How George Lucas Turned a Boring Beginning into One of his Most Exciting Films: A TPM Review

BACK • NEXT

Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace is a fantastically boring movie. It has everything that can possibly be included in a snoozfest- politics upon politics, trade disputes and an overall lack of action besides from the first and last twenty minutes. Yet, somehow, George Lucas was able to take those seemingly boring elements and turn them into what is, in my opinion, the greatest of the three Prequel Trilogy films.

In The Phantom Menace, George Lucas masterfully takes these “boring” plot elements and uses them as the basis of his entire Star Wars saga. He cleverly subverts the expectations of his audience- who would have ever thought that the origins of a story told so beautifully in the original trilogy all started with boring debates about the taxation of trade routes? Many hate on Rian Johnson for similarly subverting his audience in Episode VIII- The Last Jedi, however the key difference is that in The Phantom Menace, George coats this subversion with a plethora of fan-service, amongst strong, emotive themes that rely heavily on political, historical and theological context, much like the original trilogy. These intertextualised elements allow for the Phantom Menace to hold a sense of familiarity, which in my opinion, allows for the subversively boring plot elements to be lost in a blaze of excitement.

The subversive elements of the film are evenly balanced out with nostalgic moments of fan service. Whilst seeing Darth Vader as a little boy may be jarring on its own, it is paired with the introduction of C-3PO, and his first interactions with R2-D2. By pairing subversions with fan service, George makes it seem less like he is “destroying his story” (like some perceive Rian Johnson’s actions as) and more like just taking the story into a new, fresh direction.

One of the most prominent themes in The Phantom Menace is one that I consider a Star Wars staple- hope. George Lucas has always conveyed the idea of having hope in the most hopeless of situations, and in my opinion, the Phantom Menace conveys this message more clearly than any other. In several situations, our heroes are left in a seemingly hopeless situation, but because they held onto that strand of near-impossible hope, they were able to come out of that situation better than before. One such time that this occurs in the film is when Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Pé, Jar Jar and the crew are stranded on Tatooine. Watto’s price for the Hyperdrive is far too high for our heroes to afford, and so in a moment of hopelessness, Qui-Gon seizes the opportunity that is Anakin Skywalker, and he is willing to bet everything on this one glimpse of hope that Anakin will win one of the Galaxy’s biggest podraces. The odds are nearly impossible, but as Han Solo is known to say: never tell me the odds.

This appears to be a motto of Lucas’, as his characters always seem to defy the odds in the most hopeless of situations. Another example in The Phantom Menace is during the film’s climax, when all of our heroes end up facing failure. Jar Jar and General Tarpals are captured in the Naboo hills, Pé and Captain Panaka are captured by Droidekas, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are separated by ray shields, and Anakin’s ship has overheated in the middle of the droid flagship. All of our heroes are in the hands of the enemy, the evil Trade Federation. But through a mix of courage, determination and hope, all of our heroes are able to see their situations flipped, allowing them to retake Naboo, even if it resulted in some loss, such as the death of Qui-Gon Jinn.

Speaking of the Maverick Jedi Master, Qui-Gon’s Death highlights a key plot point that relies on a level of theological context regarding the Hero’s Journey. This plot point has made it into the Star Wars mainstream media recently, as Dave Filoni recently mentioned it on the Disney Gallery: the Mandalorian docies. A key part of the Hero’s Journey is the role of the father, and Anakin has no literal father. The closest thing he has to a father is Qui-Gon, and he is killed by Maul. This is the pivotal moment in Anakin’s story that decides his fate (hence why the duel is called Duel of the Fates), as with Qui-Gon gone, the only father figure Anakin has is Palpatine, and we all know how that ends up.

