Rating: 
Summary: Superb production values and an entertaining story
Review: Although Episode 1 has been frequently put down, it compares favorably to the original Star Wars episodes (4-6). The Phantom Menace manages to couch victory for the bad guy (Darth Sidious who maneuvers Senator Palpatine into power) within a story which provides a superficial victory for the good guys. Unlike the original Star Wars movies, Episode 1 has several storylines running in parallel, and not all is what it appears on the surface. It was unfortunate enough to be come at the end of 17 years of expectations of millions of fans. On its own merits it combines a fast-paced adventure with stunningly original scenes, settings, and characters. The podrace is a terrific mixture of sight and sound, and the final duel with Darth Maul is beautifully choreographed and executed. While Jar Jar Binks' antics are jarringly childish against the backdrop of the rest of the movie, he's only a minor annoyance for most, and younger kids find him entertaining.The DVD itself is loaded with extras, including a thorough behind-the-scenes documentary which is worth seeing more than once just to get an idea of the work that went into the movie. The audio commentary is interesting, but not the best I've heard.
Rating: 
Summary: It's space opera, not religion. Get over it!
Review: A lot of the negative hype over this movie appear to be based on overblown expectations from "growing up on the star wars mythos"; promoting that series into something much more than it really was. Viewed in it's own lights, and compared to other stories of the space opera genre of the 30s and 40s, we see a movie that actually holds up pretty well, has great special effects, and is a nice interesting "flashback" into the prehistory of the main star wars trilogy. While there are some inconsistancies, few of the serials published in the 30s-50s didn't have their own sets of inconsistancies as well (I can't think of any offhand), so arguing about them is truely a task for hobgoblins. If what you are looking for is pure entertainment, you enjoy state of the art CGI, (note the interesting and realistic gait on Jar Jar) and you're not too worried about having realistic physics (noise in a vaccum?) or have put the previous trilogy on an unobtainable pedastle (which with careful viewing, one might find it doesn't obtain either!), you'll enjoy Episode I. No, it's not "hard" SF, but it is fun. Go into it without preconceptions, and you'll find it's worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: Success!!!!
Review: I'm not a Starwars fan, I didn't read the books and the comics, I really didn't know that Darth Sidius was Senator Palpatine, but as a movie, I think it's incredible. Nothing much to say, I won't try to convince old Starwars fans who don't like JarJar or Darth Maul, I just say that this is great action, great storytelling and incredible, really incredible music. It's like reviewing the score but the score is half of the movie in this one.
I really loved it and will love it my whole life.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the wait, but too cute
Review: Most people are familiar with Star Wars. Those that aren't, should be. Taking advantage of the letterbox edition here allows a viewer to see all of the screen picture, not waht was edited to fit your screen. Obviously, the movie was amazing in its production, but at the same time, it had more cuteness in it than Ewoks could ever hope to offer. Between Jar-Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker, I really hope future episodes are more dark and on-the-edge than this was. Still, for no Star Wars film in 20 years, seeing this movie at midnight opening day was one of my favorite memories. (And lest you think I am a sci-fi nut, just think of all the folks at 7am driving to work, hearing the whole plot ruined for them by some DJ who finally was allowed to discuss the movie...)
Rating:
Summary: A good film to see
Review: As a die-hard Star Wars fan, I had eagerly anticipated the release of Episode I. While the movie did not exactly disappoint, I can't help but feel it was not on par with its predecessors. The DVD is an excellent purchase though, not only because it offers a wonderful view into the making of the movie and the various processes involved, but also in the way certain scenes were re-added back into the movie. The film has an excellent cast and Lucas showed us once again that ILM can and will deliver when it comes to special effects. Regarding the casting, I have to applaud the casting of Ewan MacGregor as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. The way he presented the character really gave a feel for the person all who have seen the original trilogy know him to become in the form of Sir Alec Guinness, such as his reference to being a headstrong youth in "Empire Strikes Back." I wasn't sure if I was going to like Natalie Portman in this role but I was pleasantly surprised to see her character in action and get a glimpse of where Princess Leia got her backbone. A small gripe is the fact that even though this is a prequel, it doesn't make as much sense if you haven't seen the original trilogy, as a friend of mine pointed out when we saw Episode I and she hadn't seen the original trilogy. I can see where she's coming from, because then certain things aren't as ironic, such as Obi-Wan's opening line and the significance of Anakin and Amidala looking the way they do. Either, Episode I is an enjoyable film and definitely a must-own for any of the Star Wars fans. I highly recommend purchasing the DVD over the video.
