Rating: 
Summary: Huge Disapointment
Review: I was REALLY looking forward to this movie when it came out. I am a big Star Wars fan (watched the movies hundreds of times, read the books, etc.) and had been watching the reports for another movie comming on its way. I rushed to see it and after the movie was over I sat there wondering "What the heck was that?" It was terrible. The whole story was ment to run on effects instead of a story line. Though it did follow the story I feel as though much of it was thrown together just around the computers and what they can do. The guy with the long ears (sorry don't know his name) was compleatly anoying and though he was there to be funny he was FAR from funny. Why does he need to be there? In the original Star Wars, there were no chars. added just for comic relief. They were funny on their own. I am not even sure if I will waste my time on the next one. It will probably be a waste of my time and 6 buck.
Rating: 
Summary: May the Farce be with you...
Review: I was really rooting for George and Co. in anticipation of this long-awaited prequel, but like many Star Wars fans I found the dreadfully-titled Phantom Menace to be little more than a sophisticated children's movie. This problem is partly due to the age of the protagonist, although not enough effort was made to maintain the adult interest factor.The original Star Wars trilogy was intelligently written, brilliantly cast, produced and directed, and hardcore enough to appeal to anybody of any age. Yet in spite of a good cast, which includes such giants as Sam Jackson and Liam Neeson, Phantom Menace (what a ghastly Fifties pulp title) cannot hold a candle to the original movies. This quality DVD is worth having for the sake of completeness, especially in view of the fact that Episode 2, the almost as weakly titled Attack Of The Clones, appears to be far more like the original Star Wars. More combat, more edge and more maturity. I wish I could be more postive about this, but there was more Menace in the Mel Brooks spoof.
Rating: 
Summary: Sad
Review: I was really sad when I heard rumors that the DVD version might not come out now till 2006. What is Lucas thinking, this movie was made in digital and DVD is digital. I bought the widescreen version and I'm still sad about the quailty of the picture. Comon George wake up.
Rating:
Summary: 1 star for the pod race
Review: I was really, really, really dissapointed. Jar-Jar, 2 lines of dialogue from Darth Maul, Anakin accidently blowing up almost all the bad guys, and THE FORCE actually being little bugs that control things. Add that to the astounding coincidences. Anakin built C3P0, who will apparently forget about Anakin and Obi-Wan by Episode IV. Obi-Wan will also forget about R2-D2, who saved him and others by repairing the ship. I won't go on lest I annoy myself more.
It was the most complete and total shattering of everything about the previous movies that I held dear. As for this being for the kids, bollocks to that. The first three movies, particularly Empire, were dark, witty, lively, and just plain fun. I can still watch them today without ever wincing in pain at a line of dialogue like "Exsqueeze me!" Thank you Jar Jar.
Rating: 
Summary: Saul Levin, CEO of Popscheesecake.com
Review: I was seven when the first Star Wars came out and I fell in love with it. George Lucas has done it again! The special effects are dazzling! A MUST BUY!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Star Wars Returns
Review: I was skeptical from the beginning, convinced that Mr. Lucas could only mess this one up. I was very wrong and pleasantly surprised at the quality of the movie and talent behind it. The f/x are spectacular(and this is coming from someone who is NOT easily impressed by such things) and I actually found some of the acting to be very strong and very deeply felt, especially in Liam Neeson's case, who gives the performance of a lifetime, and Natalie Portman, who manages to be strong and intelligent and beautiful and willful and funny all at the same time. It's genuinly well written, exciting and slow paced, just like the other three movies. I grew up with Star Wars, it's been in my life, thanks to my sis and brother, since the day I was born, and I tell you with that perspective that this is a great movie. Is it 'Empire'? No, but not many things are. Is it better than 'Jedi', either one of the worst 'greatest movies' or best bad movie of all time? You better believe it. And if you view it with an open mind, you'll enjoy it very much.
