terence stamp star wars episode i the phantom menace

The use of comedic announcers with cartoon-ish vocals stands out as something that just doesn't fit within the Star Wars universe.

It’s also the scene where Lucas's tilt toward 'juvenility,' also represented by Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd's performance as Anakin Skywalker, hits hardest. Whether you like the pod-race or not (admission - I don't and usually skip it when I watch the film), it is a triumph of technical action film-making. Maybe kids didn't realize it at the time, but every single character, be they good or evil, was working for the villain to further his authoritarian goals (this is the running subtext behind the fantastic Clone Wars cartoon series that premiered in late 2008). I have always appreciated the intricate plotting of the more narratively ambitious prequel trilogy.įor a film that's been knocked as too “kid-friendly,” it always struck me as darkly ironic that the entire journey in The Phantom Menace is basically a trick in order to pull off a Senatorial coup, replacing the decent Chancellor Valorum (Terence Stamp) with Palpatine (who is, of course, not so decent). But Phantom Menace (and the prequel trilogy overall) compensates for its admittedly inferior characters with a more complicated and morally grey plot.

Yes, the original Star Wars had a straightforward narrative, basically following the Joseph Campbell heroic journey. Bush but rather Donald Trump 18 years later. Say, did you know any most-okay leaders who were targeted for expulsion over baseless accusations of scandal back in 1999? Like The Purge series, the “This is how liberty dies” warnings of Revenge of the Sith became a prophecy, but not one under George W. That The Phantom Menace (and by proxy the prequel trilogy) operates differently than the first three Star Wars films does not automatically make them inferior, merely different. Taken as an individual film or the start of a three-film saga, it has eye-popping visuals, some robust action, at least three terrific performances (Liam Neeson, Ian McDiarmid, and Pernilla August), an excellent score by John Williams, and a politically wonky story that was a chilling modern-day parable. Lucas's apparent cave-in Attack of the Clones, making Padme “sexier,” is one reason Episode II is the weakest of the series. Her somewhat cold, Elizabethan portrayal is both her best performance in the prequel trilogy. Natalie Portman was always derided for not playing Queen Padme Amidala as a clone of Carrie Fisher's Princess Lea. The Phantom Menace lacks a rouge-ish Han Solo character, even if the film didn’t need a cynical audience surrogate this time around.

Terence stamp star wars episode i the phantom menace