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Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Full Screen Edition)

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Full Screen Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $13.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 5 simply...
Review: Anyone who Claims to be a Star Wars fan better step up to the plate and acknowledge this film as a "wonderous" installment...I've heard so many "so called" fans knock this film.....anyway, this film is a GREAT film, not only does the story reveal quite a wide variety of storyline tidbits...it is a FUN film,....unlike so many sci fi films these days the film here doesnt try to make statements and come off as intellectual, nor is it puerile......this one is gold, fun,comic book storytelling with flashy effects and memorable characters...pick it up, watch it again and again, something new is seen with each viewing.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Profit Menace
Review: Not unlike Anakin Skywalker, George Lucas has fallen victim to the Dark side of the Force...and not even master Yoda can bring him back. This vile abortion is an absolute disgrace to the previous Star Wars movies, and even makes the vomit-inducing cuteness of Ewok muppets shine in comparison. The Ewoks' use of sticks and stones to defeat an entire batallion of Galactic stormtroopers doesn't come close to the absurdities of this film.

Granted, Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor played excellent roles as Queen Amadoula and ObiWan Kenobi, repsectively. And yes, the Podrace scene and the final light-saber battle in which QuiGon thankfully takes a light-saber through the kidneys, are commendable. But other than that, this rolling reel of rotten revulsion is a far cry from the climaxes and character integrities we found in the first three films. When we met Han Solo in "Star Wars", Lando Calrissian in "Empire", or Jabba in "Jedi", we feel as though we're a fly on the wall in their lives. There are no cheap introductions every time we see a new character, unlike in "Menace", where everyone seems to have to introduce themselves with a handshake and ,"Hello, my name is so-and-so, I play the role of the oppressed slave/Jedi master/evil warlord (take your pick), these are my dreams and ambitions, blah blah blah"...just let us discover who you are by your ACTIONS, like we did with the original characters. In Star Wars, Luke didn't walk up to the jawas and say, "Hi, I'm Luke, a poor farmer, but one day I'd like to fight against the empire." Why does Lucas make people do that in this movie?

Also, the soundtrack in this one was terrible. Marilyn Manson could've made better music. John Williams should've stuck to the score he used in the first three.

Anakin Skywalker as a small boy was irritatingly annoying, and they tried to hard too make him the cute, adorable brat. QuiGon Jinn was too bullheaded.

And of course, who can forget the wretched JarJar Binks? You know Jabba the Hut's torture chamber in "Return of the Jedi"? That's exactly where JarJar needs to be sent. I hope in Episode 3 that's where he goes. I hope they hang him by his ears until they tear off. I hope they dish out his eyeballs with a rusty spoon. In the words of Pulp Fiction's Marcus Marcellus, I hope they "go to work" on him "with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch". JarJar deserves nothing less than to be tortured day in and day out for eternity, and kept fully conscious and on life support the whole time. I'll even put up with his annoying spurts of "Meee so hurt! Meeee so painful!" to watch that. No amount of justice-laced torture, however, will reverse the fact that JarJar Binks has single-handedly destroyed the Star Wars legacy.

Please, please, PLEASE do not watch this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good F/X, great story, awesome acting--what more can I say?
Review: As a child I loved the original Star Wars trilogy, and George Lucas has managed to ignite that feeling in me again with The Phantom Menace. Set in the time before the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace deals with the struggle of the planet Naboo and its elected Queen, Amidala (Natalie Portman), to keep the ruthless Trade Federation from taking over their planet. She is assisted in this by Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his Padawan student, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), along with a member of the underwater race of Gungans who share Naboo with the ground-dwellers, Jar-Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), who is swept up in their fight against the Federation when he is saved by Qui-Gon during an attack by the Federation droid army. It is also the story of Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a child slave from the planet Tatooine who is brought before the Jedi Council on Coruscant when it is discovered that he might be the one who can bring balance to The Force, which is part of the Jedi philosophy.

One of the things that I liked most about The Phantom Menace is the supporting cast. Ahmed Best was wonderfully funny as Jar-Jar Binks, the Gungan who unwittingly gets caught up in the quest of the Jedi and Queen Amidala, and I can't say more about Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker other than he was just perfect for the role. Seeing Anthony Daniels as the pre-SW C-3PO was a delight--like Jar-Jar, he was very funny and helped to break up the tension in some of the scenes on Tatooine. Pernilla August was a good choice for Anakin's mother, Shmi Skywalker, a woman who wanted to see her son fulfill his destiny, but who knew she had to let him go so he could do it. I also liked Samuel L. Jackson as the enigmatic Jedi Mace Windu, and hearing Frank Oz as the voice of the wise but mysterious Yoda--well, he's always a delight.

My favorite supporting actor in Phantom Menace, however, is Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine, who is made Chancellor of the Galactic Senate when Queen Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum (Terence Stamp) for his refusal to send immediate aid to Naboo (McDiarmid also plays Darth Sidious, who sends his Sith student, Darth Maul [Ray Park] after Amidala & Company on Tatooine). Although he appears to be a good guy, one can sense by how McDiarmid plays the role that Palpatine is a power-hungry despot who wants it all, thus setting the stage for his future persona as the Emperor.

