Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
3.5/4
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, and the voices of Ahmed Best, Frank Oz
Rated PG for Sci-Fi Action/Violence
It's amazing how three films could cause such a phenomenon. Actually, it was really only the first film, "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" that started it all; the later two films only added to it. But nurtured for twenty-two years, this film franchise had evolved into something else entirely. By comparison, "Harry Potter" is a poser.
In the early months of 1999, everyone was talking about the new "Star Wars" movie. People were paying to see bad movies like "Wing Commander"just to catch the trailer. As opening day grew closer, the buzz grew into an obsessive fervor. There were stories of people camping outside theaters to get there first. Nothing like that had ever been seen before. I myself caught the movie the day after it opened. One of my friends had a birthday that day and had gotten everyone tickets to a showing in the biggest theater in St. Louis. Just being there in the theater with all those people amidst all the excitement was an experience that cannot be adequately described. The fact that the movie was great was merely icing on the top of the cake.
The prequel trilogy, which continued with 2002's "Attack of the Clones" and completed with "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005, details the birth of one of film history's most iconic villains: Darth Vader. The Trade Federation has blockaded the small planet of Naboo and is attempting to force the queen, Amidala (Portman) to sign a treaty that will make it legal. Two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Neeson) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) are sent in to address the situation on behalf of the queen. They help her escape, and eventually land on the planet Tattoine, where the come across a young boy named Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd). Young Anakin shows incredible potential to become a powerful Jedi, so Qui-Gon takes him under his wing. But the conflict on Naboo is becoming more dire by the minute. But more importantly, there is a mysterious cloaked figure who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
"The Phantom Menace" does exactly what it needs to: it tells a story with a beginning, middle and end while laying the seeds for the story to continue. Writer/director George Lucas peppers the film with little mementos of the original three films and hints at where things might be going, but this is a self-contained story.
The acting is effective, but no one truly stands out. Acting has never been the main selling point of the franchise; Lucas' storytelling abilities and unrivaled visual sense do not extend to directing actors. Nevertheless, the actors do their jobs. Liam Neeson makes for a wise Jedi, but one whose firm belief in the good of people may cloud his judgement. Ewan McGregor makes for an overly critical Obi-Wan Kenobi, far less mature that Alec Guiness' portrayal in the first one. Natalie Portman is also good in the dual role of Queen Amidala and her handmaiden Padme. Lucas uses mechanical enhancement to camouflage her voice as the Queen. Ian McDiarmid is terrific as Senator Palpatine, able to present himself as a noble politician, but still giving the audience hints that he's really bamboozling them in order to get them to do what he wants. the best performance goes to Pernilla August, the Swiss actress who plays Anakin's mother, Shmi. She is talented enough to capture the emotional turmoil of being a loving mother of a son whose talents are too good for her own liking.
The most common criticisms of the film are of the character Jar-Jar Binks and the acting skills of Jake Lloyd. Many claim that Jar-Jar Binks is an annoying character whose sole purpose is to appeal to the little kids in the audience. Maybe because I was a "young kid" in the audience when the film was released, but I disagree with the understanding why people would find the character irritating. With his funny way of speaking and clutzy mannerisms, I found him to be effective comic relief.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Jake Lloyd, whose performance is really the sole reason why I'm not giving the film four stars. Lloyd has never been a good actor (he was an unlikable spoiled brat in "Jingle All The Way," which made me wonder why Arnold Schwarzenegger would go through so much trouble to give him an overhyped toy for Christmas instead of teaching him to count his blessings). Lloyd is almost always stiff, and is never able to deliver dialogue convincingly. The other kids in the film suffer from the same affliction, giving credence to the fact that as poor an actor's director as Lucas is with adults, he is even worse with kids. That all being said, he is solid when using his face to react to situations, which makes it credible that he would become Darth Vader.
The most noteworthy part of the film is the visual effects, which are breathtaking. Lucas creates whole new worlds that are vividly imagined and detailed. Many sci-fi films use settings found on Earth as a basis for creating new settings and creatures ("Avatar" is a good example). Not here. George Lucas has created something never before seen. The thrilling podrace, the starships, the city-planet of Coruscant...they're just a few of the many visual treasures that Lucas has given us. And yet, they never camouflage the story or the characters. We are always more interested in what is going on than what we see.
Whatever flaw it may have, "The Phantom Menace" is a prequel that sets up one of the most famous franchises in film history without ever becoming obligatory.
