9/10 movie, but just not Star Wars

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 1999)

Overall, this was a dazzling film. The special effects were great, the creatures were interesting, the costumes were insanely over-the-top, and the battles were fantastic. The story was good enough, and did indeed tie in to the other episodes. But that old Star Wars feel is gone. Instead of following the pattern set by the first three, George Lucas has made a movie incorporating every single trend in Hollywood right now. There's Jar Jar Binks, who I'm sure you've heard about by now, the unbelievably annoying "Gungan" who spouts phrases such as "How rude!" and "I-sa wants to help-sa you-sa" in an horrifyingly screechy Caribbean accent. He's obviously aimed at the little kids in the audience, but it was extremely rare to hear anyone laugh. Often, Jar Jar would be away for a scene or two, and the movie would become more engrossing, easier to take. But, without fail, after a few minutes, the floppy-eared, scaly, bug-eyed weirdo would show up on the screen again and rattle off a few jokes, then step in animal excrement or somesuch "hilarious" gag. Sigh. And the absence of a Han Solo-style character to put a damper on the heroics of the main few is unfortunate. Although it's easy to be taken in to the film, the spotty, inconsistent dialogue ("Are you an angel?") often messes up otherwise dramatic moments. Also, the movie is devoid of suspense, thanks to those other three movies, whatever they were called. As for the romantic subplot between 10-year-old Jake Lloyd's character and nearly-18-year-old Natalie Portman's, the future parents of Luke and Leia, all I can say is... ehhhhh. And although containing some familiar characters, this one is SO different from the original trilogy, words fail me. It's just not the same. The scale is several thousand times larger, the story is heavier, despite all the "comic" relief, and the same tight focus, no more. And, well, that leads me to the most surprising point about this movie. Even with all of these flaws, it's great, and as far as visuals go, well, anything is possible now. It's engrossing, moving, and well-acted for the most part. I would definitely recommend that you see it again. It's another testament to George Lucas's genius that he could make such a great movie even with so many flaws. To put it on the level with the classic trilogy, many changes would have to be made, but it holds its own as a movie, and is far better than most fare these days. Thanks, Mr. Lucas, but for Episode 2 and 3, let's gorily kill off Jar Jar and try to focus, OK?