AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE

Rating: 10/10 (9 June 1999)

"The Phantom Menace" has taken a lot of slack from the press since its release May 19, 1999, but I am very confident that in twenty years when the Special Edition is released, everyone will consider Episode One a noble edition to the Star Wars film family. In fact, I believe "The Phantom Menace" to be the best Star Wars film yet. It is full of subtlety and, contrary to many fans' opinions, is ripe with spiritual symbolism and metaphor. I have seen it ten times now (in the theater) and with each viewing I puncture an additional subtextual layer. It astounds me that the most prominent criticism of the film is its "flimsy" or "childish" plot. The plot is incredibly complex, far more complex than any other Star Wars film to date, and definitely too complex for the average child. It took me roughly five viewings to fully understand the entire plot, that is, to really grasp the motivations behind Darth Sidious/Palpatine's political maneuverings. However, the politics are only skin deep, so to speak, and underneath lies a vast spiritual symbolism which catapults the mythological nature of the Star Wars films to another level. The planet of Naboo, with its two estranged civilizations of water-dwelling Gungans and land-dwelling humans, is a wonderful metaphor for the divorce between the mind and the spirit ("The Naboo think their brains are so big," says Boss Nass, the Gungan leader) which is threatening to tear our own civilization apart; indeed, this menacing inner phantom of disequilibrium can be found throughout the film and gives it its beautiful meaning. I love this movie, as should every Jedi-at-heart who desires true peace and justice in the world.