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, and the voices of Ahmed Best, Frank Oz
Rated PG for Sci-Fi Action/Violence
It's amazing how three films could cause such a phenomenon. Actually, it was really only the first film, "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" that started it all; the later two films only added to it. But nurtured for twenty-two years, this film franchise had evolved into something else entirely. By comparison, "Harry Potter" is a poser.
In the early months of 1999, everyone was talking about the new "Star Wars" movie. People were paying to see bad movies like "Wing Commander"just to catch the trailer. As opening day grew closer, the buzz grew into an obsessive fervor. There were stories of people camping outside theaters to get there first. Nothing like that had ever been seen before. I myself caught the movie the day after it opened. One of my friends had a birthday that day and had gotten everyone tickets to a showing in the biggest theater in St. Louis. Just being there in the theater with all those people amidst all the excitement was an experience that cannot be adequately described. The fact that the movie was great was merely icing on the top of the cake.
The prequel trilogy, which continued with 2002's "Attack of the Clones" and completed with "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005, details the birth of one of film history's most iconic villains: Darth Vader. The Trade Federation has blockaded the small planet of Naboo and is attempting to force the queen, Amidala (Portman) to sign a treaty that will make it legal. Two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Neeson) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) are sent in to address the situation on behalf of the queen. They help her escape, and eventually land on the planet Tattoine, where the come across a young boy named Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd). Young Anakin shows incredible potential to become a powerful Jedi, so Qui-Gon takes him under his wing. But the conflict on Naboo is becoming more dire by the minute. But more importantly, there is a mysterious cloaked figure who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
"The Phantom Menace" does exactly what it needs to: it tells a story with a beginning, middle and end while laying the seeds for the story to continue. Writer/director George Lucas peppers the film with little mementos of the original three films and hints at where things might be going, but this is a self-contained story.
The acting is effective, but no one truly stands out. Acting has never been the main selling point of the franchise; Lucas' storytelling abilities and unrivaled visual sense do not extend to directing actors. Nevertheless, the actors do their jobs. Liam Neeson makes for a wise Jedi, but one whose firm belief in the good of people may cloud his judgement. Ewan McGregor makes for an overly critical Obi-Wan Kenobi, far less mature that Alec Guiness' portrayal in the first one. Natalie Portman is also good in the dual role of Queen Amidala and her handmaiden Padme. Lucas uses mechanical enhancement to camouflage her voice as the Queen. Ian McDiarmid is terrific as Senator Palpatine, able to present himself as a noble politician, but still giving the audience hints that he's really bamboozling them in order to get them to do what he wants. the best performance goes to Pernilla August, the Swiss actress who plays Anakin's mother, Shmi. She is talented enough to capture the emotional turmoil of being a loving mother of a son whose talents are too good for her own liking.
The most common criticisms of the film are of the character Jar-Jar Binks and the acting skills of Jake Lloyd. Many claim that Jar-Jar Binks is an annoying character whose sole purpose is to appeal to the little kids in the audience. Maybe because I was a "young kid" in the audience when the film was released, but I disagree with the understanding why people would find the character irritating. With his funny way of speaking and clutzy mannerisms, I found him to be effective comic relief.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Jake Lloyd, whose performance is really the sole reason why I'm not giving the film four stars. Lloyd has never been a good actor (he was an unlikable spoiled brat in "Jingle All The Way," which made me wonder why Arnold Schwarzenegger would go through so much trouble to give him an overhyped toy for Christmas instead of teaching him to count his blessings). Lloyd is almost always stiff, and is never able to deliver dialogue convincingly. The other kids in the film suffer from the same affliction, giving credence to the fact that as poor an actor's director as Lucas is with adults, he is even worse with kids. That all being said, he is solid when using his face to react to situations, which makes it credible that he would become Darth Vader.
The most noteworthy part of the film is the visual effects, which are breathtaking. Lucas creates whole new worlds that are vividly imagined and detailed. Many sci-fi films use settings found on Earth as a basis for creating new settings and creatures ("Avatar" is a good example). Not here. George Lucas has created something never before seen. The thrilling podrace, the starships, the city-planet of Coruscant...they're just a few of the many visual treasures that Lucas has given us. And yet, they never camouflage the story or the characters. We are always more interested in what is going on than what we see.
Whatever flaw it may have, "The Phantom Menace" is a prequel that sets up one of the most famous franchises in film history without ever becoming obligatory.
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