 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Synopsis: This is how it all began! The first of the Star Wars 'prequels' - The Phantom Menace follows the discovery of Anakin Skywalker - the boy who became the man called Darth Vader!
No wonder lil' Ani turned to the "dark side", I would too! The illustrious vision of being a Jedi knight was completely obliterated after seeing The Phantom Menace. Poor Qui Gon & Obi Wan are introduced to the Star Wars universe as go-fers for the Galactic Republic! But before I go any further let me say I too fell victim to the media's blitzkrieg of hype, the same industry that had few nice words for the low-budget sci-fi space opera that surprised audiences back in '77. I was constantly craving any form of media that had information on the movie, I needed to know about. Maybe this is what made the film a bit of a letdown. My expectations were in Cloud City. On it's own Episode #1 was a good sci-fi movie, but like most say it was missing that special something that made the original trilogy so memorable. I know this may sound elitist, or even purist — but right away I felt like this film was made by the numbers. Samuel L. Jackson brought in the African-Americans, Jar Jar Binks locked in the 5-8 year-old demographic, and the older crowd was drawn in by Liam Neeson (a veteran actor). Ewan McGregor focused the tractor beam on the female population. In sum, it just seemed too groomed, too carefully cultivated, too glossy, to be considered art. And that's what saddened me. Lucas was in a position most directors would kill for: limitless funds, total creative control. And he's a creative genius! Now this over-commercialized, over-hyped movie comes along. I was hoping for a film. Throughout The Phantom Menace I felt as though Lucas was pandering to fans by constantly dropping little references to the original film's. Here are some examples:
What Phantom Menace review would be complete without mentioning Jar Jar Binks? If you feel how I do about him visit www.jarjarsucks.com and voice your disgust there. The two times The Force was with George Lucas was the pod race (Ben Hur @ 1000mph) and Darth Maul, the movies main antagonist. Ray Parks' portrayal of a Dark Jedi was dead on- exactly what I pictured — dark, menacing, radiating evil! I was heartbroken when Ewan McGregor finally decided to do some acting — and then killed Darth Maul, the movies best character!!! Unfortunately I feel Lucas was distracted by the power of computer graphics and made the movie to appeal to the masses. Remember Mr. Lucas: "Some of the time, please the people you can, "All of the time, please the people you cannot. There is no try!" Rating: 7.0 Doublebladed Lightsabers!
|
|
Copyright Square Domain, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
Reviewed by Will
