Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

George Lucas returned to his massive science fiction universe back in 1999 with a prequel that absolutely broke the global box office. You watch Liam Neeson play the rebellious Jedi master Qui Gon Jinn, who discovers a young boy with incredible powers on a desert planet. We also get a fantastic performance from Ewan McGregor stepping into the iconic shoes of a young Obi Wan Kenobi. I always tell my friends to watch this movie because it expands the galaxy with incredible politics and amazing lightsaber battles. The story drops you right into a trade dispute that slowly reveals a much darker plot to take over the Republic. A closer look beneath the shiny spaceships and funny aliens reveals a tragic story about the heavy burden of destiny. A structural analysis shows that every political maneuver by the hidden Sith lord mirrors the slow decay of the democratic system.

Cinematographer David Tattersall creates a massive visual shift from the dirty and used look of the original trilogy. You immediately notice how the bright green forests and waterfalls of Naboo look incredibly clean and peaceful compared to the rest of the galaxy. I do get a little annoyed when the camera relies too heavily on early computer generated characters taking up the entire screen. The cartoonish digital models sometimes make the serious scenes feel a bit too much like a morning cartoon instead of a grand space opera. A quick jump over to the harsh sandy deserts of Tatooine thankfully restores a much better visual grit. The costume department gives the royal characters incredibly elaborate dresses and massive headpieces to completely separate their wealthy status from the plain robes of the Jedi knights.

Pay attention to the set design and you will see how the buildings completely reflect the culture of the different planets. The messy interior of the junk shop in the desert feels very authentic because the scattered engine parts and dirty tools match a harsh survival environment. A trip up to the massive Jedi Temple on Coruscant offers a totally different vibe entirely. The towering spires and clean council chambers look like a beautiful but arrogant ivory tower disconnected from the real world. My main complaint involves the shiny control rooms inside the Trade Federation battleships. The perfect plastic walls look a bit too sterile and empty for a movie grounded in such rich alien cultures. The choice to put these desperate heroes in a massive high speed pod race forces a natural adrenaline rush that jumps right off the screen.

You really have to listen to the roaring engine sounds to understand the pure speed of the famous pod race sequence. My ears constantly catch the heavy mechanical thud of the battle droids marching right before a massive ground war begins. The editing moves at a very strange pace during the middle act to explain complicated space taxes before finally unleashing an incredible three way lightsaber duel. We hear an absolutely legendary musical score composed by John Williams, and that bold choice makes the final sword fight feel incredibly epic. The sudden loud hiss of a double bladed red lightsaber turning on actually makes the quiet throne room feel terrifyingly dangerous.

Let us clear up some common mysteries about this massive science fiction prequel.

- Did they actually build physical sets for this movie? Yes, the crew built more physical sets for this prequel than the entire original trilogy combined, even though people assume everything was made entirely on a computer.

- Was the communicator device used by Qui Gon actually a real object? The prop department actually modified a simple resin cast of a popular razor handle for women to create the iconic Jedi communication device.

- Who choreographed the massive final lightsaber duel? Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard completely redesigned the fighting style to look much faster and more lethal than the slow sword fights of the older movies.

The incredible musical score and the amazing villain design keep me coming back every few years, but I cannot deny that the political dialogue gets incredibly boring. Certain Senate meetings drag on for so long that you almost lose your connection to the urgent invasion happening on the planet below.

Fans of classic space operas will definitely love finding the hidden background aliens in these crowded city scenes. If you think you have the eye to spot the hidden pod racer in our daily guess the movie challenge or just want some fun movie trivia for your break, test your skills at Flickle.