`A little less conversation a little more action'  a low point in the series

Rating: Null/10 (27 June 2002)

The galaxy is run by the Republic, however they are under treat of a Rebellion run by the Trade Federation. Sinister forces are also at work within both the Republic and the Federation and the Empire has it's hands in both in the form of Darth Sidious and his protégé Darth Maul. Meanwhile Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and his pupil Obi Wan travel to protect the planet of Queen Amidala, along the way they find a child strong in the force and resolve to train up the child Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi.
The first Star Wars movie (albeit number 4 in the production order) was always going to have a lot to live up to  after all we've been waiting for over 15 years! Maybe that's why it was so poorly received. The story isn't the most exciting thing due to the fact that it's setting up the coming films  the Empire is years away and is mostly in the background. There's a lot of politics involved that make little sense and don't appear to go anywhere and this slows the film down.
The film's focus is dull because the child Anakin is pretty innocent and cute  he is yet to have any hint of his future. The action is quite cartoony and the ground battle at the end is as much reliant on slapstick comedy as it is on action. In fairness to the film  it is less of an entity in itself and more of the stepping stone to the other films, it was never going to be the best of the lot  the best SHOULD be parts 3,4 and 5 as they are where the main action occurs (although we don't know what was planned for 7-9). However that doesn't mean it shouldn't be good but it's bad in a number of ways.
First of it totally lacks any sense of wonder or fun. The effects may be better but the fun is gone, the characters are wooden and dry, the politics is dry etc. Even when chased by a giant fish the Jedi remain unshakable  compare that to the action of Han Solo etc involved in a chase! The characters are undeveloped and those that are created to be `fun' are actually annoying  namely Jar Jar Binks. This `thing' is supposedly for children but he's just not funny. If anything I find his `messa sorry' dialogue to be almost racist! Could he have been made to sound more like a cotton-picking slave? His slapstick antics aren't funny, they may amuse very young kids but compare him to the comedy of C3PO and R2D2  they were value for kids and adults alike and they weren't annoying! To me the main concern is that it's just not fun  this only exists in a few good action scenes or a few comedy moments  but I wasn't enjoying it, I was only watching it.
All the actors may be quality but they all treat the material with such respect that you'd think they were doing Shakespeare. In part 2 they are still a bit dry but at least they get to have character and be a bit more life-like. The only character that stood out was Darth Maul  even without any significant dialogue, at least he had passion and energyshame really!
Overall this is just a stepping-stone to allow you to move on in the series. As a film it isn't enjoyable apart from a few scenes including the double-ended light sabre and the pod-race. Happily Lucas put much of the faults right for part 2 but really as a film Part 1 is a disappointment.