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Space…the final frontier. It is where Captain Kirk battled Tribbles; Captain Picard battled the Romulans; Captain Sisko battled the Dominian; Captain Janeway battled the Borg and Captain Archer battled the TV ratings. It is also where one of the greatest stories to ever be told took place. But not in our own Milky Way inhabited by Klingons, Cardassians and Orion Slave Girls, but in a galaxy far far away.
To call it Episode I is a bit inaccurate. There are millenia of history in the Star Wars universe yet to be told and it all leads to a unified galaxy, with tens of thousands of species all living under one democratic republic. Policing the galaxy are the noble Jedi, a collection of people from all species who have the ability to use the galaxy’s life force as a tool. The Jedi order is a peaceful order who follow a code to ensure the force is not abused.
The republic is at breaking point. systems are breaking out of the republic forming their own seperatist nations and seem to be doing so under the manipulative thumb of an evil power. One such nation is the Trade Federation who have formed a blockade around the planet of Naboo, and this is where we join our Jedi heroes Qui-gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and a young Obi-Wan Kenobe (Ewan McGregor), a junior, or Padawan Jedi apprentice learning the ways of the force.
I’ll try not to give away too many spoilers for those that haven’t yet seen these movies but please excuse me for assuming you know enough about episodes IV, V and VI to know that they are the story of a long-lost Jedi order, destroyed by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Vader. Well Episode I Is about the discovery of Anakin Skywalker (who later becomes Vader), the Jedi prophecy of an all-powerful Jedi that will bring balance to the force, and the rise to power of the Naboo senator Palpatine, looking to restore the Republic to its former power.
As an introductory movie I feel it does extremely well in educating the viewer what this universe is all about, yet does it in the right manner befitting a movie about a child-hero. It features a beautiful Queen Padmé Armidala (Natalie Portman) who befriends Anakin, a humourous aquatic Noobian race, and what should be a loveable clumsy fool who becomes vital in the fight. Except, this clumsy fool is the reason why most viewers feel let down by the “prequel trilogy”. Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best is a well written character: He inspires emotion, has a good heart and grows as a character as the movie progresses, but he is so so annoying! This is mainly brought out in the way he speaks, and, with the greatest respect to Ahmed Best, his voice. Is it fair to judge the movie trilogy on Bink’s alone? Not at all, for Episodes II and III feature him far less and again, the point is he is a character for the children not for the original fans of the old trilogy.
As per tradition, we get light-sabre battles, good prevailing against evil, and a great celebration scene at the end. But it is the subtle hints of what’s to come that impressed me. When Anakin is discovered, and there is talk about the fear he holds, we hear a version of the imperial theme march from Empire Strikes Back, generally thought of as Darth Vader’s theme. We also learn how the Sith operate. One master, one apprentice, who in this case is the garish Darth Maul (Ray Park) who presents us with a Dual-sabre for the first time. The Pod Race shows how Anakin quickly learns to develop his new skills, and also shows how the bonds start developing between Padmé and Anakin.
As this is Star Wars, they couldn’t really get the sound track wrong and although now, several years after the movie was released, some of the CGI looks a little dated, it’s still good enough not to spoil the movie for new viewers. It’s a good enough story and leaves plenty open for Episodes II and III to cover. I would rate my enjoyment of the movie a 7/10.
To call it Episode I is a bit inaccurate. There are millenia of history in the Star Wars universe yet to be told and it all leads to a unified galaxy, with tens of thousands of species all living under one democratic republic. Policing the galaxy are the noble Jedi, a collection of people from all species who have the ability to use the galaxy’s life force as a tool. The Jedi order is a peaceful order who follow a code to ensure the force is not abused.
The republic is at breaking point. systems are breaking out of the republic forming their own seperatist nations and seem to be doing so under the manipulative thumb of an evil power. One such nation is the Trade Federation who have formed a blockade around the planet of Naboo, and this is where we join our Jedi heroes Qui-gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and a young Obi-Wan Kenobe (Ewan McGregor), a junior, or Padawan Jedi apprentice learning the ways of the force.
I’ll try not to give away too many spoilers for those that haven’t yet seen these movies but please excuse me for assuming you know enough about episodes IV, V and VI to know that they are the story of a long-lost Jedi order, destroyed by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Vader. Well Episode I Is about the discovery of Anakin Skywalker (who later becomes Vader), the Jedi prophecy of an all-powerful Jedi that will bring balance to the force, and the rise to power of the Naboo senator Palpatine, looking to restore the Republic to its former power.
