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

### reviewed by
Matt Pusateri

STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

    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)

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