Excellent article. The Phantom Menace remains a low point for the series, though not as low as Attack of the Clones, to my mind. The Ben-Hur-ish pod race and the lightsabre duel are fun, but that's not enough. And whilst the film is great technically (sound, production design, visual effects, and obviously John Williams's incredible music), I longed for a central trio like Han, Luke, and Leia, rather than this lot (as you say, Liam Neeson tries his hardest with a sorely underwritten role).

On a related note, I'm not sure if you saw this piece I wrote recently. :)

The Phantom Menace: Reviewed as if It Were the First Star Wars Film Released | Fanfare