Rating: 
Summary: Star Wars Episode I - The Phatom Menace
Review: Well, I have to admit. I didn't actually see the Star Wars trilogy until it was re-released in movie theaters. I was very impressed with the imagination of Mr. Lucas...until this movie. Granted, it had great special effects, but I have to agree with the critics that there was too much that was in the grey. I know I am in the minority on this, but I hope Episode II is a little less offensive.
Rating: 
Summary: Good DVD for an OK Film
Review: Well, I received a copy of this DVD for Christmas, and I must admit I enjoyed all the many extras such as the extended pod race, the documentary, and so on. But it's still the same mediocre film, clearly designed from the start with marketing toys to 10 year olds rather than paying homage to a wonderful series of films. Now it's been said that Lucas intentioanlly made the first film a light one, in anticipation of the much more darker films to follow. That's fine with me, but the problems still continue to leap out at me evry time I watch it. It's clear Darth Maul is a professional swordsman (which is why he has little dialogue), unfortunatly it becomes all to clear in the fight scenes that this guy could easily take out our heroes in about 3 seconds. Midiclorians??? Why in God's name does Hollywood think we need an actual explanation for the force? It was the force's mystical and unknown qualities that made the first films special in the first place. And don't even get me started with Jar Jar. It's quite possible this film could have been right up there with the others were it not for him. Let's hope the second installment gets the story back on track.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace
Review: Well, I waited and waited and waited to see this movie. (Never bothered to go to the theater). The only reason I waited was I assumed the movie would be released on DVD or at least LaserDisc. But, Alas all we have is the Pan/Scan and the "SPECIAL EDITION VERSION, which includes some extras and the Wide Screen Version of the movie"First of all the 2 stars are for the movie, I liked it, good effects, good story line. Good enough to rate 5 stars if it was only released in a digital format with Dolby 5.1. Well, I learned my lesson, never ever ever again will I plunk down the money for a VHS Pre-Recorded tape. In the Wide screen version, which I purchased, I see white spots every once in a while in the widescreen border (being played on a reference S-VHS deck) Very grainy image (come on Lucas get off your a*( and release a DVD version.) Very disappointed, my recommendation is to rent the tape and wait for the DVD or Laserdisc. Very Very disappointing image quality. Robert
Rating: 
Summary: Where it all began...
Review: Well, I've read and heard all the "Lucas bashing" ever since Episode I was released in 1999, and I think it's really a childish waste. Sure, Jar-Jar was annoying to some, but I liked him. He provides the "comic relief" that the two droids had in the original trilogy. I think Jake Lloyd did a great job, and didn't put in a "cardboard" performance like he's been accused of doing. My God, the kid is only 8 years-old, give him a break!
I loved the lightsaber battles, space battles, the visual effects, and performances. Sure, Darth Maul was drastically underused. Maybe we'll see more of his race in Episode II or III. After seeing it now on DVD, the perfect format for my FAVORITE series of movies, you get to see it the way Lucas meant it to be enjoyed. After watching all of the extras and "making of" specials, you see how hard everyone worked for almost five years to make this movie. I guess my only regret about the DVD is why not just include all 7 of the deleted scenes into the movie itself. The only one included is the brief "Coruscant Taxi" scene. That's it. But then Lucas explains that including them into the movie would have slowed it down, etc. Now, with Episode II coming next summer, and Episode III in 2005, I'm as pumped about Star Wars as I was when I saw the first one when I was 7 years-old in 1977. These movies have made a deep impression upon me, and my life. So, I guess from what I hear from Lucas that all six Star Wars films will be on DVD after Episode III in 2005. That's fine. This is his life's work, and I'm proud to be a Star Wars FANATIC! I can wait for them. Maybe not patiently...but I'll wait knowing they're on the way to DVD!
Rating: 
Summary: ryan hickneys stars wars review
Review: Well, it is my favorite movie, but it lacks of drama. I think most people think Stars Wars is all about action, but i think it should have comedy, drama, and action. Now that would give it a wonderful rating in the theaters. I loved the lightsaber battle, with Darth Maul, Obi-wen, and Qui-Gon. I thought the costumes were good too. If Episode 2 is like i said this one should of been, than Episode 2 will have no problems with making money. PEACE EVERYBODY.
Rating:
Summary: Here we go again...
Review: Well, it was not what I expected, but then again I was remembering the thrill of seeing Star Wars for the first time on the large screen at age 12. It was a good movie, and the special effects were fantastic though.
