For years I thought Han Solo was the coolest character I'd ever seen (especially when he shot Greedo in the cantine), collected as much merchandise as possible and watched each film at least 20 times. So when the news that Lucas would begin filming his prequels I, like everyone else, waited eagerly for what would surely be the cinematic event of our lifetime.
Assuming that people actually read this I think everyone knows what happened.
Isn't he cute
The point of this post is not to lambast the film and really what more can be said . Yes Jar Jar is a prick, with all the charm of a rabid poodle.Yes Jake Lloyd, who was no doubt on the receiving end of many toilet bowl dunkings and lunch money beatings throughout his secondary school tenure, can get real irritating as Anakin. And Yes the dialogue is pretty bad. But is it really that bad of a film?
Up until today I would have happily said yes but this afternoon I watched it for the first time in years.
The plot is certainly the least convulted and easy to follow of the prequels, although Lucas would later try his hand at littering his films with dull & nonsensical political subtext, here the focus is mainly on the films characters and their own individual dillemas. Of course Lucas wrote the film and therefore some of the dialogue is flat out stupid(The less said about midi chlorians the better)but like its predeccessors the actors manage to rise above it.
You see the films cast quickly got tired of being mugged by thousands of light sabre wielding Kevin Smith's on a daily basis (Attack of the Clones!) and come episode 2 had lost almost all there passion, even before Episode 3 had hit the theatres Mcgregor and Portman were flat out denouncing the series. Watching episodes 2 & 3 it is easy to forget the level of talent of the films cast, both Portman & McGregor are great actors and in The Phantom Menace it is clear they actually give a damn about the project. The film's unsung hero though, is this man.
The man responsible for making ageing hippies feel better about themselves
Of all the characters introduced to the series through the prequels (And there are a LOT) Qui Gon stands high above the rest. You see, in the earlier films a great deal of time is spent discussing the Jedi's of old and out of all the jedi introduced in this film he's the only one who meets the criteria. You see unlike the other Jedi who sit around all day in their tower discussing midi chlorians, Qui Gon actually does stuff AND he's got a bit of a rebellious streak which makes him even more endearing. He's also a homewrecker, encouraging Anakin to risk his life for a bunch of strangers and then tearing him away from his mother. He also did himself no favours by saving Jar Jar Binks. Seriously though, Neeson is a fountain of charisma here and Lucas wisely centres the films action around him. I'd also like to breifly mention Pernilla August who actually delivers quite the heart breaking little performance as Anakins mother, Schmi.
And that's what supprised me so much about this film when I watched it. I cared. I actually cared about the characters (With a few obvious exceptions). There are some genuinley emotional moments here, most noteably the scene where Anakin and his mother part ways on Tatooine.It is the scenes with Anakin, Qui Gon & Schmi that give the film a real emotional weight, a trait absent from the later films.
One of the things I hated so much about said films is that they were clearly filmed in front of a green screen in a studio. Sure, the effects were fantastic at the time but really when you think about it these films were nothing but a bunch of demotivated actors stood around talking in front of a big screensaver. Here Lucas actually balances the use of models, CGI and real locations perfectly, as a result it's easier to immerse yourself in the world put forth on the screen.
I've been one of Lucas's biggest detractors over the years, however, to ignore his contributions to film making would be grossly unfair. If you ever get a chance to watch the making of documentary on the bonus disc you will find it not only exposes Lucas's ineptitude at directing actors ('Faster, more intense')but also as a technical visionary always looking for new ways to push the technological envelope. It should be noted that the technology used to bring Jar Jar to the screen is very similar (And possibly an earlier version) of the motion capture equipment used to bring Gollum to the screen. Ironically this films visual effects hold up the best of all the prequels, in fact it hasn't aged badly at all, from an aesthetic standpoint it's pretty damn flawless. The sound effects inparticualr are fantastic, especially during the pod racer sequence.
Whilst on the subject, I should mention that the set pieces in this film are absolutely fantastic, both the pod race and the Jedi duel are spectacular edge of your seat entertainment. The film as a whole is paced rather well, especially for a George Lucas film, but the third act inparticular is half hour of non stop excitment, even if you cannot abide Jar Jar Binks. Also, John Williams returned to compose a brand new score and it's certainly up there with his best work, the stand out obviously being the unforgettable Duel of the Fates composition.
What is sad is that a lot of people will tell you that this is where the magic died for them. Whilst it is true that the film never reaches the highs of the original trilogy, realistically it never could. There comes a point where expectations are so high for a film that there is no way it could ever possibly live up to it. It's for this reason that I found myself sympathising with young Jake Lloyd, someone so young being given a role like this was a huge undertaking and in his defence he's no worse then many other child actors I've seen, even if he is REALLY irritating.
Of course the film is far from perfect and there's plenty of things to moan about, i'll just list a few.
Jar Jar
'It's a standoff, lets go!'
'i'll try spinning that's a good trick!'
The droid controlships power core being located inside the hanger bay?!
Racial stereotyping - See Gunray, Nute
Unfiltered Lucas Dialogue
A really naff Yoda puppet
This Fucker!^
Although it is not a perfect film by any stretch it's certainly underserving of it's title as 'one of the worst films ever made', it's a film that was condemmed by it's own hype. Now, episode 2 on the other hand......
Oh, the pretentious star rating
***3/4/***** Yeah why not! (I had rated it at 4 stars, but Anakin's 'THIS IS TENSE' line admist the space battle annoyed me to no end)
