Review – Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace GN
Review – Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace GN
SUMMARY
The days of peaceful negotiations are lost to the eclipse of the dark side of the force. The Trade Federation seeks to put an end to the reign of Queen Amidala under the influence of the mysterious Darth Sidious. It’s up to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to protect the Queen of Naboo so to restore Order and save the galaxy from certain war.
ART
As the dialogue and story have more or less been transmitted from script to speech bubble, the main selling point for this novel is it’s artwork. What’s really cool about this being a Disney product is that we get to see the film reimagined in Disney’s art style! A lot of exaggerated cartoon features that some times work and some times don’t.
Underneath the characters are lush and grandiose backdrops of different terrains, cities and halls, reminiscent to the backdrops of Pokemon strangely enough. My favourite thing about the artwork however is the out of the box colour palette, it’s hard to pin down what makes it pop in it’s realistic but futuristic way but it’s gorgeous nonetheless.
WRITING
Seeing the dialogue replicated and displayed in text bubbles here compared to the delivery of the film’s dialogue, I can see what Lucas was trying to achieve in the story. While the dialogue of the film is widely regarded as hoaky throughout, there is solid and fantastical worldbuilding at the heart of it. Here, without poor direction, you better understand the contrasting social situations characters are dealing with.
With this adaptation being strictly just that; an adaptation, I can’t help but feel there was a missed opportunity to amend or expand on some of the lesser elements of the original film with a competent writer. If anything and understandably so, some of the scenes have been omitted or condensed. With this comes the problem of highlighting plot issues amongst rushed developments.
OVERALL
In conclusion, the graphic novelisation of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace GN is fine. Inoffensive to new fans and old and it serves it’s purpose to be a more kid-friendly representation of the film, I definitely have a better understanding of the story now that I’ve read this!
A fun or summarised adaptation of the original film for fans who maybe don’t have the time to watch it or just enjoy the art style!
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Let us know in the comments your thoughts on Star Wars Episode: The Phantom Menace GN and be sure to check out our recent rankings of all the Star Wars films!
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