PT The Genius of TPM.

Hi, I just wanted to pop in and share some of my admiration for one of the seminal movies of our generation, The Phantom Menace. As an artist, one of the things I value most is originality, and in TPM, Lucas cranked his creative juices up to 11; what could be more original than *not having a clear protagonist* at all? And whereas the original trilogy got bogged down in depicting Vader's Ahabian intensity in his hunt for "Skywalker," TPM takes it easy and just lets us take in the gorgeous *look* of villains such as Darth Maul without having to follow any complicated narrative.

I have to get going, which is a shame because I've really only scratched the surface of this incredibly sophisticated film. I know when I'm writing, I consider my greatest artistic responsibility to be to go over my work with a fine-tooth comb to make sure it makes sense to people who know only very little or perhaps nothing at all about it. Once again, Lucas had the boldness to challenge stodgy-old "screenwriting" principles and do his own thing.

It just all adds up to making TPM a fantastic experience. Thank you George Lucas for this miracle.

 

No offense, but Padme is the protagonist. Not only is that clear, it’s also the first thing Lucas says on the old DVD commentary track.