Movie Review: 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menance' rages again in 3D

I was busy some other place when "Star Wars, The Phantom Menace" opened in 1999 in the USA. Lucky me. Not so lucky now when I went to see the reworked original decked out in 3D. It's a corny movie and the 3D adds little to the viewing except for the $3 extra per ticket. At the Galaxy Fandango in Carson City you can see the release without 3D and you won't be missing much.

All the usual suspects are on hand, including Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi master in charge along with Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jinn's Jedi student. A youthful Natalie Portman is Queen Padme Adidala, ruler of a planet Naboo under trade embargo (sort of like Cuba today). There's a twist in the queen thing with Keira Knightley as Sabé coming out, but don't worry about it.

Lots of other familiar characters going through the often dull action. While the film when originally released was a pioneer in CGI animation, it has sadly been dated by modernization of all the trick effects. All the space ships flying about the city and the underwater sequences are kind of blah.

And corny is the word for much of what does go on here. Jinn is tall and regal, Obi-wan a mere shadow of Alec Guiness' work in the later sequels, and the comic relief figure of Jarr Jar Binks not very funny at all.

Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker is a 9 year old destined to become a Jedi after he wins a race through the desert on jet-pulled race vehicles that is overly long and not very exciting. An exception to the generally dull cast is Pernilla August as Skywalker's mother. She actually seems to get the idea of acting a role.

What can one say about movie that made a half-billion dollars, and is now in 3D? It's not very good, the writing is turgid and the acting just acting. But if you liked in 2D, you will probably like it in 3D. The new dimension doesn't really add much to the movie but it does to the filmmakers at an extra $3 a pop. You're warned.

--- Sam Bauman

Cast

▪ Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn: A Jedi Master and mentor to Obi-Wan. When he discovers Anakin, he insists that the boy be trained as a Jedi, despite the protests of the council. Lucas originally envisioned an American actor in the role, but cast Neeson, who is Irish, because he considered Neeson to have great skills and presence, describing him as a "master actor," who the other actors will look Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker to, who has got the qualities of strength that the character demands."

▪ Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi: Qui-Gon's young Jedi Padawan apprentice. He holds Qui-Gon in high regard, but questions his motives at times. McGregor prepared for the role by watching Alec Guinness, who portrayed the elderly Obi-Wan, in both the original Star Wars trilogy and Guinness' early work.

▪ Natalie Portman as Queen Padmé Amidala: The young queen of Naboo at 14 years of age, Amidala hopes to protect her planet from a blockade brought on by the Trade Federation. Over 200 actresses were auditioned for the role, with production notes stating that "The role required a young woman who could be believable as the ruler of that planet, but at the same time be vulnerable and open." Portman was chosen specially for her performances in The Professional (1994) and Beautiful Girls (1996), which impressed Lucas. He stated, "I was looking for someone who was young, strong, along the lines of Leia [and] Natalie embodied all those traits and more." The actress was unfamiliar with Star Wars prior to being cast but was enthused over being cast as the Queen of Naboo, a character she expected to become a role model: "It was wonderful playing a young queen with so much power. I think it will be good for young women to see a strong woman of action who is also smart and a leader."

▪ Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker: A nine-year-old slave boy from Tatooine. He is discovered to have the highest known count of midichlorians, a sign of strength in the Force. More than 3,000 young actors auditioned for the role throughout North America and the United Kingdom. They included child actors Michael Angarano, Erik von Detten, Justin Berfield, and Haley Joel Osment.[6] The field narrowed to three actors, all of whom were interviewed by Lucas and then screen-tested with Natalie Portman.

▪ Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine/Darth Sidious: The Senator of Naboo, who is eventually elected Chancellor of the Republic. McDiarmid was surprised when Lucas approached him 16 years after Return of the Jedi to reprise the role of Palpatine, because he had assumed that a younger actor would play the part in the prequel films.

▪ Ahmed Best as the voice of Jar Jar Binks: A clumsy Gungan, exiled from his home but taken in by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. He accompanies them throughout the film. Best was hired after Gurland saw him on a Stomp performance in San Francisco, and originally was just going to provide motion capturing, but after offering to also voice the character, was accepted. He wandered in the set in a foam-and-latex suit and headpiece to provide reference for the actors, with his filmed performance later replaced by the computer-generated character. Best frequently improvised movements to make Jar Jar as clumsy and comedic as possible.

▪ Pernilla August as: Anakin's mother. She is concerned for her son's future, and lets him leave with the Jedi. August, a veteran of Swedish cinema, was chosen after auditioning with Liam Neeson, although she was afraid of not being chosen due to her accent.

