Disappointing, but not without merit

Rating: Null/10 (5 June 2000)

It was a major disappointment, but I expected no less. In light of my initial reaction upon its theatrical release, I decided to give this film a second chance, and can honestly say that it holds up no better on video. The look and feel of this film differs so radically from that of the others that one would almost suspect that it was made by a different person entirely. Why should the technology in a galaxy far, far away have been more advanced in the past? Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn is a matter of taste, though Ewan McGregor does fine by Obi-Wan Kenobi. The film sorely lacks a dynamic central character, and pint-size Anakin just doesn't cut it. Natalie Portman, one of the distinguished talents of her generation --check out LÃ¨on, this gal can act--is largely wasted in dual roles. Her face is hidden behind hideous Geisha-like makeup, and voice is inexplicably deepened for her scenes as the Queen. I have often heard the complaint voiced that the original trilogy was a series of kid's movies, but Lucas is aiming squarely at the kiddie crowd in this one, playing up the cutesy antics of Jar-Jar Binks, serving to earn a PG rating in spite of the film's violence. Where once we may have rooted for the defeat of the Empire, we now find ourselves waiting for the Death Star to obliterate Jar-Jar's people. I will not say that The Phantom Menace is not without merit, as certain scenes and pieces of dialogue capture the flavor of the originals, but this could have been so much more. We can only hope the next installments will live up to the hype