Rating: 
Summary: A definate looker
Review: This movie is essential to the Star Wars fan! However, those who have not seen the light will find the movie to be slow at times, a little like a soap opera where if you miss something you won't understand what's happening later. Typical to Lucas, the effects are something beyond belief, or more accurately, they make you believe...
Rating: 
Summary: This DVD sets the standard
Review: Star Wars fans will want this DVD to keep the story handy, but DVD afficionados, action/adventure fans and sci-fi fans will find a lot of value here as well. There are 2 DVDs, the first one is the movie proper which has an option for a separate audio track of commentary from George Lucas and others; this is a great insight into the challenges and ideas that are behind-the-scenese. Disc 2 is a vast cornucopia of extras: documentaries, deleted scenes, and featurettes. The amount of extras is impressive and the details you will learn about in terms of making the movie, the rules that were broken and techniques defined by Lucasfilm, rounds out the purchase so well that almost all other DVD releases at this time pale in comparision.
I have now come to expect much more from other releases and have been pleased only with a few others, such as Episode II's DVD and Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings DVD. I hope that other movies will receive the detailed treatment that this one does!
Rating:
Summary: sweetnass
Review: Alright..this movie is great. It lacks some essential star wars things like a classic star battle and such but it has one unbeatable thing. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul, obi wan and qui gon. If you haven't seen it you must. The rest of the movie is good as well but the lightsaber fight is just...WOW!
Rating: 
Summary: A LOT of fun to watch, I like it better than the original 3
Review: This film's greatest features are the sets and special effects, they're fantastic, but I think it generally makes a fun story to spend an afternoon or evening with. I'm still not too clear about some of the details but I find the idea of evil Empire interests taking over the Planet Naboo to be very interesting and not too badly done. Yes, Jake Lloyd as young Anakin is kind of a cartoon character, but then much of the time he does do all right for a boy. Some of his scenes, such as the Pod races and the space battle get very silly (an attempt to draw in the younger audience?)but most of the time I found his delivery to be good. Liam Neeson wasn't bad as Qui-Gon and I think Natalie Portman did a great job as Queen Amidala. The worst characters in my opinion were the invasion force leaders, they sounded just like the bad imitation Japanese/Chinese bad guys from some old 50's movies (and probably were meant to give that impression), and the Gungans (especially Jar-Jar Binks, although even he had his good moments). I suppose those were sort of intended to provide laughs, which didn't work very well for me. The story's not bad, most of the characters are good, the sets and effects are wonderful, I think this movie outperforms the three original movies in most ways. Have fun watching it.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Epic of Modern Times
Review: I'm 40 years old now, and haven't seen a single Star Wars movie, and seriously doubt that I will ever sit through an entire Star Wars movie in my lifetime. But I must say that they are among my favorite movies. Steve Lucas' phenomenal movie-making talent and story-telling ability have set the standard for sci-fi movies, and it is unlikely that anyone will match Lucas' brilliance in the foreseeable future. Even though I have not seen any of his movies, except for about 6 or 7 minutes of American Graffiti on HBO about 20 years ago at my neighbor's house, I base my reverence on the many articles and positive reviews I have read about the Star Wars movies and it's brilliant director. The characters of KooBraka, the robots 2-4-r-3 and q-c-v-O, and the valiant heros Hans Walker and Duke Jolo, the memorable villain Dark Maker and even the amphibian characters introduced in the "prequels" - Piggly-Wiggly and Mott the Hoople, have all become permanent cultural icons and will be discussed in literature and film classes for years to come. I highly recommend these movies to anyone interested in the art of epic story telling and great film-making.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie to start a great saga...
