Thrilling installment of classic serial

Rating: 4/10 (22 May 1999)

George Lucas has done it again. The man behind arguably the most popular movie series of all time, the "Star Wars" trilogy, has expanded the now-classic saga and given us its prehistory. Long-time fans of the series will delight in seeing Luke and Leia's parents, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even audience favorites Yoda, R2-D2, and Jabba the Hutt.
The plot, true-to-form of the best episodic series, is full of political intrigue, colorful characters, far-off locales, and exciting battle sequences. The evil villains, the beautiful princess, the wise heroes - all are familiar territory to us and they all fit nicely with the Star Wars universe. George Lucas both wrote and directed "Phantom Menace," a task he has not undertaken since the original "Star Wars" movie. The Lucas touch shows - and the audience responds.
"The Phantom Menace," while completely entertaining and well worth the admission price, is not without its flaws. Jar-Jar Binks, one of the completely computer-generated characters in the film, is just plain irritating and leaves me hoping that his Gungan race will not be making any appearances in the second and third films. There's also a two-headed alien in the pod-racing sequence who just doesn't belong in this universe - maybe this type of character would be appropriate for "Spaceballs" or one of the anachronistic jokes in a Disney movie like "Aladdin" or "Hercules," but the sportscaster simply detracts from the mythological impact of the film.
The performances are quite good. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are superb as the Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi; Natalie Portman is riveting as the girl-geisha Queen Amidala; even young Jake Lloyd pulls off a touching, empathetic Anakin Skywalker. Ian McDiarmid reprises his role as Senator Palpatine, later known as the Emperor. The supporting cast is also excellent - Samuel L. Jackson, Terence Stamp, and Pernilla August play their small roles with class and dignity - for a style so melodramatic, it's reassuring when the performances manage to be both subtle and powerful. The only performances that feel wrong are the computer generated characters: Jar-Jar Binks, Watto the slave owner, Sebulba the podracer, even the Battle Droids are quite obviously false. Instead of focusing on the character, as we were able to do with Yoda or the Ewoks, we focus on the technological marvels that have made Jar-Jar possible.
Fans of the original trilogy and newcomers to the series are sure to enjoy this "Menace" - while clumsy at times and a bit confusing plotwise, it has a charm to it that fits in precisely with the type of Saturday-afternoon serial Lucas strove to emulate. Just like the "Indiana Jones" movies made with Hollywood royalty Steven Spielberg, the "Star Wars" movies are pure escapist fantasies, sure to take you back long, long, ago to a galaxy far, far away.