As an introductory movie I feel it does extremely well in educating the viewer what this universe is all about, yet does it in the right manner befitting a movie about a child-hero. It features a beautiful Queen Padmé Armidala (Natalie Portman) who befriends Anakin, a humourous aquatic Noobian race, and what should be a loveable clumsy fool who becomes vital in the fight. Except, this clumsy fool is the reason why most viewers feel let down by the “prequel trilogy”. Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best is a well written character: He inspires emotion, has a good heart and grows as a character as the movie progresses, but he is so so annoying! This is mainly brought out in the way he speaks, and, with the greatest respect to Ahmed Best, his voice. Is it fair to judge the movie trilogy on Bink’s alone? Not at all, for Episodes II and III feature him far less and again, the point is he is a character for the children not for the original fans of the old trilogy.
As per tradition, we get light-sabre battles, good prevailing against evil, and a great celebration scene at the end. But it is the subtle hints of what’s to come that impressed me. When Anakin is discovered, and there is talk about the fear he holds, we hear a version of the imperial theme march from Empire Strikes Back, generally thought of as Darth Vader’s theme. We also learn how the Sith operate. One master, one apprentice, who in this case is the garish Darth Maul (Ray Park) who presents us with a Dual-sabre for the first time. The Pod Race shows how Anakin quickly learns to develop his new skills, and also shows how the bonds start developing between Padmé and Anakin.
As this is Star Wars, they couldn’t really get the sound track wrong and although now, several years after the movie was released, some of the CGI looks a little dated, it’s still good enough not to spoil the movie for new viewers. It’s a good enough story and leaves plenty open for Episodes II and III to cover. I would rate my enjoyment of the movie a 7/10.
Thank you - Yep, I'm a fan, but whilst I can't stay completely unbiased, I've done my best to remain objective :)
I aim to review the rest - but despite being a fan, they're not necessarily going to get the typical fan-ratings.
I've stayed away from the commercialism of the series - though I do remember Lucas saying those comments. I moreso think he tried to justify the 'accident' of the snog half way through Empire Strikes back before deciding Luke and Leia were siblings in Return of the Jedi. Apparently he did have the whole 6-parter series planned out, but in what level of detail who knows (except Lucas and a few others).
I aim to review the rest - but despite being a fan, they're not necessarily going to get the typical fan-ratings.
I've stayed away from the commercialism of the series - though I do remember Lucas saying those comments. I moreso think he tried to justify the 'accident' of the snog half way through Empire Strikes back before deciding Luke and Leia were siblings in Return of the Jedi. Apparently he did have the whole 6-parter series planned out, but in what level of detail who knows (except Lucas and a few others).
Excellent review....
If only I liked Star Wars. It's actually my pet hate... I remember seeing the original Star Wars film when it first came out, thinking "that's alright" and then experiencing the whole massive marketing machine that followed... It put me right off.
What was worse was watching Mr. Lucas in an interview stating categorically that he had created a soap opera (boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy finds out girl is his sister, cue the "Eastenders" theme tune), a statement he seems to deny completely now, however for me the damage is done.
And just so that nobody berates me and insists that I'd see the light if I watched the rest of the films, I already have. My son loves them, so I've had ample experience on which to base my decision.
Still, as I said, excellent review from an obvious fan of the series..
If only I liked Star Wars. It's actually my pet hate... I remember seeing the original Star Wars film when it first came out, thinking "that's alright" and then experiencing the whole massive marketing machine that followed... It put me right off.
What was worse was watching Mr. Lucas in an interview stating categorically that he had created a soap opera (boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy finds out girl is his sister, cue the "Eastenders" theme tune), a statement he seems to deny completely now, however for me the damage is done.
And just so that nobody berates me and insists that I'd see the light if I watched the rest of the films, I already have. My son loves them, so I've had ample experience on which to base my decision.
Still, as I said, excellent review from an obvious fan of the series..
Space…the final frontier. It is where Captain Kirk battled Tribbles; Captain Picard battled the Romulans; Captain Sisko battled the Dominian; Captain Janeway battled the Borg and Captain Archer battled the TV ratings. It is also where one of the greatest stories to ever be told took place. But not in our own Milky Way inhabited by Klingons, Cardassians and Orion Slave Girls, but in a galaxy far far away.
To call it Episode I is a bit inaccurate. There are millenia of history in the Star Wars universe yet to be told and it all leads to a unified galaxy, with tens of thousands of species all living under one democratic republic. Policing the galaxy are the noble Jedi, a collection of people from all species who have the ability to use the galaxy’s life force as a tool. The Jedi order is a peaceful order who follow a code to ensure the force is not abused.
The republic is at breaking point. systems are breaking out of the republic forming their own seperatist nations and seem to be doing so under the manipulative thumb of an evil power. One such nation is the Trade Federation who have formed a blockade around the planet of Naboo, and this is where we join our Jedi heroes Qui-gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and a young Obi-Wan Kenobe (Ewan McGregor), a junior, or Padawan Jedi apprentice learning the ways of the force.
