A paradigm of american cinema.

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 1999)

Despite some initial criticism, Episode 1 has proved itself to be quite the model of what a blockbuster should be. In regards to the storyline, it is absolutely brilliant. Of course nobody will fully know how the trilogy unfolds until 2005, most of the subtleties in Episode 1 are clearly clues to the grand scheme. For example, Anakin's virgin birth has received a bit too much criticism considering that people can't see the full picture. I submit the possibility that Anakin is a clone, or was simply engineered for that matter for a darker purpose. He said himself they didn't move to Tatooine until he was three, and Shmi Skywalker gives a look of concern when Qui-Gon says, "had he been born in the republic we would have identified him early." And what about that curious glare Yoda and Mace Windu exchange after Qui-Gon suggests he has encountered a vergence in the Force around a Tatooine slave boy. Clearly there is more here than meets the eye. Considering that future Star Wars episodes involve "The Clone Wars," I think that Anakin just might be one of the first. This would justify the concept of the midichlorians, afterall it allows for an efficient way to manufacture beings with strong Jedi or Sith potential. The cloning theory also justifies the virgin birth concept, because all clones need a womb to grow in, a single host without a "father" by all conventional terms. As for Jar Jar Binks, I agree there were moments when he was a bit too much, but all in all he was not THAT bad. Sure he had his ups and downs, but is "exsqueeze me" any worse than Chewbacca swinging onto a scout walker with the Tarzan call in Return of the Jedi? We enjoy these movies because they bring out the child in us, and their shortcomings are what make them all the more personal. It's like The Goonies: far from flawless, but genuinely innocent and sincere in it's convictions. I see every "flaw" in the Phantom Menace as a smack of artistic license in the face of all those greedy studio executives. Well that's my two cents on the matter anyhow, take them as you will because it's merely an opinion. "May the Force be with you... always."