A Review Of
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
by Skaught K. Bowden
Okay, some of us waited 16 anxious years. Others of us still haven't seen the original (but no longer "first") trilogy of Star Wars movies. It's all good.
| But first, just to get it out of the way, let me deal with what is not good: Jar Jar Binks. This whimsical character was born, I suspect, of the combined marketing genius of George Lucas and the current craze for irritatingly cute children's entertainment (i.e., Furbies, Teletubbies, etc., etc., ad nauseum.) Despite a spectacular use of computer imaging (Jar Jar was 100% digital. There were no physical actors or models used!) practically nothing can redeem this clumsy, unintelligible alien that even characters in the movie call "brainless," among other things. |
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| Jar Jar Binks has generated his own category of web-pages, concerned
primarily with his mutilation and death (an event vividly depicted by dozens
of works of "fan" art, some of which are available by clicking the picture to
the left.)
Fans interviewed after leaving theaters have described Jar Jar as "over the top", and "completely useless", and that there should have been "less comic relief" featuring Binks. I'll admit, I haven't asked many 3-year-olds what they thought about Jar Jar. Maybe he was absolutely what they wanted. I don't know. What I do know is that the 18-34 demographic would have been happier without him. His race, the Gungans, seemed to have gone over pretty well, but the individual character did not. |
If you haven't seen the movie yet, I feel that should pretty well poison you against Jar Jar. If you have seen the movie, I didn't tell you anything you didn't already know. If you are 3 years old, please email me how you feel about Mr. Binks - I'm genuinely curious. Is he cooler than Tinkie Winkie?
far away...
It is a time of massive media hype. After sixteen years a new Star Wars movie has been released, to be gobbled up by hordes of lightsaber-starved fanatics. It's a theoretically impossible situation to come out ahead in, from the movie-maker's perspective. And yet, George Lucas has not only come out ahead, he's breaking records at an unprecedented rate. It seems that in a decade of tantrum-throwing professional athletes, global strife, and adulterous politicians, Star Wars is the one thing we can all agree on.
In his attempt to re-create the magic of the original movies, George Lucas and Industrial Light & Magic have undoubtedly succeeded. The classic feel is all there, from the lack of "adult" material (cursing, sex and gore) to the space battles and epic scope. Sure, there's fighting, but unlike other blockbuster action films, there's little blood. In fact, I think the bloodiest scene is when the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon-Jinn (played by Liam Neeson) is cleaning up a scrape on Anakin (Jake Lloyd) Skywalker. He even takes a *gasp* blood sample, which makes Anakin yelp. The horror!
True, the lightsaber battle at the end between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the ultra-cool Darth Maul (Ray Parks) does conclude with something of a distressing mutilation, but where most movies would have taken the opportunity to generate digital spewing entrails and fountains of blood, Star Wars does not. This, I feel, is where it generates a good deal of its long-time fan loyalty.
Now that I've given away the ending, let me go back to the start. The main plot of the story revolves around a political dispute over taxation and shipping between the small planet of Naboo and the Trade Federation. Sure, this is a perfectly reasonable setting for a story to take place in, but it's a good deal less powerful than "It is a time of Civil War." As happy as I was to be sitting in a theater watching the Star Wars logo fly away into a starfield, the first line of the scrolling prologue felt... un-Star Wars-ish? While I'm at it, I may as well mention my fleeting disappointment that the opening scene didn't feature some enormous starships, but I suppose Lucas can't do it the same way every time. As I said, it was a fleeting disappointment.
The Trade Federation battlecruiser that the two Jedi arrive at (to help settle the trade dispute) was probably one of the best examples of the movie's "retro-tech". The designers at ILM had quite a chore of coming up with new technology that looks like old technology compared to A New Hope, etc., but the battlecruiser design proves they were up to the task. It doesn't look like it would be much good in battle. It certainly doesn't look like it could cruise. But then again, this movie takes place a good 40 years or so before the Star Destroyers we're all familiar with. The Trade Federation's ships look like something the U.S. might be building as armed space stations in a hundred years or so (which makes me wonder - will we be building Star Destroyers in 140 years? I shudder to think...)
If you are a lover of Jedi Knights - by which I don't mean Luke Skywalker, whom most people seem to regard as little more than a whiny brat - Episode I is a dream come true. There's hardly 10 minutes that go by without a lightsaber lighting up or a Jedi mind trick being used. Cool powers aside, Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor do a fine job of portraying "real Jedi" attitudes (as opposed to "Luke Jedi.") In addition to being a Jedi, of course, McGregor had the challenge (opportunity?) to play a younger version of the already-established Obi Wan Kenobi. He reportedly took quite a bit of voice training to perfect Alec Guiness' accent and inflections, and it seems he stayed awake in class - there are a few lines that are identical to Guiness' from the older movies, which McGregor delivers very closely if not identically (i.e., "We haven't much time.")
