Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie, just not legendary
Review: The first three Star Wars movies are legendary. They are timeless classics that have a cult following. That brings us to the fourth episode in the series Phantom Menace. This was a very well done movie with a great story of how Anakin Skywalker and OB Won Kanobi first meet. The special effects were wonderful, Even Jar Jar Binks. I may be in the minority but I felt Jar Jar actually added to the movie. Just as in all stories the beginning is the slowest, it is where characters need to be developed so the story is usually slow. It is an important part of the story but the movie just doesn't reach that legendary level of the previous three. On the DVD the extras are worth the purchase. There is a sit down interview with George Lucas which is very rare since he does not do a lot of interviews and he gives you a behind the scenes look at how they made the movie. I still recomend this for anyone who likes the Star Wars movies or is a sci-fi fan.
Rating: 
Summary: One Redeeming Grace
Review: It's interesting. Star Wars, a series that Mark Hamill's acting couldn't kill, was laid low by it's own creator. The Phantom Menace took a formerly great series and disolved it into a stream of slapstick, pod racing, and Jar-Jar Binks. Some thoughts: why are the battle robots given weapons that are seperate from themselves? Why aren't the built into the hardware? Also, why do these death robots use normal speach to talk to each other, and why do they look like people instead of a form that kills more efficently?However, it does warrant a second star. Why? For one part: the Duel of the Fates, a John Williams-underscored fight sequence on par with the better moments of Star Wars. If the rest of the film had been on that level, The Phantom Menace might have been the best of the series. Instead, it is regared, by and large, as the worst.
Rating: 
Summary: So What if it's a B Movie!
Review: The rest of them were all B movies! Why did anyone think that the new ones would be scripted better? They are being scripted by the same man who did the original 3 movies.
I do of course regard them as some of the best movies out there. They are a Space Opera, stories on a grand scale, very dramatic. The DVD does justice to the movie. I'm eagerly awaiting the others.
Rating: 
Summary: What did you expect?
Review: I'm finding the scathing reviews of this film laughable. I mean what did you people think? Anyone who can't see that there was absolutely no way Lucas could have even come close to living up the expectations of this movie - is naive to say the least. Sure the movie has flaws and could have been better, but not a whole lot better. Phantom Menace has three main flaws: 1. The ending space battle against the "control" ship featured no attack plan, but rather Anakin just bumbling around up there in space accidentally blowing the ship up. This creates a serious credibility problem, but more importantly doesn't give the audience any guidance as to what to be routing for, and then what to cheer for when it's achieved. 2. The ground battle was too cartoonish, and needed to be more violent...But worst of all was Jar Jar's bumbling around clumsily while participating in the battle. Come on - Jar Jar a General?...P>3. The Vice Roy (spelling?) of the Trade Federation didn't come off as genuinely evil in their demeanor. Their speaking accents were dorky, clumsy and too light mannered. They just didn't give off a convincing "evil" vibe. On top of this, all the "suffering of the people" of Naboo caused by the Trade Federation and its army was never shown - only spoke of. This only further lessened the "evil" creadibility of the Trade Federation. Had these problems been anticipated and fixed, this film would have been much more convincing, but still wouldn't have lived up the expectations. And those that criticize the acting in PM - come on. The acting in the first trilogy is even worse in some ways (exceptions are Alec Guiness, Peter Cushing, James Earl Jones, Ian McDiarmid, and Frank Oz). I wonder if the "Star Wars Generation" (which I am a member of) is more critical of this film because they are no longer kids, and are much more sensative to the flaws in a movie's acting, plot or action sequences? I tend to think so.
Rating:
Summary: good kickoff for a good saga
Review: this is one of the best star wars movies of them all
very good special effects pretty good acting went to see
it when it came out and got it on tape is soon as it came
out some people say that episode 2 is better but its not because on episode 2 theirs no
podrace no darth maul no young anakin no qui gon barely any jar jar at the end yoda fights count dooku for about 20 seconds and anakin acts like a spoild little brat i would go with episode 1
rather then episode 2
Rating:
Summary: The Best DVD out there!!!
