Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 film by George Lucas starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Jake Lloyd. Menace is the first in a trilogy of films that function as a prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy (1977 - 1983) and the first in what will form a six part saga with the completion of Star Wars Episode III in 2005.Warning: Plot details follow.
The film is set in 32 BBY and begins with what appears to be a trade dispute between the planet of Naboo and the greedy Trade Federation. The Trade Federation blockades the planet in order to force them to accept their terms. Supreme Chancellor Valorum of the Republic secretly sends two Jedi knights (Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi) to resolve the dispute. The plot then thickens when it is revealed that the Trade Federation are in fact in league with the evil Darth Sidious Dark Lord of the Sith. Sidious orders the federation to invade Naboo and kill the Jedi knights. The Jedi escape the assassination attempt aboard the Trade Federation control ship and land upon Naboo. There they meet Jar Jar Binks who helps them reach the main city of Naboo where the Jedi rescue the queen of the Naboo Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman). They then try to reach the capital planet of the republic Coruscant so that they can plead their case to the senate. Before reaching Coruscant they are forced to land on planet Tatooine for badly needed repairs. Whilst searching for the parts needed for repairs they meet Anakin Skywalker who helps them raise the funds for the repairs by flying in a pod race. Qui-Gon Jinn recognises Anakin's potential to be a powerful Jedi and takes Anakin with him on the journey to Coruscant. At Coruscant the queen becomes disillusioned with the bureaucratic procedures and lack of action and decides to return to Naboo to repel the invasion herself. There she enlists the helps of her people's former enemies, the Gungans, to form an alliance in a desperate battle against the Trade Federation. During the battle the Gungans are forced to retreat until Anakin destroys the droid command ship. The Trade Federation is defeated, but not before Qui-Gon is killed by Darth Maul. The Jedi council then decide that Anakin should train to become a Jedi knight.
Filming
The budget of Menace was 115 million US dollars. Filming was primarily done at Leavesden Studios in England, with additional location shooting in the Tunisian desert and the Italian palace Palazzo Reale, Caserta.
Reaction
After an enormous marketing campaign, with the distinctive artwork of Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan gracing the movie poster and other advertising, there was almost unprecedented interest amongst both fans and the wider community in the return of one of the most successful movie series of all time. However, critical and fan reaction ranged from guarded praise to outright derision.
The much-hyped special effects, while generally viewed as groundbreaking in their sheer scope, were perhaps less impressive than anticipated simply because of high expectations. Many critics heavily criticised the direction and the acting of Portman and especially Jake Lloyd as the young Anakin Skywalker. Some aspects of the scripting were also criticised. Extra venom was directed at the character of Jar-Jar Binks, who was regarded by most of the older fan community as purely a merchandising opportunity rather than a serious character in the film. Fan reaction was mixed, with some fans opposing the critics' views while others agreed with the negative opinions.
Another source of dissatisfaction comes from the decision to explain the Force in terms of hard science, hence the introduction of midichlorians. Many fans felt this was unnecessary and ruins an aspect of the saga which sets it apart from other popular SF titles in which religion and spirituality are of little importance or totally absent.
A number of people anonymously re-edited the film and released their edited versions over the Internet. One, known as The Phantom Edit, is regarded as a superior version by many who have seen both.
There is great deal of speculation as to what the title, "the phantom menace" refers to, the titles of the other films seem to gererally to generally be self-explainitory. It is ussually segested that the title refers to Darth Sidious or the Sith in general.
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