Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)

 

Having been an avid Star Wars-fan since I was very young, it stands to reason I was over the moon when Lucas announced there would be a prequel to the now classic trilogy. Heck, I think every Star Wars-fan instantly creamed his or her trousers. And it was with enormous enthusiasm some of my friends and I went into the cinema to take it all in. 

But it's safe to say we didn't exactly get what we were hoping for. 

No, I will not bash this film like many others, but it does have some glaring issues that are a lot harder to overlook than the issues with the original trilogy. 

The Empire does not yet exist, yet when the villainous Trade Federation lays siege to the small backwaterworld of Naboo, tensions in the Galactic Senate rise. Two Jedi knights are sent to persuade the Viceroy Nute Gunray to break off this blockade, but they are waylaid and ambushed and escape to the planet below. There, Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi meet up with a Gungan named Jar Jar Binks and head out to rescue Queen Amidala from certain death. 

After they successfully evade the blockade, they are forced to land on the remote world of Tatooine, in order to repair their ship. Here they come across a young boy named Anakin, who not only is a whizz in technology, but also has superhuman reflexes, allowing him to be the only human to compete in the podraces. Qui-Gon suspects the boy to be exceptionally gifted in the Force, and this is true, as his mother miraculously conceived him without a father.

Yes, that is more than just a Jesus-metaphor. Yes, it is even more bizarre if you consider where the tale will eventually take us.

Anyway, Anakin wins a podrace and everyone flies off to Coruscant, seat of the Republic Senate, where there is upheaval and the bureaucracy stifles all. So Amidala hatches a plot to free her own planet with the help of the Gungan Army. 

But that is not all: in between all this, it is discovered that a Sith Lord is pulling the strings and he has sent his apprentice to Naboo in order to stop the Jedi, thus ensuing in a climactic battle. 

So you see, there is quite a lot happening here. Which makes it all the more baffling that the biggest part of this film is quite boring and dull. It starts off with some fighting aboard the droid ship, but as soon as the Jedi reach Naboo, everything feels like it's grinding to a halt, only to pick up the pace again with the final battle between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. Not even the podrace halfway through manages to elicit excitement. 

Of course, it doesn't help that the dialogue is rather mundane and overwrought. See, this is a problem that Lucas also had with the original trilogy, but there, better scriptwriters than him made it snappy and the editing also helped tremendously. Here, Lucas was in charge of everything and the man has trouble excising parts. Pacing also isn't his forté. 

Some other decisions weren't that peachy either. Jake Lloyd as Anakin is, well, not good. It's hard to find decent child actors, but he reads his lines way too artificially. Nothing he says comes across as being real, and that is a real shame. It's not his fault, because I'm fairly certain a better director would have helped. 

No, Lucas isn't an awful director, but he's not a 'people director', in that he doesn't know how to give actors enough directions. He is good at action and writing creative worlds, but if the actors don't have the chops themselves, they become frightfully lost. 

And then I haven't mentioned Jar Jar, without a doubt one of the more annoyingly forced comical reliefs there has ever been. The idea of the Gungans is fine, their way of speaking is fine, but why oh why make Jar Jar a clumsy oaf that never once elicits a laugh? He is so overpresent and grating, it's hard to watch. Sure, other films in this franchise have odd humour, but there it didn't feel as forced. But to be fair: most actors here feel rather lifeless, so maybe that just makes the contrast with Jar Jar all the bigger. 

But there is good here as well. For starters, the new worlds are inventive and some shots are downright gorgeous. The designs of Naboo and especially the underwater city of Otoh Gunga are beautiful. Heck, a lot of the shots here are pure eyecandy, even though fully CG. Coruscant as well looks impressive, even if a little too close to a videogame cutscene at times. 

Castingwise, Ewan McGregor as a young Obi-Wan is a stroke of genius. You can absolutely believe he will become Alec Guinness later on and he is just charming all around. Bringing back Ian McDiarmid is also great, as you can tell he is rolling with it and is having so much fun as Senator Palpatine. He is a blast in every scene he is in. 

Two things managed to surpass expectations. The music by John Williams is always great, but here, he has crafted some wonderful pieces that have become ingrained in the minds of millions. It has that Star Wars-vibe, yet he brought some new things to the table. Just listen to the piece accompanying the final showdown between Jedi and Sith here.

Speaking of which: this final battle (save the ending) almost singlehendedly saves this film. It is great, the action is fast-paced and easy to follow, the music is brilliant, and the choreography is top notch. Heck, that's what you get when you hire Ray Park as Darth Maul and let him do the fight choreography. 

Ray Park is a god among men. Change my mind.

So, it's not the best Star Wars-film in the wide expansive universe, not by a long shot. Mostly because it is rather dull. But it has its moments, although it's a fair bet that this one will appeal more to fans of the franchise than anyone else.