falling short

Rating: Null/10 (4 June 2004)

It is not terribly difficult to see how Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the latest installment in the Star Wars saga could fall short of expectations. Consider the astronomical quantities of hype and hoopla that have surrounded this movie from the instant George lucas announced his plans to film it. However, Episode I is not a good movie whose quality is diluted because it fails to measure up; rather it is a second rate attempt to milk a cash cow, whose flaws are magnified because of enormous expectations. Translation: Episode I is not a victim of the fans but rather the other way around. It lets down by virtue of its utter lack of quality or charm.
Episode I had several objectives which had to be achieved in order for the film to be mentioned in the same breath as its predecessors--specifically the master stroke of the series, The Empire Strikes Back. These are as follows: To outline the life and fall from grace of Anakin Skywalker. To illustrate the political events that led to the collapse of the Galactic Republic and the rise of the Empire via the clone wars and the Jedi purge. Finally, to remain true to (at least some of) the vast mythologie concerning the backstory of the original trilogy as presented via various comics and novels (all authorized by Lucas himself) that have proliferated over the years.
Anakin Skywalker The diminuitive blond mop-top who portrays the future Darth Vader as a boy--Jake Lloyd--does little to hint at the evil that he must eventually become. He is childish in the truly Disney sense of the word. No glimpse in the heart of darkness within is offered. We see that he is a capable pilot--something Obi Wan tells Luke in A New Hope)but the circumstances surrounding this skill are unrealistic--even in a fantasy world (10 year-old cannot fight in space battles). Anakin's affinity with The Force is demonstrated early on, perhaps intelligently as undeveloped instinct (thank god he wasn't running around choking people), but Lucas destroys Obi Wan's definition of the source of Jedi powers (delivered in the original) by foolishly attempting to apply it to physical science. Furthermore, by introducing Anakin as a mere child, Lucas totally undermines the relationship between him and his future master. In the original Obi Wan describes Anakin as a good friend, but this bond is nowhere to be seen in this installment (not to mention totally absent in the abysmal Attack of the Clones). In his final confrontation with his old master, Vader declares that the circle is now complete. The circle is not even present. Oh, and the whole jesus/virgin mary analogy was crap and should have been left on the cutting room floor.
The Age of Empire One of the most tantalizing loose ends left by the original trilogy was the political events that led up to the rise of the Empire. As Obi Wan tells it the mysterious Clone Wars followed by the murder of the Jedi Knights paved the way for the fall of one government and the rise of another. Surprisingly, Lucas whose forte is events on a vast scale reduces this galactic conflict to planetary proportions. We see some of the corruption the obviously contributed to Palpatine rise to power, but that's about it. There is little sense of the Jedi Knights acting as the servants of the galactic government, or the fact that major political change is on the way. Lucas attempts some character bridges--Bail Antilles (caption of Princess Leia's ship seized in the opening salvos of A New Hope) is introduced as one of the candidates for chancelor, yet the bridge is not solidified, or even fully built. Even in the epic battles of Attack of the Clones, Lucas continues do downsize. We don't see the actual clone wars in which Anakin (and General Kenobi) rose to fame but just the first battle.
Mythology Much has been written in the context of the Star Wars universe since the last showing of Return of the Jedi closed, and while it would be a fool's hope the Lucas could conceivably use half of it in his prequel, it would have been nice, nonetheless, to not have seen it cast out the window. This casting aside of the popular mythology illustrates quite clearly that Episode I was crafted primarily as a child's movie (see Jar Jar Binks) rather than the continuation of a story rich in tradition and myth. Places like Naboo, characters like Darth Sidious, Darth Maul and Qui Gon Jinn (didn't Obi Wan describe Yoda as "the same Jedi Master who instructed me) are heretofore unseen in Star Wars mythology. This destroys the sense of continuity of the series. These films don't really feel like Star Wars. The originals were so charming because of the gritty undertones that lay beneath the surface of even the cheerier scenes. The space ships were not sleek and smooth but well worn and blocky--almost realistic. The technology seemed rustic and analog, not touchscreen, digital and impersonal. Episode I takes place almost 50 years before A New Hope in the Star Wars timeline, yet everything looks lightyears more advanced. Gone is the mystique and prowess of The Death Star, Darth Vader's flowing robes, the Degobah swamps, cloud city's carbon chamber the Millenium Falcon, Chewbaca--etc. What has replaced them is a CGI smattering of bloated castles and all-too-trekie starships. Only Coruscant remains faithful (even if it lacks the Gothic touch we expected). A case in point--no one wanted the Crouching Tiger-esque acrobatics in a light saber duel. It makes it too impersonal. There's too much technique involved and way to many wrist twirls. There's no effort and certainly non of the thick-as-smog tension that pervades the climactic Cloud City showdown that is the high point of the originals.
George Lucas has destroyed his own creation in his latest attempt to surpass it by turning it into a child's fairy tall. None of the themes or emotions that echo resoundly through Empire or any of the other original films is present. There is no myth, no magic and way to much CGI. Instead of working off of the best qualities of A New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back, lucas built off of the worst of Return of the Jedi. The new movie should be called the Ewok Menace--because that's what it is.