Review: Of all the DVD's I have seen, this one is the best, can't wait for EP II, This is the beginning of what we know as "Star Wars", although it falls a little short of 1977's "A New Hope", it definately delivers the goods, In this one we meet Obi-Wan Kenobi as a young Jedi under the guidance of Qui-Gon Jinn, a Master Jedi as they are dispatched to Naboo to end a conflict between the Trade Federation's shipping of goods to Naboo, what we learn is that the Trade Federation's commander's are being manipulated by Darth Sidious, a mysterious cloaked figure, as Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan arrive to settle the conflict, they are soon in a fight for their lives as an invasion is soon underway on Naboo, when their cruiser is destroyed, they hitch a ride to Naboo to warn the people, here we meet Queen Amidala as she & others are soon captured in an attempt to get her to sign a treaty which will put in motion a separist movement we know in Ep II, she & the ohers are soon rescued by Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan who then flee Naboo in her Royal Cruiser only to have it damaged in battle with the Trade Federation, once free, they land on Tattoonie, a nearby planet, for repairs, it is here they meet young Anakin Skywalker who has a special gift with the force, that Qui-Gon soon takes an interest in, but Anakin is a slave to Watto who Qui-Gon needs parts from, & uses a Jedi-mind trick that has no effect on Watto, with a pod-race looming, Qui-Gon cuts a deal with Watto to win not only his parts but to free Anakin, if Anakin can win the race, that is Nascar on steroids, the pod race is awesome as ILM works its magic here, Anakin wins & is freed to go with Qui-Gon, it seems Anakin wants desperately to be a Jedi, but Sidious has dispatched his apprentice Darth Maul(a demon-like Sith) to destroy the Jedi & get the Queen, Maul suddenly attacks Qui-Gon in a teaser of things to come, Qui-Gon escapes & they arrive at Courasaunt, the galaxy's Republic Headquaters, once there we meet Senator Palpatine who wants to oust Chancellor Valorum(Terence Stamp) so he can be Chancellor, we see Palpatine's manipulation in full swing as he sets his utimate plan for the "Empire" in motion, the Republic itself is losing it's democracy, we meet Yoda who suggest Anakin's training should be in question, given Anakin's emotion, Valorum is ousted as Palpatine takes over claiming he will bring democracy back, Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan are then told to escort Queen Amidala back to Naboo to take back the planet that is now under control of the Federation, once they do, a stand-off ensues as the Queen & her security fend off the Federation's battle droids, while Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan are confronted by Darth Maul, in a two-against-one face off, which is spectacular to watch, Maul manages to seperate the two, & soon cuts down Qui-Gon, putting Obi-Wan in vengence mode, as Obi-Wan charges Maul in a fierce lightsaber battle which Obi-Wan wins by pulling the element of surprise, afterwards we see Obi-Wan vowing to train Anakin as a Jedi since it was Qui-Gon's dying wish, Yoda reluctantly agrees despite his bad feeling about it, the ending is somewhat on a happy note, but you know Palpatine's true intension, many didn't like this one, although it may be aimed a kids, "A New Hope" was too, this one shows more of the political strategy that eventually birthed the "Empire" & began Anakin as a Jedi in the making, like Lucas said>"you have to start somewhere", & Obi-Wan comes into his own at the end, as for Jar Jar Binks, he did not annoy me that much, I don't hate any character that can make me laugh, & Jar Jar made me laugh, the Ewoks annoyed me in "Return of the Jedi", Lucas dropped the ball with ROTJ, not TPM, I liked this one & was not disappointed one bit with it, my only complaint was that we did not see more of Maul, but as Lucas said> "It is not about him", other than that, TPM is good movie, not as good as "A New Hope" or "The Empire Strikes Back", but way better than "Return of the Jedi" I think!!!,& is right up there with "Attack of the Clones!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Just awful
Review: I found this movie to in no way live up to the classic star wars trilogy...and I am not even a huge star wars fan. I thought the acting was bland and forced, the plot unmoving, and frankly, I kept looking at my watch wondering when this movie would end. There are positives...some of the special effects are great, and in a few instances, both Liam and Ewan seem to make sense of the boring/contrived drudge that was given to them as dialogue. An utter disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Gets better with age.
Review: I think that once George Lucas has completed the Star Wars saga we will look upon this film more sympathetically. It was savaged on release for its awful script and wooden acting, and that will still remain true, but it will be seen more and more important in relation to the whole saga. It is merely an introduction, and at the time, critics and fans alike were dissaponted because nothing was new.
Rating:
Summary: Old School Star Wars 101
Review: ...For every Star Wars fan that enjoyed The Phantom Menace, there'll be at least another ten or twenty 'old school' Star Wars fans that will, quite venomously, tell you the film had nothing to do with the spirit of Star Wars...Anyone of said 'old school', will never admit to even liking it, even if they yelped with excitement as Kenobi and Maul blew away the originals in a lightsaber clash that has to be seen to be believed. Okay, about the only person that didn't know that topping the original trilogy was an impossible task was Lucas himself but even saying that, what were his remaining options? There was a story to be told here. No one is under any illusions that Episode One's archilles heel was the storyline. Cramming so much past historical history into one film must have seemed as daunting a task to Lucas as Skywalker attempting to lift the X wing from the Dagobah swamp. So what of the pacing? Unfortunately, both are one and the same. If a story is disjointed, then the pacing and structure must also suffer as a result. Performances? No actor is reluctant to stress that when starring in a Star Wars film, you learn a type of Jedi frown, and that's about it (though singular and pleasantly surprising praise must be handed to an electric Ewan McGregor who's devotion to lightsabering is an exercise in unrestraint). Last saving grace? Action, special effects and set pieces, and it's here The Phantom Menace truly delivers. The velocity of the Tatooine pod race has never been seen in the history of cinema, bar none. The opening sequence sets the tone (let no one tell you that when they saw those two twin saber beams appear in the mist on the Droid Control Ship, that wasn't the true spirit of Star Wars) and the climatic three way lightsaber battle wraps up the first prequel in spectacular fashion. All in all, a flawed but highly entertaining chapter that is no where near as good as it should have been and no where near as bad as people will lead you to believe. Go on, go back and replay chapter 41 to close and tell me that single shot of the containment beams opening, allowing Kenobi and Maul to swedge for each other for all they're worth isn't simply magical...
Rating:
Summary: steaming pile of feces
Review: I can't believe how Lucas has ruined what started out as a great series of movies. What a waste of time this one was. Instead of this I'd recommend Lord of the Rings (books or dvds), Frank Herbert's Dune (book or dvd) or Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress (dvd) since all of these were the major inspiration for Star Wars and much better than Episode I. Hold out for the original trilogy on dvd, at the very least.
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