Date: Fri 04-Jun-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SARAH

Quick Words:

Phantom-Menace-Neeson-McGregor

Full Text:

NOW PLAYING: "Phantom Menace" -- Some Bloated Expectations, But A Good Show

By Trey Paul Alexander III

The topic this week is Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, and let me

not be coy. Is it good? Yes. Is it great? No, but should it have to be? (Well,

considering all the hype -- not just studio-generated, but the anticipation

built by fans willing to wait days in line at theatres, all while trying to

decode the plot via Internet gossip -- it would have to be the sci-fi

equivalent of Citizen Kane to justify all this banter!)

George Lucas, the man behind the Wars mythos, returns to directing with this

installment, the first of a three-picture "prequel" that thrusts us back to

the story of young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), the once and future Darth

Vader. Perhaps more importantly, Lucas takes us to a time in the Star Wars

galaxy when there is not yet civil war. This is key because what we

essentially have is a brand new setting from the familiar Rebels vs Empire one

of the already-completed trilogy of years past. Unfortunately, Lucas seems

uninterested, at least early in the film, in letting viewers get established

in this new environment.

Phantom Menace thrusts us into the middle of a messy standoff between the

Trade Federation and the Republic, with the stately world of the Naboo in the

middle. Two formidable Jedi -- Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his young

apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) -- are dispatched to broker an

agreement but find themselves rudely greeted as they uncover a plot for a

hostile takeover of the peaceful planet. The Jedi's goal is to get the

planet's Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) safely to the central world of

Coruscant, where she can plead her case before a sympathetic Galactic Senate.

The Phantom Menace sports some odd pacing early, but begins to catch itself as

it goes, particularly as the Jedi and their charges make a pit stop on

Tatooine, where they encounter the moppet Skywalker. The lad seems rather

strong in the Force and even boasts some mysterious, puzzling origins,

hopefully to be explained more fully later in the series.

The movie also boasts a few thrilling set pieces. One, a prolonged pod-racing

sequence on Tatooine, is an inspired take-off from Ben-Hur chariot races that

ups the ante on "adrenaline rush." The other is a cross-cutting climax that

flashes back and forth between four different sites of action, those primary

being a rousing lightsaber duel that pits Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan against a new,

menacing villain, Darth Maul (Ray Park). It is a stunningly choreographed

action ballet brilliantly accentuated by John Williams' score.

Visually, the movie is a treat, featuring countless landscapes filled to the

brim with details. Aided by the digital tools at his command, Lucas presents

captivating new settings such as a shimmering undersea world, a city that

encompasses an entire planet, a fascinatingly-designed Galactic Senate (think

Madison Square Garden with floating luxury boxes), and scads of mass-produced

battle droids that threaten to engulf the idyllic Naboo countryside. Yet chief

among his computer generated images is a completely digital character, Jar Jar

Binks, an amphibious alien sidekick kids will love but adults will find, let's

just say, less ingratiating.

Though the technology allows Lucas to more fully realize his vision for the

saga, it also has the danger of rendering the film almost weightless, and if

not for the efforts of Neeson, who helps ground Phantom Menace with a stately,

restrained performance, the movie might threaten to float away without a human

heart to help drive the action. Even so, Lucas spends a great deal of time

laying down a lot of pipe in these two hours and leaves plenty open to be

further established down the line.

Phantom Menace , rated PG for mild violence, is chock full of visual and plot

details that reward repeat viewings and, due to bloated expectations, is a

film whose sizable pleasures will nevertheless play better second time around

when they don't have to live up to overly high hopes.