Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
In November of 1994, George Lucas began writing the new Star Wars trilogy, a trilogy which would function as background to some of the characters from the original classic Star Wars trilogy. For the first film, Lucas used a 15-page outline that he had written in 1976 and worked it into the full screenplay for what is now known as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. With CGI now available and a myriad of possibilities, fans looked forward to the new Star Wars trilogy with anticipation. Lucasfilm developed a $20 million ad campaign to go with it and few films planned their release during the same time period as the new Star Wars movie. Opening night arrived on May 19, 1999, and I, along with several others, arrived to experience Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a throwback to the original trilogy, that much is clear. The same energy flows through the film and many of the same archetypes are there. From the opening crawl to some of the characterizations, Lucas has generated a film worthy of sitting with the original trilogy. Many fans likely disagree, as many were highly critical of Lucas’s new adventures in the Star Wars universe. In my view, however, it is the fans who got old and not Star Wars. A look at all of the films in order, which is what I will be doing here, reveals that many of the same energies are prevalent in all of the films and the trademark Lucas-isms also exist in force.
The Phantom Menace begins with the opening crawl that all Star Wars fans have come to know and love. We learn that the Trade Federation has blocked the planet of Naboo in hopes of resolving a trade dispute. Chancellor Valorum (Terence Stamp) has dispatched two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), to meet with the Trade Federation to hold off the crisis. Once there, the Jedi Knights discover that the Trade Federation is actually working with the mysterious Darth Sidious, who is a Sith Lord. Darth Sidious has ordered the Trade Federation to invade Naboo and kill the two Jedi Knights, which leads to an escape by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan down to Naboo.
Once on Naboo, the Jedi Knights meet the bone of contention for many Star Wars fans, Gungan Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best). Jar Jar takes the Knights to an underwater lair where the rest of the Gungan race lives. Meanwhile, the Trade Federation has taken the Queen of Naboo, Amidala (Natalie Portman). The Jedi Knights team with Jar Jar to rescue the Queen and to fight off the Trade Federation on Naboo. Along the way, Qui-Gon meets young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a nine-year-old human slave with a gift for fixing ships. Qui-Gon spots something extraordinary in the boy and asks for him to be tested for the Force, thinking that Anakin is the “Chosen One” that will bring balance to the Force. To make things more interesting, the mysterious Darth Maul (Ray Park) also tracks the Jedi Knights.
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace is an exhilarating film experience that hearkens back to Lucas’s original intentions with modern CGI. Lucas was never one who was strong with the script or with directing his performers, so with this opening prequel movie he plays to his strengths with clarity and precision. It isn’t a perfectly directed picture, but Star Wars has never been about the technical details of filmmaking. Instead, Star Wars is about the stories and the universe that is created. With The Phantom Menace, Lucas expands on his beloved universe and begins the process of fleshing out more details of one of its most notorious characters.
The wonder of it all appeared to be lost on many of the fans and critics, but thankfully it wasn’t lost on me or my wife as we revelled in the adventure and excitement of various moments. Characters seemed interesting and the possibilities seemed endless, as Lucas’s space opera trotted on with its legendary score and vast locales. Like Roger Ebert, I echo the sentiment: “How quickly do we become accustomed to wonder.” Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace would have been considered revolutionary had it come out as the first Star Wars movie, but it isn’t and Lucas certainly had his work cut out for him in trying to please an audience that is so rarely satisfied.
One thing to keep in mind about The Phantom Menace is that it is the first story and that this is the framework for the rest of the beast that is the Star Wars saga. Some of the characters are less than compelling, but that’s always the way with these films. We are learning about characters that will become more interesting with the passage of time, as the series itself bears out. We first see Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was interesting enough for me, and learn of the young kid Anakin, which is equally compelling as we already know his fate.
Forgive me, but Star Wars films have always been space operas. Lucas’s intention was to create space operas and the series, despite having taken on a life of their own through fans of the galaxy and the world, has always intended to utilize the normal trappings of the space saga much in the way Buck Rogers did. The intention of Star Wars is to be fun, exciting, colourful, and inventive. Lucas’s use of CGI here accomplishes all of those intentions, in my view, and he has created a solid entry to serve as a beginning to his space opera. The Star Wars saga is richer because of The Phantom Menace, as every good story needs a beginning.
While Kubrick gives us man humbled by the universe in his films about space, Lucas gives us a domesticated universe inhabited by man. Man makes the universe work for him in the Star Wars films and The Phantom Menace is no different. Individuals and groups have very “human problems” and conflicts in the universe, giving way to trade embargoes and all sorts of other stuff of legend. We learn more through Lucas’s storytelling ability, which is engaging in its own right. He tells a good yarn here, as we go from the pod race to the flashy space battle, and we never lose sight of the big picture. Lucas keeps his Star Wars universe intact, is faithful to the “originals,” and leaves us wanting more. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace raises the curtain on a sense of discovery that is still fascinating and still exhilarating. It’s a hell of a good time at the movies.
Trailer:
