets a bit boring at times. The need to explain connections to
the original trilogy results in a lot of talky sequences and deja-vu, some
of it welcome and some of it not. Jar Jar Binks, a walking, wisecracking
Rasta duck-billed platypus whose catchphrase is "How rude!" provides much
of the comic interest but after a while he tends to blend in with the rest
of the lop-eared platypi.
One of the film's big set pieces is a "pod race" featuring the
young, fatherless Anakin (Jake Lloyd), an homage to "Ben Hur"'s famous
chariot race. The point of all this spectacle is so that Jedi master
Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) can win a bet to pay a winged muppet called
Watto for spare parts to fix a crippled spaceship. I know Jedi knights
must have some code of ethics but couldn't they have found an easier
solution to their problem (like, maybe, steal the hardware, or at least
borrow it?). Similarly, part of the deal is to have the enslaved future
Chosen One freed but unfortunately our heroes are forced to leave the boy's
mother behind. "I tried to win her freedom but Watto wasn't having any of
it," says Neeson's character, or words to that effect. Sounds rather
pathetic from a Jedi, doesn't it? "I wanted to kill Darth Vader, but when
I got to the Death Star, he wasn't home." Puleez.
The dialogue and plot elements aren't the reason to see the film,
of course. You expect the general good-guys-have-to-stop-the-bad-guys
scenario (here, taxation plays a key role). It's all those brave new
worlds, intergalactic shoot-'em-ups, strange reptilian and mechanical
creatures, and characters with funny names you can either cheer or hiss,
that matters.
And "The Phantom Menace" has got 'em by the score. It's a frenetic
visual feast indeed; there's nothing quite like it in the galaxy. Let's
just hope that Episodes II and III spend a little more time on character
development, that's all.
Written and directed by George Lucas.
--
David N. Butterworth
d...@dca.net
Mikel J. Koven
(Newfoundland Canada). The copyright is held by both the author and
Robinson-Blackmore Publishers.
http://www.rb.nf.ca/express/expcol5.htm
Star Wars: impressive, but offensive
By Mikel J. Koven
'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.' Those words still echo
through my memory, when 22 years ago, an excited nine-year-old saw Star
Wars for the first time.
It changed all of our expectations about what could be shown in a science
fiction movie. Over two decades later, and 16 years after the last
installment of the series, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace may
very well be the most anticipated film in cinema history. Unfortunately,
although noteworthy for the unprecedented hype, special effects, and
anticipated box office, it will not be remembered as the kind of classic
Star Wars was.
Set a generation before Luke, Leah, and Han battled the dark side of the
Force, Episode I presents us with Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman - a
democratic monarch?) who is placed in the unenviable position of watching
as the evil Trade Federation invade her planet of Naboo. Jedi master
Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his young apprentice, Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor) are sent to negotiate a peace settlement with the Federation.
While moving the Naboo queen and her court to safety, their ship crashes on
Tatooine (remember, that's where Luke came from), and there they meet a
10-year-old wunderkind named Anakin Skywalker, who just may be the
prophesized one who will bring 'balance to the Force'.
The press notes identify five separate storylines in Phantom Menace, and
that is probably the first indicator this movie has gone seriously wrong.
George Lucas, the mastermind behind the entire Star Wars legacy, has
returned for the first time to the writer/director's chair since his 1977
epic, and in the interim it looks like he forgot how to tell a story. Ever
notice how little kids tell the plot of their favorite movies?
"So the Queen goes and does this. And then the Jedi guy goes and does this.
And then they get together. And then the ship crashes. And then ... yadda,
yadda, yadda."
That is how Lucas wrote Phantom Menace; it does not feel like a script as
much as an outline for a script. There is no character development, or
emotional engagement with any of the characters. Lucas writes like a
five-year-old with Attention Deficit Disorder. Any single plot line in the
movie would have been sufficient to develop a film around. With five
separate storylines, nothing gets beyond the level of a blueprint.
We identified with Luke Skywalker, because he was 'us', the every man,
trapped on a desolate rock with dreams of something better. His adventure
was our adventure, and why we go and see movies like this is to vicariously
experience that which we never will. There is no one to identify with in
The Phantom Menace. Therefore there is no one to care about.
