"Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace"

Rated: PG

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Pernilla August, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid

Written By: George Lucas

Directed: George Lucas

But I'm rambling .... here's the dirt with an attempt to steer clear of major spoilers .... but in case anyone is fanatical about not knowing anything before going in here's a just in case warning ;-)

****** SMALL SPOILERS IN PLACES **********








If you are anything like me this movie will be exactly what you are expecting. Seeing Star Wars in the cinema when I was 7 was a magical experience for me and one of those moments that shaped my life. It nurtured the love of Sci-Fi, horror, technology and my general geek status ;-) I was fully prepared for the fact that Phantom Menace was not going to be that. I was prepared for the fact that what it would be is a special effects extravaganza and it was indeed. A huge part of my enjoyment this time was seeing it with a bunch of like-minded people .. all the folks in town who thought it was worth waiting around for a couple of hours outside and inside the cinema to see. There was cheering and booing but only when appropriate and everyone was quiet when it was appropriate.

The special effects are breathtaking and pretty much what you would be prepared to see if you have seen the trailers. There is much going on in almost every frame of the movie and I'm sure I missed a lot. It will take several viewings to take in everything in the sweeping scenic views of Naboo and the busy Tatooine scenes. The ship, that the main characters spend most of their time in during this movie, is gorgeous and the antithesis of the Millenium Falcon although my heart still belongs to the Falcon. It's kind of like a bug owner loves their old patched together bug but can appreciate the beauty of a Jaguar without actually wanting to swap it ;-)

So, on to the characters. I had a great sense of this being just the beginning for so many of the characters here. That may have been fed by the fact that I actually knew there was more to come. Many of the characters that we know are going to become integral to the full story are not fleshed out. We are given small insights into who they are but most of what we know of some of the characters (e.g. Obi Wan Kenobi) comes from our previous knowledge. We see the first steps in a chain of events that lead to the stories we already know and love. The film seems to be mostly about the character played by Liam Neeson and his initial part in the story of Anakin Walker. It sets up how Anakin meets many of the people who will become important in his life and shaping what he ultimately becomes. As far as character development goes this definitely feels like the first episode of a longer story ;-)

The main fault in the movie, IMHO, is that lack of a sense of real MENACE. One character who did need much more development here was Darth Maul. It felt like Lucas was relying very heavily on his appearance for anyone to know he's one of the bad guys. There was no doubting that Darth Vader was evil to the core on viewing Star Wars alone. At seven years old he was terrifying to me ;-) It didn't take much but a few key scenes established just what we were supposed to feel about Vader. Not so of Darth Maul ... more was needed so that we could truly feel the need to root for the good guys in the big Light Saber fight scene. Despite being the brains behind the main plotline ... the trade federations invasion of Naboo .. Darth Sidious did not have enough menace either. Darth Vader would have throttled, via the Force, the goons of the Trade Federation on several occasions.

So the recommendation is definitely to go see, especially if you have kids to take and especially if you are a Star Wars fan. Don't expect to reexperience the level of wonder and delight of your first Star Wars viewing but do expect to enjoy the much anticipated Special Effects and a light story which promises much more to come.

Mary Jo Stockton (5/19/99)