Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I-III) [Blu-ray] [1999]

I am not going to go into the details of the films content in their own right as this has been done a million times over! If we can agree they are 4 star films then we must consider this to be an improvement due to the spectacular sound and visual improvements!! Granted in some areas it is so good you can see the use of greenscreen technology is clearly evident, however, aside from this the overall look and sound is amazing!!
I defy you not to put this on a quality surround sound system and not have the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end when then Star Wars main theme hits you!! WOW WOW WOW...... only issue I do have is I am going to have to but the 3D upgrades again in 3-4 years time? or will I wait 10 years for the entire collection? Then agai what will they do for the 50th anniversary?

Episode I THE PHANTOM MENACE

Is it really 11 years since The Phantom Menace brought Star Wars back to the Cinema after a 16 year hiatus? The hype and expectation for this movie was probably greater than anything before or since in movie history. What film could ever hope to live up to this hype and expectation? No film ever could. The initial response from fanboys and critics across the world was cries of anguish and pain. Claims of childhoods being raped drowned out the more sensible reflections that actually this movie whilst not particularly great, was as bad as many claimed it was. Now, almost a decade on from the initial release, perhaps the time is right for a more considered view of this film?

The Phantom Menace is the very definition of a "mixed" film. It has both good and bad points, and whether you end up liking this film will depend on;

1. Do the bad points outweigh the good points for you?
2. Do the good points outweigh the bad points for you?

Thus you will find the answer of whether or not this movie works for you, somewhere in the balance of the two.

Some of the bad points; George Lucas's direction is stiff. Lucas hadn't directed a film since 1977 and it shows.
Jar Jar Binks is annoying and tedious and frequently gets in the way, however, as with so many complaints about this film, Binks is NOT as bad as some would have you believe, and you CAN enjoy this film despite the presense of JJB. Children will love Jar Jar, so if you show this film to your 8 year old child, please don't let your loathing of Mr Bink's ruin your child's love for this character.
Other bad points are that the pod race goes on too long (it went on too long in the theatrical release, and for some reason its been extended further for the DVD)
Ewan Mcgregor unfortunatly gets very little to do.
Natalie Portman shines as Queen Amidala, but as Padme she often leaves a lot to be desired. Jake Lloyds Anakin is given some annoyingly silly lines to read out (as with Binks, Lloyd is NOT as bad as outraged fanboys would have you believe)
The Gungans are probably the worse species in SW history (except for the Ewoks of course ;) ) and the final battle between the Gungans and the Battle Droids is unengaging.
Perhaps my main complaint about Menace is that the two characters that get the most screen time, Jar Jar Binks and Qui-Gon Jinn, are the two characters that don't really feature in the next two films. Thus, this is, I think, the central problem with Menace. Its mainly filler. Lucas needed "more" in this film.

Some of the good points; Liam Neeson is the glue that holds this film together. Anybody that says the acting was better in the OT, should look at Neesons performance. Its at least as good as anything in the OT.
The political sub-plot is interesting and engaging and seeing how Palpatine begins his rise to power is compelling. Ian Mcdiarmid is outstanding in the small number of scenes he is given.
The Mother/Son relationship between Anakin and his Mother is well done and you do feel a sense of Anakins pain at being parted from his mother and having to leave her as a slave. The twist of Anakin's origins (that he was born without a father) adds a mystical and mythical element. Deeply religious people may be offended, but "virgin births" feature in many mythical stories.
Seeing the workings of the Jedi Council and how the Jedi relate to the Senate is interesting.
Darth Maul is cool and The Duel Of The Fates is probably the most exciting lightsaber battle of the Saga. The piece of music that accompany's the duel is truely outstanding (otherwise John Williams' score on TPM isn't very memorable - Like Lucas, at times you get the sense he is warming himself up with this picture
The general time and effort and attention to detail is wonderful. For Amidala's gowns alone costume designer Trisha Biggar should have won an Oscar. ILM's special effects are amazing. The film looks outstanding and sounds wonderful. As a piece of art, The Phantom Menace is an awesome blend of creativity and artisitic inspiration. Too bad the final product ended up so mixed.

***

Episode II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES

This is the Star Wars movie that possibly divide's Star Wars fans the most. With The Phantom Menace, most fans are united in their indifference to down right loathing. With Revenge of the Sith, most fans agreed that it was a huge step up in all departments. But with 2002's Attack of the Clones opinion was varied widely between those that hated it more then Phantom Menace right through to those that thought it was a masterpiece on a par with The Empire Strikes Back. Why such a range of opinion? My feeling is that this is perhaps the movie of the series that is closest to Lucas's personal desire to be a truly experimental film maker. Indeed, there's almost something of the advant garde about the style of Attack of the Clones, but at the same time Lucas has gone out of his way to listen and respond and correct much of the criticism of The Phantom Menace.

In a story sense, Attack of the Clones is closest to The Empires Strikes Back. It's a bridging movie that must act both as pathway from Episode I to Episode III and at the same time it must be an interesting and entertaining movie in its own right. It must deepen and flesh out the characters and take the plot in new and surprising directions - Clones achieves all of these things to varying degrees of success. Clearly Lucas realized this film was in some ways connected in story terms to Empire, because he put in a couple of elements from the 1980 movie. So, we have incredibly cool looking Bounty Hunters, a very youthful Boba Fett and his father Jango Fett and a chase through an asteroid field (though the CGI asteroid chase of Attack of the Clones is not a thrilling or exciting as the asteroid chase in Empire)

Attack of the Clones is basically a love story set against the backdrop of war and this is where a lot of the complaints come from. The love story is played out as a very old fashioned, formal courtship, almost in the spirit of King Arthur or Romeo and Juliet. The dialogue is deliberately flowery and over the top. Unfortunately Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman do not have the range to pull off some of the lines they are given. The actors should have had a sense of humor about the guff they have to say, and that would have helped the audience relax into the scenes. As it is, everything is played out very seriously and on one or two occasions the scenes simply become a bore. Listen out for a stunning, melancholy love theme (Across The Stars) composed as ever by musical legend John Williams. This sad piece hints at the tragedy that will await Anakin and Padme....
Juxtaposed to the love story we get a mystery story, where Obi-Wan Kenobi goes off on his own to investigate who is trying to kill Padme. The mystery deepens when Obi-Wan stumbles across a Clone Army that is being developed for The Republic, supposedly at the behest of the Jedi Council. Soon Obi-Wan finds himself caught up in a war beat that explodes into life on the hot and dusty planet of Geonosis. This story is much more interesting than the love stuff and on a number of occasions when the movie is with Anakin and Padme, you'll find yourself wishing to get back to Obi-Wan. Ewan McGregor has a much expanded role, and he shines. This is McGregor's movie and he completely steps up to the plate. Rumor has it that Ewan wasn't particularly happy with this movie, but in my opinion he delivers his best work of the Prequel Trilogy in Attack of the Clones.

As the movie develops Anakin and Padme leave the safety of Naboo (Lake Como stands in for Naboo in this film and looks absolutely beautiful) and travel to Tatooine. This is the part of the film where Clones truly comes alive. The acting level rise's all round as we return to the Lars Homestead (the places and sets so famous in the original Star Wars movie) We meet up with C3PO and find out that Anakin's mother has been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. As his beloved mother later dies in arms, Anakin lashes out in an uncontrollable rage (listen out for a ghostly voice crying out at this moment) and his downward spiral to his ultimate fate has begun. These scenes and a confession scene (set in the Lars garage - another famous set from Star Wars) are played out excellently. Christenson and Portman really act well in these scenes. The movie rise's to a whole new level at this moment, and the rest of the film just fly's by.

The final action scenes take place on Geonosis as Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme join up and take on monsters and Battle Droids. They are then joined by Clones Attacking (fancy that) and 500 Jedi Knights, including much expanded roles for Yoda and Mace Windu. All this is overseen by evil Count Dooku, played with great style by horror legend Christopher Lee. Indeed, the climax of the movie is an iconic face off between Dooku and Yoda. The lightsaber fight itself leaves a lot to be desired, but the build up is masterful. The roof, literally, comes down! As we go from one action scene to another in true cliffhanger/Saturday matinee style, the action becomes breathtaking and you'll be exhausted by the end. Finally people get to see why Star Wars is such a special series of movies.

The acting is generally better in Clones than Menace. I've already picked up on McGregor, but Portman and Christenson also do good work outside of some of the love scenes. Ian McDiarmid is again solid as ever as Palpatine (look out for the now Supreme Chancellor to take a further step towards Galactic Domination in a scene that actually justifies Jar Jar Binks's presense in this series) Samuel L Jackson enjoys his expanded role. Read more ›

Would I buy this box set on the strength of the films alone? I would say yes, but in the first two episodes George Lucas has bought everything to the screen except real characters that you want to follow. Seeing as this is a story of one, maybe two pivotal characters then that really is its undoing. The first two films are a mixed bag of spectacular effects full of cannon fodder robots, dull moments and awful voice overs. The third, is simply excellent, Revenge of the Sith recaptures the spirit of the original trilogy and gives it depth and tragedy, it really pulls all the parts together to give you a satisfying, yet expected conclusion.

The Phantom Menace :- Skip to the Pod Race and the final light sabre battle and you basically have the best of a mixed bag. With the introduction of Jar Jar Binks you find yourself shouting No No No at the screen. What was George thinking. A fully realised CGI maybe? But to approve an embarrasing cartoon vocal is unforgivable. The underwater city is uninvolving and the land battle is an unconvincing CGI mish mash. Don't get me wrong there are moments of beauty in the film, such as a short battle with Darth Maul before the Naboo Royal Starship takes off against a grim Tatooine backdrop and another with Darth Maul scouring the Tatooine desert through hi-tech binoculars before descending into the town on his Sith speeder. Also the final battle with Darth Mau...l. You get the message, the Darth Maul sequences really make this film. The Anakin storyline is weak and 'forced'...no pun intended. 7/10

Attack of Clones :- The pace of the trilogy is notched up a level and everything just got a lot bigger, technology-wise. But with the introduction of dialogue spouting from a grown up Anakin we are left squirming all over again. Poor script or poor delivery. I think both. The same for Obi Wan, basically he sounds posh and it just doesn't work for me as he delivers the same tone regardless of any danger he finds himself in.

The opening car chase sequence is too loose, there is no real sense of peril and is just an excuse to deliver a fully realised CGI world, which it does succeed, but at the expense of everything else.

On the plus side the Bounty Hunter, Jango Fett vs Obi Wan fight sequence set against the Slave I spacecraft and torrid weather conditions are great.

The assembly of the Jedi fighting as one also excites but is under used.

The effects are fantastic compared to anything else of this genre but are over used and generate no real scale. Basically we are taken into a war which has no storyline. How fantastic if they could of combined the 'Full Metal Jacket' approach of travelling on foot through a broken landscape with the high tech world of Star Wars encapsulating. So much more personal and meaningful.

Everything is bigger and to some degree better. But I can't help feeling it is only setting up the final conflict. I know thats obvious but a more enjoyable journey getting there would of been appreciated. This not a film you will return to unless watching the trilogy in its entirety. 7/10

Revenge of the Sith :- A simply stunning, dramatic and rewarding yet dark conclusion. This episode opens magnificently with Obi Wan and Anakin fighting through a full scale space epic encounter to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the grip of General Grevious, who is one of the series best characters, multi-limbed and represents a true threat.

For me, the Emperor steals the show and his delivery is devious yet menacing, preying on Anakin's frailties which are the backbone to this story.

The transition from Anakin to Darth Vader is mesmerising, in the end you feel Anakin's pain.

From the Wookie battles, again not a scene much more a fly-by, to the lava ladened Mustafar light sabre battle on the Outer Rim this movie becomes a visceral experience but is backed up with depth and real emotion.

As the movie ends and all the loose ends tie up you cannot help to feel caught up in what is 'just' a sci-fi movie. But it has been a long journey and it is still the original trilogy that gives this final episode its poignancy. 10/10

This final film is what the Star Wars franchise deserves and maybe you should just buy it stand alone. But that would simply be an injustice.