Because of this, Phantom Menace feels very cold. For all of its positive
messages about heroism and spirituality, it is profoundly misanthropic; an
anti-human picture. So misanthropic, in fact, that Lucas, disappointed with
Natalie Portman's voice, altered it with a synthesizer. Yes, the special
effects are fabulous, but they should support the human cast, not the other
way around.
Even more disturbing is the blatant racism of the movie. To dismiss the
characters as just fantasy figures is not a valid argument. Lucas, to his
credit, develops definite cultures for his alien races, but unfortunately,
he chooses Earth stereotypes as his models. And even though these creatures
are computer generated fictions, they still resonate with Earthling
cultural stereotypes.
The invading Trade Federation are clearly modeled on the Japanese. And at
the beginning of the movie, when we first see Queen Amidala, I was struck
by how Chinese the costumes and sets were. I thought this might be an
interesting exploration of Japan's imperial take-over of Asia in the 1930s.
Nope, just racist stereotypes.
Then we meet comic relief Jar Jar (computer generated, but voiced by Ahmed
Best), and he takes us to his 'under the sea' colony on Naboo. Since an
African-American actor is the voice of the character, it is reasonable to
expect that the character will take on some of those cultural and ethnic
attributes. But in the 'sub continent' (get it?) of Jar Jar's people, the
African stereotypes flourish, even with an Idi Amin type leader. And making
Jar Jar lazy, shiftless, incompetent, stupid, and a functional 'Uncle Tom'
figure to the rest of the clean, intelligent, white characters really made
me cringe.
Finally we get to the slave owner who owns Anakin and his mother, and has
them working in his shop. With his clearly hooked nose, stubbly beard, and
his unscrupulous business practices, not to mention his 'Mediterranean'
accent, I couldn't figure out whether he was supposed to be Jewish, Arab,
or even Italian, but then I'm not so sure Lucas makes a distinction between
those groups either.
Having your invaders modeled on the Japanese, your comic relief based on
African-Americans, and your shifty business men Semitic are too specific
cultural references, and presented too stereotypically. So on the one hand,
I was horrendously offended by the blatant racism of this movie.
But on the other hand, the special effects are impressive. Unfortunately,
too much of the spectacle has already been given away in TV ads and 'behind
the scenes' footage on Entertainment Tonight. The big adventure moment, the
fight scene between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon and Obi Wan, has been ruined by
advanced promotions: we know that Darth Maul uses a two-ended lightsaber,
so it's no surprise when he lights up the other end, punctuated with a
musical 'ta-da'. It was months after the initial release of Star Wars that
we got the 'making of' specials, which demonstrated how those amazing
effects were done. Now we've been so inundated with information about the
movie before hand, it all feels anti-climatic.
This is not to say the movie isn't a fun two-hour time waster. It is. And
Ewan McGregor does a great impersonation of Alec Guinness. Science fiction
fans in general, and Star Wars fans in particular, are an undiscriminating
lot. They'll see Episode I - The Phantom Menace a dozen times, buy as much
merchandise as their student loans will allow, and sell out movie houses
for months. I know I'll be among them. But when even the fan reviews are
luke warm there is something wrong.
Rating (out of 4): ** 1/2
DRutsala
emotional engagement with any of the characters. Lucas writes like a
five-year-old with Attention Deficit Disorder.>>
The was a time when people wrote film criticism. Now it's all "reviews." The
most depressing thing about this fact is the almost complete lack any true
analysis of a film. If a reviewer doesn't like a film, he/she immediately
assumes the filmmaker must have made a mistake.
I think its must more interesting to discuss the decision Lucas made, and why
he might have made them.
Rich Handley
Rich Handley
I loved it -- it was as good as you say. However....
Brian Adelstein <bad...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu> wrote:
> I would like to personally start off by mentioning that I am NOT a
>die hard Star Wars fan and have never been one.
With all due respect, this shows, since there are several inaccurate
statements made in your review.
>The whole Hoth scene was simply filler.
Filler?? It was extremely important to the plot -- it showed how
desparate the Empire had become to crush the Rebellion, and how far
back the Rebellion had been pushed. It also provided real tension
when Vader came very close to snagging them all.
>for Return of the Jedi, I think my enjoyment quickly ended when Teddy
>Ruxpin and his buddies started slugging the empire. I mean, come on! I
>was laughing my way through the whole thing.