Rating:
Summary: A Feature Length Toy Commercial
Review: I was so hoping to love this movie. I plugged my ears and shut my eyes to the critic's reviews -only to find that they were right. None of the characters grew at all in the picture. Not one of them seemed to care about anything. They were flat and basically one-note characters. Only the future Emperor had a glimmer of life to him. The others had less enthusiasm than you see in your average fast-food employee. If you like SciFi, buy "The Matrix" or "Galaxy Quest". Give this one a pass.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic kid's fare!
Review: I was suprised by the level of thrashing TPM received from critics and the public alike- it appears that many were expecting serious depth in addition to the requisite visual effects. But Lucas made it clear from the start that the SW series was and is intended for KIDS... not adults. The characters are cartoonish and the plot is predictable, sure, but that's no different from ANH, ESB, and RTJ. The difference, I'm afraid, is in us... those of us who saw the originals as kids, anyways. But for the 5-12 year old set, TPM is as dazzling and inspiring as ANH was for us 23 or so years ago. Right now a million young boys are daydreaming about being Anakin, racing pods (which not even the adults can do!) and learning how to use the force, while a million young girls fantisize about being a queen who goes on adventures in disguise, like Amidala. TPM is fulfilling its goal- kids are really connecting with this movie. So turn off that internal critic and think like a kid again- you'll find that Episode One is as fun and imagination-inspiring as you expect a Star Wars movie to be.
Rating:
Summary: Superb! An excellent prequel!
Review: I was surprised when I saw all the negative reviews for this movie. I found it an entirely entertaning and spellbinding film, wholesome and good family fun. It answered some of my questions I had when I fell in love with the original trilogy. Mr. Lucas did a terrific job, having to meet the tremendous expectations of millions of Star Wars fans. We meet the young Anakin Skywalker, his future wife Queen Amidala, the younger and more skeptic Jedi Obi-Wan, and see many other new characters in this phenomenal saga. Yoda, Jabba the Hutt, and the droids. Altogether a wonderful movie.
Rating:
Summary: Many have been too hard...
Review: I was the first geek to arrive on the scene for the Epidsode I camp out the night before tickets went on sale at the Cinema 6 in Tooele, UT. I had read the book, and the Graphic Novel in advance, so I knew exactly what I was getting into when the film began. My expectations for this film were set at a pretty good level. I knew the story already, and was expecting a movie version of that story as I knew it.
The problem with Episode I is not necissarily the film itself. Although far from perfect Episode I is still creative, and innovative in its own right, and still revolutionary being the first movie to offer thousands of photorealistic computer generated characters in any given scene. The overal story is still very good, but I will confess the movie is not without its flaws.
Jar Jar Binks became annoying after a while, but did not detract from the over all movie. I do not see Jar Jar in any light different than I see C-3PO, who is equally annoying. However, the dry acting of this film really weakens what could have otherwise been the best of the Star Wars movies to date. Despite the dry acting, the story (I cannot stress this enough) is still very strong. The movie even features the best lightsaber fight scenes to date. Over all this movie is not only worth the price of admission, but is also a worthy addition to the Star Wars series. A friend of mine once stated that to judge the Star Wars movies individually is foolish. This is just a small part of a much larger story, and while I anticipate that Attack of the Clones will be both darker and more mature than the Phantom Menace. In all reality The Phantom Menace is equally as good as A New Hope (Episode IV) which also has problems with acting and annoying characters (ironically Luke, at that point.)
The DVD is the first of the series to land on the format and is quite possibly the most jam packed DVD of all time. I've had this disk since it came out and I am still finding nifty easter eggs several months later. And I don't think that there has ever been a DVD that has taken your hand through every step of the film making process the way that this one did. It was a great education in the making of the Star Wars movie, and sure made the process look lik a lot of fun, with a few hazards tossed in for good measure. The various making of featuretts are like an epic movie in and of themselves and are in many ways better than the movie itself. Collectors should buy this DVD, if not for the movie, than for the incredable DVD extras.
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