Star Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace
(Lucas/20th Century Fox)
-Jeff Deutchman
"The Phantom Menace," prequel to the beloved Star Wars trilogy, has been the most highly anticipated movie event since director George Lucas announced it four years ago. When a sequel (or prequel in this case) is slated for release, film companies and makers have to deal with the issues problem of the audience's expectations. In the case of "The Phantom Menace," this potential problem was exacerbated by the fact that it is the prequel to the second largest grossing film of all time. So whats a director to do? Simple. Take a mediocre script and packs it so full of phenomenal special effects that perhaps critics and viewers alike will be tricked in to believing they are watching a groundbreaking film.
The latest installment of the series takes place before the time of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, the characters that starred throughout all of the original three films. The film follows Qui-Gonn Jin (Liam Neeson) and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who must protect Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) from being kidnapped by the evil Darth Maul. When their ship crashes in a land filled with slaves, Jin and Kenobi meet a very young Anakin Skywalker (otherwise known as Darth Vader and Luke's father), who helps them fix their ship and continue their mission.
Lucas has always been a big proponent of technology for glorious visual effects, and although in the first three films of the trilogy he had already proved to be way ahead of his time, he was never able to accomplish everything he had imagined. Finally, with our current technology, Lucas is able to use digital effects that are more impressive than just about any film yet. The extraordinary visuals capture the audience's attention and are perhaps the most redeeming quality of the film.
Unfortunately, Lucas uses various sequel clichés that significantly weaken the movie. Far too often does he introduce new characters that are almost duplicates of popular figures in his earlier films. Chewbacca, for example, is replaced here be Jar-Jar Binks, another non-human Jedi assistant. Also, Lucas often attempts to recreate the the scenes that made the first trilogy so memorable. It's almost like watching a recycled Episode III. This strategy, while successful in recreating the "Star Wars" atmosphere, makes the film far too predictable.
Ultimately, most people will leave theaters satisfied, for visual effects are known to be crowd pleasers. In fact, the four highest grossing films in movie history have all won Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards --- "Titanic," "Star Wars," "E.T." and "Jurassic Park." And though "The Phantom Menace" is not a critical masterpiece, it was never intended to be.
RATING: 7