{"id":36941,"date":"1999-05-30T08:00:26","date_gmt":"1999-05-30T15:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=36941"},"modified":"2015-11-19T23:12:56","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T07:12:56","slug":"review-star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace-dir-george-lucas-1999","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace-dir-george-lucas-1999.html","title":{"rendered":"Review: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace<\/i> (dir. George Lucas, 1999)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"starwars-episodei\"<\/a>IT\u2019S BEEN said so often that it\u2019s now something of a clich\u00e9 \u2014 popular culture is where a lot of people turn these days in search of myth, meaning and a general sense of community. Nowhere is this spiritual hunger more obvious than among science fiction fans, some of whom camped outside theatres for weeks \u2014 even a couple of months \u2014 to claim the best seats in the house when the new Star Wars<\/a><\/i> movie arrived.<\/p>\n

The first film, released 22 years ago, was noted by many Christians for its religious parallels. Central to the film was Obi-Wan Kenobi\u2019s death at the hands of his treacherous former disciple, Darth Vader. Obi-Wan\u2019s body vanished, leaving behind only empty robes, while his spirit went on to guide his new acolyte, Luke Skywalker. The allusions to Christ\u2019s death, resurrection, and continued presence were too strong to ignore.<\/p>\n

The sequels, The Empire Strikes Back<\/a><\/i> and Return of the Jedi<\/a><\/i>, delved even deeper into questions of morality, temptation, and the like. The shocking discovery that Darth Vader was actually Luke\u2019s father \u2014 a fact that made the possibility of Luke\u2019s own fall from grace seem that much more plausible \u2014 was followed by the even more amazing revelation that even an arch-villain such as Vader could be redeemed by love.<\/p>\n

These are incredibly potent themes, especially in a series aimed squarely at children, and fans had every reason to hope that The Phantom Menace<\/a><\/i>, the new film set in the years before the evil Emperor gained control of the galaxy, would tap into these archetypes. But somehow, it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The problems begin with the introductory crawl, which goes on and on about taxes, trade disputes and other mundane political matters. We are then introduced to two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his young apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). They are supposed to negotiate a treaty, but they are immediately attacked by assassins, and it\u2019s one thing after another for the rest of the film.<\/p>\n

Along the way, they pick up some new friends, including the teenaged Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), the floppy-eared alien Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best), and, most fatefully, a nine year old boy named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). But nowhere in the ensuing tale do we see any of the charisma, chemistry or depth of character that made the original trilogy so much fun to watch. (The droids C-3PO and R2-D2 never even get a chance to reenact their old Laurel-and-Hardy routine.)<\/p>\n

Lucas does throw in a few new religious motifs. Unless the sequels say otherwise, it seems Anakin \u2014 the boy who will one day become Darth Vader \u2014 was virginally conceived. And there is much talk among the Jedi about a \u201cprophecy\u201d concerning a \u201cchosen one\u201d who will \u201cbring balance to the Force.\u201d Qui-Gon thinks Anakin is that chosen one. But we know that Anakin is, if anything, destined to bring about a great deal of imbalance.<\/p>\n

So, is the prophecy wrong? Is the \u2018chosen one\u2019 someone else \u2014 Anakin\u2019s future son Luke, perhaps? Or was Anakin just a failure as a messiah? And why didn\u2019t we hear about this prophecy in the original films? The Phantom Menace<\/i> leaves these and other questions unanswered, though the sequels, due to arrive in three and six years, may settle things.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not too hopeful, though; and I say this not as a critic but as a fan who counts The Empire Strikes Back<\/i> among my five favorite films. Say what you will about \u2018the Force\u2019 and the various eastern influences on Lucas\u2019s philosophy, but there was a soul \u2014 a spiritual momentum \u2014 to the original trilogy that this new film lacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t lose sight of the moment,\u201d says Qui-Gon to his young apprentice. It\u2019s a principle that Lucas \u2014 who was too busy either trying to recapture old glory, or setting up future installments to make The Phantom Menace<\/i> a decent film in its own right \u2014 should have taken to heart.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A version of this review was first published in <\/i>BC Christian News.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IT\u2019S BEEN said so often that it\u2019s now something of a clich\u00e9 \u2014 popular culture is where a lot of people turn these days in search of myth, meaning and a general sense of community. Nowhere is this spiritual hunger more obvious than among science fiction fans, some of whom camped outside theatres for weeks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[208,206,157],"class_list":["post-36941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bcchristiannews","tag-george-lucas","tag-star-wars","tag-star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (dir. 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