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STAR WARS: EPISODE I--THE PHANTOM MENACE Send This Review to a Friend
There was no logical artistic reason to make another "Star Wars" film. So why do it?
More big bucks, for one thing. But George Lucas is obviously still infatuated with his
subject and the new technology that creates a tempting opportunity for heightened special
effects. Besides, as the initial frenzy about the film proves, there's an audience eager for
more. Hence "Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace," with the promise of two
additional episodes to follow.
The verdict: great special effects, but a routine story shows the strain of trying to come up
with an idea that justifies the project. Lucas, who wrote the script as well as directs, may
have had more fun making the film than you will watching it. The Phantom Menace takes
us back before the original for a prequel. Ho hum. Apart from the razzle-dazzle of
combining live action with digital wonders, the tale that unfolds boils down to yet
another excuse for the seemingly endless violence of battle scenes using exotic
weaponry. I also have to say that seeing young Jake Lloyd as nine-year-old Anakin (the
future Darth Vader) seated in the cockpit of his spacecraft and zooming around firing
away at enemies isn't something we need these days.
The heroes are Jedi knight Qui-Gon Ginn, a new character in the Star Wars roster, played
by Liam Neeson, rather boringly I thought, with Ewan McGregor cast as his young
apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, only slightly more interesting. They're involved in fighting
the evil Trade Federation that is attacking the planet Naboo. You know--good guys
against bad guys. The new creature meant to entertain us is the ungainly Jar Jar Binks,
who lopes around presumably for comic relief. Actually, he grows more annoying than
endearing. We also once again meet versions of old favorites R2-D2, C-3PO and Yoda.
I'll leave those of you who are die hard fans to see the film for yourselves--you will no
matter what I write, as reviews are beside the point when it comes to addiction. One of
the major sequences you'll encounter will be a spectacularly created but overlong drag
race. The effects are the thing, along with the imaginative creation of computer controlled
armies and the like. But Lucas and company were trying hard to force--if one may
borrow the word--a viable story to lead us back "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far
away…" A 20th Century-Fox release.
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