Entertaining despite many many flaws

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2002)

*** THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN A FEW SPOILERS***
OK first things first : without any reasonal doubt the Phantom Menace doesn 't even hold a candle to the original trilogy . Lucas and co have decided to make the prequels simply to cash in the phenomenal success of Star Wars . Episode I is a very different story from its predecessors but it doesn 't mean it is a bad movie . I am a hardcore fan of Star Wars but before I watched it I had lowered my expectations enough to wait a mindless action film . I can understand why all the fans were disappointed since there were so many things wrong with this movie .
1) Unbelievably lame CG special effects . The robot soldiers were so fake that make one wonder when the Hollywood producers finally LEARN THEIR LESSON THAT MODERN DOESN 'T NECESSARILY MEAN BETTER AND CG DESIGNS ARE FOR THE MOST PART UNCONVINCING ??? Just look at how convincing the old fashioned antiquated SFX of the original trilogy with the imaginative costumes and suits are . What we have in the Phantom Menace is a terrible bunch of alien creatures annoying to the bone . The SFX crew are not the only ones to blame since the film had such a high budget that could include more talented designers . Just look at the canteen scene at the airport of Tattoine in Star Wars (1977) and the PM pales in comparison . From the Siamese two headed speaker of the pod race to the flying grumpy ugly master of Annakin and his mother , these creatures have none of the imaginative creation and charisma of the original 's . Jabba , in one of the few reoccuring roles , is one of the few exceptions and I would like to say that the only one I liked is (surprise , surprise ) Jar Jar Binks !!!!!! To all those thousands of Jar Jar haters out there I would like to say I found him entertaining and at the worst case passable and that HE IS NOT THE FILM ' S LOW POINT . Stop bashing him for God 's shake . He is not the disgrace to Episode I .
The director should focus less on those ugly and repelling creatures since they were unsuccessful . If he wanted to provide us eye candy or at least introduce us to his strange universe he should put his money on the scenery. This was also a lost bet which leads us to ....
2) Mediocre art direction . None of the scenes can top the brilliance of the compelling Death Star with its white lighted sterilized corridors in Star Wars , the frozen landscape of Hoth or the pink clouded sky city in Empire Strikes Back or even the forests on the Ewoks planet in Return of Jedi . I would like to admit however that the production designs were at least decent like Princess Amidala 's palace . The best though is undoubtly the sand-grounded planet Annakin lives which manages to bring us some of the much needed nostalgia of Tattoine .
3) The story is confusing : I never understood why all this mumble with the federation , the senate etc . Oh well who cares ? Not only the plot is insignificant but the main point is the research for the man who will bring the "Balance of the Force" (the movie's original subtitle) . The greatest weakness of the script was of course ****spoiler****** having a 10 year old boy navigating with incredible agility a flying combat spacecraft and infiltrating the enemy 's spaceship so easily ..... Whatever.....**********
4) Ewan Mc Gregor is wasted here . He practically is non - existing !! Little screen time and very few lines : he spends most of the movie nodding his head when his master tells him something in order to show he agrees with him !!! I guess this was intentional in order to wait for him to be developed in the next film .
5) Terrible and unnecessary make up for Natalie Portman . uuuugghhh .. disgusting !!! Can I presume it was also intentional to cover her up for safety reasons ?
And now the positive points
1) Much welcomed cameos from C3PO and R2D2 . More screen time for them
would also be plausible
2) The Ben Hur-esque pod race is enough to keep you at the edge of your seat.
3) Liam Neeson is EXCEPTIONAL as the (essentially) leading character and the best part is that he doesn 't even try !! Whoever cast him as the master Jedi made a wise choice . Neeson has such a calm yet powerful appearance , such a philosophic image and exhales so much confidence and reliability that he is perfect . He is the ideal portrayal of a Jedi knight . ******spoiler*****too bad he won 't be in the sequels******
4) I know I am once again the minority but actually Jake Lloyd is quite good. All this whining "he is a stupid kid with all his yuppies!! " is really inane . FOR CHRIST 'S SAKE what did you want ? A junior Darth Vader with a helmet and black suit ??? The script follows Annakin as a young charismatic slave who deals with his special uniqueness . He is confused because he has the choice of leaving with God-looking (in his childish eyes) Jedis to be trained but has to leave his mother behind . Lloyd gives a very nice performance (especially compared to other kid actors) . And just look at how ironic and creepy is the scene where Annakin meets Obi-One.
5) The final edition with the climax in three different points of battle is done nicely and is the best sequence of the entire film .
The highlight of course was the lightsaber duel between Darth Maul and the Jedis which also is one of the few connecting links with the initial trilogy. ( however , am I the only one who noticed that an unfair battle 2 vs one is extremely incompatible with the Jedi - code - of - honor ? )
Enough said I think . Episode I is a timid beginning and a setup for the next movies with the discovery of Annakin Skywalker and a few occasional gratuitous action scenes like the underwater chase sequence with the cetacean creature . Not a great movie but mindless fun .

STAR WARS 9.5 /10 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 8.5 / 10 RETURN OF THE JEDI 9 / 10
FINAL VERDICT : The Phantom Menace 8 / 10