Phantom Menace; Lucas carrying on the good fight...

Rating: Null/10 (23 September 1999)

I saw this about 3 days after it came out, having waded through scads of disappointed reviews and a month of hype overkill. Saw it with a full theater, they all clapped after it was done, which is Not something I had experienced in AGES. And while the film was on, I enjoyed it.
So what do I think of it, some 4 months after the fact?
I think it was quite a good film actually.
Bear in mind that I saw Star Wars when it came out in '77, and loved it then, and really liked Empire too. Jedi I thought was okay but the Ewoks needed to be DDT'd in a hurry. That was a bad move on Lucas', jumping on the '80's cutesy toy craze(Cabbage Patch, Smurfs, Carebears, etc.) though it did bring in the $$...he shoulda known better.
This one had too much Jar Jar, but I found the guy to be kinda funny and definately a great FX; which they simply grew way too fond of and jammed down our throats. Not needed. But what made the film work were other things...the resolute, staunch Princess, the terrific Senate scene, the Pod Race nearly knocking you through the back of your seat, the fine light saber duels towards the end, the bringing back of some old pals(R2d2 and Threepio), the city scenes showing us the capitals and etc...Unreal. I also liked the big battle at the end, though the Battlebots weren't all that impressive if you want to know the truth.
This was a superficial film in places, but since we bring such a huge weight of expectations and history to it, it give us more than it would if it were the first in a series, no Empire or whatever back when. I like to think that Lucas tried his best but was a bit rusty, and will get better at directing when #2 comes around.
What is needed to make the next one improve: Punch up the characters and dialogue some. Let Samuel Jackson and Ewan MacGregor have big roles and be Interesting. These are a pair of dynamic, talented actors, I hope Lucas Uses them. More Jedi stuff is needed, what makes them tick, after all? And he really needs to ditch the cutesie stuff, no more Jar Jar and more yoda would be a help.
And if he is going to have a baddie marketed all over the place, ala the way Darth Maul was, he really has to give him time on screen to warrant the attention; and make him come alive as he did Vader. Maul essentially had a few cameos and then was Basil Rathbone vs. Rob Roy there at the end for the big sword fight, it would have been better if we'd gotten to know horny better before all this..
But enough. I liked Menace a good deal, give it a *** outta **** rating, and hope that Lucas lets someone else help with the writing AND the directing; so there's more OOMPH to the proceedings.