Rating:
Summary: It ain't as thirlling, but it is STAR WARS after all
Review: Well, just sit back open your eyes and ears and enjoy. Best viewd with big screen and a great sound system, but it is allso great with 21" TV. A great film by Lucas, not boring for a second and a well done graphics work. All in all this movie is worth every dime you think of spending. Do buy the Wide screen version, the stuff inside is thrilling and is woth a lot more than payd for. in one word - "I loved it"
Rating:
Summary: full of sound and fury signifying nothing
Review: Well, let's face it...you go to see Star Wars movies for visual effects, right...Well this movie, and the DVD deliver those in spades, and like no one but Mr. Lucas, and the ILM wizards can. However...If you're like me and grew up on the original trilogy as a kid, you are in for a lesson that you missed due to the first three films being so ingrained into our culture. As movies...well...they're not that good...It took me about five minutes into this film to to realize that the script dialogue was terrible. Plus, In an attempt to please all of the people, he brings in idiotic characters like Jar-Jar. Enough has been said elsewhere about him, and I will give no further opinions lest I be though a racist. however, I bought the DVD, though I will seldom, if ever watch it. Mr. Lucas knows that there are many who will do the same. And the money goes in his pocket regardless. maybe he could have come up with a different story fo this new generation of kids, and let us keep ours.
Rating:
Summary: Misunderstood....
Review: Well, my confidence in the "critics" has gone downhill since this came out. They have been panning and trashing this movie since it came out . . . and they're totally wrong! Am I a little biased? Maybe. I was 12 when Episode IV (the original Star Wars) came out and it had a profound influence on my future interests. The problem with the "critics" out there is that they seem to put up blinders when they see this movie, totally forgetting that it is 1/6th of a huge epic. In doing so, they will miss many of the subtleties in this movie. So many things are set up in The Phantom Menace that half the time I found myself scanning Episodes IV-VI through my head trying to fit the pieces together...I have already been postulating events in the next two installments. George Lucas is a master world builder! I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to capture the look and feel of the originals. Boy was I wrong. When John Williams' music kicks in, the the familiar scrolling intro rolled by, I was transported back to 1977 all over again. This is definitely Star Wars! The lightsaber duel at the end was phenomenal, and the pod racing scene is incredible. The next three years waiting for Episode II is going to be grueling. GREAT FUN! Just remember that this is 1/6th of an epic, the Trade Federation ISN'T the enemy in this film...and Yoda pretty much says exactly what's going to happen to Anakin and his mom in a later movie while talking to Anakin in the Jedi Council Chamber. There's more at work here than meets the eye.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Xena: Warrior Princess' meets 'A Bug's Life'
Review: Well, my heading says it all. 'The Phantom Menace' is littered with faults in terms of acting, directing, scriptwriting, style and special effects, and is saved (if that term can be used in association with a lost cause) only by the blossoming talent of Natalie Portman, who has come a long way since 'Leon'. Now before you start saying that I'm criticising the film only because I'm against Star Wars, I'll confess that, though not a huge fan, the original Star Wars (Episode IV) was a darned good yarn which had class (Alec Guinness), vitality (Harrison Ford/Mark Hamill), a truly great villain (James Earl Jones) and incredible special effects (the trench sequence still puts current-day imitations to shame). Episode I, on the contrary, feels like a lazy cash-in that was given no attention to detail, no thought and no effort from the writers, directors, producers or actors. As a result, without the success of Star Wars this film is nothing. In terms of story, Episode I falls flat. Rather than being a movie, it is a 'let's-fill-in-the-blanks-that-don't-need-filling-in' piece of filmmaking, and thus, rather than telling a story, it feels like an episode of a television show, Xena: Warrior Princess, for example. And, like television, the characters have no depth whatsoever and do not develop; at least Han, Luke and Leia had 'issues', not to mention personalities. Furthermore, the special effects are diabolical. Yes, they are stunning at showing what computers are now capable of, but they DON'T LOOK REAL. At times you think it's a Pixar film, especially in the battle between the Gungans and the automated Federation soldiers, because the visuals could have been lifted from 'A Bug's Life' or 'Toy Story', which is bad when you consider that this is a live-action rather than animation film. Added to this, actors are frequently chroma-keyed into obviously computerised backgrounds, which are spotlessly clean, sterile, flat and unbelievably low-budget - whatever happened to building a set, small-scale modelling, linear rather than CGI animation? All it comes down to is that in the 1970's, with extremely limited computer technology, Lucasfilm was able to make a movie that looked and felt ten times more real than this one. Overall, this is a disappointing beginning to what was touted as the most eagerly-anticipated film series of recent years. I (perhaps naively) thought that the film was about the guy in all the film-posters, Darth Maul, but his eight-or-so minutes of film time kind-of don't satisfy. And, looking forward to Ewan McGregor's proven acting talents, the only thing I was impressed by was his English accent. And, of course, there was that much-talked-about pod-racing sequence, which looked identical to the Playstation game, so that tells you precisely how realistic it was. I can only hope that Episode II is given a slightly larger budget, a hell-of-a-lot more effort, and stacks more of the creative flair that made Lucas his name all those years ago. This does not bode well for Indiana Jones 4!
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