An underrated masterpiece and a fantastic beginning to the Star Wars saga

Rating: 10/10 (9 October 2017)

This movie fires on all cylinders and is Lucas at his finest. The visuals are beautiful -- from the stunning shot of the Gungan city to the spectacular podrace to the climactic lightsaber duel and space battle, this movie looks like it was made much later than 1999. The sound effects are equally magnificent (the podrace is a perfect example), and the soundtrack, headed by the epic Duel of the Fates and the beautiful Anakin's Theme, is one of John Williams' finest works. The performances are solid across the board, from Liam Neeson's wise yet supremely (over)confident portrayal of Qui-gon to Jake Lloyd's natural and underrated portrayal of the young Anakin Skywalker to Natalie Portman's portrayal of both the intentionally stilted Queen Amidala side and the more natural human side of Padme. The plot adds a new layer of complexity to Star Wars, with the oft-derided "taxation of trade routes" providing atmosphere and a surprisingly cogent and efficient political storyline that shows the dysfunction and corruption of the Republic without bogging the movie down in too much politics. The villains are wonderful, from the hilariously greedy Trade Federation to the menacing Darth Maul and Ian McDiarmid's stunningly slimy Senator-then-Chancellor Palpatine. Jar-Jar's comic relief is fine and much better than given credit for, and the secondary characters such as Watto and Sebulba are unique and memorable. Overall, Phantom Menace comes closer to the medieval fairytale style hinted at in "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" than any other Star Wars movie (with Jedi knights, a queen in danger, a "squire" in Anakin, etc) and has a unique, innocent charm punctuated with a hint of dread as the Sith plot begins to unfold. The worldbuilding is top-notch -- this movie introduces great new concepts such as midichlorians (which do NOT redefine the force but rather introduce an interesting side of it that gets further exploration in the Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith), the Trade Federation/galactic megacorporations, droid armies, the dysfunctional Galactic Senate, podracing, the Jedi Council, the Sith (at least in the movies), and more. The pacing is perfect, with the beginning starting off the Star Wars saga with a fast-paced bang before slowing down to introduce Anakin's character and build up to the podrace, then moving to a beautifully visualized and narratively engaging interlude on Coruscant before the electric, four-way conclusion. My only criticism of this movie would be the tonal whiplash of the conclusion -- the Jar-Jar scenes work fine as slapstick comedy on their own but are slightly jarring to watch in conjunction with the lightsaber duel -- but this has never been that big of a deal to me. The Phantom Menace is a unique, wonderful, engaging movie that wasn't afraid to redefine Star Wars for a new generation and deserves to be praised as a stunning achievement in space opera.