Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Rating: 4/10 (14 October 2019)

Directed by George Lucas. Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Ray Park, Hugh Quarshie, Oliver Ford Davies, Terence Stamp. (PG)
Long-awaited continuation of the "Star Wars" saga, and arguably the most hyped movie event in cinematic history; prequel series tells the story of how Anakin Skywalker would be trained in the ways of the Jedi but eventually turn to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader. Unfortunately, the film decides to focus on events when Anakin (Lloyd) is just a precocious moptop, and an utterly uninteresting one at that. Had the surrounding story and events been exciting, it could have been forgivable, but trade embargo drama and ponderous Jedi philosophizing hardly generate fireworks--if Lucas intended to make a space fantasy movie for children (as he claims), why isn't it more fun? Stilted dialogue and formulaic characterizations abound, and the special effects wizardry would have been more impressive if there wasn't so much of it; many landscapes and action sequences (especially the battle outside Naboo) look far too cartoonish. On the plus side, a nifty lightsaber duel set to bombastic John Williams music; on the negative side, everything that is Jar Jar Binks (Best). Several familiar characters make appearances; McGregor's Padawan version of Obi-Wan Kenobi is the standout.
37/100