Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Okay, folks — settle down. It's not the Second Coming and it's not the end of cinema as we know it. It is a prequel that feels especially dependent on its sequels (made and unmade) for interest. Set 30 years before the events that unfold in the much-loved STARS WARS trilogy, it chronicles the deprived childhood of Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who grows up to be Darth Vader, and the travails of teen Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) of Naboo, who must save her planet from destruction while weighed down by a series of brow-burdening headdresses. In Amidala's corner: Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his cheeky apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor),...