‘Menace’ to society

Often-maligned by fans of the original series but adored by kids the world over, George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel films that rolled out starting with 1999’s The Phantom Menace will get the 3D treatment and a second theatrical run starting this Friday with the first episode in the popular intergalactic saga. Set more than 30 years before the events of the original 1977 classic, The Phantom Menace finds Darth Vader as an 9-year-old slave boy at the center of a struggle between the Jedi and a hostile droid army intent on destroying a peaceful world. Luke Skywalker’s future father shows off his skills as a pilot and helps a young Obi-Wan Kenobi save the people governed by Queen Amidala—Natalie Portman in an early role—and other Jedi confront the return of the galaxy’s most evil force. Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson star. Rated PG.