Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

A long time ago…

A long time ago George Lucas captured the imagination of a young boy, a boy who has been held captivated by the universe George created for over 30 years!

In 1999 I had a chance to revisit that universe with Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace!

The Star Wars movie saga is a series of 6 movies that owe their existence to the Republic serials, pulps, and myths that preceded them. It is the journey of choices…a journey for the fate of a soul, the fate of a family, and the fate of a galaxy.


The Story

In The Phantom Menace we are introduced to an ancient order of knights, known as the Jedi Knights, who are able to tap into a mysterious power known as “the force”. They are the designated guardians of The Republic, a peaceful alignment of most of the planets in the known galaxy. The Jedi must go up against a greedy Trade Federation bent on taxing the defenseless world of Naboo, greedy enough to use parliamentary tricks in the galactic senate and greedy enough to invade if necessary!

The central characters in this story are Qui-Gon Jinn (the respectable Jedi Master), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Qui-Gon’s impulsive young apprentice, known as a padawan learner), Padme Amidala (the young queen of Naboo, played stiffly by Natalie Portman), and Anakin Skywalker (a young slave-boy encountered on the desert planet of Tatooine, played by Jake Lloyd., who appears to be the subject of an ancient prophecy.

Together, they must try to save Naboo and end the blockade and invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation. While this is going on, the true master behind everything begins putting his pieces in place…he is true phantom menace, a mysterious Sith Lord named Darth Sidious, a presumed long-extinct order of force-users that were the enemies of the Jedi Knights!

Through this galaxy-spanning story, we meet many wild, crazy, and exciting characters! We meet an ancient Jedi Master named Yoda, whose odd-speech patterns and small size belie his true wisdom. We meet Mace Windu (played by Samuel L. Jackson!), the stoic Jedi Master who gives council with Yoda. R2-D2, an astromech droid (kind of a barrel-shaped robot with legs, jets, and that can only speak in beeps and whistlers), C-3PO (a humanoid druid that is created by Anakin), Watto (a flying alien—master of Anakin), dozens and dozens of wild and exotic aliens, and a terrible menace—Darth Maul!

Darth Maul has to be one of cinemas most visually exciting and scary villains! From his painted red and black face, to the horns on his head, to the creepy eyes and teeth, his bearing is meant to instill fear! Darth Maul is the apprentice to Darth Sidious and is the agent that is sent to defeat Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi—which culminates in one of the most spectacular duels ever in cinematic history! The Jedi (and Sith) fight with laser swords, known as lightsabers, and the duel between Qui-Gonn, Darth Maul, and Obi-Wan is spectacularly filled with stunts, flashes, and very exciting choreography and background music!

The Good

Besides the incredibly exciting lightsaber duel (mentioned above), the pod race is a cinematic triumph! Hailing from George Lucas’ love of fast cars (seen in his 1973 movie, American Graffiti) the pod race is a fantastic hovering chariot-car type race with a variety of aliens competing in a deadly course!

The best performances go to Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn), who brings such gravitas to his character that you tend to believe him and everything going on around him, no matter how cheesy or implausible and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), whose enthusiasm is very catchy. This is great space-pulpy fun!

The Bad

The movie suffers, though, from several influences that appear to be aimed at a young audience. The primary issue is the fully computer animated (CGI) character known as Jar-Jar Binks. Jar-Jar is the comic relief, full of sight gags, slapstick, and a cartoonish voice (Ahmed Best). While some humor is appreciated, and some of Jar-Jar is enjoyable, on the whole he detracts often from the scenes that he is in. Add this to several fart jokes, and one big “Yipee!” by Anakin, and the movie suffers as a whole, unfortunately.

The acting, also, is not the best in this movie, but it works well enough for the popcorn, movie-serial format that it is going for.

The Music

One of the greatest parts of this movie is the musical score by John Williams (Jaws, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, etc.) that perfectly captures the mood of each and every scene. From the opening triumphant score, to the strange, powerful alien chorus during the lightsaber duel, the score keeps the movie going and adds depth, character, and emotion to the entire motion picture.

The Special Effects

The special effects are very, very, good, and are in almost every scene. From the background space-ship traffic of the city-planet Coruscant, to the amazing pod-race, to the various computer generated aliens, planets, ships, and vistas, the team at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) have created a visual treat with this movie!

The Sound

The sound effects are perfect! From the humming and crackle of lightsabers, to the languages of the aliens, to the laser-bolts, druid sounds, hum of shields, and more, the sounds always fit perfectly and themselves often have character!

The Costumes

The costumes themselves are a tour-de-force. From the simple Jedi tunics, to the clothing and styles of several alien cultures, the costuming is quite fantastic. Queen Amidala’s many wardrobe changes, themselves are visually stunning!

Final Thoughts About the Movie

I was really looking forward to this movie, and while it didn’t meet my expectations, I really started to enjoy it after several viewings. It fulfills the popcorn-space-pulp-movie itch in me and sets the stage for future installments. This is a nice introduction to a galaxy on the edge of civil war, a galaxy where corruption has infiltrated a long-standing peace, a galaxy where even the most stalwart of defenders have let their guard down after hundreds of years of peace. Phantom Menace is very re-watchable (especially on DVD where I can go to my favorite scenes) and while suffering from some bad acting, some stupid out-of-place humor, and a few plot-related questions, it still holds up as a very entertaining movie!

The DVD

The DVD is a very well put together product, with a flew flaws noticeable to video-philes. The DVD set a standard when it was released on how special features should be done. Several minutes of footage have also been added to the DVD, mainly in the form of a taxi-scene on Coruscant and several minor edits.

The menus are exciting and fun and easy to navigate. The discs themselves are picture-discs and nice to look at. The special features are absolutely wonderful.

Disc one contains the movie and a bonus commentary track by Disc One includes the film with a commentary track by George Lucas, Rick McCallum (producer), Ben Burtt (editor), Rob Coleman (animation director), John Knoll, Dennis Murren, and Scott Squires (visual effects). The commentary is quite interesting and helps show how many technical aspects were done and how parts of the movie fit with the whole 6-film saga.

Disc Two contains the complete trailers (previews) and tv spots, behind the scenes documentaries, audio commentaries, and a fantastic selection of deleted scenes, including an extended pod-race scene! The deleted scenes have commentaries explaining what they were and why they were cut. The most exciting part, though, is that they have been finished for this release! My only wish is that I could insert these scenes back into the movie itself. The special features are worth the viewing and add much value to the product as a whole.

_________________________________________________________
DVD Details
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Running Time: 133 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: 22 March 2005
Aspect Ratio (widescreen edition): 2.35:1
Sound: Dolby

The Star Wars Saga

Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8