The problem with the phantom menace is that he simply has no story to tell the film merely adds an introductory chapter to a story that has already been told and stretches it out into a two hour movie it is no accident that prequels of this kind are rare they are very difficult to make properly. Star wars episode i the phantom menace is a 1999 american epic space opera film written and directed by george lucas produced by lucasfilm distributed by 20th century fox and stars liam neeson ewan mcgregor natalie portman jake lloyd ian mcdiarmid anthony daniels kenny baker pernilla august and frank oz. The phantom menace after a millennia an ancient evil returns seeking revenge meanwhile jedi knight qui gon jinn discovers anakin skywalker a young slave boy unusually strong with the force. And as with all the star wars movies the phantom menace features inexplicable plot twists a fistful of loose threads and some cheek chewing dialogue han solos swagger is sorely missed as is the pervading menace of heavy breathing darth vader there is still way too much quasi mystical mumbo jumbo and some of what was fresh about star wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic yet theres