Star Wars Epsiode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
OK, this was undoubtedly one of the most eagerly awaited movies ever. However, did it live up to the hype or did it suffer the fate of pretty much every other over-hyped film and generally suck? Read on…
This movie is set earlier than the original trilogy (funnily enough, what with it being a prequel and all) when Obi-wan (Ewan McGregor) is a mere apprentice Jedi, or padawan. He and his master Qui-gon (Liam Neeson) are sent by the Jedi Council to the planet Naboo to warn Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) of the impending battle with the Trade Federation. As things get worse, the queen is forced to leave Naboo with the two Jedi and they end up on Tatooine. It is here that they meet a young slave-boy called Anakin Skywalker.
Qui-gon comes to believe that Anakin is the one told of in an ancient prophecy who will bring balance back to the force. He manages to win Anakin’s freedom and they head off to Coruscant to plead for help from the Republic.
All the while, the phantom menace of the title is gathering strength in the form of Darth Sidious and his young apprentice, Darth Maul, and they clearly have undetected influence within the Republic’s government. They are also helping the Trade Federation build a massive droid army.
The Queen quickly becomes aware that the government are being nobbled and so sets off back to Naboo where she enlists the help of the water dwelling Gungans to fight off the droid army. While the battle was raging, Qui-gon and Obi-wan were fighting the ruthless Darth Maul.
That’s it really. It sounds imcomplete doesn’t it? That’s because it is. This is not a stand-alone movie. It is designed to be watched with an understanding of what is to come. Even bearing that in mind, it’s pretty lame. At just over 2 hours, it’s a long time to be sitting thinking about the next movie you want to watch. It’s even harder once the pod racing scene (arguably the high-point of the movie) is over. Jar-jar Binks is as annoying as you have heard and there are times when it all feels too ‘CGI’ and the obviously green-screen acting is wooden.
I love Star Wars but I’m not a fanboy. I don’t love everything Star Wars regardless of quality and as a result of that I can’t recommend this movie at all. Even as an excercise in back-filling the plot it’s too thin and shallow.
Overall: 3/10