What Went Wrong -- Some Good Ideas In Search of a Movie, 2008-08-03
Here it is -- the most maligned and controversial movie of its time; the one to receive the most ridiculously overblown hype before its release, as well as the most severe backlash afterwards; the film supposedly responsible for millions of dashed hopes, "raped childhoods", and perhaps even a suicide or two, according to all the internet gossip.
Personally, I never thought much of either the prerelease hype or the hysterical fanboy backlash -- whatever its faults, this movie is not worth getting so upset over. There was simply no way ANY film could have lived up to the overblown expectations heaped upon this one. And those people whose lives were "ruined" or "raped" by this movie probably already had serious personal issues to begin with...
Having said all that, the film does have its fair share of problems. I did like it when I first saw it in the theater, and I was eagerly awaiting the next chapter when I walked out. Looking back, I probably liked it more for what it COULD have been, rather than for what was actually up on the screen. The Star Wars universe is always a fun place to visit, and I think -- contrary to all the conspiracy theories -- that George Lucas meant well, and really did what he thought was best for the series at that point. There were some good IDEAS here that had potential, but Lucas unfortunately had trouble forging them into a compelling MOVIE.
Perhaps the biggest problems stemmed from the different circumstances under which this movie was made, versus the original films. When the first Star Wars came out, Lucas had no idea whether any sequels would even be made; the film had to stand on its own merits. By contrast, Ep.I was made with the full knowledge that there would be two more films to follow; this could have unintentionally led Lucas to take more time developing his story and characters than he should have. He evidently became more concerned with foreshadowing and setting up future stories than showing a compelling one in THIS film. This resulted in a film that, unlike the originals, didn't stand too well on its own, and that depended too much on being a small part of the larger SW series for its appeal; indeed, a common complaint was that Ep.I was little more than a feature-length trailer for the rest of the prequel trilogy.
Another problem seems to be the inverse of what plagues most movie trilogies -- many series starting out strong only to lose focus as they go on, as if their creators know how to begin their stories but not how to end them. With the SW prequel trilogy, Lucas seems to have the opposite problem; he knew how he wanted it to END (Anakin becomes Darth Vader), but not how exactly to BEGIN it. Thus this series became more focused as it progressed, but began as an unfocused mess, to this film's detriment.
Add to this the script, which had the feel of a first draft that needed much more work before filming began. While all the other SW films dealt with large conflicts spanning the galaxy, much of Ep.I focused on small, localized events that felt more like an abstract, throwaway plot merely to introduce the characters. While I understand showing much of the developing conflicts growing out of seemingly mundane events that become larger and larger while spiralling out of control, Ep.I tended to dwell on trivial matters while rushing through others that should have been expanded upon. There was too much talking and TELLING the audience about what happened, rather than SHOWING them. Take, for instance, the invasion of Naboo; we are TOLD the Naboo people were "suffering and dying", the death toll was "catastrophic", etc., but never SHOWN this -- no raging battles, no burning buildings or civilian casualties, etc. Ditto for Anakin's life as a slave -- Lucas should have SHOWN us the brutality of slavery, with perhaps some deaths as a result, to make us FEEL Anakin's desire to leave for a better life.
Unfortunately, it seems Lucas tried to compensate with juvenile kiddie humor. I understand that the film was supposed to convey the feel of the Republic in more "innocent" times, before the rise of the evil Empire; however, much of the humor here seems to have been mere filler, to pad and stretch out the already thin plot. Too often, Lucas went for "campy" or "silly", to the point where it practically defined the movie itself. The most obvious was Jar Jar; while his character did serve an important purpose in the film, Lucas didn't bother to make him sympathetic in the least -- there was no reason to believe the Jedi would want anything to do with him, or take him across the galaxy when he hardly "pulled his own weight", and continuously caused problems. This "campy" trend extended to other characters as well -- the rival racers in the podrace, for example, came across like cartoonish puppets, instead of menacing alien opponents like they should have. And the battle droids of the Trade Federation (the overt antagonists of the film) seemed not only weak but simply too silly-looking to make effective villains. (The droidekas fared better in this regard; maybe a droid army composed of bipedal versions of these machines would have made a more convincing threat.)
Nonetheless, Ep.I DID have some good points, with flashes of that old "Star Wars magic", as it were. There were some good set pieces, like the stately palaces on Naboo and the mythic grandeur of Coruscant, especially the Jedi Temple and Galactic Senate chambers. Early on, the approach to the underwater city of the Gungans managed to evoke a sense of wonder similar to the Emerald City in "The Wizard of Oz"; the attacks of the giant underwater monsters were impressive, also.
As for the heroes, Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the film's saving graces. I found him to be the most likeable character in the movie, and I truly felt for him at the end. Ewan McGregor did a decent job as Obi-Wan, though he had little to do. Pernilla August was also convincing in her small role as Anakin's mother. As for the much-maligned Jake Lloyd, I could take him or leave him, though he did have a couple of good moments. The scenes where Anakin parted with his mother on Tatooine, and where he was sitting alone in the spaceship with Padme, talking about how cold and lonely he was, were rather well done, capturing the mood of young Anakin as he was thrust into his strange new life.
As the villains, Darth Maul and Darth Sidious were an effectively menacing duo that drove most of the events of the movie through their actions. The final battle between Maul and the Jedi Knights was a definite highlight. Another for me was Darth Sidious, who provided a link to the old SW mythos as a grim foreshadowing of things to come. Whenever the sinister figure of Sidious appeared on screen to deliver his orders for his evil plans via holographic transmission to the intimidated Trade Federation leaders, the sense of tension was palpable.
After all is said and done, while I can't bring myself to truly dislike any SW film, and can appreciate the good points of this movie and what Lucas was trying to do here, it still could have been so much more. It's not a terrible film, as some say -- just a muddled, mediocre one that feels like a lost opportunity. With a more carefully constructed plot that stood better on its own, and which engaged the audience and made them care more about the outcome, it could have been far better. As it is, Ep.I will probably be remembered as the "red-headed stepchild" of the Star Wars saga, being only for series completists who will fast forward to the good parts. Fortunately, although this film started the prequel trilogy off on a sour note for many people, Lucas was able to learn from most of his mistakes, and the next two installments would be HUGE improvements over this one.
