Rating: 
Summary: Hard to understand,hard to say
Review: I am completely confused after watching the film.I don't know what the director wants to show us.I feel the producers have some commercial purpose.They were telling us a middle-age story but had a modern appearance.
Rating:
Summary: A good movie, but has its issues
Review: Although this was a good movie overall, there were many things that just made me wonder if Lucas is taking drugs.1) No DVD until all the movies are done? Why not release E1 now on DVD and re-release all the episodes again later with the features he intended? People tell me Lucas isn't in it for the money anymore cause he has a ton of money, but it seems like he's pretty greedy to me. 2) Mostly bad acting. Neeson and McGregor seemed to have no emotions, but they acted MUCH better than Natalie Portman and especially Jake Lloyd ("Wow, this is tense!"). Bad script, bad acting. 3) I don't think C3PO and R2D2 should have been in the movie. Anakin as the creator of C3PO is a really lame idea. Obi-Wan meeting R2D2/C3PO here would have meant he already knew them in Episode 4, but we all know he really DIDN'T know them in Episode 4. Darth Vader didn't know them either. The only really good things about this movie was the special effects, the Jedi battles, and Darth Maul (scary character even though he wasn't shown much and didn't say anything). Pod race was OK. This movie was also too much of a little kid movie compared to the other episodes, thanks to Jar Jar and Anakin.
Rating: 
Summary: EPISODE ONE
Review: My friends say i'm not a true "Star Wars" fan because i absolutely loved "The Phantom Menace." I guess that is their way of telling me that they didn't like it. I felt the film did a fine job serving as the first episode of the saga. First off, in rebutal to what others may have claimed, the movie didn't exactly have "loose threads" in the story. In my opinion, i saw them as open doors for what is yet to come in Episodes II & III. Second of all, i had no complaints with any of the actors or their performaces. Ewan Mc Gregor and Natalie Portman are just getting warmed up as, the young, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Queen Amidala(mother of Luke and Leia). Liam Neeson's performance as Qui-gon Ginn was as noble as his character was meant to be, from the start of the story to his untimely death. Many people complained about Jar Jar Binks. I never had a problem with him or the Gungans. I didn't mind their comic releif at all. In fact i was more dissappointed when an army of Ewoks defeated the imperial stormtroopers on Endor. Others have also complained about Jake Lloyds performance, I felt he played his role very innocently, just as his character is. Ray Parks' performace as Darth Maul was one to definitely pay attention to, adding some stunning light saber work to the film. I was really happy to see R2-D2, C-3PO and Jabba the Hutt again. New characters such as Watto and Sebulba, were instantly classic. The new computer generated characters, blended in perfectly with the human actors. Some may have felt that some characters lacked the depth of other "Star Wars" characters, but why should there be another Han Solo or Chewbacca? They are in Episodes IV, V & VI. I think the charcters will really come to shape in the next two episodes and people will recosider the characters of Episode one. See the awesome effects. Hear and feel the great sound effects, as well as the awesome, John Williams, score. See it for yourself and enjoy it. I urge those who weren't immediately pleased in the theater, to go back again and check it out on video and look for the things that they may have missed before. As a fan,i feel that the widescreen version is a must, the bonus documentary, art book and film strip are great bonus. I seem to enjoy it more and more after each viewing. The only thing i find dissapointing, is having to wait two more years for the next episode and another five for the third. Until then, i will enjoy "The Phantom Menace" over and over(as well as the other three).
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the DVD version?
Review: Very disappointing to see there is no dvd version planned. I don't even own a vcr any longer. If you have listened to any movie on both dvd & vhs formats you will understand my grief---I can just imagine how spectacular the sight & sound would be. George, it's time to get into the digital age wouldn't you think?
Rating:
Summary: Lucas NEVER Fails
Review: Well, well. A movie directed by George Lucas. Oh, sorry, THE movie directed by him, and naturaly it's one of the top 3 movies of the year. Big suprise. But just how does he keep doing it? I have all the Indiana Jones and there flawless, I have all the previous Star Wars movies and they're flawless. And now this one! Acting is great, story is great, special effects are great, what more needs to be said? I'm sorry to anyone who thinks Titanic is the best movie ever. It doesn't even come close to ANY of the movies in the Star Wars trilogy. And I hope George doesn't have Leo in mind for Episode 2, I want to see more good ACTING in Episode 2.
Rating:
Summary: STAR WARS I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
Review: A great movie that shows what CGI can do, and getting a basic start on the STAR WARS UNIVERSE of how it all began. Although my main complaint has to do with the movie not being released on DVD, what is George thinking? Compared to DVD, VHS does not offer the crisper sound and picture quality that DVD does. It really is to bad George but the VHS version will never do the movie justice.
Rating:
Summary: Great effects, but lacked what made the original so special.
