So much of the response to SW E1: The Phantom Menace seems to have been polarized between the critics who call it a great big disappointment, and the fans who are eating it up, with very little middle ground. Now that I've seen the movie myself, I'd like to attempt to account for this phenomenon in a balanced, moderate and objective review:

=====================

THIS MOVIE *ROCKED*!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!! GO SEE IT RIGHT NOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!....um, ahem, excuse me. ;-)

I should say right from the start that I'm a Star Wars fan, and I really *liked* "Phantom Menace". At the same time, I could certainly see the justification for many of the negative critiques of the film that I've read. The same things that bugged the critics bugged me, but not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the movie. Driving home afterwards, I began to try and understand what it was about "Phantom Menace" that frustrates even as it excites.

Our insightful webmaster Sam has on several occasions alluded to Star Wars' status as a modern myth, and I believe that to be an accurate assessment as well as the source of many of the "problems" in this latest installment in the series. The problem boils down to this: "myth" is a broad, encompassing category, and Star Wars does not confine itself to representing just one facet of myth. Each movie in the series emphasizes one aspect of myth to the reduction of other aspects, and those who favor one or the other will be alternately elated or disappointed.

Let me be more concrete, and divide myth somewhat arbitrarily, into two areas of focus which are both strong in the Star Wars universe. On the one hand, there is the appeal of adventuring in a vast, fantastic world filled with enchantments, exotic creatures, treasures, and more. You could think of this aspect of myth as "broad" but not deep, generating the excitement that children feel for stories of unicorns and pegasi, giants and airy castles, mermaids and leprechauns. The Star Wars universe is absolutely bursting with the exotic and the magical, and as a myth it fulfills that role superbly.

On the other hand, myth also contains what you might call the "deep" element, exemplified by Oedipus and other Greek heroes of tragedy, whose interest for us is more inward-looking, exploring conflicts of good and evil within and between individuals. Star Wars also supplies material that engages our fascination with this aspect of myth, and does so superbly.

The main "problem" with "Phantom Menace", as far as I am concerned, is that it delivers a sweeping view of the "broad" aspect of myth and does not spend as much time exploring the "deep" aspect. At least one critic has unfairly claimed that George Lucas' vision has, in twenty years, turned from "childlike" into "childish". This is unfair because "Phantom Menace" authentically portrays the Star Wars myth, and with gusto. If we have become too grown up and jaded to appreciate the fantastic places and creatures, the silliness and comic relief, the improbable rescues, and the sheer sweeping breadth of the mythological world presented to us, then that is our problem, not George Lucas'. What "Phantom Menace" does is entertain in true, authentic Star Wars fashion.

At the same time, the critics aren't entirely wrong, because what they are looking for and not finding to their satisfaction in the movie is also authentically Star Wars: the "deep" aspect of its myth. "Phantom Menace" passes up the opportunity to explore its primary characters as individuals and to give us a view of their own personal stakes in the approaching conflict with the nascent Empire. In order to do justice to that deeper story, "Phantom Menace" would have to be a very different movie, I think, and that different movie is the one that many critics wanted to see. It's the one that *I* wanted to see, for that matter, and I can understand the disappointment that some people feel.

For those readers who haven't yet seen the movie, and who may be in a position to be disappointed by the scant attention it gives to setting the stage for Anakin's corruption by the Dark Side and all that that entails for the other characters, here are some suggestions.

First, don't look at Anakin Skywalker and think, "Jake Lloyd can't act." For one thing, that's not true--the kid does an acceptable job of portraying a precocious boy of that age who is caught up in exciting circumstances. Don't try to find some hidden inner darkness, the seeds of a future Darth Vader in the boy. They are not there yet, and they shouldn't be. Anakin is a boy in this movie, and he thinks like a boy, with a boy's excitement about things like piloting high-speed craft and visiting faraway locales. His very naivete is necessary to leave him open for a real struggle when the temptation to the Dark Side comes for the first time later on. It helped me to look at him and see Luke Skywalker, whose position in "A New Hope" was virtually identical. There's plenty of time to let the boy grow up and confront inner struggles, as "Return of the Jedi" demonstrated. In "Phantom Menace", just let him be a boy while he still can be.

Second, use your imagination to fill in the characters' stories and backgrounds that are only hinted at in "Phantom Menace". Liam Neeson's and Ewan McGregor's two Jedi are caught up in the mission and there is no time to recount their personal histories. Nor are we given the origins and motives of Darth Maul. Understand ahead of time that you won't have the luxury of observing these characters right from the beginning of their careers, and you just have to accept them as full characters even though they are given the flat-character treatment. In most cases, a viewer shouldn't be expected to do the director's work for him, but if you're a Star Wars fan and you want to better enjoy the movie, it's fine to go ahead and invest yourself in the characters enough to flesh out the backgrounds and motives which are only alluded to in the film. Also, don't be put off by the fact that not every major character survives "Phantom Menace". That's an authentic thing to have happen when dealing with the "deep" aspect of myth, and it made me accept the reality of the danger that the characters face.

Third, get ready for a pretty good dose of silliness. If silliness bothers you, then you're out of luck. But if you can relax and laugh with it, then you'll have a much better time. Keep in mind that the "broad" aspect of myth is *supposed* to be light-hearted at many times, and not every character has to have a tortured past (or future)--some of them are just plain silly-fun.

And now, some things that I subjectively thought of as good and bad about the film. First, Neeson's and McGregor's portrayal of their two Jedi characters was superb. Watching the two of them work and fight in tandem was easily one of the best parts of the film, and I can't think of a single way that it could have been improved. These two really made you respect Jedi Knights (if you didn't already, for some reason).

Second, the computer-generated graphics. I liked these when they were applied to mechanical things, but we just aren't quite "there" yet when it comes to living creatures. I still almost prefer the shadowy, eerie puppet-creatures of the Mos Eisley cantina in "A New Hope" to the fully articulate, computer-generated beings of "Phantom Menace". This isn't true in every case--there were lots of computer-animated characters that I enjoyed very much. But on the whole, the computer creatures still don't look quite real enough for me to completely suppress the feeling that they're really just cartoons. Another annoyance was the multitude of creatures with faces that were stretched and distorted, but still basically human. And the sports announcer thing? Blecch!!!

Carrie Fisher no longer has to worry about being identified with strange, ungainly Star Wars hairdos. That title now belongs decisively to her Highness Queen Amidala, but the royal hairdos were, for me, more interesting and fun than annoying the way Leia's hair buns were.

The Trade Federation Viceroy and various councillors and underlings: it didn't take long before I stopped thinking their overdone Chinese accents were stupid, and started really digging those guys. For some reason I can't identify, they were really fun cowardly-bad-guy types.

Artoo-Detoo is DA MAN. Okay, so he's really Da Droid, but he's the same plucky little dude we all loved in Episodes IV, V, and VI. I cheered when he saved the ship.

To recap: if you have the slightest interest in the Star Wars myth at all, go ahead and enjoy "Phantom Menace". What it does, it does in true Star Wars style, and does it very well. If the movie doesn't give every facet of the myth equal treatment, well, that can't really be helped, unless you were prepared to sit in the theater for five or six hours (okay, who am I kidding--all of us fans would do that in a heartbeat). Go see it, catch the excitement, and get geared up for the next installment, Episode II. Thank you, George Lucas, for bringing back the magic!

Iss