So while the new picture may not deliver everything the original fans have been fantasizing about for most of their lives, Lucas may again assert his status as the shrewdest marketeer among filmmakers, if he can capture the new generation for his fresh trilogy while still taking the old-time fans along for the ride. If anything, Lucas has tilted “Phantom” away from this audience and aimed it directly at a new crop of children, who are familiar with the originals via video or the recent “Special Edition” hardtop reissues. Those most looking forward to the first new “Star Wars” installment in 16 years are mostly people - now in their 30s - who were kids when episodes four through six were released. In other words, though it’s an automatic blockbuster, it will become neither a classic nor the biggest moneymaker of all time - only one of the biggest. Thereafter, much will depend upon repeat viewing, which will no doubt be frequent among kids but much less so with adults.
Nonetheless, even if the film lacks the magic to endear it to audiences in the manner of the first series entries a generation ago, the Force will still be with the picture at the box office pic will probably gross in the neighborhood of its $120 million budget in its first week of release beginning May 19, and double that by early June. But it is neither captivating nor transporting, for it lacks any emotional pull, as well as the sense of wonder and awe that marks the best works of sci-fi/fantasy.
At heart a fanciful and fun movie for young boys, the first installment of George Lucas’ three-part prequel to the original “Star Wars” trilogy is always visually diverting thanks to the technical wizardry with which it creates so many imaginative creatures, spaceships and alien worlds. As the most widely anticipated and heavily hyped film of modern times, “ Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace” can scarcely help being a letdown on some levels, but it’s too bad that it disappoints on so many.
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