There was a Vietnam parallel going on that was below the surface.
>The TRUTH
Well, your opinion, in any case.
>Mark Hamill has done nothing since the trilogy
Not true at all -- he's become a huge name in the voice-over acting
community. He's extremely successful at what he does.
>Carrie Fisher has disappeared off the face of the earth too.
Not even slightly -- she's one of the most sought-after script doctors
in Hollywood and is an award-winning novelist to boot. She has also
done many film roles in the past several years as a character actor.
>Just in case you didn't catch it, (and
>LOTS of you didn't, unfortunately)
Actually.... this is pretty common knowledge. I don't know anyone on
the newsgroup who isn't well aware of this.
>"Master" Darth Sidious IS the Emperor
>from the first Trilogy and Senator Palpatine is one and the same.
>That is the whole concept of the Phantom Menace:
Old news, my friend. In fact, it's been known since months before the
movie even opened. They're played by the same actor, which has also
known for a long time.
Sincerely,
Rich Handley (Card...@NO-SPAMunix.asb.com)
Rich Handley
[SNIP]
>The Phantom Menace is no Star Wars film.
[SNIP]
I don't think I could disagree more. This was a perfect follow-up to
the original trilogy, in my opinion, and I just don't see the cause
for all the flack it's taking.
Sincerely,
Rich Handley (Card...@NO-SPAMunix.asb.com)
Tyrannorabbit
CardSaf...@unix.asb.com (Rich Handley) wrote:
>
> I don't think I could disagree more. This was a perfect follow-up to
> the original trilogy, in my opinion, and I just don't see the cause
> for all the flack it's taking.
No shit, Rich. I'm strainin' my brain here, and I'm having
trouble thinking of how a movie could be cut from a more similar
cloth. For better or for worse, the most serious, *fair* criticism
that can be levied against this movie is that it's more of the same,
and even that can be taken apart with ease.
--
-Brian J. Wright
Web page, new and updated, with over 300 reviews:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Theater/4409/
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Zuben
>The was a time when people wrote film criticism. Now it's all "reviews." The
>most depressing thing about this fact is the almost complete lack any true
>analysis of a film. If a reviewer doesn't like a film, he/she immediately
>assumes the filmmaker must have made a mistake.
>
The[re] was a time when people engaged in intelligent critical debate.
Now it's all strawmen and insults. the most depressing thing about
this fact is the almost complete lack of any true analysis of an
argument. if a party doesn't like an argument, s/he immediately
assumes the author of the critique is engaged in something other than
friendly, well-meaning debate.
Zuben
DRutsala
Now it's all strawmen and insults. the most depressing thing about
this fact is the almost complete lack of any true analysis of an
argument. if a party doesn't like an argument, s/he immediately
assumes the author of the critique is engaged in something other than
friendly, well-meaning debate.>>
Unfortunately, the author usually isn't engaging in a friendly, well-meaning
debate.
Sad, but true.
But we can try, can't we?
Matt Pusateri
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)
Walter Frith
A movie review by Walter Frith
Member of the 'Online Film Critics Society'
http://www.ofcs.org
When 'The Godfather Part III' was released in 1990, people knocked it as
disappointing and not living up to the standards of the first two films.
There was a 16 year gap between II and III and Francis Ford Coppola was able
to find a fresh story and I thought the film was well executed. When such
great films play on our sub conscious minds for years and we replay every
exciting moment in our heads over and over again, it is human nature to
expect the roll to continue. How many of us want our favorite sports team
to win the championship every year? It simply won't happen.
George Lucas once commented that he wanted to wait many years after 1983's
'Return of the Jedi' to tell the story contained within the first three
chapters of his 'Star Wars' saga because he wanted film technology to excel
and become what it has today. There is a 16 year gap between 'Return of the
Jedi' and 'The Phantom Menace' and the original three 'Star Wars' films
generate as much debate as they do entertainment. Many are split on what
film is better, 'Star Wars' or 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Certainly 'The
Empire Strikes Back' was a better character enhancement of its leading cast
and isn't it odd that Lucas had no hand in the film's finished screenplay or
the direction of the film. Lucas was responsible for the film's story line,
however. Those credits for the movie's finished script belong to Lawrence
Kasdan and Leigh Brackett and the man who directed it was Irvin Kershner.
