synopsis : in phantom menace the galaxy is divided into power groups whose interests will inevitably collide in later sequels .
there is an overarching galactic united nations - type organization called the senate presided by a weak chancellor .
within the senate two camps are at odds : a bickering , isolationist alliance called the republic and their aggressive rival the trade federation .
preserving law and order are a council of jedi knights who are meanwhile searching for a prophesied chosen one of virgin birth .
manipulating events behind the scenes is a dangerous , reemerging clan called the dark lords of sith , so shadowy and secretive that they comprise a " phantom " menace .
jedi knight qui - gon jinn ( liam neeson ) and his apprentice obi - wan kenobi
( ewan mcgregor ) witness an invasion of teenage queen amidala 's home planet naboo and befriend a gungan named jar jar ( ahmed best ) .
on the desert planet of tatooine the two jedi , jar jar , and amidala ( natalie portman ) attend a lengthy drag race involving the young boy anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) .
the five protagonists try to solicit help for freeing naboo by visiting the city planet of coruscant where a lot of debate and political maneuvering takes place .
can they free amidala 's helpless planet ?
opinion :
on tv last night i watched young , wannabe celebs pay $ 400 a ticket and come running out of theaters to bask in front of news cameras , gushing with testimonials of the phantom menace 's greatness in exchange for a few seconds of being on national television .
given this kind of media mania i wondered if phantom menace , the most anticipated movie of 1999 , could possibly live up to the extraordinary hype that preceded it . does phantom menace match the exaggerated hype ?
director george lucas answers , " it 's only a movie .
" to me , any movie with russian - sounding accents for bad guys , jamaican accents for good guys , and middle eastern - sounding accents for seedy gamblers accents can be expected to be more tongue in cheek than profound .
visually , star wars : episode i
--the
phantom menace ( 1999 ) is a kid show where parents can take their young ones to marvel at child - friendly cgi characters and wondrous backdrops
even if the character dialogue ( mostly geopolitics ) is beyond the level of children .
it is left to parents to patiently explain the conversation : droid origins , family lineage , the definitions of terms like blockade , appeasement , federation , alliance , symbiosis , satellite - controlled robots et cetera .
at least this much is clear
: there 's plenty of eye candy , and in
the last few minutes
it 's good guys and joe camel lookalikes versus
a caped
, horned red devil character and his mechanical hordes .
weaknesses :
weaknesses lie in the writing and in the performance .
at first
it seems like the film is to be an invasion story , but then phantom takes an hour - long detour to cover one chariot race before returning to the invasion theme .
this dilutes the central story .
additionally
, smaller scenes seem written self consciously , as if they were added more to fill us in on extraneous background information for other movies rather than form an integral part of the present movie .
veteran actors liam neeson and ewan
mcgregor noticeably outperform the other acting leads .
better ensemble chemistry between the five leads and background information that is central to a tight story line could have made have given phantom stronger performances and storytelling punch .
strengths
: on the bright side phantom menace as a big - budget production is far ahead of the competition in terms of making whimsical creatures , worlds and vehicles appear real .
the film boasts sophisticated , top - of - the - line visuals and quality exotic costumes , a musical score entertaining enough to stand alone , and three worthwhile sequences in the second half .
bottom line ?
seeing the film is entertaining and informative , like a visual theme park with star wars filler information serving as dialogue between impressive money shots .
we are bound to be completely inundated by star wars publicity , music and tie - ins for the next few months .
Output: P