Well-Done Prequel

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2005)

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is a flawed, fun film that begins the trilogy leading up to the story found in the 1977 blockbuster film Star Wars. George Lucas once again writes and directs and produces and his talent in all three areas is evident. Without re-hashing the plot(for which the volumes of previous reviews can do), Lucas uses some of the elements from his earlier three films and expands on them in this film. The tie-in for me seemed seamless and a perfect fit, at least in the story. We get a young Anikhan Skywalker(Darth Vader) here, Obi-Ben, C-3PO, R2D2, Yoda, and even Jabba the Hut. And also the man who will become the evil, insidious Emperor. We get new characters as well. Some work very nicely(the queen and Quagon(?)), while others are not quite as effective. Jar-Jar Binks is the film's comic relief, and though he has moments of amusement - he also takes some credibility away from the serious nature and believability of the story. Lucas also relies way too heavily on CGI effects. It seems virtually everything is computer generated. But these for me are small criticisms. Overall, I really enjoyed The Phantom Menace. It has a pretty good story, some solid acting performances(Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor doing a nice Alec Guiness, Ian McDiarmind, Natalie Portman, and the young boy playing little boy Darth), some exciting, visually stunning special effects, and just lots of entertainment bang for your entertainment buck.