Aaron Aradillas on "The Phantom Menace" in 3D

My friend Aaron Aradillas wrote the below piece for another website, but due to an editorial mixup, it could not run there. That site's loss is SCR's gain, though, as Aaron generously offered it to this blog. His piece begins below the film still. 

Back in 1997, when the first STAR WARS movies were re-released (when they started be known as the Original Trilogy), the tagline in the ads said, “See it again for the first time.” Beyond being a shrewd marketing ploy, it was also an instance of truth in advertising. While it may be difficult for some to imagine, but there was a time when STAR WARS fandom (and hatred) wasn’t so omnipresent. The time between the release of Return of the Jedi and the re-released Special Editions (1983-1997), the STAR WARS movies were part of the culture, but they were in more or less the right proportion. The expanded universe of books, made-for-TV Ewok movies, commemorative VHS releases were gobbled up by die hard fans, but mostly STAR WARS was something from the past that got passed down from older brother to younger brother. (When, in 1987, Mel Brooks came out with the gentle spoof Spaceballs, the STAR WARS movies were looked at as almost quaint and possibly a little outdated. Who needs STAR WARS when you had Predator?) The “What if” fantasy of Episodes I, II, and III was that—a fantasy. We were all waiting for the next Star Wars, but in the meantime we made due with Tim Burton’s Batman, Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, and Independence Day.

What the box office success of the re-released Special Editions told Hollywood is that the only way to create another global phenomenon is to make a new STAR WARS movie. 1997 was the start of the modern-day fanboy/geek culture that now runs Hollywood. Fanboy culture (Comic-Con, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings, J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Marvel comics, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Glee, Aint-It-Cool-News, Attack of the Show) is a groupthink mentality that claims to be democratic, what with its we-know-what’s-best-because-we’re-fans ethic, but is really pop culture fascism. And it’s the fans’ demand (remember, fan is short for fanatic), that led to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace—the most hyped (and possibly most reviled) blockbuster in movie history.

The re-release of The Phantom Menace in a converted 3-D edition allows us to see it again for the first time in the harsh light of disappointment. And what does The Phantom Menace look like? It looks like what it always was; an exceedingly well-made spectacle hampered by the limitations of being an origin story.

(For the record, the 3-D adds more or less nothing to the experience. It’s mostly relegated to background effects. Nothing is thrown at you. And the newly added digital Yoda looks like the old Yoda, except maybe a little brighter and younger.)

The Phantom Menace is like the George W. Bush of STAR WARS movies. If you make your expectations low enough it won’t seem half bad. (Okay, The Phantom Menace isn’t that bad.) With very few exceptions (Superman, Batman Begins) origin stories play like homework. There’s very little drama in seeing characters before they became interesting. This is what doomed the Prequels to be such a letdown. Audiences just wanted to see the key moments of Anakin Skywalker’s story. They really didn’t want to see his childhood. (Basically we all just wanted the last hour of Revenge of the Sith.)

Of the three Prequels The Phantom Menace has the most heavy-lifting to do. It’s storyline involving “trade routes” and “taxation without representation” does not resonate. What does come across (especially after seeing it again in theaters) is just how elegantly detailed George Lucas has made everything. The Phantom Menace kicked off a new era in digital filmmaking. Everything from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to Sin City to Transformers to 300 to Avatar to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button used digital effects and environments in ways that forever altered how we view space and movement. What’s shocking about The Phantom Menace is just how stately it looks compared to something like, say, Transformers. Lucas, a student of silent movies and cliffhangers, still believes in the action happening within the frame. He doesn’t go for fast cutting and arbitrary jump-cuts. This allows him to do a slow build that, seen today, is kind of refreshing. Believe it or not, The Phantom Menace dares to take its time. You’re allowed to take in the visuals. You aren’t being forced to scan the frame in the hopes of not missing anything before the next edit. The detail of the city-planet Curoscant or the desert vistas of Naboo have a tactile quality that is rare in today’s all-CGI-all-the-time filmmaking.

As Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn, Liam Neeson proves to be a genius with his line readings. The character is nothing but exposition. Neeson knows this. He also knows the only way to make the character stick in our heads is by underplaying him with just a hint of bemusement at the situations he finds himself in. Neeson’s delivery of the line “There’s always a bigger fish” perfectly illustrates his ability to say a clunker of a line with just enough conviction that he gets a laugh. Ewan McGregor is wonderful as the young Ben Kenobi. He nails Alec Guiness’ dashing quality while suggesting the gravitas that is soon to come. Seeing The Phantom Menace again I admit I didn’t despise Jake Lloyd’s performance as young “Ani” Skywalker as I once did. Granted, he has some awful lines that would trip up the most seasoned actors. (His opening line of “Are you an angel?” is a real groaner. Also, no one should ever utter the word “yippie” unless they’re being ironic.) But he’s very good at getting across the mix of impatience and bratiness that would give the Jedi Council pause in accepting him. When he says, “I’m a person,” he shows just the right amount of anger that tells you this kid is potentially a bad seed.

