MARK A. ALTMAN
Yesterday I detected a great disturbance in the force as though
millions of voices cried out in anguish and were suddenly silenced.
Unfortunately, this didn=92t take place in a galaxy far, far away, but
rather a bijou closer to home. It was at an advance screening of
STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE which may be the
single most disappointing and painful movie-going experience of
my life and the sound of the collective audience disappointment as
they watched a film that had coveted for years self-destruct before
their eyes.
It=92s not enough to simply offer you my critique of this film, but
preface by saying that I wanted to love this film. Regardless of the
scathing reviews that preceded it or George Lucas=92 protestations
that the film was made for eight year boys the weekend before, I
wanted to love this film. Regardless of the commercials with a
comical Jar Jar Binks or the emasculation of the original Trilogy in
the ill-advised Special Edition, I wanted to love this film. For 16
years, I have awaited this film, often dubious that George Lucas
would ever return to a galaxy, far, far away.
Well, now he has...and I wish he hadn=92t.
George Lucas is an extremely talented filmmaker, a visionary. He
reinvented the science fantasy genre with STAR WARS and
changed the paradigm through which we evaluate these types of
films. His films excited and inspired us and he pushed the
envelope of technology, revolutionizing cinema. STAR WARS is
not only an incredible film, it=92s a brilliantly directed film. He=92s ofte=
n
criticized for the dumbing down of American cinema and has been
denied the credit given his contemporaries such as Coppola,
Spielberg, Friedkin, Scorsese and Bogdonavich, yet STAR
WARS was as groundbreaking, smart, kinetic and original as any
of their most famous and revered creations. And by extension its
sequel, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, was one of the most
risky and audacious creations of 80=92s cinema. It=92s even more
amazing by virtue of the fact that this dark, ominous and fatalistic
Oedipal nightmare was financed solely by Lucas.
But that=92s all history. The past is prologue for one of the most
misguided, moronic and ill-conceived films ever made. Lucas=92
tapestry for the first film in the saga is a Machiavellian world of
political skullduggery and betrayal, but this story is only hinted at
as we become immersed in a world which is filled with silly CGI
creatures and enough commercially bankrupt creations to fill a toy
store with. There=92s no heart to this film, it=92s a mechanical, soulless
creation without any sense of fun, swashbuckling or character
development. It coasts off the goodwill for old STAR WARS
creations and elicits its most warm feelings from the introduction
of Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2-D2, C-3PO and even the devious Senator
Palpatine (the final scene which hints at what he is to become is
probably the strongest in the movie.)
What Lucas did so successfully in his original Trilogy was create a
reality; a credible world (an Ewok=92s Tarzan yell excepted, of
course). But here everything serves the joke (or the licensee). A
two headed creature presides off an incomprehensible pod race
and comments, "In any universe, that=92s got to hurt." Subtle humor
like a Tusken Raider taking pot shots at the pod racers is slyly
amusing, but the rest of the scene is filled with fart jokes and nary
a human character in sight. As a director, Lucas doesn=92t establish
the geography of the scene nor mine the tension and Sebulba
brutally dispatches each of his competitors with a reckless
abandon and no consequences. Even the introduction of Jabba
the Hutt is played for comic effect with little dramatic import.
The bottom line is there=92s nothing at stake; two Jedis are
dispatched to end a trade embargo only to have the Trade
=46ederation turn on them and try to eradicate them. They quickly
defeat their attackers, in a clumsily lensed scene, and sneak down
to the planet Naboo where they join forces with the insufferable Jar
Jar Binks, a comic CGI conceit whose anything but amusing and
barely intelligible with his heavy Caribbean accent. They dive into
a lake and come to a secret underground city trying to enlist the
aid of the sea dwellers to no avail. A chase through the ocean
ensues with two giant fish creatures which is when it becomes
clear that Lucas=92s universe has completely lost its sense of reality
and instead turned into a world of low-rent humor, high rent effects
and inane dialogue.
By the time, they=92ve hooked up with Queen Amidala and head off
for Tatooine, the film=92s pace starts flagging. They need to restock
and repair on Tatooine and encounter Anakin, who will become
Darth Vader in the years to come. Unfortunately, there=92s nary a
glimmer of the sinister Sith that will come. He=92s just a boy who yells
"Yippee. I get to be a Jedi" and gets to recite some of the worst
dialogue ever written for the screen (People have accused the
original STAR WARS Trilogy of having bad dialogue. They were
wrong. This time, however....). It sinks the performance of poor
Lloyd, who fumbles admirably with the ludicrous lines. By the time,
he departs with Liam Neeson=92s Qui-Gon, he=92s abandoned his
mother and C-3PO. Why they wouldn=92t take the mother with them
is unexplained. She=92s a slave. It=92s not unethical to break a bargain
with Watto, it=92s unethical to leave her as an indentured servant to
Watto and the Hutts.
When Lucas=92 isn=92t doing riffs on BEN HUR, he=92s playing with the
classic fairy tale of the little princess. In this case, Amidala and her
handmaiden Padme have traded places and you would think the
first person who would be privy to the deception would be the
force-ful Anakin. Nope. He=92s as clueless as everyone. He never
displays any of the traits we would expect from a future Dark Lord;
the insight or the anger.
