Look what they've done to STAR WARS

Rating: Null/10 (27 November 2001)

First of all, let me qualify my review of PHANTOM MENACE with my position on the STAR WARS saga overall. The first film (episode IV, NEW BEGINNING, or whatever) was undoubtedly the best, with a great story and simple, uncomplicated (but still very interesting) characters. The original stands on its own, complete in and of itself.
With EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, they began to go off track. Lucas made a huge mistake with his plot development of having Luke be the son of Darth Vader, and also the brother of Leia. This was ill-conceived, and just as stupid as it would be if James Bond found out that Goldfinger was his long-lost father (not to mention Miss Galore being his sister!). We were thus robbed of the Vader we loved to hate, a classic villain of all time, and they ruined a good story line with this soap opera contrivance.
That being said, the other entries can be acknowledged as various imperfect parts of the unadulterated original, and have at least offered the opportunity to view their progressive special effects. In that sense, I wasn't disappointed with the technology which brought about the entertaining RETURN OF THE JEDI, and neither am I really disappointed with that aspect of the otherwise weak PHANTOM MENACE.
As for the story which plays out in PHANTOM, I never was able to follow it closely due to a lack of compelling plot. The characters played by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor (as young Obi-Wan Kenobi) uncover some kind of conspiracy hatched by the shadowy "Darth Sidious". They spend the rest of the film running around trying to thwart whatever's supposed to be going on, and even that sounds more interesting than it actually is. Along the way, they meet the little boy who will one day grow up to become Darth Vader, and I can't think of anything more ridiculous than seeing Vader as a child.
The several action scenes were effective enough, and Natalie Portman's character shows some promise, as does McGregor's take on Obi-Wan. Those criticizing Jake Lloyd, in his role as little Anakin Vader (I know, his name's Skywalker), should give the kid a break. He did about as good as anybody could with this. But the irritating Jar Jar was indeed unnecessary, and the two robots from the earlier films were totally out of place.
However, Darth Maul (Ray Park) proves to be an intriguing and enigmatic presence as one of the evil foes, giving the impression of being an indomitable force of nature. He's almost, but not quite, a worthy stand-in villain for Darth Vader, at least as the latter character was originally perceived, and Maul's duel with the two heroes is one of the few high points. By the way, shouldn't there be some kind of Jedi knight's code prohibiting two against one in a fight.
Finally, here's how the STAR WARS saga could have been saved. I would have kept Vader as an unredeemable villain, and never as the father of Luke and Leia. PHANTOM MENACE should have been about two young Jedi knights (not children), Anakin and Vader, who join with Obi-Wan in combatting the so-called menace. The next film would end with Vader turning against his fellow knights, and joining the dark side of the Empire. And the third installment would end with evil triumphing, and Vader killing Anakin, who leaves behind an infant son (the future Luke Skywalker).
There's the bare bones of a plot which Lucas could have fleshed out with a far better story than the convoluted soap into which he let the saga decline. He had a chance to create a series that would live up to some very high standards, and PHANTOM MENACE could have deserved to take its place as part of the truly great and original STAR WARS film.