In Japan, we waited a very long time to see Star Wars, but I was a little disappointed

Rating: 10/10 (12 July 1999)

First of all, I have to say that I like the special effects very much. Here in Japan, some of the highest grossing movies tend to be effects films, sometimes films that don't even have a story. (like the recent Independence Day and Armageddon films.) Maybe because as Japanese, we find the captions (subtitles?) a little troublesome to read and want to just enjoy the visual experience. In this aspect, I think that Star Wars 1 delivered. The pod races, the big battle between the Gungans and the Droids, the assualt on the Command Ship, we loved them all. Second, I think that I liked the light saber duel between Darth Maul and Jinn and Kenobi. It seemed interesting to me that while in the first Star Wars films, the fights were based either on european fencing (episode 4) or on Japanese kendo (episode 5,6), the fight shown in episode 1 was more like a hong kong action film using kempo or wu-shu. As I am a big fan of Tsui Hark and Jacky Chan films, this was fun for me. However, I was disappointed by the characters. I think that there were too many characters and not enough explanation. As I walk through bookstores here in Fukuoka, Japan, there are entire sections devoted to Star Wars books and periodicals, and some book stores even sell action figures! When I look at these figures, I see that some of the characters barely even appeared in the film! Instead, I think that the movie should have centered on the main characters, developing them a little more. For example, I want to know more about Qui-Gon Jinn, and more about Anakin's mother. Finally, I want to vent my frustration about Jar Jar Binks. When I read internet discussions about this character, I see that some Americans dislike him because of the racist image he portrays and the fact that his way of speaking is "annoying." For me, I didn't like him because I could barely understand his English. I lived for three years in America, in Florida, studying English, and I see any American film as a fun opportunity to practice my listening comprehension. However, watching Jar Jar Binks made me turn to the Japanese captions in frustration because I could not tell what he was saying. Here in Japan, we waited a long time to see this film. Our mass media has been depicting it as one of the greatest films to come out of America. (Partially because we think that almost anything that comes out of a big American studio is as good as gold) However, I think that I was a bit disappointed. But hopefully, Episodes 2 and 3 will be better, maybe?