Beyond the theological influence of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth, The Phantom Menace is filled with political messages, perhaps more so than any other film- yes, even more than the sequel trilogy. The idea that only the sequels are politically driven is far from false- at the heart of The Phantom Menace, there is not only the in-universe politics of the Galactic Republic, but also many more layers, such as slavery laws, racism, and corruption. The Republic is a clear analogy for the Nixon istration, with the eventual Clone Wars representing the Vietnam War. Star Wars has always been George Lucas’ way of making a political statement, and he does so with a clear message- be critical of your superiors. This message has its roots in the Rebellion vs Empire conflict of the Original Trilogy, which in itself was Lucas’ direct response to the Vietnam War, which reached its end around the same time in which Lucas began to craft his Star War.

Beyond the Vietnam commentary, George used The Phantom Menace to create a meaningful statement on slavery, racism and the treatment of indigenous people. The cruelty of slavery is seen first-hand on Tatooine, and the Gungans, along with their cultural clash with the humans of Naboo, is a clear analogy for indigenous people and colonisers, not just in America but all around the world. The Phantom Menace tells everyone, no matter your race, to unite for the greater good, a message that was prominent back in 1999, and is even more prominent now with the Black Lives Matter movement. Whether you are African-American, Indian-American, Indigenous Australian or Gungan, you are a living being, and you are equal to that of those with white privilege- that is one of the key messages that George Lucas conveys in The Phantom Menace, and I think many ought to that before whining that the sequel trilogy “forces identity politics into the story”.

I would also like to briefly talk about how comedy is used in The Phantom Menace. Whilst yes, Jar Jar is, at times, annoying, if you remove him from the scene, the story is infinitely less interesting. The Phantom Menace thrives on lack of action- it’s story is dependent on it. The story needs a lot of breathing room to fully flesh out its compelling themes, and to prevent this excessive breathing room from becoming boring to the audience, Jar Jar at least gives them something else to think about. This mix of seriousness and comedy balances the film’s content.

Whilst Ahmed Best did amazing in the role of Jar Jar Binks in my opinion, one major criticism I have for The Phantom Menace is that at times, the acting was very stale. Whilst Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker) act commendably, I did notice that several less important characters were portrayed nearly devoid of all emotion. Two main examples that I can think of is Ralph Brown as Ric Olié (the main Naboo pilot) and Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka. In the emotional heights of the film, whenever these two characters were on screen they failed to keep the momentum of excitement and suspense, as their acting did not feel genuine.

With that said, both Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) and Ian McDiarmid (Senator Palpatine) are standout stars in The Phantom Menace. And whilst the special effects may have not aged perfectly, the intricate practical effects certainly make up for the low-quality CGI.

As I near the end of this review, I would like to talk about one question that I have: who is the main character of The Phantom Menace? Is it Anakin? Is it Pé? Is it Qui-Gon? The film never really makes it clear, despite this trilogy being all about Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side. Personally, I think the lack of a concrete main character allows for the themes of The Phantom Menace to truly shine. It is a unique Star Wars film in the sense that it puts the plot before the characters, whilst still allowing the characters to develop. In my opinion, I see Qui-Gon Jinn as the main character of the Phantom Menace. As previously noted, if Qui-Gon had not died, Palpatine would not have been able to later manipulate Anakin, meaning that Qui-Gon’s death is responsible for the entirety of the remaining Skywalker Saga. In a sense, The Phantom Menace is the tragedy of Qui-Gon Jinn, with the film acting like a prologue for the more important overall Saga.

•••••••••••••

The Phantom Menace is a complexly written, thematically rich and most importantly, a very entertaining film. Given that the plot revolves around taxation of trade routes and galactic politics, George clearly faced a challenge in making such “boring” events sound interesting. In doing so, these “boring” events such as Senate meetings become interesting and engaging to the audience, due to a variety of reasons, including the heightened emotional weight, the nostalgia and the subversions. Therefore, in my opinion, Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace is one of the greatest Star Wars movies, and easily the greatest Star Wars prequel. It turns a seemingly “boring” beginning to the Skywalker Saga and flipped it on its head, creating an exciting, emotional and thematically driven film.

Rating: 86/100

#TeamKashyyyk