The thing I like most about The Phantom Menace DVD release is the fact that it's a 2-disc set, with the movie and commentary on one disc and the extras on the other. Having the extras on a second DVD leaves open the opportunity to include a lot, and believe me, there are loads of extras! There is an hour-long documentary that takes you inside Lucasfilm and ILM during the making of The Phantom Menace as well as deleted scenes, a 12-part award-winning web documentary on the production of the film, the "Duel of the Fates" video by John Williams (which I can't seem to get bored with, and I watched it plenty of times when I was working in a video store), teaser and theatrical trailers and TV spots, and much, much more.

All in all, I have to say that The Phantom Menace DVD set is worth owning. Not only is the movie a good one guaranteed to keep you entertained for the full length of its running time, but the extras will keep you from getting bored as well.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It Had Some Big Shoes to Fill
Review: The Phantom Menace was probably the most heavily anticipated movie in history. Since Star Wars hit the silver screen in 1977 I haven't heard many ask about how the characters got to where there were, but I didn't hear one complaint about possibly learning of the character's pasts as everyone rushed to the theater to find out. The final product failed to live up to the expectations set for it however. Don't get me wrong the Phantom Menace is not a bad film, and the special effects are incredible, but the plot seems disjointed as it bounces around from scene to scene possibly confusing some of the viewers. Not to mention that quite simply this episode just had some very big shoes to fill.

The cast did a wonderful job, and I couldn't have enjoyed the preformances more. I was also touched by the fact that George Lucas stuck to so much of his original effects from the previous three movies. I would have never guessed I could have been paying this muh attention, but it quickly dawned on me that Han Solo might be missing, but the vehicles that everyone flies around with sound just as they would have in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A visual experience..........Flash Gordon+50..and beyond
Review: Is Episode I a good movie, you ask.....you bet....is it a great movie,..actually...yes it is....While it might have its quiks...Ep. I is exciting and entertaining with great scence and great characters...and a whole lot of science fiction fun too,and anyone who can take 30's space fantasy and adventure theater,..japanese movies, cowboys and westerns,...biblical and messianic undertones and mix it with egptian prophetcy and fairy tails deserves a lot of credit and all the awards he can get....The DVD is spectacular,a world-class first -rate production...showing once again that OL' Georgie leaves 'em all in the dust...so go out and get it today...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best star wars movie ever!
Review: The movie was excellent!The start is a little bit boring but the ending is absolutely superb.This time a boy genius helps them.
There's everything in it.There's a master to train the jedi and the boy.It's the best action movie I've ever seen!It has a super director,the actors are great,too.Boy,is it good!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "The will of the force is strong"-- Qui Gonn
Review: Episode I is a great intro to the star wars story. It has a lot of holes but is a great beginning. Ewan McGreogor takes on the Obi Wan character and in so many ways reminds you of Alec Guiness. Darth Maul is an incredible Sith LOrd that I wish we could have seen more of. One can harldy look at little anakin and say "hey arent you Darth Vader"? I think many fans were disapointed at the innocence of his character. But they need to remember how Obi Wan praises him in the original trilogy. The movies battle at the end is great and thus far including the follow up attack of the clones , episode I has the greatest light saber duel ever. That alone makes this movie. The pieces come together in this movie for future sequels. Too bad attack of the clones is a disapointment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Okay movie, awesome lightsaber fight.
Review: As the first chapter in the saga, Episode I introduces us to young Anakin Skywalker (played by Jake Loyd), who takes the first step in becoming a Jedi while remaining unaware that he will soon become the evil Darth Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), the beloved, wise master, is introduced as a hard-working apprentice, who is under the teachings of Qui-Jon Ginn (Liam Neeson). And before there was Princess Leia, there was a young Queen (Natalie Portman).

Twenty years after the first "Star Wars" movie, George Lucas has returned to directing a movie, but he probably doesn't remember how to direct. With Episode I, Lucas takes us to the golden age of free people, when the Jedi Knight are the supreme protectors of peace a justice, while they are unaware of the spying ways of the Sith, Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Maul, who performs an awesome fight.

Many have complained about the foolishness of Jar Jar Binks, and many fans have feared that this is the end, but to me, Jar Jar was okay. I was even amused by some of his jokes. Though the movie is okay, the pod race was heart pounding, and Darth Maul was so awesome! I just wish they showed more of 'em. I also wish that they had not used to much CGI. So, c'mon people! Let's not get too harsh over this film, just give it a chance! Because of the many angry reveiwers, I do not recommend this to the drama fans.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible
Review: Not only the worst Star Wars film made but also one of the worst science fiction movies ever made. Visually impressive? I think the CGI is over the top and really distracting from the characters. Jar Jar is of course a cancer on the Star Wars universe. The "force" is no longer magical since it had to be explained as nothing more then a Midichlorian Count. If it was possible to give this movie a negative 5 I would.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A MAJOR DISSAPPOINTMENT!
Review: Now this Star Wars film is more like a kids film, but that's not a bad thing. To be honest, I knew for a fact that this wouldn't live up to the original. A good way to introduce the greatest film series ever made! But for the the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: Sure, this is Star Wars, but is it my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. Same thing for Episode II, to high expectations, and I'm sure it'll be the same for Episode III. People are bashing this, especially LoTRs fans, who are jealous of the Star Wars success, now they have something to criticise. I say BACK OFF! Your movies just aren't better than Lucas's. You see Peter Jackson had to take a story and make it into a movie so that he could exploit special effects and try to make the new Star Wars. Lucas on the other hand came up with his own idea, made it, and it is still a bigger franchise than LoTR. At least people could stay wake in the Star Wars movies, half the people watching LoTR fell asleep! STAR WARS IS BETTER THAN LORD OF THE RINGS!


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