(Hayden Christensen would take brattiness to near operatic heights in Attack of the Clones and especially Revenge of the Sith.) It’s clear now that the one-and-a-half note acting style that garnered Natalie Portman an Oscar started with her portrayal of Padme Amidala. The only difference is that that acting style is perfectly suited for a square sci-fi fantasy, not a psychological freak-out like Black Swan. And Jar Jar Binks? I’ve never been a hater. (I’m not a lover either.) In fact I’ve always marveled at how well he was integrated into the action. Interestingly, people have always complained about the character, but no one has ever objected to Jar Jar Binks looking unreal. (Granted, Gollum in The Two Towers would take CGI-created characters to a whole new level.)

Like Star Wars (or is it A New Hope?), the first half of The Phantom Menace is creakily paced. It’s all setup. (This may be the rare instance of the majority of a movie is setup within a movie that’s setup for a franchise.) But then the pod race occurs and the movie starts to gain momentum. The pod race remains a marvel of movement, speed, and special effects. It’s like the chariot race in Ben-Hur gone galactic. Seen today, in the wake of countless smash-and-grab chases, there’s something almost old-fashion about the way Lucas allows certain shots to last more than a couple of seconds. The three-pronged finale of space battle, droid battle, and lightsaber duel (echoes of Return of the Jedi) is even better. The cross-cutting between the three sequences is surprisingly precise. The lightsaber duel with Darth Maul (he of the facial makeup that makes him look like a demented Studio 54 dancer), is genuinely exciting. And John Williams’ score, which is rather minimal throughout most of the movie, comes alive with the rousing and foreboding “Duel of the Fates” theme. It’s the lightsaber duel where The Phantom Menace starts to get the blood pumping. We’re startled by both the death of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s genuine flash of anger at the death of his friend. The next two episodes would be better movies overall, but it was moments like Obi-Way striking down Darth Maul that would rekindle a new hope in the STAR WARS universe. The ability to navigate unreasonable expectations and disappointment might be the ultimate trial of any true believer in the Force.

—Aaron Aradillas

 

 

Comments

[Betttencourt]

Saw Phantom Menace in 3D today (I saw it three times when it came out but hadn't seen it since), and I can't say it aged well (though the teenage girl sitting near me who spent much of the film texting - including during the Darth Maul lightsaber fight, by far the film's best scene - certainly reminded me that I was watching the film in the year 2012).

It definitely has its strong suits -- Darth Maul, that final sword fight, Neeson and McGregor's performances, the Williams score, the effects and design -- but it's by far my least favorite of all six films. In this viewing it felt three hours long (and though the 3D conversion was pretty good by the standards of that technology, it still seemed to result in a dimmer, less colorful image, and image is most of what Phantom Menace has going for it), and both Jake Lloyd and Darth Maul were even worse than I'd remembered. I don't blame Lloyd -- he was a child, ferchrissake, it was the director's responsibility to get a good performance out of him, and it's hard to imagine a director with more artistic and financial control over a film than Lucas had over the Star Wars prequels -- but Jar-Jar is utterly unforgivable. Besides the arguable racial caricature, he is simply one of the most irritating characters in any film, Star Wars or not, a whiny coward who is given an obscene amount of screen time.

I don't understand the hate for Attack of the Clones. It's not as consistent as Revenge of the Sith (which I think is ultimately crippled by the Christensen-Portman relationship -- it's hard to base a romantic tragedy on a relationship so utterly flat and unengaging) but it has some of the coolest scenes in all the prequels, especially Obi-Wan's visit to the clone planet, and that shot of the young Boba with his father's severed helmet/head.

Today, however, I did see a genuinely amazing and magical film -- The Secret World of Arrietty.

[Dan Coyle]

The Clone Wars animated movie may have bombed in theaters, but the Cartoon Network series based on it is fairly successful.

[Owain Wilson]

I saw the trailer for The Phantom Menace 3D in the cinema a few months ago, and was sharply reminded of how utterly boring this film is.

Even the trailer itself seems to be making a wry comment on this. The voice over guy bellows "EXCITEMENT!" and then we cut to a shot of the Jedi Council!

[Betttencourt]

When I wrote that Darth Maul was worse than I'd remembered, obviously I meant Jar-Jar Binks. Jeez.

[lazarus]

Bettencourt: that shot of Boba Fett w/ Jango's head is phenomenal. It's moments like that which allow me to suffer through Lucas poor decision-making.

And the whole Obi-Wan subplot of Clones is great, even more noir atmosphere than Empire.

[Account Deleted]

@Peter Scott: "My biggest frustration with the prequels is that Lucas didn't make them for me. I grew up on the original trilogy, but he made these new films for kids."

