Has the looks, the sounds, & the music, ...but...

Rating: Null/10 (22 May 1999)

Sat. May 22nd 12:31 AM
Having just returned from this first weekend's screening, I feel compelled to write this while it's fresh in my mind. Episode I had you believing you were watching a Star Wars film, yet that was the whole problem that I found with TPM....I was just watching and not doing what I had done with the original trilogy, experiencing! There is a huge difference. Of course the visuals were flawless, again....a problem. I missed the feel of actual constructed sets and tangible characters instead of all the computer animation. Everything seemed ILM originated, it was as though I was watching a cartoon. I couldn't fully appreciate any of the battles because I couldn't bring myself to care about computer generated Gungens, because they never appeared to be in danger of anything. I always thought that if Jar Jar was close to getting hurt, an ILM tech would be there to save him by painting a quick laser bolt to destroy an oncoming attack droid in the nick of time. It lacked any real drama or tension.
Now about the characters and plot line. Sadly, nothing was developed very well in this movie from Anakin, to the origin of the Sith, to the reason for all of this greedy Trade Federation and political turmoil mumbo jumbo. I thought this episode would take on a grander scale than it did. I knew to properly develop Anakin's and Obi Wan's fledging relationship, the film would have to be slow. I didn't know the first hour was going to crawl like a garden slug in the sun. Man, was it boring. Jake Lloyd actually gave a decent performance, as did most every other human character, it was the writing that was seriously flawed. Lucas just didn't have the magic rekindled for this one. Let's face it, when the first words from Obi Wan's mouth is, "I've got a bad feeling about this," you know you're digging yourself an early hole. Jar Jar was given way to much screen time, while more essential characters, like Darth Maul and Amedala, were barely in this picture. The chemistry between the main group just never seemed to gel.
This first installment was not completely awful, it did have some riveting action sequences like the Pod race & the best lightsaber duel yet (blows the previous three duels away combined). That saved the second half of the film. I kept waiting for a third act....but it never came! You can't help leaving the theater feeling like Lucas could have done better. The greatest saga of all time deserved a better beginning than this.