Countdown to 'Star Wars' Day: 'The Phantom Menace' is a meandering look at what was almost a good movie
In the countdown to May 4, we've taken a look back at the original trilogy. Though everyone has a different favorite from Episodes IV, V, and VI, it's generally agreed that all three of the movies were part of an iconic trilogy that's forever made its mark on cinematic history. Now, as we look back to 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,' we see the first in a long line of disappointments that the franchise still hasn't entirely recovered from - but there are glimpses at the much better movie that 'The Phantom Menace' could have been.
The prequels had two purposes. One was to show the rise of the Empire and how it took control over the galaxy, the other was to show the slow, but steady corruption of Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), chronicling the journey that took him from Jedi Knight to Sith Lord Darth Vader. Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has been playing the long game, manipulating the Galactic Republic's bureaucracy to maneuver himself into a position of power. Anakin, while being a competent and powerful warrior even from a young age, lets his feelings get the better of him, as his fear turns to hatred, sending him down that dark path. The story is clear but it's in the storytelling that the movie falls apart.
There's a lot of meandering in this movie. It seems to have no clear vision about how to tell the story it wants to and gets to its point in very roundabout ways. Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are introduced not so much as heroic Jedi Knights, but more like tax collectors for the Senate, solving a dull political problem with the Trade Federation. The movie is filled with very dry political discussions that not even the sci-fi settings can help make more interesting.
On the flip side, we have Anakin's story and it can feel, at times, like the part was written for an older actor, perhaps someone as old as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was when he first appeared. It would certainly have made the romance between him and Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) a lot less awkward and raised fewer questions as to why a child was placed at the center of some very high stakes through the film. In the years since, it's come out that Jake Lloyd did not enjoy his time on set and though your heart goes out to him, his performance on screen is hard to watch. His lines come out stiff and overdone and for a character so central to the saga there's not a lot of nuance to his performance - even if the writing appears to be demanding it of him.
The movie also features the introduction of the infamous Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), who is emblematic of this movie's biggest problem - its pandering to a younger audience. The movie seems to constantly feel like if it doesn't include slapstick silliness, it will bore the children who buy the toys that fund the franchise. Even the most serious scenes in the movie are undercut with the over-the-top, forced humor that quickly grows exhausting. While comic-relief sidekick characters are a longstanding 'Star Wars' tradition, the comedy of 'The Phantom Menace' tries too hard and never lets up.
It's not until the third act that the movie truly hits its stride with a large scale battle, more personal duels and beautiful, chaotic space battles. It's this final act that makes the movie worth watching, though even here the movie doesn't entirely escape Lloyd's cringe-worthy acting or Jar Jar's buffoonery.
Overall, 'The Phantom Menace' is hard to watch. The story it tells looks a lot better when seen in a larger context, but there are a lot of tiring scenes to get through before then. The movie lacks characters with the charisma of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and watching it is, ultimately, an ordeal meant for completionists rather than an enjoyable movie-watching experience in itself. If you're watching for the first time, don't feel bad about skipping through the parts that bore you - for there will be many of them.
'Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace' is available to stream on Disney+.