So thumbs up technology, thumbs up Jedi Knights. But what about the guy we all came to see: Darth Maul? It's his face that has been used the most to sell the movie, and most every fan who was interviewed said something to the effect of "I want to see that Darth Maul! He looks so cool!" To sum up the character in a word: HolyshitI'veneverseenanythingthatkickedsomuchass. (Maybe that will damage my critical credibility, but I'm being honest.)
Ray Parks was cast as Darth Maul for one reason: he can fight, and look good doing it. He's a champion martial artist in the European circuit, and helped Lucas speed up and tighten the fight scenes. Even if he has next to no lines, his physical ability more than makes up for it. Really, it's kind of refreshing to have a villain who isn't chatty.
Unlike the duels in Episodes 4-6, those in Phantom Menace move. As I am fond of saying, Episode I makes the other duels look like fights between an untrained whelp and an old man with prosthetic limbs. Everything happens so quickly, you practically have to watch the movie three times just to catch it all. Obi Wan and Qui-Gon work together so flawlessly you almost can't tell they're working together. Darth Maul throws dirty punches - kicks, actually - and manages to nearly overpower the two Jedi at once. Unlike a lot of stage & screen fighting, the choreography in Phantom Menace isn't apparent. If anything, it looks like the characters can predict the future by about a half-second and are always adjusting their style to handle the threat they sense coming. All in all, it's a thoroughly satisfying experience.
But the real star of the show, if only by implication, is the boy wonder Anakin Skywalker, who will grow up, become hideously evil, and terrorize the entire galaxy. Until then, he's just about the sweetest little thing you could ask for.
As child actors go, Jake Lloyd is very talented. Don't get your hopes too high, though. No matter how good, all child actors have a lot to learn. Lloyd isn't a 4 foot tall Lawrence Olivier, but he does maintain a screen persona that's consistent from scene to scene. Some of his lines come across a little... well, childish, but what do you want? The occassional awkwardness is to expected, and really, it's not that pronounced. If I were to make any kind of serious criticisms, they would be the writer's fault more than Lloyd's: 1.) The "What are midi-chlorians?" scene feels too much like an elementary school educational film, and 2.) Anakin just says "Yippee!" a little too much. Hardly damning criticism.
Anakin, despite his age, develops a budding romance (or at least emotional attachment) with the Star War's trademark single female character, the 14-year-old Queen Amidala, played by the 17-year-old Natalie Portman. (Ladies, you too can take 3 years off your appearance with a healthy layer of kabuki make-up and dozens of super-elaborate costumes!) Portman, who many people won't recognize from "The Professional", is possibly the strongest actor in the entire movie. Playing the dual-role of the queen and her "handmaiden", she can be convincingly strong, remorseful, caring, decisive, etc., etc. Of all the characters, she has the most "character". Obi Wan, while excellently played, is basically an imitation with some youthful wise-ass attitude. Anakin is a mere pup. Qui-Gon, though flawless, is a somber and soft-spoken role. Darth Maul has five lines, and Yoda's a puppet. Not that I'm saying Portman only takes the lead due to lack of competition. Unlike, to pick an example at random, Return of the Jedi, all of the acting in Phantom Menace is excellent, be it spoken, physical or what-have-you. Natalie is just that much better.
[You'll note I did not refer to Jar Jar in the previous comparisons. He was intentionally excluded from sheer spite. For Jar Jar Binks, I would turn to the Dark Side.]
I could tell you all about the special effects, but you really shouldn't need a review of those. It is, after all, Industrial Light & Magic, the company that in every way has set the standard for visual effects for at least 15 years, and that was when they were working for other people. This time they're working for Lucas, The Man Himself. Everything they have invented while working on movies like Jurassic Park was perfected for Episode I. If you aren't awed by the visual effects, it's because your left hand is holding the harness on a dog and your right hand is holding a white cane.
So go see it! See it again! Unlike Titanic, this movie will not get old. It will not generate scorn. It has, of course, already been lampooned by Mad magazine, but that's kind of an honor. "Parody is the highest form of praise," I think it goes. Besides which, the boys at Mad gave themselves away as fans by actually using the correct names for several races. Your average guy-on-the-street doesn't know a Twi'lek from a Tibetan.
Compared to an absolute standard of movie comparison, I give the Phantom Menace 4 out of 5 stars. Compared to the other Star Wars movies, I give it five. The worst thing about Phantom Menace is it makes me eager for Episode II, an eagerness I'll have to contain for 3 years.
*Sigh* Maybe I'll listen to Yoda and keep my mind calm. Otherwise I'll just go nutsy, and though it's not specifically mentioned in any of the movies, I'm pretty sure nutsy to the Dark Side leads.