Big, big disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 1999)

I'm not a big Star Wars fan but I was looking forward to seeing this and, in common with many people, I found it a real disappointment. Anything that starts off with tax problems over trade routes really puts the audience on the back foot right away - something more epic would have gone down much better. Then we have the problems - Anakin Skywalker is just too young to be the centre of the film and so it lacks a heart (his mum also calls him Annie all the time - The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow, tomorrow). That two Jedi knights (who promote terror with the Trade Federation) should have to rely on him so much is just unbelievable. Lucas goes and spoils the whole concept of the Force by explaining it for us. Queen Amidala is apparently a 14-year-old elected Queen - I don't know about you but I wouldn't vote for a teenaged girl to run my country, let alone my planet. Lucas kills Darth Maul for God's sake, he's the best thing in the film. There's no big Death Star destruction-style finale. Boss Nass appears to be a completely different species to the rest of the Gungan race. Lucas goes for the bigger fish eating big fish line not once but twice, we got the message the first time George! Obi Wan is woefully under-used. Natalie Portman is horribly one note as Amidala and her scene with R2 is just cringeworthy (as is the scene where the pre-pubescent Anakin hits on her, it's child molestation I tell you). How come the battle droids don't have a shield when the primitive Gungans do? There's no big baddy like Darth Vader - Darth Maul's good, but he's no Vader. The pod race is ripped off from Ben Hur and, even then, there's no sense of danger because Lucas plays it for laughs (a two-headed race commentator, I ask you). The space battle at the end is somewhat boring and Annakin manages to destroy the ship with absolute ease. I could go on, but I'd have to mention Jar Jar and the script if I did. On the good side, the special effects are terrific (although the droids and the Gungans just don't look real, I'm still not convinced SFX are at the level Lucas thinks they are). The light sabre duel is fabulous - really, really good, especially when they have to wait to fight again but Lucas again spoils it by having Obi Wan kill Darth Maul far too easily after all that had gone before. I just hope that Lucas is truly setting things up for the darker episodes two and three but it could just be that he's lost it big time and is far too reliant on special effects.