Review: Lets start by saying that this movie will not live up to the hype that fans of the original trilogy have set. THE PHANTOM MENACE is an introduction movie, nothing more, so don't expect a really spectacular film. This is the first of the series, just like A NEW HOPE was the first of the original series, and A NEW HOPE wasn't that good either. In this first installment, we are introduced to the galaxy before it collapsed. The beautifully designed planet Coruscant is the home of the Republic and the home base of the Jedi Knights. Another planet, Naboo, the home of Queen Amidala and the gungans, is nicely designed to resemble a palace. And Tatooine, is a planet that resembles a home for the poor, also home of Anakin Skywalker. THE PHANTOM MENACE starts off in space where Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Won Kenobi are forced to settle a trade dispute, which happens to go bad. Then realize the Trade Federation is planning an attack on Naboo. Both head to Naboo to warn Queen Amidala of the attack. Then decide to leave to Coruscant where the Queen will be safe. But instead are forced to land on Tatooine where they meet Anakin Skywalker. The special effects are amazing. The pod race is absolutely great. The light saber fights are spectacular, and the war scene in space is really good. But the story is just a little confusing. Why does the Trade Federation want to start a war with Naboo ? I just don't understand. But THE PHANTOM MENACE delivers exactly what I had in mind, a decent first movie, which A NEW HOPE was as well. Let me say this, THE PHANTOM MENACE is just a setup. Thats it. A setup to what will be a great film. Just like A NEW HOPE was a setup to the spectacular THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. So just accept THE PHANTOM MENACE for that... Also a great DVD for the additional behind-the-scenes footage.
Rating:
Summary: Good DVD, Okay Movie
Review: I enjoy the Star Wars triology and I grew up with the Star Wars figures, played the role playing game and couldn't wait until the new Star Wars movie came out. I'll admit, I was disappointed by the movie mainly because of the cutesie things that were put in. However, the lightsaber battle at the end of the movie more than made up for Jar Jar Binks. It was cool to see actual Jedis practice their craft. It was also cool to see the little boy that would eventually become Vader.The DVD itself and the extras are pretty well done as well. I never noticed before that they use different scenes each time you put the movie in.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie even for us non Star War groupies
Review: This movie is exciting. I watch it usually with my young son and its about every little boy dream; a young boy hero, flying, racing, and saving the universe. I think that Darth Maul is very scary in spite of my son's reassurance but we both agree O b One is great. I cant wait to see Attack of the Clones.
Rating:
Summary: stop whining
Review: i admit that the way Lucas did the Star Wars thing was kinda goofy...i mean whole episode 4-6 first and 1-3 last.....but everyones whining about it soooooo much, its not that big of a deal...and no it does not make the movies predictable...it just sorta makes sure you wont get confused....anyways about Episode 1...i thought the plot didnt go right...plot went to fast during the whole thing....but i did LOVE the saber duel between Maul and the 2 jedi...best saber fight scene ever!!...only reason i give it 4/5 stars
Rating:
Summary: The saga begins in a good way
Review: The one thing that probably killed this movie was the expectations. I myself partially expected a lot of stuff to happen right off the bat - but I was still amazed at the detailed array of special effects. I think most other people weren't fazed, and even these days I've been thinking that this film does have a few flaws. The biggest negative thing of this film is Jar Jar Binks, of course. His antics can be embarrasing (but fortunately, this gut-wrenching feeling wears off after the trillionth time it's viewed. I even have to be honest when I say that some of his goofiness is a bit funny...maybe mesa turning Gungan. Doh!!!) But the film itself has a good amount of action and adventure, witty (but sometimes flatulent) humor, and well orchestrated fight scenes. The special effects are supreme for its time, and add a great amount of detail and flare to the space battles, the vast variety of aliens, and the immense ground battles. The lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul is probably the best of the entire series. The music score for the film is splendid. The characters are well established (the TV spots on the DVD set actually embellish the characters). The story line is well-crafted and sets up the next films rather well. This DVD set includes extra footage reinserted into the feature. It's not much, but still adds to the grandure of the film. This disc set has some splendid deleted scenes (completed just for this release), and some interesting documentaries and galleries. I'd say that despite its almost childish style, THE PHANTOM MENACE inaugerates the Star Wars series with gradure, a large scope, and a good story. It's the start of a new era in Star Wars films.
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