Easily the Best Film about Space Tax Disputes, Ever!

Rating: 3/10 (8 January 2014)

When we think back to the halcyon days of Star Wars, with its timeless narrative, thrilling space battles and heroes, heroines and villains that defined a generation and live on, immortal in the pantheon of popular culture, we realise that for all of their brilliance there was one thing missing: lengthy discussions of tax disputes.
But fear not! In 1999 George Lucas at last recognised his terrible mistake and rectified it to create an accountant/bureaucrat/corporate lawyer's science fiction dream movie. Now we have an iconic titles sequence that contains evocative words like 'tax!' and 'trade disputes!' in place of nonsense like evil Empires, Death Stars, and the glorious fight between good and evil. Furthermore, spectacles such as epic space battles and outlandish cantinas filled with fabulous creatures are downplayed to make way for marvellous and protracted scenes of thrilling space councils with diplomats and other such august personages earnestly debating trading laws in great detail! It has its critics, for sure, but my response to such naysayers is that Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was and is a visionary work of tax and trade negotiation-based genius.