▪ Ray Park as Darth Maul: A young Zabrak Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious who uses a double-bladed lightsaber. A martial arts champion with experience in gymnastics and swordfighting, Park was originally only a member of the stunt crew,[8] and stunt coordinator Nick Gillard filmed Park to demonstrate how he envisioned the lightsaber battles. Lucas and McCallum were so impressed with the test tape that they gave Park the role of Maul. His voice was considered "too squeaky", leading it to be dubbed over. He was voiced by Peter Serafinowicz.

▪ Anthony Daniels voices C-3PO: A protocol droid built by Anakin, he lacks a metal covering in this film, which R2-D2 refers to as being "naked". A puppeteer—dressed in a color close to the one seen in the background, similar to the Japanese puppet theater Bunraku, so he could be erased during post-production—manipulated a skeletal C-3PO figure attached to his front, while Daniels read his lines off-camera.

▪ Kenny Baker as R2-D2: An astromech droid, notable for saving Queen Amidala's ship when all other droids fail. Before the production of The Phantom Menace started, fans campaigned on the Internet to retain Baker as R2, to which Lucas replied that the actor would remain. Baker is used for scenes where R2 bends forwards and backwards and wobble from side to side, while actual robots and a digital replica are used otherwise.

▪ Silas Carson as Nute Gunray: The Viceroy of the Trade Federation who leads the invasion of Naboo and tries to force Queen Amidala to sign a treaty to legitimize the occupation. Carson also portrays three minor characters: Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod, and an ill-fated pilot (which was the role Carson originally auditioned for). Carson got the role because another actor was uncomfortable with the costumes used by the Trade Federation characters — which were hot, exerted a lot of pressure on the bearer, and took about 15 minutes to apply. The Thai accent used by the character was chosen after Lucas and McCallum listened to various languages to pick how the Neimodians would speak.

▪ Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka: Queen Amidala's chief of security at Theed Palace. Quarshie accepted the part for considering it "a good career move" and a production that would be fun to make.

▪ Andy Secombe voices Watto: A junk dealer on Tatooine who owns Anakin and his mother as slaves. With a design that was an amalgalm of various rejected ideas, Watto's expressions were based on video footage of Secombe doing the voice acting, photos of animation supervisor Rob Coleman imitating the character, and modeler Steve Alpin saying Watto's lines to the mirror.

▪ Lewis MacLeod voices Sebulba: An aggressive, scheming Podracer and rival of Anakin. Sebulba's design was described by Lucas as "a spider crossed with an orangutan crossed with a sloth",[16] with a camel-like face, and clothing inspired by medieval armor.

▪ Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda: The centuries old leader of the Jedi Council who is apprehensive about allowing Anakin to be trained. Yoda was mostly portrayed as a puppet designed by Nick Dudman, based on Stuart Freeborn's original design, with Oz controlling the mouth and other parts controlled by the puppeteers using remote controls.[9] A computer-generated Yoda is featured in two distant shots and Warwick Davis portrays him in the scene in which Obi-Wan becomes a Jedi Knight.

▪ Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu: A member of the Jedi Council who also opposes the idea of training Anakin. After Jackson expressed interest in appearing in a Star Wars film, he was approached by cast director Robin Gurland to play Windu.

▪ Terence Stamp as Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum: The current Chancellor who commissions Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to negotiate with the Trade Federation Viceroy. Lucas described the character as a "good man but he's beleaguered—a bit like [Bill] Clinton".

▪ Brian Blessed voices Boss Nass: The leader of the Gungan tribe who allies with the Naboo and defeats the Trade Federation. Blessed originally auditioned for Sio Bibble, the Governor of Naboo, for which he was considered "too loud". Blessed described Nass as a "reluctant hero", and a fun role to play.

▪ Greg Proops and Scott Capurro voice Fode and Beed, the two headed announcer of the Boonta's Eve Race. The actors were filmed wearing make-up and blue bodysuits, so their heads would be joined in a computer-generated body. The visual effects crew did not like the original results, and ended up crafting Fode and Beed as an entirely computer generated alien.

▪ Keira Knightley as Sabé: Queen Amidala's body double and decoy. The role was originally going to be filled by a stand-in, until casting director Robin Gurland came across Knightley, who bore a striking resemblance to Natalie Portman. Knightley's role was kept quiet by The Phantom Menace's marketing department in order to heighten the surprise of there being a decoy Queen when the film was released. The Queen's costumes were specifically designed to hide any height and shape differences between Knightley and Portman, so much so that Portman's mother could not distinguish between the two on set.

Directed by George Lucas

Produced by Rick McCallum

Written by George Lucas

Music by John Williams

Cinematography by David Tattersall

Editing by Ben Burtt and Paul Martin Smith

Studio: Lucasfilm

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Running time 133 minutes, rated