Meanwhile, Darth Sidious has dispatched Darth Maul, who shows
up, attacks Qui-Gon, and is dispatched quickly. By the time they
arrive on Coruscant, everyone=92s abuzz about the Dark Jedi and
the return of the Sith. Here=92s what could have been the heart of an
interesting story, but alas no one wonders why the Sith Lords have
returned or why Jinn and Kenobi would even suspect this. (The
most interesting new character in the film, Maul, seems to be
battling Boba Fett for an immortal costumed creation with the least
screentime.) In fact, the Jedi Council itself is a huge letdown.
Rather than being aged sages, isolated in a distant, ornate
temple, they do their business in a high rise skyscraper and are
dubious of Qui-Gon=92s every urging. Even Yoda, who makes a
glorified cameo, seems wildly out of character. In addition, the
usual Jedi platitudes start to get really tired. What was original and
exciting in EMPIRE seems like a clich=E9 now.
Almost every time Lucas=92 puts together a scene with some heft, he
manages to undercut it with a joke. Witness the imaginatively
conceived Senate Council meeting in which Amidala calls for a
vote of no confidence=97it rapidly degenerates into a bunch of lame
one-liners and schtick.
By the time our heroes finally confront Maul and the film lurches to
its three coda conclusion (Lucas=92 used Coppola=92s classic
GODFATHER structure in JEDI to far more effect), Ben and
Qui-Gon are fighting Maul in a scene which is rendered far less
effective by such new trend-setting films as THE MATRIX. The
fight seems positively primitive compared to the Wachowski=92s
cutting edge cinema. Equally dumb is the fact that they go from the
ornate palace on Naboo into the bowels of the building--which
looks like Bespin. Why would the architecture change so
dramatically? It would have been far more interesting to see the
same battle staged in a different kind of setting than we=92ve seen
before. There=92s also some business involving a force shield which
goes unexplained and is relatively uninteresting.
The two opponents never even talk to each other as the battle
royale begins in silence with only Williams=92 bombastic score to fill
the scenes with any emotion. Don=92t you think Obi-Wan and
Qui-Gon would be interested enough to ask about this Phantom
Menace? The screenwriter isn=92t interested in asking any questions
about his action so why would his characters, I guess.
Meanwhile, the requisite space attack is going on with none of the
heft or impact of the attack on the Death Star or the Imperial
Walkers in EMPIRE. We=92re really not sure what=92s going on and
Anakin becomes an inadvertent hero as his internal monologue is
vocalized and he accidentally saves the day. A
BRAVEHEART-like battle is going on almost entirely in CGI...and
our heroes lose. Only to get their asses saved from the fire by
Anakin=92s bumbling. This is not heroism.
In the end, the film isn=92t without its moments; a couple of setpieces
do work, Ewan McGregor=92s great as the Alec Guinness-inspired
Obi-Wan and elevates his material as much as possible as does
Liam Neeson=92s Qui-Gon. The CGI effects are more effective than
not and John Williams=92 once again lends an able assist.
However, they can=92t disguise the fact that these films are no longer
about storytelling, but rather a giant experimental lab for Lucas=92 to
play with his new bag of technical tricks. He wants to know how far
he can push technology, secure in the knowledge that his licensing
deals and goodwill will insure box-office appeal. But in the
attempt, the visceral impact and heart of the saga is lost. It=92s like
watching an ILM test reel and not a movie. The production design
is weak, lacking the graceful elegance of Ralph McQuarrie=92s
creations. Lucas=92s original films borrowed from such inspired
sources as Akira Kurosawa and Leny Reifenstahl=97the inspiration
for THE PHANTOM MENACE seems more like SESAME
STREET. Actually, that=92s an insult to SESAME STREET.
The casting of the supporting roles is abysmal. In the Death Star
battle, even the one-liners like Porkins seemingly created fully
fleshed out characters in minutes of screen time. Every pilot and
supporting character here seems like they were plucked off the
streets of San Rafael and asked if they wanted to be in a STAR
WARS movie. It=92s a testament to the importance of real actors.
Even the extras seem lost in the torrent of CGI creations. Lobot
did more with a point than Panaka does in his half hour of screen
time.
As YOUNG INDIANA JONES was to the RAIDERS Trilogy,
PHANTOM MENACE is to STAR WARS. It plays more like a
"Young Jedi Knights" adventure than part of the mystical and
magic canon of the Trilogy. It=92s a failure on almost every level and
one of the most profound disappointments I=92ve had as a
moviegoer in all the years that I=92ve seen movies. With that said, I
only hope that the millions of dollars Lucas will make off this film
won=92t disguise that the movie is about much fury and CGI
signifying nothing, and that he=92ll heed the same naysayers who
decried RETURN OF THE JEDI for sliding into high camp and
head off in a new darker and more adult direction which does
service to the world...and the legend...he created over 20 years
ago. May the force be with us again....one day.
Mark A. Altman is the former editor of SCI-FI UNIVERSE
magazine and Editor Emeritus of EON.
ISSUE 16.2 =96 MAY 19, 1999
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