Harry Situation’s Countdown Reviews: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
STAR WARS
EPISODE I
THE PHANTOM MENACE
It’s been a long time since the last STAR WARS
film was released in theaters, but GEORGE LUCAS
has delivered a new trilogy.
It had hit A-list actors, groundbreaking special effects,
stylized choreography, and an expansive story.
Then everything changed when the fans and critics
attacked. This became quickly known as one of the
worst films to date. But what does the HARRY
SITUATION think of these films?
In 1999, George Lucas returns to his epic saga by opening new chapters of the Star Wars Universe, starting with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. George Lucas directed, produced, and wrote each of the Prequel films. More on that later.
The story is set decades before the Battle of Yavin (give or take 30-33 years). The Trade Federation has set up a blockage around the planet of Naboo and two Jedi Knights are sent into to settle negotiations. However it turns out to be a set up for an invasion and, I guess, we have our movie.
Let me be clear about something: I don’t hate the prequels. Like, at all. I really don’t. You can call me a young, naive hipster or whatever but it will never change how I feel for these films. I don’t hate them. In fact, I love them as much as the other Star Wars movies.
Now does that mean I think they’re good in comparison to the original trilogy? Definitely not. There are many, many flaws to each of the Prequel films, which is what I’ll be discussing in this review while also trying to defend them.
In case for those who haven’t seen it by now (which I don’t understand how), but I will be talking in great detail about it. So there is a SPOILER alert in place.
Let’s get the problems out of the way. The first one I think is pretty clear: Jar Jar Binks. I get why he was suppose to be in this movie. He’s the comic relief. As a naive kid I liked him when I first saw this movie. Now I just want to toss his ass over the lava pits of Mustafar. He is annoying as fuck. His humor is childish, he constantly gets into trouble, and he does nothing to help the story at all. Basically the worst kind of character.
Now let’s talk about the other problem with the movie: the story. If you noticed a couple paragraphs ago I gave my synopsis, the best that I could, of this film’s story. That’s just a touch on what goes on in the movie. Why is the Trade Federation invading Naboo? Because of... taxes? See, I really don’t understand myself. And somehow that all leads to the main characters going to Tatooine where they come across a young Anakin Skywalker, who is destined to be the infamous Darth Vader one day. On top of all that, they got to introduce the main baddies, the Sith; and the heroes go to Coruscant and visit the Senate and Jedi Council; and then they have to go back to Naboo and have a battle; and then Anakin Skywalker is accepted to the Jedi Order. It feels so oddly rushed.
Not only that but there are one too many scenes where it is just a bunch of people in a room, and all they’re doing is just talking. Talking, talking, and more talking. It doesn’t leave much for action. Sure there’s action once and a while, but you’ll have to get through tons of talking first.
So you see, the story is somewhat messy. But here’s a rebuttal to that. The film itself is reminiscent to Greek mythology. Usually in stories like these, the heroes are set for one journey but often come across different obstacles along the way. That’s what this movie is trying to convey. It’s just too bad it wasn’t told a little better.
Now let’s talk about two things that are both an advantage and disadvantage to the movie. First is the special effects. There’s tons of CGI thrown everywhere from the scenery to the aliens. Sometimes it looks really good while other times it looks just like the actors are in front of a green or blue screen. And when the movie is about 80% green/blue screen, that’s a bit distracting in all honesty.
The second one is the acting. This film got a bunch of A-list actors. Ewan McGregor as a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, Liam Neeson as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Samuel L. Jackson as Council Member Mace Windu, and Ray Park as the mysterious Darth Maul. They even got Frank Oz and Ian McDiarmid to reprise as Yoda and Palpatine. In my opinion, I think that these actors were all great. The best probably have to be McGregor and Neeson. I thought McGregor really pulled it off being a young Alec Guiness; but the real star I think is Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, and that’s not something a lot of people praise nowadays. To me, Qui-Gon Jinn was how the Jedi Order should be. Very calm, tranquil, and wise.
But there are times when the acting felt wooden and lazy from some cast members, most notably Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala and Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker. Portman was the most wooden of the bunch. She really felt disconnected from everything. And yeah I know people harped on Jake Lloyd’s performance before, and I’ll admit his acting wasn’t the greatest either, especially since the same year we got Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. But he’s just a kid, give him some slack. I guess all the hardcore fans didn’t since poor Jake Lloyd gave up acting and is now diagnosed with schizophrenia. Thanks a lot, shitheads! >:(
While there are some bad stuff in the first prequel, people often overlook some of the good stuff about the prequels. First off, the lighsaber duels are greatly improved. In the Original Trilogy it looked like two kids playing sword fight, but in the first prequel the fighting is much more stylized. The duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul was amazing. There’s a bunch of swinging, a bunch of jumping, a bunching of kicking. I totally buy the fact that this is how the Jedi and Sith fought.
And when there is action it is cool to watch. The Podracing sequence is one of the highlights of the movie. Hell, they made two different video games that I’ve played religiously based off podracing (Star Wars Racer and Racer Revenge).
Another positive that not many people talk about is the score, which was composed by the legendary John Williams again. That score is fucking epic! Duel of the Fates is by far one of Williams’ greatest accomplishments.
And let’s face it, this film helped expand the Star Wars Expanded Universe as we knew it. It helped introduce new characters and added new stories for fans to follow.
Overall The Phantom Menace, like the rest of the Prequel Trilogy, is beyond perfect; but it doesn’t deserve any of the hate that it initially got. As a true Star Wars fan, I enjoy it because it is a big part of my childhood, and it is still a ton of fun. I still watch it with a clearer vision than before (keep in mind I was only six years old when I first saw this in theaters), but it still holds a big nostalgia factor. Like the Original Trilogy, I’m gonna keep watching Episode I along with the other Star Wars movies.
Light Side: Dark Side:
-Great special effects -Jar Jar Binks
-Improved lightsaber duels -Incoherent story
-Some good actors and acting -Some lazy acting
-Podracing -Too CGI heavy
-Expands Star Wars universe
-John Williams score
-Still a lot of fun
Final Grade: C+
So there’s my review for The Phantom Menace as part of my Star Wars Countdown Reviews. Join me next month for my review of Attack of the Clones.
Have you seen The Phantom Menace? What were your thoughts? Like it? Hate it? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check back for more reviews here on Prose!
Best 5 Quotes:
Yoda: “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
Nute Gunray: “This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them.”
Qui-Gon Jinn: “The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.”
Watto: “What? You think you’re some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I’m a Toydarian. Mind tricks don’t work on me. Only money.”
Darth Maul: “At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.”