Film Review: Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace

The Phantom Menace is a movie that one needs to understand how to view before one can properly assimilate. First, The Phantom Menace is the beginning of the Star Wars saga. It is very unusual for a film series to begin in the middle but in 1977, that’s exactly what happened. The original Star Wars thrust us right into the middle of a galactic struggle, which engaged us by drawing us directly into the conflict between the powerful and the people. Star Wars appealed to us because the protagonists were the unlikeliest of heroes. It didn’t matter that we didn’t understand the source of the conflict between the Empire and the Imperial Senate – it was more than enough to watch seemingly undefeatable foes bettered by their technical inferiors.

The Phantom Menace rewinds the saga and starts at the very beginning and what a beginning it is. We discover life at a time when pure democracy existed amongst the planets like states amongst the nation. Each planet is represented in the Imperial Senate just as California and Maine are equally represented in our own Congress. A benignly evil force maneuvers to impose tariffs of the systems effectively blocking trade by unfair taxation. Two Jedi Knights are dispatched as ambassadors to negotiate a peaceful settlement. As you would have expected one of the two Jedi is Obi-Wan Kenobi, only in this installment he is an apprentice versus a retired Knight as in the 1977 Star Wars. His master in Phantom Menace is Qui-Gon Jinn brilliantly played by Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List). Together they encounter confusing dark forces that privately destroy galactic freedom while publicly proclaiming their desire to protect individual freedom.

Trapped on the planet Tattoine by a battle-damaged starship, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and a unique entourage seek to repair their crippled ship. Here they meet young Anikin Skywalker who unselfishly helps them secure the money needed to purchase the replacements for the failed spacecraft parts. This is where R2-D2 and C3PO meet for the first time. I can’t wait to see how their histories develop in the next two installments of the prequel trilogy.

From this point on, the film goes into high gear. The story is meticulous and deadly accurate. Writer/Director George Lucas was brilliantly faithful to his original story with every detail of the old trilogy perfectly tying into this story of this prequel.

So what can I say? I can’t tell you the plot, that would be unfair. I can’t tell you the hooks, you’d hate me for that. So I will just tell you a bit about the craftsmanship of the film. First, the photography is stunning. Some of the characters are all digital but you will not be able to tell. The realism is so good that I expect within the next few years to see a film in which every single character is digital. It’s already been done for years. Every animated feature from Mulan to The Prince of Egypt is digital animation. What I’m saying here is that soon real people will be digitally produced and you and I won’t be able to tell the difference. Also the story, yes the story, is brilliant. Phantom Menace takes it’s time and tells the story in old-fashioned story telling style. You can tell that there was no editors forcing Lucas to cut here, compress here, add a little here. Lucas tells his story exactly as he wished us to see it. He spends just enough time on each theme to insure that you get it. Lucas also spends considerable time weaving his own philosophy into this film. The sub themes are crammed with wit, wisdom, and axioms as old as civilization and truths few in today's morality stop to consider. It gets a bit preachy at some points but I found the sermons well placed, needed, and absolutely enchanting in their ability to impart their power.

The performances were spectacular and difficult to isolate as one being better than the other. In fact, the cast performed more as a hand than any individual finger. The ensemble was perfectly matched and the flavor was consistent. First was Jake Lloyd. Many pre release reviews hated his performance but I loved it. Here was a ten year boy with the intellect of someone twice his age trapped in an immature body. He exuded wisdom and intelligence beyond his years which made him appear as a prodigy with great spirit. In other words, he’s a kid, he’s supposed to be a kid so don’t go expecting him to behave like an 18 year old. He is supposed to a 10 year old with the intelligence of an 18 year old. Please keep this in mind and you’ll enjoy the film much more. Lloyd delivers a solid performance that’s as good or better than veterans like Mickey Rooney, McCauley Caulkin, or Shirley Temple delivered at the same age.

Liam Neeson was wonderful as Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi master. Neeson makes the Jedi seem all-too-real with his quiet wisdom and absolute passion for justice. His sad but strong eyes demonstrate the very embodiment of a wise master warrior. Ewan McGreggor as Obi-Wan Kenobi is perfectly matched as the two take on the task of restoring peace. Natalie Portman plays Queen Amidala with exceptional class, exuberance and poise. I could go on and on about the cast but if you see the film you’ll see so many great roles that you’ll appreciate virtually the whole ensemble.

There were a few characters I found a bit annoying, mostly the Gungan, Jar-Jar-Binks. He was clever and laughable but I had a hard time understanding his diction and his role was far too important for me to have to strain to understand what he was saying most of the time. Even still, Phantom Menace is a terrific film.

There’s a pod race which resembles more than anything, Ben-Hur’s chariot pulled by a jet engine, that is simply the very definition of wonderful. Call it Top Gun, Days of Thunder, or the chases in Ronin, this pod race is as exciting as anything you’ll ever see. It’s almost worth the price of admission all by itself.

I could go on and on but suffice it to say that this is one you’ll want to see again and again. Too bad that as of this writing George Lucas doesn’t believe in the DVD format. This film was made for DVD and it seems to me that for a man as steeped in cutting edge film tradition as Lucas says he is, he should reconsider his stance against DVD.

See the film, see it twice, it’s a great movie with a great story from a great director to a great following. Star Wars - The Phantom Menace, I loved it and hope you will too.

See you at the movies,