Strictly for the kiddies

Rating: 4/10 (13 May 2006)

It's ironic that one of the most anticipated films of the twentieth century will be remembered as being one of the biggest let-downs ever in the history of cinema. While fans eagerly rubbed their hands together in the hopes of an thrilling epic to follow the original trilogy, 'Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace' was instead a lesson in Hollywood greed and a man, namely George Lucas, losing sight of what 'Star Wars' was all about. It was no surprise SW were left bitterly disappointed by the dirge 'The Phantom Menace' revealed itself to be, a mix of dull dialogue and scenes clearly intended to sell toys to children in the audience.
'The Phantom Menace' charts the early years of Anakin Skywalker, the boy who would grow to be Darth Vader and purge the galaxy of the Jedi. We see how nine-year-old Anakin entered the life of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and how he eventually came to be Kenobi's Apprentice as well as his first meeting with Padme, the future mother of Luke and Leia.
Character-wise, Obi-Wan and his Master Qui-Gon are the only ones of really of worth. Ewan MacGregor, as Obi-Wan, and Liam Neeson, as Qui-Gon, depict a Master and Apprentice pairing that is complex mix of familial love and Qui-Gon continually snubbing the young man who adored him as a surrogate father in favour of this new child in his life. Other than that, we have a bland, boring female lead in Natalie Portman's Padme and then there is Anakin himself and the detestable Jar-Jar Binks.
Anakin, aged nine, would have been a far more effective character had we seen him for being the slave he was instead of this happy-go-lucky all-American moppet. As a teenager, being a slave still deeply affected him but there is no sense of that in this film. Anakin should have been shown to be jaded and pained by what he was and been played by someone who is more solemn, such as Haley Joel Osment (who did audition for the role). Jake Lloyd just wasn't suited because he was too used to playing family/comedy roles and was too buoyant to properly show the depressing situation Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon found Anakin in. Sadly, people are too quick to blame little Lloyd for the problems with this film when it was George Lucas fully to blame for choosing the cute child over the talented one, and for writing such terrible dialogue for this character.
As for Jar-Jar, the less said about him the better. This was a CGI-character who talked incomprehensible drivel and clearly added to amuse kiddiewinkles with his 'hilarious' slap-stick antics. I don't know about children but anyone over ten are just left cringing whenever he is on-screen. This character is an embarrassment to cinema and would be far more at home in Lucas' infantile 'Ewoks' cartoon.
What could have been an excellent prequel exploring what moulded Darth Vader into the complex man he became was ruined by a plot that dithered between being positively childish and overly-political. There are scenes that drag on, bogged down with Padme and the Jedi dealing with the governmental side-plot, and then there are scenes where we have Anakin showing far more competence and ability than the Jedi, obviously trying to create in him a character who appeals to eight-year-old boys in the audience. The ten minute long Pod-race was just an advert to sell a computer game and just didn't need to be so long.
Overall, this film is passable but really far from enjoyable. It would suit tiny would-be fans of the series who will eventually grow up to watch the original trilogy but any of secondary school age will be left disappointed and bored. Personally, I feel I'm better off just sticking with the originals and forgetting the prequels ever existed.