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Summary: This is exactly what it's supposed to be...A child's fable
Review: I was absolutely mesmerized the first time I saw Star Wars: A New Hope. The same thing happened over two decades later with Episode I. This movie was incredible, the special effects made me feel like I had a part in this film. Everyone needs to understand that this is a child's fairy tale set in a sci-fi universe. It sets the stage for the next two films. Jar-Jar was placed in the movie for comic relief, not for a stoic performance of 'MACBETH'. Jar-Jar is a sutle story about someone not so strong or intellegent or good-looking that can still make a difference.
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Summary: Long awaited and worth it
Review: I've waited for a long time for this movie and I loved it. Maybe its the kid in me who liked Jar-Jar. He added allot to the movie wether or not anyone agrees. If he wasn't in it, the movie would still be good, but I Binks brought the comedy relief needed 3PO and R2 brought to the other three.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: I have now seen this movie 5 times and I loved it more and more every time I saw it! Just watch the movie and enjoy the great story! My favorite part of the movie was the fact that I made connections with the characters from episode 1 to 4,5, and 6. It was great! END
Rating: 
Summary: Distracted
Review: I did not see this movie until I bought the video. I'm sure it was much more impressive on the 'big' screen. My greatest complaint is that the mostly unintelligible dialogue, as mouthed by Jar Jar and the Ganguns(?), diverted my attention from the movie as I tried to translate/make sense of what had been said. Overall, I think that the movie was entertaining but was too strongly aimed toward a younger (juvenile) audience, hence the PG rating. Guess I wanted a little more than that.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth the money...
Review: Despite constant media criticism, and the annoying Jar Jar Binks, this is a solid movie. Keep in mind as you watch that it is only the beginning, and will seem far more complete when the prequels trilogy is finished. If for nothing else, buy it for the lightsaber battles alone!
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Summary: The Saga's Beginning A Mixed Bag
Review: The Phantom Menace is Episode One of the Star Wars series, and it personifies the strengths and weaknesses of the series. George Lucas directs this episode - his first directing job since the original Star Wars in 1977. Star Wars was partly inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa, and The Phantom Menace is the most openly Kurosawa-esque of the series, primarily in the portrayals of Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor), Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), and the film's primary villain, Darth Maul. The Kurosawa influence shows as well in some of the aliens (almost all of them created by CGI) within the film, notably the Trade Federation viceroy who commands an invasion of Queen Amidala's homeworld, Naboo. Less influenced by Kurosawa are the Skywalker family, the young Anakin Skywalker and his mother. Anakin's passion is podracing - here lies the influence of Lucas' 1973 film American Graffiti - and in such an endeavor he displays a strength and reflexes that Qui-Gon recognizes are characteristic of "the chosen one." Though the film's podracing angle is more distracting than anything - it comes off as a Dirk Benedict-esque scam from The A-Team - it does help establish the relationship between Anakin and Queen Amidala - some have criticized this angle for tackiness, but I thought it was very nicely done. There is also politicking in the republic's Imperial Senate on Coruscant, featuring a nice cameo by Terence Stamp (General Zod from the Superman films) as well as dialogue between Amidala and Senator Palpatine - who regular fans of the Star Wars films know will change over the course of the story. These are the film's character stengths. The film's weaknesses are personified in the obnoxious comedy relief of CGI creation Jar Jar Binks. Why this alleged character was created in the first place escapes me. Alas, he is not alone in the bad-comedy relief department - his fellow CGI-created aliens are little better, particularly the slobbering swine named Boss Nass. Despite this, the film moves very well, from the rescue of Queen Amidala and her entourage, to the podracing subplot, to debate in the Imperial Senate (even this scene, like virtually every other, is smothered in SFX, a strength and weakness to the film), to the film's dazzling liberation of Naboo. The highlights of the liberation are the too-brief scenes of space battle and the exhausting lightsaber fight between Qui-Gon and Kenobi against Darth Maul. There are even a few influences from Battlestar Galactica and the real life US Air Force - the battle droids seen throughout the film sound like Cylons, and their command ship is reminiscent of a Cylon base star. As for the USAF, Queen Amidala's personal spacecraft is little more than a sci-fi version of the SR-71 Blackbird - giving the title an unintended irony; imagine if the Naboo fightercraft resembled F-4 Phantom fighterbombers. In all, The Phantom Menace is a rip-roaring good time.
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Summary: The Phantom Menace by Thomas Squara
Review: Star Wars Phantom Menace(1999).127mins Dir.George Lucas ,Starring Ewan Mcgregor, and Liam Neeson . Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader is discovered as a young child with an incredible spirit of a young Jedi Knight emerging.First knowledge of the Sith emerging in the face of Darth Maul. Humerous characters such as Ja Ja Binks ,are introduced to the series.Packed with adventure and action,with amazing computer visual effects. Thomas Squara.
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Summary: May the Hype be with You
Review: Director George Lucas reveals the origins of his highly successful epic trilogy in the highly-anticipated prequel "Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace". The film had countless audiences camped outside theaters but this prequel is quite a letdown after the considerable hype that it generated. Though not a big disappointment, "The Phantom Menace" is a stunning, thrill-a-minute, visual spectacle from the creative minds of George Lucas and crew. The main weakpoints in the film lies in its main story and small subplots that are under-developed and often quite dull. The cast includes Liam Neeson, Ewan McGreggor, Natalie Portman and Jake Lloyd. The character of Jar-Jar Binks is certainly inventive but quickly grows tiresome into film. The eye-popping visual effects are quite ground-breaking and often save the entertainment value of this Star Wars prequel. The designs of the alien beings and futuristic cities were very impressive. The aggressive pod race and intense fight sequences were remarkable. Overall, this prequel scores a "C+".
Rating:
Summary: A good introductory STAR WARS episode
Review: I couldn't understand why critics put down this movie too much. I believe the movie gives a good introduction of the main characters and the history of the events shown earlier in the first 3 Star Wars movies. Maybe the special effects are a bit superflous and the main characters lack depth in personality, but I believe it's must have been a very difficult task for the movie producers to create a "prequel" to the most successful movies of all time. The story is straight forward, a saga of a clash between the good and the evil. In short, it does its job superbly, i.e. to entertain. All I can say now is that I am bracing myself for the second episode of the movie, and this time, I am bringing my kids to watch the second episode at the movie theatre. Guys, just sit back and enjoy this movie...... Bravo to George Lucas and to his many creative movie associates!
Rating:
Summary: Not very menacing
Review: I went to see this film with some trepedation. On the one hand I was looking forward to the new Star Wars movie, which is enough to get excited about, plus the fact that with new technology the graphics should be stunning. On the other I was wondering about the rumours I had heard that the film was a bit watery and lacking in depth. I came out of the cinema hovering between the two. The Phantom Menace - I have to ask: why is it called this anyway? - has some exceptionally good points and some downright awful ones. (Jar Jar Binks is one of the latter; not only can you hardly understand what he's saying much of the time, he IS as annoying as everyone makes out.)The acting is superb, no question about that - Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are extremely good, as is Natalie Portman. However the script is enough to make you wince. The first Star Wars movie sounded unedited, and so does this. Ray Park is another bone of contention with me. He's a superb actor, brilliant in the fight sequence, and turns his lines into something truly sinister. So why wasn't more made of his character? Darth Maul was fantastic but he only appears once or twice, and dies without even a last word. He hardly even has a first word, come to that. Overall, the story is debatable, the visual aspects stunning, the characters held up by good acting, the script appalling but rescued again by the actors. Buy it if you love Star Wars enough to gloss over some of its shortcomings.
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