# Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

### reviewed by
Akiva Gottlieb

    Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom
    Menace ***

rated PG 20th Century Fox starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Pernilla August, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Ahmed Best, Ray Park written and directed by George Lucas

So..."Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" has arrived, and as we all know, it is less a movie than a national phenomenon. Over the past two decades, we have grown to love the characters that George Lucas created in his trilogy; the films entitled "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return Of The Jedi". These movies have changed pop culture as no other movies ever have, creating a mass following of people whose love for "Star Wars" can be best described as...religious.

I have to admit that I rented the "Star Wars" trilogy last week, and it was the first time that I had seen a couple of the films in their entirety. In other words, I have never been much of a "Star Wars" fan. But seeing the films, I realized that this cultural phenomenon began because a film had finally taken the time to transport viewers into a new, entirely different world. When watching "Star Wars", time stops, and the viewer learns the lessons of the characters. "Star Wars" is about the conflicts between good and evil, and how good will always prevail eventually.

The films in the "Star Wars" trilogy were episodes 4, 5 and 6, and they told the story of Luke Skywalker's rise to Jedi stardom. The latest entry into the collection, "The Phantom Menace", is episode I, and it takes place a long time before the Dark Side of the Force transformed Anakin Skywalker into the lord of evil, Darth Vader.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...special effects were much more developed and everything looked a lot cooler.

I'm not going to give away much plot, since everyone in the world will no doubt see this movie. It is the tale of how two Jedi knights, a young boy, a queen, a couple of droids and a sea monkey attempt to save the galaxy.

Is the film any good? Well, it is definitely "Star Wars", as any fan will be able to tell. The special effects are absolutely incredible, but it's too bad the plot isn't. The film feels like merely an introduction to bigger things, hopefully setting us up for a mind-blowing Episode II. It's a lot of fun, but it lacks many of those quiet "Star Wars moments", despite the fact that we get a glimpse at a lot of familiar characters, such as a younger Yoda, a half-built C-3PO, and a newer R2-D2. A lot of characters are left underdeveloped, and Darth Maul, the hyped villain who was supposed to have had such a large role, is merely a secondary player. Also, Obi-Wan Kenobi comes off as uninteresting, quiet and selfish.

Most of the performances, however, are top-notch. Liam Neeson as the swashbuckling Qui-Gon Jinn and Natalie Portman as the Queen Amidala are both playing their roles with typical "Star Wars" vigor. It is Jake Lloyd, though, the young boy who plays Anakin Skywalker(Darth Vader as a child) who grabbed my attention the most. Lloyd, who appeared in "Jingle All The Way" and "Unhook The Stars" has a long career ahead of him.

"The Phantom Menace" is by far the most anticipated film of all time, and despite not being nearly as good as the other "Star Wars" films, it is not in any way disappointing. The cash is rolling in in large numbers, and hopefully George Lucas will use it to craft an amazing Episode II. Despite huge production costs, "The Phantom Menace" is actually an independent film, since Lucas raised all the money on his own and made the film without a major studio(Fox then stepped in to distribute the film). "The Phantom Menace" is nothing great, but it is another solid entry into an ongoing saga that has changed the world as we once knew it.

a review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com http://www.angelfire.com/mo/film

Get your free, private email at http://mail.excite.com/

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews