There's no way he can do it, really. There's no way he can live up to the expectations of his fans. They don't really know what they want, but they want it to be inhumanly wonderful. They want every frame of celluloid to knock them back in their seats, to leave them gape-mouthed with wonder.

And it can't be done.

Star Wars was easy. We didn't have any expectations. Sci-fi was cheesy, B-grade junk with wavering blue-screen lines around the special effects. Star Trek was the best that had been done, and it was primitive. Feature-length sci-fi? We're talking "Attack of the 50-foot Woman" and "Plan 5 from Outer Space." "Night Monsters versus the Navy." Star Wars wowed us because it was a quantum leap over what had come before. The technology was something we'd never seen before. Yeah, it's dated now, but we forgive that because it still has that innocent, sincere energy that made us fall in love. Empire brought us more technological innovation and the depth of plot that pulled adults deeply into the Star Wars story.

Then George made a mistake that he has carried into the new movies. He stopped believing that you can make a movie that appeals to kids without talking down to them. Suddenly we were inundated with Jedi's Ewoks and burp jokes.

What a pity he didn't learn the lesson. Even now he is staunchly defending this as a movie meant for kids.

If The Phantom Menace didn't have a legacy the size of Star Wars casting a shadow over it, it might stand alone as a great film for kids. But compared to the Holy Trilogy, I think it will disappoint.

Reactions After Seeing The Film

Spoiler-free Phantom Menace review

(This review is written with the assumption that the reader is familiar with the first trailer and with character names. Beyond that, I have striven to avoid giving away anything. If you were an even bigger Prequel Virgin than I was ... well, then I'm surprised you even know there's a new Star Wars movie out!)

I was one of the last holdouts, one of the last non-believers when it came to the first installment of the prequels. I spurned hope, my fear fed by the little bits of information that had made it past my Prequel Virgin filters. Jar Jar. Anakin in a space battle. The highly stylized costumes of the queen that seemed more big-budget indulgence than substance. Add to that my disappointments from the Special Editions, and I was certain George Lucas had lost his touch.

I've just returned from my second viewing of The Phantom Menace. I enjoyed it more the second time than the first, and if it hadn't been for my need to get home and write this review, would have pulled a "Star Wars" and purchased tickets to the next showing. There's magic in it, sports fans. There's magic.

My biggest surprise was how well Jake Lloyd worked as the childhood Anakin Skywalker. The intent was obvious -- make him darling so that his fall will seem so much more painful. No one could have looked at the very first publicity shots of him and not known what Lucas had in mind. Yet, despite being aware of such obvious emotional manipulation, I was caught up in the character, painfully aware of the sad plight he will face. Anakin is written neither too cute nor with obvious dark foreshadowing. He's simply a sweet kid. And it works because you can almost forget at times where he will end up. When you remember, it gets you in the gut.

Not only does the character work, but the character situations are set up well enough that they work. As I said earlier, seeing Anakin in a cockpit in the first trailer upset me. Seeing it in the movie, it made sense. That's good plotting.

The critics have brutalized Jake Lloyd for his acting ability, but my reaction was, wooden acting? Let's talk Mark Hamill!

Hey, maybe it's genetic....

Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor pair up as two impressive Jedi. We begin to get a sense of what Jedi are supposed to be accomplishing in the galaxy -- and it turns out that they are a sort of galactic Federal Marshall, riding into town to clean things up. Part of that job is diplomacy, but a good portion of it is kick-ass lightsaber battles, and let me tell you, the duels in the Holy Trilogy have nothing on the fights in Phantom Menace. I think I was a it less impressed with Darth Maul as a character than most people, but you get into those fight sequences and concerns about character development go out the window. I was clinging to the arms of my chair and grinning like an idiot. This was what I came here for!

Special effects are an integral part of the Star Wars experience, and the specials did not disappoint. Unlike in the Special Editions, where quick-moving Computer Generated characters seemed to have no relation to the ground, the CG characters here appear firmly placed, subject to gravity like the rest of us. You really do forget that you are looking at stuff that simply isn't there. The actors do an admirable job of creating the illusion, but the effect goes well beyond that. The quality of CG animation has skyrocketed in the short time since the SEs.

Heck, Jar Jar didn't even bother me as badly as I thought he would. The second time around. (Then again, I thought my reaction would get worse....)

The movie is not without its faults, of course. Jar Jar is the top one. When I say he didn't bother me as badly as I thought he would, you must understand that I believed he would ruin the whole experience. He doesn't manage to do that. He is, however, worse than Ewoks in that the irritation level he inflicts continues throughout the entire movie. My other major complaint is Lucas' continuing fascination with bodily function jokes. Saliva and flatulence really aren't funny. Trust me on this one, George.

But despite Lucas' compulsion to resort to immature humor for entertaining the younger members of his audience, he succeeds in creating a complex web of political intrigue and subtle maneuverings that will appeal to adult fans, particularly serious fans familiar with the backstory created by Timothy Zahn in his book trilogy. I was impressed by the rich landscape of undertone that I only picked up on the second viewing, after I knew what was coming. Lucas underplayed his hand and left something for the second-time viewer.

So, is it Star Wars? Does it live up to the legend; was it worth waiting all these years? It comes pretty damned close. Though this is only the first of three installments, it's obvious that it is the foundation of a classic Greek tragedy, with Anakin Skywalker as flawed hero. We'll see if Lucas can carry that vision through without letting it diminish into rank sentimentality, but if he continues in this vein, I finally believe he can succeed.

(Gini McDonagh edits Echo Station and occasionally finds time to write for it. When she isn't wading through Echo submissions she goes to school, works on her new house, and pretends that someday she'll finish her fan fiction.)