Here is the faulty premise that grown up Star Wars fans base all their disillusionment with Lucas on. What they have forgotten, or just don't seem to realise, is that the original trilogy was made for kids too.

"The fans grow up. The films don't." - George Lucas.

[Oliver_C]

Who do we dislike more right now, J-J or LexG? :-)

[Krillian]

Lucas's argument that the Star Wars movies are for kids gets him so far. As a kid, I had no problem with the Ewoks, whereas once I grew up, I understood why everyone else hated them. And then I liked introducing my kids to a new trilogy, but there was Jar Jar and midichlorians and the virgin birth and the fart jokes and the wooden acting and the cheesy dialogue and the two-headed race announcer and every time a new character appeared or had his name said, there was a pause for the audience to applaud...

I remember Terence Stamp saying he agreed to do the movie so he could act with Natalie Portman but she wasn't on set that day, so he had to act off a broomstick.

But this is what Lucas has become and has been for a long time. This is the guy who fought for years and years to have Indiana Jones fight aliens. My personal wish is that he'd let someone else independently do their own trilogy at some other corner of his galaxy and just use ILM for the effects and such.

[D Cairns]

This is the thing: if it's a kid's movie, why is it about a trade dispute?

[MDRackham]

@D Cairns: This is the thing: if it's a kid's movie, why is it about a trade dispute?

Ever try to teach kids to share?

[Bettencourt]

No kidding. Here's the second line of the opening crawl:

"The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute."

Wow, way to start an epic adventure, George. Really puts one in the mood.

[Brandon]

The NYTimes had a rather enlightening article about Lucas a few weeks ago ("George Lucas is Ready to Roll the Credits") where he explained his vision for RED TAILS as being purposely naive. This is obviously carried over from his involvement with, well, nearly everything that he has ever made (arguments for THX-1138 can go either way, I guess). He honestly believes that "There’s no reason why that idealism, that kind of naïveté, can’t still exist."

The problem I think most people have with the newer STAR WARS films is not that they are like this, but that they are like this AND still badly told stories. There may be parts that could be touted as so-called Great Cinema, but the story is still dumb.
It is not as Joseph Campbell-like rigid or even Saturday-morning serial cookie cutter-ish as the originals to simply be coherent enough to hold my (or my fanatical inner child's) attention.
I know it's old hat to bring up these arguments again, but that's what we all do everytime these things are re-released, right?

[Peter Scott]

@Markj74: I suppose I could have qualified that. Sure, the originals are made primarily for kids, but they don't talk down to them either. The drama and the characters is still adult. In the prequels, everything short of Anakin's self-destruction at the end of the final film is juvenile. And even Anakin's descent to darkness, with his off-screen slaughter of "younglings" is still very PG.

George can make that comment to cover his butt, but he's still leaving his directorial ass hanging out in the wind.

[Account Deleted]

@D Cairns: The trade dispute is engineered by Palpatine to allow his political takeover of the Senate. I'd actually applaud Lucas for dealing with 'political' elements in a 'kids' film. These plot points date all the way back to the 'Journal of the Whills' introduction to the 1977 novelisation of the original 'Star Wars': "Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic." Those massive organs of commerce obviously became the Trade Federation and Banking Clans of the prequels.

[jbryant]

Yes, all children's films could benefit from more political content. I, for one, would like to know more backstory on the elections for the Mayor of Munchkinland.

[Joe Gross]

"The abject failure of the animated Star Wars, however, is heartening, because it suggests that there IS a limit to how bad something with the words "Star Wars" on it can get, before people stop paying for it."

I am kinda confused by this. Do you mean the cartoon "The Clone Wars?" Cuz that thing has been on for four seasons and is embraced by the 4-7 year old set the nation over.

[Josh Z]

@Joe, he's referring to the animated Clone Wars movie that was released to theaters in 2008, prior to the series starting on cable. It was essentially the show's pilot episode, but Lucas thought it was strong enough to play as a feature film on its own.

He was wrong. The movie was terrible, and deservedly bombed at the box office.

I've been told that the TV show itself got better, but after suffering through that movie, I have no desire to find out for myself. If even a single episode has Capote the Effeminate Hutt in it, I will never, ever watch.

[Account Deleted]

@jbryant: Anyone familiar with the original Star Wars films should not be at all surprised about the mention of trade routes to outlying star systems. Mos Eisley itself is a spaceport.

[Joe Gross]

Ah. Understood. Sorry for the confusion.

(I wrote this thing ten years ago about the new movies. http://web.archive.org/web/20021220164627/http://www.austin360.com/aas/xlent/051602/16cover.html

But, yeah, the final sword fight is great and yeah, the grace note of Liam Nissen praying between the shields was the one glimmer of The Sort of Movie I Wanted Episode One To Be.)

[Joe Gross]

Neeson, sorry.

[Ryan]

Umm Mos Eisley wasn't exactly a bastion of above board trade.