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EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, and Ian McDiarmid.
Directed by George Lucas.
MPAA rating: PG
This new beginning to the Star Wars series has changed the way that everything in the Star Wars world is viewed, along with bringing up a lot of questions. With such great characters as Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker, the movie is a great hit. I for one am relieved that George Lucas goes for a family-oriented film instead of one appealing to the sex, love, and bad language which are so popular today; he creates characters that are, for the most part, very virtuous, kind, and somebody for young Star Wars fans to look up to. And although most young fans seem to be interested mostly into the clumsy and annoying Jar-Jar Binks and the evil Darth Maul, hopefully the later chapters will find that the life of the Jedi is much greater. The film has tons of action, including a very long pod racing scene, which reminded me of a scene in Ben-Hur, and many other battles. Anakin Skywalker is a very smart boy, except at a very important part of the movie, he just accidentally blows up a great big space ship that is very important. And the even more numerous "accidents" of the annoying Jar-Jar makes you wonder if Lucas wanted to make the plot look real. The numerous lightsaber battles are truly the best part of the movie, with a great use of The Force, like blocking a shot and deflecting it to kill another person. The biggest lightsaber highlight was undoubtedly the battle against Darth Maul. The double lightsaber of this dark lord of the Sith added great excitement and anticipation to this scene. New ideas about the Force also were revealed, including a "micro-organism" that carries the Force in people. Overall, this movie was a great addition to the first trilogy, and the last two of this second trilogy promise to be even better.
Resounding with the nobility, character and stunning visuals of the original, Episode I--The Phantom Menace (epI or TPM) explores the complex universe of sight, sound and thought that only George Lucas could envision and make reality with his ingenious technique. Opening with the familiar scrolling text, it's clear that this would not be a huge departure from A New Hope; it quickly cuts to the duo of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who have boarded a Trade Federation ship to negotiate a settlement of a blockade staged of the planet Naboo. Two grayish aliens, obviously leaders in the Federation, are briefed by a hooded Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) to eliminate the Jedi knights, which proves presumptuous when Qui-Gon and Kenobi reduce dozens of battle droids to just so much scrap metal. The opening reels with this Jedi/droid confrontation sets the tone for TPM, with the commitment and unwavering focus of the Knights overshadowing any mechanical threat to their mission to defeat the Dark Side. Picking up the misfit Gungan Jar-Jar Binks (voice of Ahmed Best in a comic role geared to kids), Qui-Gon and Kenobi rescue Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) and her entourage, brief them of a plot involving armies of militant robots, and whisk them past the enemy's blockade in the Queen's chrome-plated blackbird look-alike in a scene introducing R2-D2 (whose unfeasible repair of their ship initiates him as a vital part of the knights' team). It is here that I must answer some critics of the film; some point to the absence of the camaraderie of a sarcastic Carrie Fisher with Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, while others say the dialogue is cheap and the characters mere cut-outs. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Jedi master and his apprentice are instantly seen as ardent, faithful devotees to a higher cause, whose bind to justice makes their relationship deeper than the cute chatter existing between characters of lesser caliber. Thus, Qui-Gon and Kenobi's defense of the Queen, the Gungans, Anakin, and each other nourish a fellowship of purpose among all aforementioned. On to Tatooine. Our heroes are forced to land on this desert planet for repairs in a stop over Jinn later remarks "was planned by the Force, I have no doubt." Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and his mother Shmi (Pernilla August) are introduced as the slaves of the flying trader Watto, when the senior Jedi, R2-D2 and a female thought to be Padmè (Natalie Portman) set out to find spare parts. Curious and likable, the 10 year-old boy emerges as the perfect incarnate for Skywalker--not a beaming, lit-up cherub, or gravely aware of his future as Darth Vader, rather a child preoccupied with some greater calling, and still showing his age with spunk and a winsome half-smile. Sensing the Force strongly in Anakin, Qui-Gon stakes the outcome of his mission (and bets his vessel against Ani's freedom) on Skywalker's victory in a pod race, Tatooine's chief entertainment. You can miss Episode I's cleverest plot twist if you don't watch--the handmaiden traveling with the knights and droid questions Qui-Gon's impulsiveness with airs affected only by a Queen; the switch of her and Padmè is seen again in a tender moment with Anakin in his first moments aboard a starship (why would Padmè review the Naboo transmission?), and proved by a knowing, thoughtful expression given the boy as he stops to see Padmè en route to the Jedi Council. Anyway, the race is a thrilling rush of speed and explosion, and the detail given to the sonic aspect of the 10-minute sequence most astounded me. Thwarting Darth Maul (Ray Parks) in his first run-in with them, the band splits as they arrive in the lighted array of Coruscant: Qui-Gon relating the ominous attack of the Sith Lord to the Jedi Council and seeking approval to mentor a young one he feels is the "Chosen One;" and Queen Amidala pleading for her people to the bureaucracy that the Republic had become, hardly having confidence in the Naboo representative Senator Palpatine (also Ian McDiarmid - am I the only one who has ideas about his role in epII?). Both the re-entry of C-3PO (voice of Anthony Daniels) as the unfinished droid creation of Anakin and Yoda (voice of Frank Oz) should be noted with a certain nostalgia. The unlikely comrades (Queen A., Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO, R2D2 and Jar-Jar Binks) reunite for the common goals of saving both Amidala's people and Binks' underwater race of amphibian-like Gungans. Joining with the oppressed computer-rendered creatures and the struggling Naboo resistance efforts, plans are devised for an epic confrontation to be fought on four fronts of differing stakes and intensity. Boss Nass (voice of Brian Blessed), king of the Gungans, leads his capable army to the outskirts of the capitol in a planned diversion that heightens into much more; Amidala, in her favorite disguise of handmaiden, and an insignificant group (including her ever-present Commander, always ready to disagree with the Jedi) sneak into the palace persuading the weakling viceroy with more than words; Qui-Gon's last words to Anakin, "Don't move from that cockpit," give away the boy's stirring clash to shoot down the Federation's spacecraft; and the duo that started TPM end it with zealous swordplay (or light saber-play) showing Star Wars's obvious draw from medieval settings. The very ending is really the only segment of Episode I where the religious aspect seems overplayed in Qui-Gon's burning and pointless crystal ball; beyond that, much can be drawn from the concepts presented in TPM. Sure, you'd have to be very gullible to live the "trust your feelings" pretense as a religion, yet sacrifice, commitment, and discernment are all Biblical thoughts in origin, all having never been relating in church with such impacting drama. Aside from one line ("Who was it killed - the master or apprentice?"), Lucas resolves the plot acceptably...hate to give this away, but you MUST stay to the end past the credits, as Darth Vader's breathing is heard clearly at least twice. With it's resplendent grandeur, Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace deserves to be seen again and again.
- Josh Shepherd
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