Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )
For almost 30 years Star Wars has dominated the subject sci-fi fantasy. Many fans of the genre are quick to dismiss it while fans of the movies themselves sacrifice their own reputation by dressing as Yoda for halloween 20 years in a row. Given the success of the first three movies, A Phantom Menace had no chance of filling the requirements people placed upon it. Still, it was actually released and did very well for itself.
Then we come to George Lucas. For his original statements that he would not release the original three movies until after 2006, he is one of the last remaining enemies of DVD. Next to DIVX for their oppression of an art form and Disney by exploiting children for cold hard cash, Lucas and his ego were personally responsible for the original lack of success of the format. Sure, that is all ancient history and now DVD is the number one home consumer format for movies, but it could have failed and Lucas didn't help. Still, release of the Phantom Menace just a short year and a half after the theatrical release and the quality of the DVD proves that he has embraced the format.
So how is the movie? Much like everyone else said, it could have been better. There were two main problems with this movie, two things that would have made it a far better picture had they been removed. One, Jarjar. I am not even going to get too deeply into it because only about 4 billion people have the same opinion as me. It goes to show a larger problem with Lucas's philosophy for this movie. He tailored it for 5 year olds. Had he taken it as seriously as he took Empire Strikes Back, it would had been a far better movie. Jarjar is an easy icon to show that he was more interested in happy meal tie ins than making a great science fiction movie. Instead of a great movie we get fart jokes. Number two was Anakin's dialog. If you removed every line of dialog that ever came out of Anakin's mouth, the movie would be far better. I actually like the pod race scene a lot since it goes to show Anakin's skill as a pilot but he also never says a word as he repairs his pod while it is flying at close to supersonic speed. During the attack on the droid control ship, however, he won't shut up, spitting out a horror of un-funny dialog with every explosion. I am not even sure a five year old would laugh. This goes to show how childish Lucas took his own work.
The movie does have all the elements of a great science fiction movie. It has a ton of depth and background. It has a good story that moves along the whole series, and good characters aside from the two mentioned above. The action is very solid except when you realize that they fight nothing but robots. I am still working on picking up my father's legacy of the Robot Protection League. Robots are people too after all, and simply using them as fodder for our heroes doesn't give them the respect they deserve. Honestly, though, beating on robots is just as much a copout as the G.I. Joe firefights that end up always turning into fistfights without a single casualty on either side. Even with the robots, the action scenes, especially the lightsabre dueling is top notch.
The DVD is excellent except for the lack of a DTS soundtrack. The picture is a very clear, though a bit dark 2.35 to 1 16x9 enhanced transfer with a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtrack. John William's soundtrack is done very well, and I highly recommend turning up the volume a tad higher than normal in order to get the full theatrical effect. Even on my modest sound system (lack of subwoofers mainly) I got just about the full impact of the original theatrical release.
Star Wars just frankly isn't all it could be but we shouldn't dismiss it either. Sure, George Lucas is still the Adolf Hitler of sci-fi fantasy, but he did a lot for the grenre too. The DVD is a very good version of the movie and I would probably recommend it for just about anyone's library. If you can get past the kiddie stuff, it has a lot going for it.
From: emyers ( emyers@yahoo.com ) on 17 February 2002
Subject: no way
Every person that watches a movie has a right to their opinon, and to share that opinoon with others. Being a actor (yeah it's easy to say your an actor, not like their is a degree required) doesn't mean you have any more crediblity.
The argument that "unless you work in automobile plants" "Unless you are an actor" "unless you write books" is tired, borring, and irrelvant.
Phantom meance sucks, and you don't need to be any kind of actor or have a single writing credit to your name to have that opinion. The only thing that is required is watching the movie (and hopefully a fan of the genre).
From: Travis McElroy ( trav_mcelroy@yahoo.com ) on 14 February 2002
Subject: SW:EI-TPM
Okay, I've seen possibly every review of this film. Mostly bad...some good, and I figured it's time for me to throw my 2 cents in. (a mere 2 1/2 years later)
First, Lucas is smart...perhaps even shrewd...he knows that there's no way he could screw up the pop-culture phenomenon that is STAR WARS. So he decided to try to expand the Force to a new generation...thus we get "StarWars...The Disney Version." There was not even an attempt to build character or invoke empathy for the principals. For example...Darth Maul and Qui'Gon both DIE...and we're supposed to feel how? Personally, I didn't care one way or the other because there wasn't even substance to their stories or characters (not like Obi-Wan in ANH). And maybe, just maybe that was Lucas's intention. If you're making a Disney flic (especially a modern one), the last thing you want is geniune emotion or even sorrow...it might frighten the kiddies.
