Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Probably the best made prequel, “The Phantom Menace” conjures the classic “Star Wars” magic with greater frequency than the two preceding films, but this is still a movie with a weak ensemble and no protagonist that took to quantifying its universe’s magic to justify the adults bringing along the little kid who happens to be the key to all of this. There are some decent action sequences that work well outside of the film’s context, but this feels more like a weak side story than the start of an epic space odyssey. If only this were the worst “Star Wars”.

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