Cast. Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Ray Park, Natalie Portman.
In 1999, there was widespread fervour ahead of the release of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. 16 years after the groundbreaking original trilogy, director George Lucas unveiled the first of three planned films in the prequel trilogy, featuring the origin story of Darth Vader. For a film that promised so much, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is a dismal result, one that lacks any sense of momentum or appeal.
The film is crippled by a confusing, over-complicated storyline, an over-reliance on CGI and appalling dialogue throughout. Critics agreed, the weakest element of the original Star Wars was the dialogue, and George Lucas addressed this in The Empire Strikes Back by employing Lawrence Kasdan to write the screenplay. No such tactic was employed for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. It shows. Characters routinely repeat elements of past conversations in order that the audience has some semblance of following the plot.
The film’s one saving grace is the three-way lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and the criminally under-employed Darth Maul (Ray Park). Separated by a series of time-locked energy gates, Qui-Gon Jinn sinks to his knees and calmly waits, whilst Darth Maul prowls the perimeter like a tiger incarnated in a cage. Every sinew is straining to be back in the fight. Mightily impressive.
Too many fans took Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace to be a personal assault on their childhood. It's not. The film was simply a vehicle to introduce the franchise to a younger generation. Sadly for them, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is not of the same calibre as Star Wars.
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