The Phantom Menace
Dec. 3rd, 2007 11:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylI always feel slightly sorry for The Phantom Menace. It's not materially worse than any of its predecessors but, because it lacks the sepia tinged nostalgic associations of the first films, I find myself less forgiving towards its shortcomings.
Despite not really rating it as a film, it does have a few positive features. There are a couple of good action sequence, particularly the opening section on the Trade Federation and the duel in the finale, although the tension of the latter is undercut by being juxtaposed with the whole child-in-space deux ex thing. Best of all though, is John Williams' score, which seems to have thrown off the Neo-Korngoldianisms of the first trilogy in favour of a more subtle, more integrated approach — particularly fine is the way that he uses a couple of simple ostinato figures to tie the Queen's storming of the palace to the battling Jedi knights.
Despite not really rating it as a film, it does have a few positive features. There are a couple of good action sequence, particularly the opening section on the Trade Federation and the duel in the finale, although the tension of the latter is undercut by being juxtaposed with the whole child-in-space deux ex thing. Best of all though, is John Williams' score, which seems to have thrown off the Neo-Korngoldianisms of the first trilogy in favour of a more subtle, more integrated approach — particularly fine is the way that he uses a couple of simple ostinato figures to tie the Queen's storming of the palace to the battling Jedi knights.