Also, who's to say that the masses would've even
"gotten it" if he had made the same sort of film as EpIV. I mean I think Hollywood has dumbed-down our society so much, that things like symbolism and story development and realistic characters are lost on a generation that loves bubble-gum POP music (don't get me started on the N-Synch junk) and a pension for unscripted "reality" TV that is just about folks yelling and throwing chairs.
However, we did get just enough of a plot for us REAL fans to hang on to and await (with baited breath) EpII - AOTC.
Now let's switch gears and go to our reviews. Whether you like a piece of work (art, entertainment, sports, etc) or not...the fact is that work is someone's job. Are people going to come up to you at your cushy office job and say "Bill, you know the way you stacked the doughnuts for that last meeting was horrendous"???
No..of course not. And whether we like these works or not, the bottomline is they are getting PAID!!! Paid to produce a product...paid to perform...paid to do a job they love. How many of us can say that about ourselves? And we're not even producing anything...except opinions (and you know what they are in common with) Does anybody truely care what our opinions are? Do we get paid for giving them? Do our opinions change the un-godly amounts of money the artists that we challenge and criticize will make simply by breathing? The answer, of course, is NO!
So...why do we offer opinions? Do we think we can do better? Perhaps...but I would think...no wait...I would CHALLENGE folks who make negative comments on pieces of work to try and be creative enough to come up with one on your own. I am an actor and comedian, so I feel somewhat justified to say "Keanu Reeves acting is horrible" or "I just don't find Ray Romano funny." Course I refer back to my earlier comment on the fact they're getting paid...so SOMEBODY must like them...
Uh...anyways, back to Star Wars. I can't wait for EpII, I think Lucas will return to form with a solid, intriguing story...and I look forward to seeing Natalie Portman become even hotter. I'll be first in line, ticket in hand (minus the Yoda mask).
From: z6p6tist6 ( z6p6tist6@hotmail.com ) on 4 January 2002
Subject: 30 years?
30 years? Which orifice are you pulling your numbers out of?
From: Michel Hafner ( mhafner@imdb.com ) on 2 January 2002
Subject: not excellent
This DVD is not excellent at all. Very disappointing. With tons of ugly edge enhancement.
:-(
MH
From: chris ( graberc@yahoo.com ) on 1 December 2001
Subject: Movie Star Wars
Suspension of disbelief: This movie destroys it on so many levels. I bought the force in Star Wars, I don't buy the force causing Bacteria.
I buy darth vadar as ultimate evil because in the first five minutes he is cracking necks. Why would the Jedi attack someone who cleary did nothing wrong (and only acted in self defense) aka Darth Maul.
I bought a poorley placed exhaust chute on a imperial star size battle station but what kind of star ship designers would place a reactor next to the landing bay. A landing bay that ships could fly into?! If a ship can fly into it why can't a missle? That would like putting fuel tanks on top of an aircraft carrier.
Suspension of disbelief
From: emyers ( emyers@yahoo.com ) on 26 October 2001
Subject: lack of successs
Lucas and Divx lack of success? DVD from the gate had a faster adoption rate then Cd's. . .
bottom line: this movie sucks. They should give the rights to star wars to a decent screen writer and then we shall see some aciton.
From: Ryan Garland ( garlandrd@collegeclub.com ) on 24 October 2001
Subject: Funny Review
We definitely got Fart Jokes and Those two characters should have been muted. I'll be waiting for the next sequel to hit DVD. I really hope the next sequel flops. But it won't because even if people remembered how childish the first one was, there are enough little kids that will want to go see it...that it will do well.
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From: Mike ( mshea@liquidtheater.com ) on 15 April 2002
Subject: THX Optimizer on SW: Episode 1 DVD
While the movie isn't great, it is a great home theater demo DVD for the kiddies. It also contains a great tool, the THX Optimizer. This tool can be found on the first DVD, under options in the lower right corner of the screen. It contains a series of test patterns and audio checks along with instruction for use. While not as thorough as Avia, it will give you a great quick tune up for a typical home theater system. This is a great inclusion on a decent movie and another reason to pick up this DVD. This is also available on a lot of THX DVDs.