Most agree that 'Return of the Jedi' was the weakest chapter and Lucas not
directing it makes you wonder if he's a better businessman that filmmaker
with the success of all the merchandising tie-ins and his creation of many
post production facilities for motion pictures
'The Phantom Menace' begins about thirty years before the original three
films started. The peaceful planet of Naboo is involved in a dispute with
the sinister trade federation. Two ambassadors who are also Jedi knights,
Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are sent
to peacefully negotiate the trade dispute but the trade federation, who
would eventually become the evil empire seen later in episodes IV, V and VI
try to wipe them out and pursue the good Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman)
into signing a treaty that will do more harm that good for her people.
Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) is the most evil of the
federation members. A trait that would serve him well in eventually
becoming the Emperor, Darth Vader's lord and master.
Throughout the course of the Jedi's adventures, they come upon a young slave
boy named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) whom they will train to become a
Jedi knight since the force is with him so strongly. This idea is brought
fourth by Qui-Gon Jinn but Jedi master Yoda is unable to see his future
through the force and fears the boy may be an element drawn to the dark side
of the force and is against his training as a Jedi.
The story is sort of self defeating in many ways because we know how the
events will play out later so this is a major setback for the film. It also
has a silly and unnecessary computer generated character named Jar Jar Binks
thrown in for no other reason than to mildly entertain children and even
then, some little ones may find his antics too silly. On the redeeming side
of things are a space pod race halfway through the film that is absolutely
mesmerizing and a climax that manages to include four major conflicts that
keep our eyes glued to the screen. Combined with the introduction of a new
master villain named Darth Maul (Ray Park, Peter Serafinowicz), and a look
at the origins of R2-D2 and C-3PO and Jabba the Hut also making an
appearance, the film is marginally well done from an academic stand point
and superb from a technical outlook.
Does 'The Phantom Menace' live up to its hype? No. It has major character
weaknesses that make many of the film's actors look like life size action
figures with little personality or complexity. The story is well told in
part but is a bit tiresome and bears the markings of trying to go home again
which is usually not possible. For technical zest and the memory of old
friends seen in the film, I recommend 'The Phantom Menace' to be savoured as
an experience that will only be a one time deal for many but I am also
recommending it as giving George Lucas the benefit of the doubt that he will
improve in the weak areas when episodes II and III are released in the
coming years. Maybe his plan is to build a slow burn uphill and not
downhill. Time will tell.
OUT OF 5 > * * * 1/2
Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith
http://www.cgocable.net/~wfrith/movies.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * - a must see
* * * * 1/2 - don't miss it
* * * * - an excellent film
* * * 1/2 - a marginal recommendation
* * * - can't quite recommend it
* * 1/2 - don't recommend it
* * - avoid it
* 1/2 - avoid it seriously
* - avoid it AT ALL COSTS
1/2 - see it at your own risk
zero - may be hazardous to your health
Linus
movie for the first time a few hours ago, I can't help but donate my two
cents.
I, for one, found the movie to be pretty mediocer. Not because of the
unanswered questions, I find mystery to be pretty cool if it is properly
initiated and properly developed. The reason why I dislike TPM was not
because of such unanswered questions that "will be taken care of", but
rather because of the wretched dialog, the often hideous acting
(particularly by the kid who played Anakin), and because of the often
bogged down plot. I found the whole bit on Tatooine to be labored and too
prolonged. No amount of faith in Lucas is going to solve those problems
(barring a massive revision to it when (if?) he does a special edition of
it in the future).
That having been said, I found Darth Maul to be somewhat cool, although I
wish he had talked more. Also, I think I might have liked more dialog in
the end light saber scene. Or maybe that would have been completely
detrimental. It's hard to tell.
In article <375A1ED6...@yahoo.com>, Rocket Fett
<rocke...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> EXACTLY!!! It amazes me how shortsighted and impatient people are. The
TPM haters
> don't even give a seconds thought to the fact that the things in TPM
they don't
> like or understand or comprehend, will be taken care of in the next two
movies.
> This has been his life for 30 years almost. It would be nice if the TPM haters
> would try and scratch up a little faith and patience, instead of turning
on him and
> the fans of TPM like a rabid dog.
