Underrated Gem

Rating: 10/10 (19 September 2018)

I make no excuses for Jar-Jar; he is an obnoxious, incomprehensible character. Otherwise, the movie features a brilliant plot satirizing the politics around imperialism and trade. It features a (mostly) wonderful cast of characters and a very strong. The action scenes are creative and engaging, and the real sets are beautiful and varied. While the pacing of the movie is a bit off for the first twenty minutes, it manages to fall into a smooth range of slow, character-driven sequences and fast, action-driven sequences.
The cinematography is beautiful, and while one of the CGI sets leaves something to be desired, the rest still hold up today. Considering how dark the prequel trilogy would become, this first movie did a good job of offsetting this with a generally light atmosphere. By not using cliched heroes typical to contemporary action movies, Phantom Menace created a unique set up of characters that provided depth and unique viewpoints. The acting as a whole is outstanding, with Liam Neeson, Ewan mcGregor, Natalie Portman, and Ian McDiarmid in particular providing exceptional performances.
What really makes this movie stand out is its intense creativity and uniqueness despite purposely paralleling A New Hope (The original star wars movie). Each scene is intended to provide a contrast to a scene from A New Hope: while NH opened with a small spaceship fleeing a large spaceship, Phantom Menace opens with a small spaceship approaching a large spaceship. While the death of a beloved mentor leads a hero to flee in NH, the same event leads a hero to fight and defeat an enemy in PM. This continual juxtaposition of events creates an excellent setup for the differences between Anakin's and Luke's respective journeys, while still paying homage to the original.
Overall, Phantom Menace is a quality movie with great visuals, acting, and depth.