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The Force is Strong With This One
a movie review by the Smalrus
Rarely do movies live up to their hype- Godzilla,
Starship Troopers, Armageddon(remember those?)- but
something about the Star Wars legacy makes the hype worth
its while. Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace is a
case in point. Twenty-two years after the release of the original
Star Wars, writer and director George Lucas continues to
create movies in an exquisitely designed sci-fi fantasy world
that probes the innermost workings of humanity. Along with the Star
Wars constant of good versus evil, Phantom's
prevailing theme is greed.
The story is based on the premise of a Trade
Federation blockading and invading the planet Naboo. Young Queen
Amidala (the luscious Natalie Portman *drool drool*) will not
sign any tready to join, nor does she want to risk the lives of
her people in war. After teaming up with Qui-Gon Jinn(Liam
Neeson), a Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi(Ewan McGregor), his Jedi
apprentice, and Jar Jar Binks(voiced by Ahmed Best), a seamlessly
integrated computer-generated character from the Gungan race, the
Queen departs for help from the Senate on the city-planet,
Coruscant. Unfortunately, the ship's engines need repair, and
they are forced to land on the desert planet of Tattooine(the
planet from the original Star Wars). While there, they
encounter a slave boy, Anakin Skywalker(Jake Lloyd) and his
mother(Pernilla August). Qui-Gon feels that the Force is strong
in young Anakin, who, in the later movies, will become the
ever-identifiable Darth Vader, and he bargins for ship parts and
the freedom of the boy with the boy's owner, Watto(another CGI
character). His fate is to be determined in a podrace, likened by
most critics to the great chariot race of Ben Hur. The
movie takes off from there, heading to Coruscant and Naboo,
trying to get rid of the Trade Federation and also, to get
permission for Anakin to become a Jedi Knight.
My favorite scene comes at the highly
climatic and intense ending, where the movie cuts between the
Queen's recapturing of Naboo, Anakin's space adventure(albeit
somewhat hokey), and a brilliantly choreographed lightsaber duel
between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and the Sith Lord, Darth Maul(plated
by the martial arts adept Ray Park. it's a shame he has only two
lines and get's sliced in half). Tension is extremely hight as
the Star Wars anthem of 1999, "Duel of the
Fates," plats in the background. As with every Star Wars
movie, predictability comes in the triumph of good over evil, but
the means of it happening is what makes this movie so great.
George Lucas is definitely an incredible
storyteller, rating up there with the likes of Homer, yet he uses
sci-fi to attract people. His desire, not only to tell a story,
but also to create a visual image, is more than commendable.
Lucas spares no expense out of his own pocket to make this movie
the way he wants it, complete with great digital effects
and characters, courtesy of his company, Industrial Light &
Magic. After rewatching the Special Edition trilogy, it
was very clear to see that the technology Lucas used to make Phantom
Menace was superior to that in the trilogy. Cities look more
believable, characters look more real- even so far as Jabba the
Hutt (as himself-watch the closing credits for that one), who
looked better in this movie than he did in Star Wars: Special
Edition.
Seeing this movie is a must, especially
since it paves the way for the next two movies from the first
trilogy to be released in 2002 and 2005, respectively. Various
critics complain that this movie does not stand alone, but I
disagree. The story is set up with a definite beginning, middle,
and end; It is the characters who will be the ones to watch for
as we fit the pieces of the intricate Star Wars puzzle
together. This four out of four star movie is one to see, not
only because it is a great visual science fiction movie, but also
because it contains the drama, plot, theme, and character
necessary for a movie of this caliber to live up to its hype.
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