synopsis : in phantom menace the galaxy is divided into power groups whose interests will inevitably collide in later sequels . 
there is an overarching galactic united nations-type organization called the senate presided by a weak chancellor . 
within the senate two camps are at odds : a bickering , isolationist alliance called the republic and their aggressive rival the trade federation . 
preserving law and order are a council of jedi knights who are meanwhile searching for a prophesied chosen one of virgin birth . 
manipulating events behind the scenes is a dangerous , reemerging clan called the dark lords of sith , so shadowy and secretive that they comprise a " phantom " menace . 
jedi knight qui-gon jinn ( liam neeson ) and his apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) witness an invasion of teenage queen amidala's home planet naboo and befriend a gungan named jar jar ( ahmed best ) . 
on the desert planet of tatooine the two jedi , jar jar , and amidala ( natalie portman ) attend a lengthy drag race involving the young boy anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) . 
the five protagonists try to solicit help for freeing naboo by visiting the city planet of coruscant where a lot of debate and political maneuvering takes place . 
can they free amidala's helpless planet ? 
opinion : on tv last night i watched young , wannabe celebs pay $400 a ticket and come running out of theaters to bask in front of news cameras , gushing with testimonials of the phantom menace's greatness in exchange for a few seconds of being on national television . 
given this kind of media mania i wondered if phantom menace , the most anticipated movie of 1999 , could possibly live up to the extraordinary hype that preceded it . 
does phantom menace match the exaggerated hype ? 
director george lucas answers , " it's only a movie . " 
to me , any movie with russian-sounding accents for bad guys , jamaican accents for good guys , and middle eastern-sounding accents for seedy gamblers accents can be expected to be more tongue in cheek than profound . 
visually , star wars : episode i --the phantom menace ( 1999 ) is a kid show where parents can take their young ones to marvel at child-friendly cgi characters and wondrous backdrops even if the character dialogue ( mostly geopolitics ) is beyond the level of children . 
it is left to parents to patiently explain the conversation : droid origins , family lineage , the definitions of terms like blockade , appeasement , federation , alliance , symbiosis , satellite-controlled robots et cetera . 
at least this much is clear : there's plenty of eye candy , and in the last few minutes it's good guys and joe camel lookalikes versus a caped , horned red devil character and his mechanical hordes . 
weaknesses : weaknesses lie in the writing and in the performance . 
at first it seems like the film is to be an invasion story , but then phantom takes an hour-long detour to cover one chariot race before returning to the invasion theme . 
this dilutes the central story . 
additionally , smaller scenes seem written self consciously , as if they were added more to fill us in on extraneous background information for other movies rather than form an integral part of the present movie . 
veteran actors liam neeson and ewan mcgregor noticeably outperform the other acting leads . 
better ensemble chemistry between the five leads and background information that is central to a tight story line could have made have given phantom stronger performances and storytelling punch . 
strengths : on the bright side phantom menace as a big-budget production is far ahead of the competition in terms of making whimsical creatures , worlds and vehicles appear real . 
the film boasts sophisticated , top-of-the-line visuals and quality exotic costumes , a musical score entertaining enough to stand alone , and three worthwhile sequences in the second half . 
bottom line ? 
seeing the film is entertaining and informative , like a visual theme park with star wars filler information serving as dialogue between impressive money shots . 
we are bound to be completely inundated by star wars publicity , music and tie-ins for the next few months .