Pandora's Box...

Rating: Null/10 (12 August 2004)

I have been a fan for the longest time. When the line was wrapped around the theatre two times for "A New Hope", I didn't even flinch. Star Wars has been a source of inspiration to countless millions, and to see Lucas destroy the "integrity" of his own life's work is well... disappointing.
I really wasn't sure what to expect from Menace, but I had to at least give Lucas the benefit of any doubt. ROTJ Had left a bad taste in my mouth. The Empire, scourge of the galaxy, had been brought down by teddy bears and that just was not good enough for me, and as time went on I found that I was not alone on that point. The seriousness of ESB had spoiled me. Irvin Kershner had taken the series, and had honed it into one of the finest Sci-fi phenomena's of all time. All of this aside, let's go
The Good:
What did I like about Menace? The production of the film was spared no expense, and it showed to a great extent that had never been seen before in any of the SW series. The era of the crumbling republic was portrayed as very decadent, rich and in the traditional sense, romantic. It was a definite departure from the crusty and grisly aspects of the initial three movies, and I welcomed that.
Darth Maul, no nonsense, just tried to get the job done. As far as characters were concerned he was the most compelling aspect of the movie, and they killed him. When I think about what SW used to be, Maul fits into the puzzle well. Quite honestly, I was looking forward to seeing both Maul and Vader crush the Jedi into pulp. >sigh<
The Bad:
It is obvious to me and most others that the film was made for children, and appealing to children is not a bad thing. However, children can appeal to creative adult thinking, Lucas seems to have forgotten this. The pre-pubescent humor that surrounds Jar Jar and 3PO was starting to relate to ROTJ except now it's worse. Humor in the film is used as a means to keep the audiences interests afloat, whereas humor in the previous films was a genuine compliment to enhance character depth.
Anakin, If he is the balance of the force Let me state that again, 'The balance of the Force.' Can we please give him a personality that suits his role in the universe well? What I have seen so far, Anakin's problems don't amount to a hill of beans His backdrop is not convincing at all, meaning that I did not feel any form of sympathy for him. This boy will become a man who, in time has no problem with committing genocide on a whim. At no point in the movie did I feel that Anakin was a prodigy or was surrounded by a sense of destiny that seems to be so prevalent in the SW universe. Finally, can we give this boy a plan, rather than blowing up capital ships by accident? It destroys his credibility. Child geniuses have made for some of the best stories, if you need proof of that, I'll point you to "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. Anakin seems like paper in the wind, no control what-so-ever, and it's difficult to gain character interest by generating apathy.
There is too much coincidence, way too much coincidence. Anakin built 3PO? Isn't this getting just a bit too incestuous? You know there is nothing wrong with getting a droid off of the assembly line. Perhaps it was felt that this wasn't good enough for our arrogant and stuffy golden protocol bot. BTW: why would Anakin want to build a protocol droid anyway?
Jar Jar, I'd have a hard time saying what has not been said before. Moving along.
Now we come to my most hotly contested complaint with The Phantom Menace. Metachlorines The Force has been reduced to parasites!?! 'May the Force be with you always.' immortal words given to us as generation of people that conveyed hope and promise, has now been stunted into what some people might consider a sickness or disease? In 'A New Hope' the force was related as an old religion, a spiritual element that could deliver beings from the darkest of times. This is single handedly the most appalling and might I add, insulting aspect to Menace. What's the matter George, religion too controversial? If anything, it tells me YOU lost the faith! The Force was the essence of the SW series, and it was filleted off the soul of your work! To create something so magnificent that everyone could understand at the most basic level, was the crown jewel of your achievements! Nearly all of the magic from SW is gone forever from only 2 lines of a misbegotten script. You should be ashamed of yourself seriously. >Rant over<
Personal feelings aside, Menace has elements that are good, and the most basic flavor of the series is still there, but I cannot in good judgment condone what the series is starting to become.
4 stars out of 10.