A quarter century has passed since George Lucas released “The Phantom Menace,” his 1999 directorial comeback. A follow-up to one of the ‘70s and ‘80s biggest blockbuster franchises, “The Phantom Menace” follows Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), the father of the original trilogy’s protagonist, during his childhood adventures. The movie and its two sequels trace out the arc of Anakin’s transformation and the rise of the Empire.
If one word could describe the atmosphere in the lead-up to the film's premiere, it would be hype. That energy was reflected in the box office numbers; the film had a gross of over 1 billion dollars. Critic’s reviews in the immediate aftermath of the release, however, were more mixed. By the time the prequel’s second installment was released in 2002, public opinion had already decisively shifted in the opposite direction. In the intervening years, however, the movies have seen a resurgence among the millennials who grew up with them.
It’s easy to see why so many people hold “The Phantom Menace” dearly in their hearts. There is a very good argument to be made that the film’s aesthetic, set design, practical effects, digital effects, score and production are the best or among the best in the whole franchise. Little details of worldbuilding in the props, names and dialogue wonderfully build out the film’s world.
As someone who grew up with the prequel trilogy already existing, I would be lying if I didn’t feel some nostalgia watching the pod-racing scene and the final fight on Naboo. However, “The Phantom Menace” is not a perfect film. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me on my latest rewatch was just how boring most of the movie was and how wasted a lot of plot and character elements are.
For example, not much material is gained from Anakin being a slave, aside from it strengthening his Jesus allegory. I don’t buy Anakin and Padme’s (Natalie Portman) relationship nor that Anakin is all that sad about leaving his mother Shmi (Pernilla August). As a result, the movie sets up many of the major problems that plague the prequel trilogy as a whole.
These individual problems with “The Phantom Menace” pose a massive problem for the entire trilogy because the crux of Anakin’s transformation is his strong desire to protect those he loves. As a result, his relationships are important for his arc to feel satisfying. By leaving him with weak relationships, the film weakens his arc.
The only other “emotional core” is between Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and while they do have the fight with Darth Maul (Ray Park) — one of the film’s best scenes — very little is done to actually flesh out their relationship. As a result, much of what happens with them feels hollow.
On the flip side, the political intrigue narrative also falls flat. We only get small glimpses into the political underpinnings of Coruscant, the Republic and the Jedi. It’s not nearly enough to get invested into the machinations of the Republic, which are crucial to understanding the prequel trilogy’s basic arc. The relative non-importance of Anakin and Shmi’s slavery foreshadows the non-importance of the clear parallels between the Republic and the Weimar Republic as well as the between Empire and the Third Reich in the later movies. The undertones (basically overtones) of Palpatine’s election as supreme chancellor echo Hitler’s real-life appointment as chancellor of the Weimar Republic in 1933. The result is a movie that pretends to say something but in reality says nothing material at all.
Ultimately, “The Phantom Menace” is a movie that spreads itself too thin, not committing itself to characters or politics, and thus, prioritizes reference over substance, symbol over meaning.
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