The wait wasn't worth it

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2006)

It's a sad state of affairs when there's more excitement and thrills in a movie's trailer than the film itself, but unfortunately that was exactly how it was with the The Phantom Menace. The hype for the film was absolutely huge, this was the most anticipated film of all time bar none. The prequels promised to answer so much, like every Star Wars fan I remember watching the original trilogy and dreaming of what the mysterious 'Clone Wars' would be like and who Anakin Skywalker really was, what Obi Wan would be like as a younger man. Unfortunately George Lucas totally failed to create the magic that the first three films had in abundance. Instead of jumping straight into the Clone Wars with an adult Anakin we have to endure a peck kid who's acting is as wooden as an oak table - I don't want to see Darth Vader when he was a sprog he's annoying and not very cool! The story line is turgid and dull from the start, you know your in trouble when the opening crawl talks of tradedisputes. Perhaps dialogue has never been Lucas' strong point but boy does it show here, there's some great actors in this but they all come across stilted and uninterested, the charisma and charm of Han Solo is a distant memory. That's the major downfall of The Phantom Menace, where the original films seemed to have a purpose and zipped along at break neck speed with crackling chemistry this episode is more of a chore. It was so important Lucas got the story right for the opening episode but he makes major misjudgements, by concentrating the whole film on events that ultimately have little to do with the overall story he wastes valuable time, thus ultimately effecting the pacing and characterisation in parts 2 & 3.There are good elements to the movie, Darth Maul and the climatic lightsabre fight at the end for one, but overall it's a crushing disappointment. There will be those who argue its great but most fans cant help feeling 'It could have been so much better'.