>
> DkKnightFl wrote:
>
> > If you REMEMBER in the first film, the were alot of questions left
unanswered
> > as well. Mr. lucas plans it like that because he KNOWS that there are 2 more
> > parts to his story. If all the questions were answered in TPM, what would be
> > left for Episodes 2 & 3?
> > Most people forget that with the original trilogy we KNOW the
characters really
> > well now. But when we saw A New Hope for the first time, we knew very little
> > actually. But with the story telling in The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of
> > the Jedi, we were given what we needed to know. The Phantom Menace,
much like A
> > New Hope was created as an introduction to George Lucas's new world in
a Galaxy
> > Far, Far Away. If our memories recall A New Hope wasn't that critically
> > acclaimed either. And yet it turned out to be the cult classic it is today.
> > So lets wait until Episodes 2 & 3 are released. Then, and only then, can we
> > properly compare them.
> >
> > May the Force be with you..........or not!
> >
> > criminals are a cowardly superstitious lot, so my disguise must strike
terror
> > into there hearts. I must be a creature of the night. dark,
terrible...A BAT!
> > It's an omen I shall become a BAT (or a DkKnightFL)
>
> --
> Please visit my homepage and click my sponsor banners on top to visit
their sites.
> Thank you. http://freeweb.pdq.net/nighthawk/starwars.htm
Greg King
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Director: George Lucas
Stars: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian
McDiarmid, Terence Stamp, Samuel L Jackson, Frank Oz, Ray Park, Kenny
Baker, Anthony Daniels, Pernilla August, Ralph Brown, Hugh Quarshie,
Ahmed Best
Running time: 130 minutes.
Expectations have been high for this eagerly awaited and long
overdue prequel to George Lucas' classic sci-fi adventure Star Wars.
Given the barrage of hype that has preceded the movie, Star Wars
Episode 1, subtitled The Phantom Menace, was always going to have a
hard job living up to those lofty expectations. Inevitably, The
Phantom Menace is a little disappointing! The original Star Wars was
a film ahead of its time; The Phantom Menace is merely a film for its
time!
Returning to the director's chair after a twenty year absence,
Lucas takes the audience back to the beginning of his envisaged nine
part saga, and introduces us to the young Anakin Skywalker. As every
Star Wars fan knows, Anakin is the Jedi knight who, of course, later
grew up to father both Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia before
crossing over to the dark side of the force as the evil Darth Vader.
Caught in the middle of a trade war between the powerful
Federation and the peaceful planet of Naboo, Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) try to
negotiate a settlement. While on the planet of Tatooin, Jinn
recognises the nascent power of the young slave Anakin (played with
charm by Jake Lloyd), and decides to take him under his wing.
In many ways, The Phantom Menace follows the broad plot
threads of the original Star Wars, although without the same sense of
wonder and inspiration. What was once a simple fable about the battle
between good and evil has become far more mystical and mythic, and
occasionally bogged down in more complex ideas. In establishing the
framework for what follows, Lucas raises nearly as many questions as
he answers.
One of the main problems is that the film is occasionally a
little slow, with some passages of plot development that will prove
tiresome and a little boring for younger audiences. The film also
lacks any villain as imposing or as intimidating as Darth Vader.
Instead, the best Lucas can offer us here is the rather bland and
forgettable Darth Maul (played by martial arts champion Ray Park, in
his film debut). There is a much more obvious emphasis on slap stick
humour throughout this film, especially with antics of the accident
prone Jar-Jar Binks, a computer generated character who speaks his own
strange language.
However, some of the action sequences are quite exciting, with
a couple of light sabre duels and a battle sequence between two
digitally created armies. The undoubted highlight is the pod race, an
incredible sequence that resembles a futuristic version of the famous
chariot race from Ben Hur for the Nintendo generation.
The special effects and state of the art computer generated
imagery, which took some two years to complete, is indeed spectacular,
and represents the future direction of film making. Unfortunately, it
is a pretty heartless and soulless future in which human performers
are dwarfed by increasingly spectacular effects and technology.
About 90% of The Phantom Menace has been digitally created,
and the human performers seem a little lost when called upon to
interact with their brilliantly realised cyberspace universe. In many
ways this is symptomatic of Lucas, a pioneer of digital effects, who
shows little understanding of the emotional development of his
characters. Lucas seems to regard his human cast as mere accessories
to his whiz bang technology and cynical mass marketing techniques,
and, in this aspect, he is light years ahead of Hitchcock in his
reputed disdain for actors.