Rating:
Summary: Watch it more than once...
Review: I have heard SO MUCH about how this story has no plot and no story...but, if you really think about it in the big picture, along with the 3 already written chapters, you will see that that there is so much intriguing stuff going on that ties in SO WELL with the other stories...for example, take senator Palpatine...this is the future emporer of the Galactic Empire, and it's interesting how he came into power. Small things like that...that's why I say watch it more than once...Lucas had to really set up his story for the future episodes, and did a great job and tying everything together...and then some.
Rating:
Summary: The First Star Wars on DVD
Review: Star Wars fans rejoice, the first DVD in the series has finally been released after a traditional Lucasfilm wait. First off let me say that you have not seen Star Wars until you have experienced this DVD. I have all the currently released VHS Star Wars video's and I always recognized a grainy, blurry quality to the original trilogy as well as Episode One, now the video is crystal clear. Even on my computer's DVD player (which is theoretically lower quality than a hardware player), the picture is like the movie theater, but twice as clear. Also adding to the theater effect is one of the first DVD's that includes the Dolby Surround 5.1 EX soundtrack to it. This makes itself present in the Podrace and the last battles between the Gungans and TF, as well as the lightsaber battle. One of the main reasons I bought this was because of the deleated scenes. Lucasfilm even added about 3 min. of bonus footage to the final version, including some really excellent additions to the Podrace. The other behind the scenes featurettes on the 2nd disc are amazing. The main behind the scene feature is about 1hr long! I bought this a week ago and I still have not seen all the bonus features. Never have I seen a DVD so well crafted. Another feature that should be mentioned is that with this DVD, you can see Star Wars: Episode Two trailers exclusivley, before they are released to the theaters if you have a DVD-ROM and internet access. This DVD is not only a required part of a Star War's fan collection, it should be included in any DVD owners collection.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to like this move.
Review: But unfortunately, this film was not very involving. George Lucas once said that special effects without a story can be a pretty boring thing. I'd wish he take heath to his own statement. While the movie does have some good effects, it's overuse of CGI was like watching a video game on a giant screen. It really became tedious after a certain point. I'm probably in the minority on this, but perhaps it was wise that Lucas NOT do these first three movies. In "Star Wars" we hear old Obi-Wan talk about the past. All of us had our own images on how that past must have looked like. Of course, all of that is now ruined. We now have Jar Jar Binks and bad acting by Jake Lloyd to visualize!
Rating:
Summary: Re-release, re-release!
Review: Please Mr. Lucas, please re-release this movie. Take into thought what the fans are saying. That's why Star Wars is as big, the fans. I've been a fan since the 80's and I collect Star Wars. I love the originals (ANH, ESB, ROTJ) and watched them regularly, I couldn't get sick of them. Then when I heard that there was going to be prequals, I was so excited. I can't believe that is the result. It's more of a joke to Star Wars than a part of the Star Wars Trilogy. Just cut some of the podrace, take out "Wizards" and "Yipeee" and Anakin's accidental blow up of the Droid Control Ship. The future Darth Vader couldn't do it on purpose. He's so strong with the force. And please take out Jar Jar's stupid antics and dumb jokes and sayings. "Ex-squeeze me" It would be a much better film and I think the fans would love it more. It would seem more like Star Wars.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Job but such an OBVIOUS oversight
Review: This is by far the most amazing DVD I own and probably in existence. No other movie puts any work into their deleted scenes but Star Wars Episode I remastered and added all necessary digital artwork in their extra scenes to make them as good a quality as the movie. In the movie itself the picture and sound are uncanny. THis is one of the best DVDs I have.
HOWEVER! On some DVD players (specifically my SANYO) for some reason the "alien" subtitles (that is the translation of all of the alien dialect) does not show up on my scene no matter what i set it on. A sad oversight on the part of FOX and LUCAS FILM. I reccomend renting the DVD first just to make sure you can get the full viewing pleasure out of it. Other than that the DVD is top notch.
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