The Phantom Menace: Creativity misunderstood.

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2016)

The release of hardly any other movie was met with the same kind of anticipation and hype than the first chapter in the Star Wars Saga after sixteen years of absence: Episode I.
One thing most people at least agree with is the fact that the Prequel's story, including Episode I's, is quite a bit more complex than the story of the original films. While many claims say it turned out unsuccessfully complex, I can't agree. For its insane focus on so-called Â„wooden dialogue", it's perplexingly sad how the achievements of Episode I's screenplay are publicly missed, forgotten or lightly dismissed. It's as overlooked as it is to be appreciated how George Lucas managed to write a script that introduced a lot of overarching themes and developments while still telling a very basic and immediate story of people fighting for freedom. After all, there are five corresponding story lines depicted in Episode I (Palpatine's rise, the Invasion and Liberation of Naboo, the Jedi's mission introducing the galaxy's workings, the return of the Sith, the discovery of a young boy).
It's hardly appreciated how these story lines become one story and how they were worked out to flow into each other, giving room to multiple interesting characters and themes. Those characters are certainly treated in an unconventional way, which feels strange at first, but allows all of them to play a crucial role at some point in the film. You kind of wonder why this or that character is there until at some point of the film it becomes obvious.
The films main story is certainly driven by the character of Qui-Gon Jinn, who leads us through the events and gives audiences an anchor for orientation. Despite some contrary claims, this did not go on the expense of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan, after all, was allowed to grow in the wind shadow of his master. In their end fight, Obi-Wan is neither as aggressive as Maul nor as calm and Qui-Gon Jinn and when his master is killed, he almost fails by giving in to his anger and thoughts of revenge. Ultimately though, he remembered his master's teaching which allows him to defeat and kill Darth Maul with Jinn's weapon and become a Jedi Knight.
While Qui-Gon is obviously the main driving force of the story, the story itself revolves around a young Queen who is challenged with the struggle of being peaceful and passive or going into a fight to help themselves. In her journey to find the right answer, she meets Anakin Skywalker. Looking at The Phantom Menace with the knowledge of the following two movies, it's remarkable how fluent the groundwork for Anakin's character played out. Anakin's birth into slavery and the following strong need to be free of orders, independent of authority were obvious in both Episode II and III for one. The boy's relationship with both his mother, Shmi (finally introducing the mother), and his surrogate father, Qui-Gon Jinn, is the other side and the emotional heart of the movie. The sense of family that they convey gives a maturity to the series that has been absent before. As part of that, we get to see how Anakin is deeply skilled and gifted while at the same time being confronted with the roots of his fall. Contrary to other Jedi, Anakin has been grown up with his mother and he has become attached to her. Leaving her was a big challenge and the ultimate fate of Shmi (her death with him being unable to stop it) would greatly affect Anakin's action when again confronted with the need to let go (of PadmÃ©) to a great extent.
Ironically, little Anakin has become almost as hated on the internet as Jar Jar Binks. His reception in nerd culture is sad, not least because Jar Jar is a characters that's supposed to teach us to respect every being because every being has its worth â€“ even if it's sometimes annoying to reach that potential and worth. Jar Jar unconsciously made the first step to bond the Naboo and the Gungans and those who believed in him, particularly Queen Amidala and Qui-Gon Jinn, were rewarded for their faith and humanity. So after being somehow irritating for more than half of the film, Jar Jar becomes important and that's characteristic for the movie. You get to see its full potential and the value that it brings to the Star Wars legend once you allow yourself to let the movie unfold in its own way.
All of these characters do have their function in various parts of the story, filling the film's epic imagery with humanity and relevance. The Phantom Menace provides us with an astonishing range of visual expression, showcasing Lucas's talents and sensibilities. The many wide shots showing characters in the context of their environment and the situation the go through just as much call for attention as precise and haunting close-ups of characters like Amidala. In the middle of all this, there are numerous shot that mirror each other or can be seen as inversions of each other or variations of ideas and occurrences.
All old, we end up with a movie that's thoroughly entertaining while still saying good things. The movie gives us an idea of how a evil man corrupts a political system and thereby harms society. It gives us an impression of the challenges that leaders are confronted with, being faced with the task to question their whole world-view. It makes it obvious how we all depend on each other (Naboo/Gungans, Jar Jar and the others, midichlorians and the people they live "inside"). It tells a story that highlights the value of all beings, from the skilled Jedi to the strong-willed Queen and a gifted young boy to a clumsy but good-hearted stranger. They all play their own specific part to make a better world.