Like that weird large pouch Lucas grew under his chin, “Phantom Menace” is one of the films in the franchise that sticks out. It’s pretty boring, it’s bland, it’s anti-climactic, the story is complicated, and let’s not forget the atrocious acting courtesy of Jake Lloyd. Granted, Darth Maul is pure bad-assness, and McGregor rocked the house as Obi-Wan, but let’s face it, “Phantom Menace” sucked. Hard. But in a recent article I came across, Lucas seems to not only be jumping ship on his prequels, but he, as all directors do, blames us for its failure and lack of quality in a double talk pretending to be refering to the new film. Both fans and critics. Aside from blowing more air up the fans a***s about more rumors concerning the new “Indiana Jones” film that may never come, Lucas went on to say: “People’s expectations are way higher than you can deliver. You could just get killed for the whole thing”¦We would do it for fun and just take the hit with the critics and the fans…But nobody wants to get into it unless they are really happy with it.” Not exactly a vote of confidence to where the new “Indiana Jones” will be heading. So, if you want to enjoy the new “Indiana Jones” film, just lower your standards and don’t expect too much from the script. Seriously, you’ll be disappointed if you actually expect something from Lucas, and Spielberg. You’d be stupid to hope the new film is a masterpiece. Then Lucas makes the awfully creepy allusion that the new “Indiana Jones” will be like “The Phantom Menace.” How exactly? Will it have a complicated story involving politics? Plot holes? Or will it feature a thirteen year old Indiana Jones on an adventure that takes place a year before “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where Indy is suddenly in his late thirties? One can only imagine. But worst of all, Lucas cops out. It wasn’t the fact that the acting was weak, the writing was bad, the plots were utterly nonsensical, the plot holes were apparent and sloppy, and Lucas didn’t even follow his own continuity he’d set forth in the original trilogy, but our expectations were too high for “The Phantom Menace.” In further reading for the article, Lucas seems a bit nervous about the actual plot, discusses yet another re-write, makes an excuse that the film likely won’t sit well with critics since everyone is already a superstar, and explains in typical studio double talk “But there’s a good chance it will happen.” In spite of all the constant rumors, I don’t know how they can just proceed with this series anymore. Ford has really just slowed down as an action star, and while I’m always up for an installment of Indy (Temple of Doom, baby), I just don’t know what they can do with this series. But that’s assuming they ever start filming this new installment. I just wish they’d film this damn sequel already instead of interviewing George Lucas on it so he can squeeze in his own finger pointing to fans and critics who actually expected something from the prequels and were let down immensely. Film the goddamn sequel already, and then bitch about the failures called Episodes one, two, and three on the press junkets. P.S. If you hated the prequels, I suggest checking out “The Clone Wars” DVD series. They’re more action packed, and coherent than all three of the prequels put together.
