Die Jar Jar Die!! (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (DVD))

Name: sjen5en

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Product:	Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (DVD)
Date:	12/09/01 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Natalie Portman is always a plus

Disadvantages: Jar Jar, Video Game Graphics

Attached the world recognised tag of Star Wars to almost any film and publicity is certainly guaranteed. But what comes with publicity is expectation. After 16 years since the last instalment graced our cinema screens, the expectation planted upon The Phantom Menace is so enormous that it would be impossible to come away from watching it and not be just a little disappointment.

The Phantom Menace is far from a bad film however, it's just that it makes itself so easy to dislike. Following the astronomical success of the original, there is a huge amount of potential to be exploited, but it is never fulfilled and the opportunity for a great film is squandered. The huge array of talent on show is also wasted with a plodding script and pretentious dialogue. We all know how talented Ewan McGregor is but he seems too uptight as Obi Wan Kenobi - too preoccupied with getting his accent right perhaps. Natalie Portman also seems rigid as Queen Amidala, and the computer generated Jar Jar Binks and Jake Llyod as Anakin are infuriatingly annoying. Only Liam Neeson manages to stand out from mediocrity as the thoughtful Qui Gon Jinn, but he will still have a better collection of performances than this on his CV.

The films strongest point doesn?t lie with the performances, but with the presentation. The special effects are at times breathtaking - the scenery, locations and spacecrafts are all astoundingly realistic. But maybe herein lies its main problem. So excessive is the use of computer effects that it takes over the whole film. Where special effects aided such films as The Matrix, The Phantom Menace relies on it too abundantly to actually tell the story. The actors seem uncomfortable at being thrown into a world of green screens and motion trackers and are given so little in terms of what the audience sees on screen, that their reactions are based on mere guess work. The final fight sequence between the Battledroids and Gungas maybe groundbreaking in ter
ms of technology, but it can also be overwhelming on the eye. There is also something a little too perfect about the world we?ve been placed within that makes it all too unbelievable and fake. The perfect blue skies and endless lush green fields of planet Naboo only remind us of what we?re missing in the real world.

Distinctive Darth Vadar Black and Storm Trooper White have been replaced with a bland and mucky mixture of confused images ? character costumes are bland, with the obvious exception of Queen Amidala. Gone are the iconic characters and visuals of the original. When they do appear in the form of R2-D2 and C-3PO, it all seems to brief as the film's attention centres on Anakin and the bumbling Jar Jar. Granted that it is a film aimed at a wide family orientated audience, but the youth of today surely can't be so easy to be thrilled as Lucas would hope to believe.

One thing that The Phantom Menace does have in its favour is that it is actually quite entertaining if you just sit back and let yourself be swept along by story, which despite all the political terms and debates is easy to follow and understand. The exhilarating Pod race livens up the whole visit to Tatooine without actually moving the story forward a great deal and the final battle sequences are entertaining, but there is just an underlying feeling that the whole ordeal seems somewhat trivial. To base an entire film, let alone the opening of the biggest saga's in film history, around the invasion of an apparent insignificant planet seems to be excessive. We never doubt for a second that Anakin is not going to win the Pod race, and the Jedi pairing of Qui Gon and Obi Wan are hardly given the chance to break into a sweat by the assaults of the hopelessly inept and fragile battle droids. The original trilogy?s Storm Troopers couldn?t shoot a bus if they were on it but at least they made up for their miserable accuracy with an iconic style.

The only times wher
e the conflicts really heat up is when the mildly devilish Darth Maul is introduced. The light sabre duels between the Sith apprentice and the Jedi are a satisfying high point as this is the first time we have been treated to seeing a fully trained Jedi master duelling at his peak. The set pieces do actually add a bit of genuine danger and excitement, but after seeing the exceptional kung fu fighting sequences in the far superior Matrix, it still comes up a little lacking.

As with the original trilogy, there or faint signs of racist overtones, which we can only hope are unintentional. The Trade Federation who blockade Naboo all have forced Japanese accents. Anakin, like Luke Skywalker before him could be a candidate for the Arian race, while his hook nosed master, Watto, has a distinct Gaelic tone.

After Return of the Jedi, this is another distinct suspicion that Lucas?s creative juices are failing him. To his credit, he has produced a one of the most defining franchises in cinema history, but this is his first exertion into directing since the original Star Wars graced movies theatres some 30 years ago. It is no coincidence then, that his style and imagination seems dated and tired.

If this weren?t Star Wars, it would be just another sci-fi fairy tale. But because it is Star Wars, and because it is Episode I, there?s just no getting away from it. It makes you wonder what state the Star Wars bandwagon would be in if Lucas had decided to start his saga here instead

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