Recently I've really been back into Star Wars.
Why, will you ask me? I just watched all the Star Wars again after all this time, back to back, one per day.
Yep.
Starting with EPISODE 1 (the first one I watched, to see if the overall plot would work out watching the movies in their chronological order),
This is my first movie review on this blog, I'll try to say the things I've got to say,
Directed by George Lucas
Release date 1999
Genre SciFi
Country USA
First of all, small note: I'll always only review the movies themselves and not the DVD/VHS/Bluray/Whatever release, since small a) there's so many various different releases, specially if I review some B movies later on, and small b) I live in Europe and will probably get different features/releases.
Aaah, Star Wars Episode 1. What hasn't been said about thee in all the hundred different reviews that were made THIS year?
It seems there's a lot of mixed opinions on this movie.
How can I start?
Let me see...
Released around sixteen years after the previous Star Wars movie, there were a lot of very high expectations with this one.
Nerds, fanboys/girls, movie critics, films enthusiasts, scifi fans... Sure there was a lot of tension.
The story had to be good, true to SW, feature Jedi, Sith, the universe pre-empire, a young Darth Vader and look good/modern without losing the main original aspect of the original trilogy. Be a fun/light hearted science fiction adventure. (come on, we all know SW isn't Dark/Edgy, it's FUN.)
But the world had changed a lot by 1999.
This won't be the last of this quote... only the beginning!!
That's a quite decent introduction!
Now to the movie itself!
The phantom menace opens with a division between the galactic republic, which supervises the whole SW galaxy, and a trade federation which is creating a blocade against a little blue planet called Naboo.
That's for the "political" background of this science fiction fiction.
I'm not gonna resume the movie for you here, you may already know it and it's not my purpose here.
The movie tells us what and how was the Jedi Order, the "space samurai monks" that were only alluded in the original Trilogy with the ol' Obi-Wan and Luke at the end of the sixth movie.
We see an order trying to stay independent from the Republic, the menace of the long forgotten Sith Order, how the force was used "back then".
Basically the plot is about two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn a Jedi Master and his padawan apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi trying to help the queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, from the federation. They ran into the little Anakin Skywalker (spoiler! He's Darth Vad..what? You already knew it? okay okay...) on the desert planet Tatooine. Due to a powerful presence of the force in him, Anakin is refered as the one, who will restablish order and peace in the universe.He's brought alone for the ride. A Sith lord is discovered, the phantom menace is real and the movie ends with the liberation of Naboo. Everybody's happy! YaahoOo! BUT WAIT! No it's not over! Obi-Wan will have to train the young Anakin Skywalker himself! And who are the Sith exactly, what are they up to?? TA TAA TAAAAAN~ *dramatic music cue*
What the hell is this thing?? Kill it!! KILL IT!!
Honestly, I did once find the first prequel movie a bit bland and off.
But now, watching it again, far away from the internet rants and such kiddie comments...
I must admit, I liked it.
In fact, the movie's pretty well developed!
People did call the dialogues robotic, unnatural and the acting as well. But it is the standard for space opera.
And I've seen much worse.... Believe me.
Anyway I prefer my science fiction with dialogue like this, would you really want street talk in star wars? Come on!
The movie has this Flash Gordon vibe, this adventures in space feel.
On the directing side, it's very Lucas and Star Wars-ysh. You have the full blown main battle, the battle of Naboo here, and around it a simplistic structure which defines Jedi and their motivation (guardian of peace), introduces us to a young Anakin and him to Padmé, and an epic duel in the end.
About the duel, the music is, with John Williams, always epic! The whole score is perfect, if not better than all his previous ones. One of the final composition is a classic now, Duel of the Fates.
I do think the movie couldn't have been done in any other way, it basically wrote itself. Lucas surely did imagine the whole basic of the saga around the 80s, but the minor aspects of each movies were made later on for sure. I can't imagine Episode 1 differently. Plotwise.
Yes. There's much more CGi in this than in the 3 previous movies, but it is kinda a natural evolution for Lucas, sadly. To be exact, George Lucas has always been a pioneer on the medium, and like the other directors of his generation (Spielberg, James Cameron...) they're the ones that helped the evolution of special effects in movies and they're the ones who'll use the more computer graphics.
The younger directors like Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, they grew up with the ol' stuff and try to use the more pratical effects they can.
Lucas, Spielberg, Cameron? 3D shots everywhere, CGi and blue screens for the background. It's natural, it's expected, they evolved.
The phantom menace, had it been released much earlier in the 90s, would have been maybe a bit better received and with less CGi.
I'm okay with this notion and it actually builds up some more impressive fight scenes, lightsaber uses and space confrontation.
But what about Jar Jar Binks now?
MMmmh.. he sure is a controversial guy....
I actually hated him back then and feared to rewatch Episode 1 for a long time, thanks to him.
Rewatchind the movie nowadays, after all this time... It was... decent.
I gotta admit, internet backlash and memes around the guy really build up a universal-hate around Jar Jar.
Watching the movie again with a new look on it, he wasn't that awful!
Sure, he's still annoying and even the other characters (even Gungans ones) hate him, but watching the movie, you're not asked to marry the guy! He's the movie buffon/clown, much like all Star Wars movies are based on an archetype medieval story. He's the buffon the heroes "are forced" to have around, helps in a battle and will have a minor role, but important, in the sequel.
He's kinda ugly, but he isn't that much in the movie anyway. (later expanded universe build up on his annoyance and made him funny that way.Like an auto-parody - see Star Wars comics/Clone Wars show)
Jar Jar was one of the first, if not the very first one, completely CGi character. He looked great back then, and the 3D hasn't aged that much by today standards. After that, people loved Gollum in the Lord of the rings, which I hated as well, I never understood the love for Gollum. He was as annoying as Jar Jar!
And nowadays, you got stuff like Avatar, which in my eyes is a movie full of Gungans/Jar Jar, but people love it like crazies... I can't understand that... It seems Jar Jar came either too late (and in CG instead of practical) or too early (before Gollum or Avatar).
Jar Jar, I still hate you, but not that much anymore.
Darth Maul. You don't appear that much, but we SALUTE YOU!
Star Wars Episode 1 is a solid experience, that needs to be watched again far away from internet.
People and critics did like the movie for a reason. Trolling on the internet almost ruined this one's reputation!
The Sith don't really appear that much in the movie but their mysterious presence and goals are the true PHANTOM MENACE here!
OVERALL, it's a solid experience and a very entertaining movie which is what I expect in the end.
It works great as the first installment in this scifi franchise, establishes the key players and basic concepts (the force, the republic, the sith).
The directing, music and visuals are great (and not far away from how the Star Wars original trilogy looked in the special releases on VHS, just a bit more modern).
There's more CGi, but it is well used and simple.
You'll either love the Jedi duo of Obi-Wan and Qui Gon or love the Sith and specially Darth Maul. He doesn't have that much lines, but the mysteries around him works great for its purpose (and, hey! watch the expanded universe for more, like Boba Fett or Lando!).
The Episode One is a great set up, give it another chance if you hated it!
Honestly, it's well thought, fun and spectacular!
I give it:
2.5 / 3 Anakins!
