'
As
the lights
went down and the
famous 20th Century Fox
logo faded onto the screen,
the audience began to cheer as the
chills from a long long time ago returned us to the
galaxy far far away.
A long time indeed, 16 years to be exact. Since 1983, we the fans have been waiting for the next installment of the Star Wars saga, and on May 19th 1999 it had arrived.
Episode 1:The Phantom Menace premiered all over the country again to long lines of anxious fanatics, some who had waited a full two months outside of theatres, just for their first look at this special effect masterpiece.
There has been a lot of talk between
the millions of fans as to weather or not this new Star Wars film holds up as good as the
others.
I for one believe it does. Except for being light years ahead of it's time in special effects, it fits nicely into the Star Wars saga.
The tale of young Anakin Skywalker, the future ahead of him to unfold, as the previous films have already shown us, the origins of Darth Vader.
True this film is more family oriented, and as some have pointed out, made for kids, But I feel it is only a small hint of what the next two films in the saga will bring.
But lets face it folks, this is a Star Wars
film, it's made to have fun at, and it does just that.
We revisit Tatooine again, alive with the thrilling Pod Races held throughout the desert sands. A part of the film which is my favorite, with each pod driven by a different species could only have been created in the mind of Lucas. A modern age chariot race if you will, but of what time?
We see the majestic
would of Corsucant, with it's endless horizons of flying vehicles escorting future
Emperor's to they're towering architecture.
We also meet some old friends, but for the first time in this continuing saga. R2D2 using his all to save a fleeing queen. 3P0 as a creation of young Anakin's with colorful wires, clanking bolts, and a spinning brain exposed to all. Jabba the Hutt as grand master over the Pod Racing proceedings. A young Obi-Wan Kenobi, apprentice to a Jedi master Qui-Gon Jin. The Emperor, ever scheming his evil ways to become ruler of the universe. Jawa's, sand people, Wookie's, and even some E.T.'s fill the films cast. The whole picture is on such a grand scale that there's just so much to comprehend on just one viewing. This is the magic of the Star Wars films, you can watch them countless times and still be captivated with it's stories and visuals.
Along with new films
come new characters. Watto the junk dealer, Shebulba the cheating Pod Racer, and Boss
Nass, the leader of the underwater Gungan Kingdome. Which leads to one member of this new
film that is really getting a bad rap, and
maybe so. Jar Jar Binks, the clumsy Gungan reject that
accompanies our heroes on they're adventures. A completely computer generated character
that I feel was more of an experiment than a major member of the cast.
True he is hard to understand. True he is a useless mess that shouldn't be in the film in the first place. But you know, after a few viewings, he does sort of grow on you. He is, and now will always be part of the Star Wars saga. We'll just have to live with him.
But on the other side of the Force is a whole new character to appreciate. The truly evil looking Darth Maul. Where did this nightmare come from? Apprentice to the Emperor, Maul creates the fear of the film, and brings the climax to a high note with one of the best Light Sabre duels I have ever seen. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough.
All in all a great
film, and a good time. But this is only the beginning. Mr. Lucas has two
more stories to tell that will bring this space opera to a completed form.
To paraphrase Senator Palpatine, 'We shall be watching it's progression with great interest.'
I can hardly wait!
A view from Perry - Darth Maul died too quickly after Obi Wan's recovered from falling into the chasm, there should have been more of an intense fight between the two of them after Qui Gon had been killed. The intent on Obi Wan's face should have shown more feelings with the thought Qui Gon's life had ended. The fight between evil & good is the fight between revenge & being a true Jedi.
Overall the movie was great. The Pod Race in this one was my favorite scene. Again, feeling the sensation of speed as in the trench in 'A new Hope'. Always a fighter pilot wannabe.
Jar Jar as a CGI effect could have been portrayed by a real person, and would have warmed up the character a little more. I'm sorry, I'm Nit Picking - Great job anyway George!
A view from Terry - What I liked? I enjoyed seeing just how vast the Republic was, to include all the scenes on Corsucant (Forgive me if I mess up the names! Unlike the first three films, for Menace I did not go out and buy the novelization, comics adaptation, or any of the dozens of "official" tie-in magazines! I had no knowledge of any of the story's characters/places going into the movie.) The scenes on Corsucant reminded me a little of the planet Trantor, the capital of the empire in Asimov's Foundation books.
I thought the "political intrigue" between the Republic and the Trade Alliance worked well, too. I absolutely loved the Alliance's "droid army," especially those rolly-polly Destroyer Droids (Is that what they were called? Names again!). It was nice to see Tatooine again, if just to hear a Jawa say, "Ootenni!" . I noticed a lack of space battles in this movie, but I didn't mind! I thought Lucas did a pretty good job of devoting most of the film to the new characters. Liam Neeson was great as the Jedi Master (sorry, didn't catch his name!). Ewon (sp?) McGregor did fine as a young Obi-wan. The little guy who played Anakin did a good job, too. Lucas put all the pieces in place for Anakin's eventual "fall from grace" as a Jedi: being taken from his mother, starting his training too late, and being trained by a rookie Jedi vice a veteran. What's-her-name as the Queen did well, too (plus she's way-cute). The pod race was thrilling; I kept waiting for the two-headed announcer to say "Sunday, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!" By far, the highlight of the film was the lightsaber duel between the two Jedi's and Darth Maul. Oh, and of course, Senator Palpatine is Darth Sidious, and the future Emperor. I enjoyed a lot of the "throw-aways" that only a fan would catch: The Wookies in the Senate Chamber (did you guys see the "E.T.'s" in there, too?); the stock phrases, such as "I've got a bad feeling about this"; the fact that the chassis on the battle droids looked remarkably similar to that of the bounty hunter IG-88 from The Empire Strikes Back (could IG-88 have been one of those droids 30-40 years later?); better yet, notice how the droid army's tanks looked just like Boba Fett's ship? (You know, for a 36-year old, I think I still make a pretty good 'fan boy'.) Bottom line: I loved the movie. It was superior to Return of the Jedi; and I still found myself getting a chill when I saw "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away" on the screen.
What I didn't like: Again, the old "sneak in/out through a ventilation shaft/secret passage" cliché. Jar-jar Binks got a little old, too.
Sorry, no Scrapbook pages here.
That's because there are countless sights out there in 'Webland' that will cover every last detail of this new film, so why should I?
But then again, can we really have too much Star Wars?
May The Force Be With You!
Be sure to check out these sites for upcoming information on all the Star Wras films!
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Copyright ©1999 Roger B. Domian
Copyright ©1999 Roger B. Domian