Neeson, who normally has a powerful screen presence, seems a
little awkward here, while McGregor seems as bewildered and as
uncomfortable as Alec Guiness did in the same role twenty years ago.
Performers of the calibre of Terence Stamp and Samuel L Jackson are
wasted in small, undemanding roles.
Many of the new characters introduced here are fairly
unimpressive. Whereas we once might have followed the charismatic Han
Solo, the impetuous Luke Skywalker and the feisty Princess Leia to the
ends of the galaxy, I'm not so sure that I'd follow this bland and
forgettable lot for a stroll in the park!
***
greg king
http://www.netau.com.au
Darkpadme1
-Padme, the Dark Jedi
DkKnightFl
Dale Hicks
> If you REMEMBER in the first film, the were alot of questions left unanswered
> as well.
What questions?
Does the Empire win, gaining control over the oppressed rebels? No, Luke
wipes out the Death Star.
Does Han show that he has a heart of gold, belying his scoundrel exterior?
Yes.
Do they rescue the princess? Yes.
Does Luke get the girl in the end? It looks like it, although this
one may be vague.
I suppose you could say Vader getting away left the question of
whether he would ever bother them again.
I think all other questions answered later weren't really questions,
just developments on the character. I mean, there was nothing out
there to suggest that the Empire wasn't totally destroyed by this
attack on their battle station, or that Luke was related to Vader.
--
Cranial Crusader dhi...@gibralter.net
Rocket Fett
overwhelming majority of people that see TPM love it or like it at the
very least. 5% that hate it doesn't make it a bad movie. Just means 5%
hate it, and 19 times that number of people love it. No one opinion is
more valid than another, and the vast majority of viewers of TPM love it.
If some adults don't, oh well. There is a whole new generation of 50+
million kids that have now taken their place, so no big loss if the fickle
TPM haters if they leave the Star Wars fan ranks. They're easily replaced.
The fact that anyone calls this movie too simple or too complex is
ludecrous. I've talked to 12 year olds that love it on the surface, and
when I explained the deeper sub-plot to them about Sidious and Palpatine,
they were even more blown away. I think a lot of the critics just flat
don't get the ominous sub-plot that is purposely not obvious, and deeply
buried in the movie. Just cause they fail to grasp the full magnitude of
TPM doesn't mean it's bad. It just means those people need to see it more
times, cause they don't get it yet.
Greg King wrote:
--
Rocket Fett
likes it. There are always some blowhards that don't like something. The
critics were EXTREMELY critical of ANH when it came out, and it was the
best for 20 years. So what do critics know??? Not much. How many people
go see it and the polls will be the telling tale. And right now, people
are seeing it at a daily record setting pace, and the big unbiased polls
on the net show that 86% of people either love it or think it's good at
the very least. That's reality.
Darkpadme1 wrote:
> You suck! That movie was great!
> -Padme, the Dark Jedi
--
Rocket Fett
don't even give a seconds thought to the fact that the things in TPM they don't
like or understand or comprehend, will be taken care of in the next two movies.
This has been his life for 30 years almost. It would be nice if the TPM haters
would try and scratch up a little faith and patience, instead of turning on him and
the fans of TPM like a rabid dog.
DkKnightFl wrote:
> If you REMEMBER in the first film, the were alot of questions left unanswered
--
Peter Booth
A review by Peter Booth...
OK, let me start off by saying that this movie is of an entirely
different calibre to the "previous" three. No, I'm not talking about the
millions of dollars more injected into it, or the plethora of
mind-bending special effects, but the feel.
It is one seriously disjointed film, and in places, ceases to make sense
and becomes somewhat incoherent. The pre-release hype and marketing does
the actual film almost zero justice. Darth Maul, portrayed as the next
version of the Ultimate Bad Guy by fans and some elements of the press
is largely a mute non-event...he says about three lines of dialogue in
total and is hardly an imposing character, despite his devilish makeup.
Nevertheless the scenes in which he actually fights are excellently
choreographed and make the sabre duels of the "previous" three films
look wooden and contrived.
