For many years, I devoutly avoided Star Wars due to the traumatizing
effects of seeing Han Solo frozen in carbonite at too tender an age.
Thankfully, by high school I was well over my discomfort with the
trilogy, so I could appreciate the excitement of several of my
classmates over the films’ re-release in the theaters. When I learned
that the rumors of a prequel trilogy would begin to come to fruition
just weeks before my high school graduation, I was aware this was a
major cinematic event. At some point, during the massive fast-food
tie-in campaign, flurry of merchandise and early reports that the film
would be sold out for several weeks, I began to wonder if it might be a
bit too major. I didn’t intend to go anywhere near a theater during the
first couple weeks of Phantom Menace’s run, fearing for my life.
So when Dad came home from work two hours before the first showing
announcing there were still tickets available for the first night, I
couldn’t believe it. We found ourselves in the midst of a super-charged
crowd of people, many of whom were in costume, during the second showing
of the film. I find it ironic that I got in on the first-day Phantom Menace geekfest but none of the Lord of the Rings equivalents, but it was a rather exhilarating experience.
Was the movie worthy of all the hype and the nearly two decades of
waiting? Well… Not quite. Some of the magic of the first trilogy was
just missing. The special effects were absolutely amazing but
overwhelmed the movie. None of the characters were as fully realized or
easy to care about as those in the original trilogy, and I particularly
missed Han Solo, who had no corresponding character in Phantom Menace. Of the new characters, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) is the one who impressed me most. Recalling Obi-Wan in A New Hope,
he is kind and wise and exudes a calm Jedi aura. I was already a fan of
Neeson before this film, and his performance here was one of the
highlights of the movie. He seems a completely natural part of Lucas’
universe, and it’s a shame he could only be a part of one film. (Or
could he? If Obi-Wan could come back as a ghost in two movies, why not
Qui-Gon??) At any rate, he's a wonderful new character, and his lengthy
light saber battle with Darth Maul is exciting and tragic. Also
impressive is Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), though we don’t see him
much in this film. He also comes across as a natural Jedi. Yoda (Frank
Oz), C-3PO (Anthony Edwards) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) all reappear and
are predictably delightful, though even Yoda has been infected with the
epidemic of over-seriousness.
Natalie Portman brings grace and
warmth to the role of Queen Padme Amidala, a young woman with far more
maturity and wisdom than Princess Leia possessed at the beginning of A New Hope.
She also has more ornamental clothing; her ceremonial dresses and
headgear are ridiculously ornate. In spite of her stiff ceremonial
appearance, she is a fearless and compassionate leader, and her empathy
allows her to form a bond with the young Anakin (Jake Lloyd) that will
play a major role in their future. Not to pick on the little guy, but I
would actually have to identify Jake as the weakest link in the chain
here. I found him irritating, either too sullen or too cutesy. Whenever
he was on the screen, I got more of an impression of him reading cue
cards than actually doing any acting. His best scene was probably the
pod race, a fast-paced little-guy triumph slightly reminiscent of the
Herbie films, and the success of that scene had far more to do with
special effects than acting.
Ewan McGregor is perfectly fine
as Obi-Wan, but he doesn’t get to do all that much here. He speaks – and
smiles – very little and spends most of his time simply shadowing
Qui-Gon. And his Scottish accent is wasted in a role that requires him
to sound like a young Sir Alec Guinness. But I really don’t have any
legitimate complaints against Obi-Wan. And – don’t kill me – I don’t
even consider Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) a detriment to the film.
Clearly, he’s there for comic relief, but the film could use some of
that since its main characters tend to be overly serious. I usually
found him funny, and my favorite moment in the entire film occurs when
Qui-Gon grabs his tongue to prevent him from nabbing another piece of
fruit and sternly admonishes, “Don’t do that again.” Jar Jar can be a
little irritating sometimes, but not overly so. I love the whole Gungan
culture, particularly their leader, and the underwater scenes are
cinematographically the most impressive in the film. The climactic final
battle is also a visual treat and recalls Return of the Jedi.
All sorts of bizarre creatures populate this film, making it even more
visually appealing. The trouble is that while the visual aspects of the
movie are meticulously crafted, the plot is less enticing than those in
the original trilogy, and the dialogue is sometimes painful. Anikin
particularly suffers from poor writing. His “yippees” sound completely
out of place, as does his groaner of an exclamation of “This is tense!”
Most of his dialogue sounds unnatural. Other characters suffer not so
much from bad dialogue as a lack of good dialogue. The original trilogy
was full of great lines. I’m not sure I could come up with half a dozen
great quotes from the first two films.
Nonetheless, Phantom Menace
does provide an intriguing look into the rest of Lucas’ big picture.
It’s heartening that he actually did deliver the prequel trilogy he
promised, even if it took him twenty years to do it. I’m thinking he’ll
opt out of the triple trilogy idea, but it’s nice to get the beginning
of the story. And besides, a third trilogy would require disturbing the
harmony Return of the Jedi so gloriously restored. Does Phantom Menace stand up to the original trilogy? Not completely. But it’s still pretty nifty.
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