Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is the first full length Star Wars feature film in more than 15 years. We have already seen the last three of the six, with Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi. And like it's predecessors, Episode I, for the most part, doesn't disappoint. The Phantom Menace is kicking off the prequel trilogy to the original series, which will be produced and released over the next few years. Set approximately eighty years before Episode IV, writer / director George Lucas introduces us to the world of Star Wars, and all the origins, characters and events that will culminate with what we've already seen in the original trilogy.

A trade dispute has broken out in a remote sector of the galaxy on the small planet of Naboo, and two Jedi Knights, Qui Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice, a young Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) have been sent out to assess the situation. The first twenty minutes of the movie are very well orchestrated and I found myself glued to the screen in anticipation of what was going to happen next. The perpetrators of the blockade order the execution of the Jedi Knights and mechanical battle droids are sent in to do the deed. Of course, our heros are able to fend off these mechanical animals and they demand answers. They are able to escape to the planet's surface where they continue their journey that is the movie.

There, they meet Jar Jar Binks, a fully realized computer generated character who blends in perfectly as if he were a real actor, and not just another cudly computer image. They are able to rescue the Queen of Naboo, and our heroes move quickly to get off of Naboo and to the galactic council who have the power to end the dispute. Of course, everything goes wrong and they end up landing on the planet Tatooine, where they meet up with destiny, a small boy named Anakin, played wonderfully by the young actor, Jake Lloyd. The rest of the movie is concerned with getting off of Tatooine, and back on track to deal with the daily problems of being Jedi in a rather stale future.

The movie itself gives us a polethra of visual images, easily beating out Titanic in being able to boast about having more computer generated shots. And on the whole, they are used wisely. Most of the battle sequences are constructed well, and we are given beautiful underwater vistas to breathtaking skyscapes and many, strange new worlds and space ships. Their are three main scenes that remain the most memorable. The first twenty minutes of The Phantom Menace work very well, presenting us with what looks like will be a whallop of a ride throughout the rest of the movie. But, once they get to Tatooine, the movie falls flat.

On that barren planet, the movie becomes slow and clunky, and doesn't pick up pace again until the second memorable scene, the pod race. But again, soon after the race the movie dies down again, and even becomes uninteresting to watch, until we are given a rather disappointing final space and land battle. The land battle was great, but the space battle was dull and although it had what could have been better twists, the ending here basically reverses the roles of what everyone was trying to do in Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi. In Jedi, everyone was trying to destroy the generators on the planet so that the soldiers could destroy the space station in space. Here, the heroes have to destroy the space station in order to stop the mechanical army. It's an interesting proposition, but goes undeveloped beyond its bare basics.

Overall, The Phantom Menace is exciting, wonderful filmmaking, but too often it wanders into areas of mediocrity. The acting is strong, in spite of poorly drawn characters. And, of course, John Williams' score makes up for any boring parts. In fact, I believe John Williams has once again delivered a powerful filmmaking score, one that has all the action and spontaneity of the original trilogy, but one that also manages to add hints of originality through sounds of subtle emotion. And, oddly enough, after listening to the soundtrack on its own, some parts sound stronger by themselves than they do up on screen.

George Lucas has always said he prefers to be a filmmaker rather than a producer, but nowadays he's a much better and stronger producer than he is a filmmaker. With The Phantom Menace you can tell he hasn't been behind a camera in more than twenty years. Whereas his peers (like Spielberg and Coppola) went on to succeed and mature as directors, Lucas' style has stagnated from a simple lack of practicing the craft, and the results are mixed at best. Overall, The Phantom Menace is an enjoyable ride, but it could have been (and should have been) so much better.

Grade: B-

(c) May 20, 1999, Steven H. Lee



Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older