Back to the disjointed bit...well, the movie is about a trade
embargo...ho hum, yawn yawn to most people. The trouble is, the actual
embargo of Naboo doesn't seem to truly affect its citizens, nor is their
any evidence of the "my people are dying" or "the deathtoll is
catastrophic" allegations made earlier in the film...you just have to
believe that this trade embargo is a Bad Thing. Why Darth
Sidious/Senator Palpatine has bankrolled this manoeuvre in order to gain
ascendancy is an odd decision. It is patently obvious that there must be
better ways. It sort of flies in the face of what we are told in "The
Journal of the Whills" back-story presented in the original Star Wars
novelisation done in 1977...still, Star Wars is Lucas and he can do what
he likes...and that's precisely what he has done here. One very large
act of self-indulgence totally paid for by himself.
It is chiefly disjointed by the almost total lack of character building.
None of the protagonists of the film could be described as fleshed out,
especially Qui-Gon Jinn and moreso Obi Wan Kenobi. They are virtually
marionettes acting out Lucas' fairytale. Faceless folks running on
rails, as it were. Ewan McGregor is woefully under-utilised, almost in a
role of Neeson's yes-man and sidekick...both men are exceptional actors
clearly struggling to portray characters which could only be classified
as cardboard cut-outs...
...and kudos to anyone who understood Jar Jar Binks on first
viewing...Ahmed Best makes him sound like some digital Charlie Chan on a
bumbling excapade through life.
The younger actors, Natalie Portman and Jake Lloyd do quite well, by
comparison. I can't agree with elements out there that say Lloyd's
performance was hammy and hollow. He is quite good in his role as
boyhood Darth Vader even if at times, you feel he's playing some
outrageous video game.
Portman lends the film an air of gravitas; surprising for an actress of
her age and experience with her steadfast denouncements of Federation
intentions...
Ian McDiarmid plays his dual roles as well as expected, especially as
Senator Palpatine, representative of Naboo...the consummate politician,
appeasing all comers and all sides.
Well, I've been all negative so far...what good was in this film?
Everything else, essentially. There have been enough reviews of the
jaw-dropping SFX posted for me to make further impression, but they are
eminently effective, and don't necessarily drown out the uneven plot and
development. The "flight" of the Gungan craft as it swims through the
planet's core is excellent, with amazing creatures seeking to make this
ship their next meal...quite awesome.
The pod race is simply amazing too, not only for the vertiginous ride it
gives you, but the hilarity in the alien participants...the
Humpty-Dumpty look-a-like who stalls at the start had me in stitches as
did the expression on the face of another as he is about to collide with
a canyon outcropping...
...and then we had Tusken Raiders taking potshots at racers along the
way...
...and a two-headed race commentator...
The entire pod race sequence is quite a delight. Sebulba is the ultimate
win at all costs hot rodder, and a bizarre little creature who walks on
his hands.
Lucas goes for laughs quite often in his battle sequences...the
Federation's droids coming undone at the hands of blue electric balls
unleashed by the Gungans is comical, as is Lucas' penchant for severed
limbs and people going bump on things they shouldn't...
In essence, the Phantom Menace is a good film...nothing phenomenal or
abysmal...simply a good film that needed some serious ironing out,
especially in the categories of plot and character development...you are
left feeling that none of these players can be taken seriously,
something hammered into you in the "previous" three films...you did take
Darth Vader seriously...Darth Maul or the Viceroy of the Trade
Federation? Cartoons...
On a final note...I swear I saw E.T's in the Republican Senate
chamber...this has probably been discussed in various SW
forums/newsgroups to death and is possibly common knowledge among SW
cognoscenti, but as I don't frequent them, i don't know if that' in fact
what they were. Wouldn't surprise me considering Lucas' friendship with
Spielberg.
In summary...a wooden, cartoony movie giving a taste of more serious
matters to come in 2002 and 2005. Don't pick holes in the plot, for
you'll find them in plenitude, don't admire the characterisation of the
protagonists too closely, but sit back, and simply enjoy a visual and
aural blast of a film...
Peter Booth
--
Cybiades: ICQ# 2822923 Computing for fun!
http://www.ticnet.com/azenomei/fels/fels.html
The antepenultimate place on the WWW!
Essendon, Zimbabwe, Oporto Portuguese Chicken
Victoria Bitter, and a cast of thousands