SW - Unfashionable again ?

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2000)

Episode I is very different from the current trend in science fiction films or action films in general, it doesn't know anything about the 90's lifestyle, MTV, it doesn't use any pictures of decay (which became trendy perhaps after 'se7en' or the Prodigy videos) as a stylistic element ('The Matrix' is located much more on that side of the spectrum), which a lot of current action movies do.
More than ever, SW is idealistic, spiritual in a blue-eyed, childlike way, and completely asexual. It is really about a kid's world. But a kid's world is not necessarily a stupid or a trivial one. The SW saga is about people for whom the corruption of character is the greatest evil, and for whom the cultivation and defense of their belief is their primary task in life.

As kids, one considered absolute integrity of character, and the assimilation of belief systems as very big concerns, but very rarely, one thinks about these philosophical issues later in life. Apart from having become used to things, one has grown too realistic - one must deal with those who are, and with those who aren't decent people, and by doing so, one must here and there also give up a little of one's own integrity - how could it be otherwise. So there's no real need to talk about it.
Why SW succeeds in revitalizing the discussion of these issues is that it puts it into a place and time completely detached from us. When we see these films, we may contemplate about these topics, or simply be reminded, in a state sheltered from any clash with reality - which is fantastic.

I guess that Episode I fails to meet many people's expectations and tastes because the themes it is about have almost been completely left out in mainstream Hollywood films during the previous, particularly cynical decade. It has a hard time competing with the commercialization of despair.
If one watches movies from the 50's, one can sometimes hardly believe their level of naivete, but still, they were accepted at that time. It seems that Episode I has the same problem. I guess it's very difficult to make a believable action film in 1999 circling around this set of deep philosophical questions that are vital to kids, but too monofacetted for adults, since there is no cynicism and existential dread, and expect that it doesn't resemble a kid movie (of course, the directing and acting could nevertheless have been better).
Episode I is in that sense somewhat unfashionable and out of date, but it wouldn't be a shame at all if it succeeds as a reminder that despite the trend towards extreme cynicism in Hollywood (probably, because this sells), a more life-friendly point of view can be at least as powerful, even though it may look childish. It would be even better if it would finally define a new trend.