It is without depth, without complexity, without a critical thought or impulse. Whatever the conscious motives of its creators, which are by no means entirely above board, The Phantom Menace will function to encourage masses of people not to think about the critical issues in their lives. It is a gigantic stalling tactic, a structure of evasion on a mass scale. This film treats events that supposedly came before those dramatized in the three previous Star Wars films. Robot armies assemble.
Various creatures appear, some of which seem to embody racialist stereotypes.
Until Episode 2. Commercialism of the crassest variety is certainly a factor, but I have a feeling that George Lucas has other concerns, unfortunately. He, of course, presides as well over the film industry giant, Lucas Digital, which incorporates Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound. This is a specious argument. Lucas is simply the most outstanding example of the imbalance.