The second coming? No. A good film? Absolutely.

Rating: 6/10 (20 May 2005)

When word came out that George Lucas would be making the three prequels to his STAR WARS trilogy, word-of-mouth was roused, and so was the hype and advertising. The year 1999 saw the release of the first of these prequels, THE PHANTOM MENACE. But even though it was the biggest moneymaker of its year, the film has split STAR WARS fans and critics of every kind alike. While some critics and fans jumped out in favor, a majority of others attacked it savagely and condemned it as a disgrace to the franchise. Even to this day, THE PHANTOM MENACE is mentioned with growls of disgust and/or disappointment. Almost everywhere I go there are many who take turns slam-dunking this movie and badmouthing George Lucas.
As a longtime STAR WARS fan, I do agree that the original trilogy is a tough act to follow, but I don't think Lucas deserves the negative backlash he got from this film (and its follow-up, ATTACK OF THE CLONES). Sure, it's not the Second Coming like many expected it to be, less lively than the other three films (in other words, more slow-going), and heavily reliant upon state-of-the-art CG effects for much of its shots. And the characters are not as appealing as their predecessors, and, yes, I COULD have done without the digital flatulence gag. But do I think STAR WARS: EPISODE I--THE PHANTOM MENACE is everything the disgruntled folks say it is? Do I think George Lucas has gone greedy and decided to squeeze every last ounce of cash from the franchise? No on both counts. The truth of the matter is that THE PHANTOM MENACE is a visually amazing movie. Every time I watch it, I am just in awe at the computer-generated setbacks, designs, and bizarre alien characters -- something that the previous STAR WARS movies could accomplish by miniatures, animatronics, and/or pyrotechnics. This was exactly the kind of technology Lucas would have wanted to use in order to make STAR WARS more than 25 years ago, but of course that was not possible. (This is why he made those "SPECIAL EDITIONS" of the films incorporating new footage and/or special effects shots.) Seeing this movie is almost like watching Lucas letting his imagination run wild; a lot of the sequences are both spectacular and invigorating, particularly the underwater journey through Naboo's core and the Pod Race on Tatooine. But my favorite part of the movie is the climactic lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi VS. the demonic looking Darth Maul. This battle is outstandingly staged and choreographed with impressive stunts and swordplay at its most swashbuckling.
Moving onto the plot analysis, yeah, I can understand why some would think the characters (including a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Queen Amidala) may not be what viewers best remember them as, but I'm not sure if Lucas was really INTENDING to make these movies in the same carefree spirit as, say, A NEW HOPE was (although there ARE some great one-liners, though spoken in a somewhat campy manner). Especially since the first three movies involve Anakin's descent into Darth Vader. This first movie features him as a young kid, played by Jack Lloyd. While his acting is a bit awkward in places, he didn't really detract me from the movie at all. He does display appropriate gloominess and has a somewhat distant look in his eyes, something that is ominous enough to remind us about what will happen later on. I loved Liam Neeson's performance as Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ewan McGregor is a great younger Obi-Wan. Natalie Portman is also a capable young actress doubling as Queen Amidala and her alter-ego Padme. Ian McDiarmid, who played the Emperor in RETURN OF THE JEDI, is bang-on yet again as Senator Palpatine. The rest of the characters are, shall we say, somewhat underdeveloped. However, this is best to be expected, since this is supposed to be the beginning of it all. This also could explain why there are some plot points left unresolved by the film's end (Who's Darth Sidious? Where did Darth Maul come from? What's the deal with those Trade Federation guys?). Most of these loose ends are tied up in EPISODE III--REVENGE OF THE SITH, which probably explains why the whole movie is difficult to evaluate individually.
Probably one of the biggest reasons why a lot of people hate this movie is the inclusion of the CG-created comic-relief Jar Jar Binks, played by Ahmed Best. Just about everywhere I go on the net do I see his name mentioned with death threats and utter annoyance. Speaking for myself, I actually LIKE Jar Jar Binks. I think he was an interesting new character for the movie, but there were times where I felt he was overused. I didn't have the same problem with his pompous ruler, Boss Nass; while he speaks with the same "offensive" dialect as Jar Jar, his deep voice, provided by Brian Blessed, more than made up for it.
But while many people have come up with arguments about hating Episode I with a passion (or even the other side who speaks in favor), it has been continually hard for me to do so. True, it's not perfect, and yes, there are some scenes I would have cut out, but I still have found no legitimate reason whatsoever to dislike this movie. It's still STAR WARS, after all. And even though I don't think THE PHANTOM MENACE is on the same level as the original trilogy, I think STAR WARS at its least is "OK" and, after seeing REVENGE OF THE SITH, I now see what place it has in the saga--this is the beginning of a six-part saga which will nonetheless be a bumpy ride. And as it progresses, one will find spectacles worth revisiting as well as occasional dead space. But it's a ride which ultimately has its rewards.