More myth and less comedy

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 1999)

The Phantom Menace is not a perfect film, in both a fan's perspective and a mythologian's. As a fan, I thought the film could have done better without the computer generated sidekick, Jar Jar, and the Gangan race. I didn't mind the other cg characters or its use in set design as much, because they were used to show a wide variety of aliens existing and give a sense of monolithic proportions, but with Jar Jar, it was more of a thorn in a wonderfully crafted Star Wars universe, whether done by Lucas or Dark Horse Comics. In comparison, the cute bunny-rat like creatures in the Marvel Comics Star Wars universe were more acceptable.
I've never been a fan of computer generated alien races in any film and Star Wars IV to VI never used comedic "skits" to get the audience to laugh. The humor should be indirectly found in the situations the characters find themselves in and in witty script writing. The script had a lot of character development problems. The only character which stood out in both performance and in development is that of Palpatine's.
Also, Lucas developed A New Hope (IV) with Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth series in mind (if not influenced by), and that is what made Acts IV to VI memorable. Instead of building on the myth, in Phantom Menace Lucas presented a history and civilization that has no mythical foundation. "The Force" is a parascience than a mythical essence -- that is what ruined this movie for me. The Force was used in the movie more often in the combat sequences than in any other scene. The Council of Jedi was ruined by having them meet in a concrete room than in a place of Nature. There is no mystique to The Force and only Yoda was able to impress the mystique of The Force than any other character.