Not The Best But Far From The Worst Star Wars Movie

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2008)

It's been nearly ten years now since Phantom Menace arrived on our screens. To many it brought a crushing sense of disappointment and anger at what Lucas had done to his universe. And granted many of the flaws so religiously pointed out by all and sundry do harm the movie.
But I remember coming out of the cinema and thinking "At least Lucas tried something different." Phantom Menace is a part of a trilogy that has a very different tone to episodes IV-VI. Yes the dialogue is bad; yes the acting is variable or just plain bad. Yes much of the emotion is drained away. But after a sluggish start the film gets better and the last 30 minutes is a superb piece of film-making.
Perhaps Lucas' biggest mistake was to make the film too political, instead of concentrating on Anakin - he comes into the movie about 40 minutes in and seems poorly sketched. Anakin is a slave, so why is he such a good person to begin with? He should be angry, dangerous, a bit of a rogue but with some good points. Lucas makes him a goody two shoes kid guaranteed to get right up your nose. He also seems nothing out of the ordinary, so why the other characters behave like he's the second coming appears rather strange at this distance. Jake Lloyd is not a good choice for the part.
Jar Jar. Oh, Dear! Can we move on?
Also Obi-Wan is really a walking piece of cardboard in this movie. Ewan Mcgregor is a fine actor, but he delivers a really bad Alec Guinness impression in place of a performance. Liam Neeson looks full of wisdom, but delivers some rather sleepy line readings. Natalie Portman struggles with a difficult part and just about brings it off. The most intriguing character is Darth Maul, an evil Sith Lord for whom a little screen time goes a long way. His light sabre duel with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan at the film's climax is the best of the series.
That said, there are numerous continuity plot-holes in relation to the original trilogy. Why on earth would slaves need a protocol droid. "To Help Mom" just doesn't wash. Lucas forces it to happen for simple plot expediency.
And yet Phantom isn't the worst of the series - I'm going to commit sacrilege here to Star Wars fans. Return Of The Jedi is easily the weakest of the movies. The acting in that is even more indifferent; the story is simply a rehash of the first two movies, and only Jabba's Palace and the speeder bike chase really stand out. Apparently to be a Jedi you must learn to use your sabre like an axe, with frequent chopping motions a must! No, Phantom is not a great movie, but it is an underrated one.