A rare treat

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 1999)

Phantom Menace is a rare treat, despite the distracting and un-creative racial stereotypes characterizing some of the aliens. Laying the groundwork for the entire series, introducing us to some of personalities, and beginning the arc of the larger story makes TPM a sort of Rosetta Stone for fans. Hopefully the audience is aware the brilliant but troubled boy Anakin Skywalker eventually becomes the Jedi-hunting Darth Vader. This kind of glimpse into Star Wars history lets the curious audience know more than the characters, and it makes the drama all the more poignant.

For those who can recognize it, Senator Palpatine's subtle treachery and manipulation makes him one of the most despicable characters brought to the screen. In Palpatine we see the genesis of the Emperor, but more importantly we start to see *how* a devious, power-mad politician can pervert and destroy a democratic government in order to gain absolute power. This part isn't fantasy; it happens here on Earth too.
The clear African, Asian, and Jewish/Arabic stereotypes embodied by the warrior, trade, and merchant classes are annoying, unnecessary, and less than creative. Perpetuating these characterizations is a disservice to the audience, both young and old. Why not be truly creative and start new myths? Kids better than most are eager, willing and able to explore new cultures and peoples. Give the new aliens new personalities; don't make them jaded caricatures of earth people.
The effects in this film are jaw-dropping. The scenes are so spectacular you can't believe you're seeing them. But they're not spectacular because they're weird, they're spectacular because they're real. Through effects we're taken to places and shown creatures that convincingly exist in a real, but different world. This is technology in service of fantasy, and it's the most fully and realistically rendered fantasy I've ever seen on the silver screen. Clearly this is a new benchmark in what can be done on film by a very talented, immensely hard-working crew.
I particularly enjoyed the undersea creatures of Naboo. The flow of the underwater scenes is quite natural but also moved the plot along. This is just one set in a story that unfolds magically and convincingly on the screen. Phantom Menace is a must see, and like most who have seen it, I'm dying to find out what happens to the characters in the rest of the series: where Anakin goes dark, how Palpatine becomes Emperor, how Obi-Wan survives the Jedi purge, when and with whom Anakin sires Luke and Leia, etc.