Review: Episode One isn't exactly the best movie of the year, but I had a helluva good time with some of the scenes (namely the pod racing scene). What Lucas needs to do is to not pay so much attention to effects and make his characters more... likeable. Maybe give them some depth and development. Some of these guys just appeared out of nowhere, as if Lucas didn't feel like making up any original origins. Jake Lloyd was bad as usual; Osment would have been a better choice. Lloyd tries too hard with his in-your-face voice and redundant facial expressions. Jar Jar didn't annoy me as much as he did with other folks, and Darth Maul. Oh man. He was great. Those fighting sequences were beautiful. Lucas is a fool for killing him off so fast, and he should have had more screen time. Ah, well. Maybe in Episode Two, Lucas will try harder to give the people what they want: Original, wholesome, light-hearted fun and not a special effects ridden excuse for a box office hit. Like I said, it was entertaining. Very entertaining. But it's hard to even think that it belongs in the same series as the first three.
Rating:
Summary: George Lucas, you gotta be kidding
Review: I guess it was inevitable... after all the hype, the movie had to be a letdown, but this much of a letdown? What "The Phantom Menace" adds up to is a banal script, some really dreadful dialogue, some idiotic characters (somebody lock up Jar-Jar and throw away the key), and some dazzling, stupendous special effects. The second installment should be a lot more promising when we find out when and how young Anakin Skywalker took the initial wrong turn that ultimately transformed him into Darth Vader; that movie may have some real juice to it. For now, Lucas and Co. need to realize that it takes considerably more than awesome special effects to make a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Can you believe what people are saying?
Review: I can't believe what some people are saying about this movie. I thought it was excellent. The plot was well developed, and fascinating. Star Wars fans have been waiting for this for years, have been, in my opinion, rewarded with a wonderful film. It was so neat, experiencing Star Wars the way our parents must have, seeing it for the very first time. I especially loved learning about the Jedi Temple. There are whole new worlds to learn about. Even Tatooine, which we know from the first trilogy gains a new depth. My favorite was Naboo, with it's fabulous cities and wldlife. Congratulations to whoever thought up and created the costumes and hairdos for Amidala. They deserve a standing ovation. I hope you get a chance to see this movie. Don't let the bad reputation of Jar Jar Binks keeep you from enjoying this film.
Rating: 
Summary: What happened?
Review: Seems like George Lucas got everything right in this prequel except the most fundamental levels of film storytelling: Acting and scripting. What we have here is an incredibly stiff, paratactic script with minimal thought, lost in all the terms, names and sight gags, but without any degree of depth whatsoever. I thought C-3PO was already an annoying character, but Lucas one-upped him with the insufferable Jar Jar Binks...and you thought the Ewoks were bad! The jokes are juvenile and come at the most inopportune times and most of the supporting characters are irritating, seething masses, pale excuses for either hero or villain. Lucas also seems to have lost touch with narrative; The Phantom Menace is nothing more than a series of events barely set up, anticipated, or allowed to breathe; the lack of sophistication in plot development often makes this film feel like a sitcom. Actually, even sitcoms tend to have better plotting than this. The only emotional impact this film ever achieves is because of the editing and visceral effects -- the pod race is absolutely thrilling, and the three-personed light-sabre duel at the climax is extraordinary action filmmaking...however, Lucas makes some rotten choices in storytelling even at the climax. Do we *really* want to cut back to another 10-year-old-humoured Jar Jar Binks gag right after Qui-Gon is killed? Why release the tension of Queen Amidala's near-capture just when all the heroes seem on the verge of defeat (always a good cliffhanger)? Worse of all, there's an abundance of poor performances in this film. The Jedi Knights work well enough, with Liam Neeson adding his signature grace to an under-developed character, and Ewan McGregor fares surprisingly well as young Obi-Wan. Darth Maul, quietly menacing and extremely physical (all of his movements have a supernatural fluidity that's a joy to watch), could've used much, much more screen time, but at least he makes for a good opponent. If only he'd been more present in the rest of the film. Counteracting these good personnel are a skin-deep Natalie Portman performance (where's Carrie Fisher when you need her?); hammed-up voice work for the puppet characters, droids and villains; and the most terrible blow to the movie -- Anakin Skywalker. This has to be one of the most vomit-inducing, cutesy, fake, shallow child-actor performances I've ever seen. The gushing blond-kid thing may work in a children's film, but against the larger-than-life world of Star Wars, he's a 12-inch thorn. And *this* is supposed to be young Darth Vader? Whenver Lucas lets the kid loose in one of his "oops", "uh-oh" antics, I feel like I'm watching Home Alone. Not a pleasant sensation at all, and it certainly makes both the kid's supposed sacrifice (completely unconvincing) What this character needed was an edge of darkness; in the same year Haley Joel Osment dazzled with his haunted performance in The Sixth Sense, this desecration of the Anakin character is especially blasphemous. And from the original creator of the Star Wars series, to boot. The action sequences were wonderful; if only Lucas had paid attention to the human truths and emotional sophistication of the script.
|