I’ll try not to give away too many spoilers for those that haven’t yet seen these movies but please excuse me for assuming you know enough about episodes IV, V and VI to know that they are the story of a long-lost Jedi order, destroyed by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Vader. Well Episode I Is about the discovery of Anakin Skywalker (who later becomes Vader), the Jedi prophecy of an all-powerful Jedi that will bring balance to the force, and the rise to power of the Naboo senator Palpatine, looking to restore the Republic to its former power.
As an introductory movie I feel it does extremely well in educating the viewer what this universe is all about, yet does it in the right manner befitting a movie about a child-hero. It features a beautiful Queen Padmé Armidala (Natalie Portman) who befriends Anakin, a humourous aquatic Noobian race, and what should be a loveable clumsy fool who becomes vital in the fight. Except, this clumsy fool is the reason why most viewers feel let down by the “prequel trilogy”. Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best is a well written character: He inspires emotion, has a good heart and grows as a character as the movie progresses, but he is so so annoying! This is mainly brought out in the way he speaks, and, with the greatest respect to Ahmed Best, his voice. Is it fair to judge the movie trilogy on Bink’s alone? Not at all, for Episodes II and III feature him far less and again, the point is he is a character for the children not for the original fans of the old trilogy.
As per tradition, we get light-sabre battles, good prevailing against evil, and a great celebration scene at the end. But it is the subtle hints of what’s to come that impressed me. When Anakin is discovered, and there is talk about the fear he holds, we hear a version of the imperial theme march from Empire Strikes Back, generally thought of as Darth Vader’s theme. We also learn how the Sith operate. One master, one apprentice, who in this case is the garish Darth Maul (Ray Park) who presents us with a Dual-sabre for the first time. The Pod Race shows how Anakin quickly learns to develop his new skills, and also shows how the bonds start developing between Padmé and Anakin.
As this is Star Wars, they couldn’t really get the sound track wrong and although now, several years after the movie was released, some of the CGI looks a little dated, it’s still good enough not to spoil the movie for new viewers. It’s a good enough story and leaves plenty open for Episodes II and III to cover. I would rate my enjoyment of the movie a 7/10.
To call it Episode I is a bit inaccurate. There are millenia of history in the Star Wars universe yet to be told and it all leads to a unified galaxy, with tens of thousands of species all living under one democratic republic. Policing the galaxy are the noble Jedi, a collection of people from all species who have the ability to use the galaxy’s life force as a tool. The Jedi order is a peaceful order who follow a code to ensure the force is not abused.
The republic is at breaking point. systems are breaking out of the republic forming their own seperatist nations and seem to be doing so under the manipulative thumb of an evil power. One such nation is the Trade Federation who have formed a blockade around the planet of Naboo, and this is where we join our Jedi heroes Qui-gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and a young Obi-Wan Kenobe (Ewan McGregor), a junior, or Padawan Jedi apprentice learning the ways of the force.
I’ll try not to give away too many spoilers for those that haven’t yet seen these movies but please excuse me for assuming you know enough about episodes IV, V and VI to know that they are the story of a long-lost Jedi order, destroyed by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Vader. Well Episode I Is about the discovery of Anakin Skywalker (who later becomes Vader), the Jedi prophecy of an all-powerful Jedi that will bring balance to the force, and the rise to power of the Naboo senator Palpatine, looking to restore the Republic to its former power.
As an introductory movie I feel it does extremely well in educating the viewer what this universe is all about, yet does it in the right manner befitting a movie about a child-hero. It features a beautiful Queen Padmé Armidala (Natalie Portman) who befriends Anakin, a humourous aquatic Noobian race, and what should be a loveable clumsy fool who becomes vital in the fight. Except, this clumsy fool is the reason why most viewers feel let down by the “prequel trilogy”. Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best is a well written character: He inspires emotion, has a good heart and grows as a character as the movie progresses, but he is so so annoying! This is mainly brought out in the way he speaks, and, with the greatest respect to Ahmed Best, his voice. Is it fair to judge the movie trilogy on Bink’s alone? Not at all, for Episodes II and III feature him far less and again, the point is he is a character for the children not for the original fans of the old trilogy.
As per tradition, we get light-sabre battles, good prevailing against evil, and a great celebration scene at the end. But it is the subtle hints of what’s to come that impressed me. When Anakin is discovered, and there is talk about the fear he holds, we hear a version of the imperial theme march from Empire Strikes Back, generally thought of as Darth Vader’s theme. We also learn how the Sith operate. One master, one apprentice, who in this case is the garish Darth Maul (Ray Park) who presents us with a Dual-sabre for the first time. The Pod Race shows how Anakin quickly learns to develop his new skills, and also shows how the bonds start developing between Padmé and Anakin.
As this is Star Wars, they couldn’t really get the sound track wrong and although now, several years after the movie was released, some of the CGI looks a little dated, it’s still good enough not to spoil the movie for new viewers. It’s a good enough story and leaves plenty open for Episodes II and III to cover. I would rate my enjoyment of the movie a 7/10.