Rating: 
Summary: There willbe more
Review: I thought this movie as a whole was not well. The acting was not all it needed to be, exeptions: Natalie Portman, & Darth Maul. I feel that this movie was just to set the weels spinning, the filler will come in the next two. Just like the original series. I've been a fan since 1977 and may be jaded but I feel that this was a film that had to exist to set up the rest. Effects, of course, were amazing as was the background. The plot was not where it should have been. The sotry as a whole not bad, not great either.
Rating: 
Summary: After a 16 Year Silence, Lucas Comes Back... With a Vengence
Review: This movie is great, Jar Jar or not. It keeps the Star Wars saga alive. This movie has everything from Gungans to Wookies, Humans to E.T.s. This movie ROX.I remember seeing the movie when I was youthful. I was so pumped and ready to see the flick! I was wereing a Wars T-Shirt and was ready! It opened with a wonderful BANG. Seeing those LightSabers clash, baby, I was a kid again. The acting is perfect, with the exception of Padme. I can't believe how stale she was! Lucas [did well] directing, but I say he shoud've used models like the Classics, but he used CGI! I hope this movie is re-released in 17 years!
Rating:
Summary: As Good as they could Make it.
Review: Well first the good aspects of this DVD is disk one that features The Phantom Menace with about seven minutes of new footage, centering around the pod race (which were absent in the original motion picture version). Added to that, The Phantom Menace is now about as good a movie as it will ever be. The rest of this DVD on disk two with the director's commentery, the deleted scenes, and a lot of the behind the camera footage. It's actually a pretty good film with the added features however Episode II; "Attack Of the Clones" does look to be a better film, storywise. Other movies of this genre to get on DVD would be the Star Trek movies, Some of Steven Spielberg's movies, and hopefully eventually the Classic Star Wars trilogy ( A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return Of The Jedi) to be released on DVD also.
Rating: 
Summary: There ought to be a law...
Review: I remember when this film opened. People were quitting their jobs and camping in front of the Cinerama for two months just to be the first to see the long awaited spectacle. Will it bring world peace? Will it cure cancer? Well, sheesh. I left work early on opening day to catch a matinee at an out of the way theater. I was able to walk right in, see the movie, and then go about the rest of my life. I felt so sorry for those unfortunates who wasted so much time in anticipation for this poorly written, acted, and directed film. Yeah, a lot of things go boom! Neat. This was a film of no substance whatsoever. There was nothing of the fun, the mythos, the joy of the first film. What we got instead was a marketing ploy, nothing more. There ought to be a cosmic law in which Mr. Lucas would be obligated to pay back the time wasted by those who watched this drivel.
Rating: 
Summary: Non stop action thrill ride... Just like all the others
Review: Star Wars was not put on the AFI's top 100 list because it looked good, had cool special effects, or exciting action sequences. It is there because it is a great film. The Phantom Menace is a typical 90's action/adventure heavy on Special Effects and light on substance. Obi Wan was in Star Wars less than half the movie, but I know more about him than I do about any character in Phantom Menace. Han Solo is a character everyone wants to be, or at least meet. Luke is a gape jawed simple farm boy who is thrust into the big bad world unprepared. Leia is the leader of a movement she knows is more important than herself, or indeed any one person. The Phantom Menace has all the drama and intrigue of C-SPAN. "The motion before the floor is, should we care about a war over trade on a planet no one cares about? The yeas are 192, the neas are 387, the measure does not pass....Next item of business..." (Yawn!) There was no character development, no internal conflicts, no hard decisions to make. In short it was a mindless romp through a story we all know the end to, full of pretty pictures and flashy sword fights. Check your brain at the door. We have special effects now, who needs a good story.
Rating:
Summary: Disapointing, made for masses, predictable big-budget BOMB
Review: Hugely dissapointing, made for masses and childen with bathroom humor and stereotypes abound this movie was the biggest dissapointment of the year. Jarra Jarra Banks alone makes this movie unbearable to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Glorious DVD, so-so story
Review: Would anybody be totally happy with anything George Lucas came out with following the outrageous build-up for this film? Probably not, but one tends to think he could have done just a bit better than this. I know there are some "Star" fans who adore anything new about "Star Wars", and there were many who despised this film after only half the film. Granted, I hated Jar-Jar Binks, myself, thinking he was just too silly for words. But the film does have some really fine moments, and some greatness, too.
No matter what I thought of the film, however, I really have to take my hat off to Mr. Lucas for putting out such a high-quality DVD. The picture transfer is exceptional, the sound out-of-this-world, and enough extras to satisfy ANYBODY. All included, the film and extras take up two discs, with all sorts of behind the scenes stuff and commentary.
Really, only DVD does this film any kind of justice, because only here can one see all the background scenery in all its complex glory. One can watch this film many times and still see something new every time. What incredible detail.
Well, as I said, the film could have been better, but it does have its moments, and the DVD is one of the best ever produced, so indeed well-worth including in any DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: Let's not be too critical...
Review: One of the biggest complaints against this movie has been its "terrible script" and predictable plot. Because the other three Star Wars movies have been accepted into the canon of classic pictures, we have a tendency to judge this movie a little more harshly than we should. The first three movies produced, in my opinion, were, at times, corny and predictable as well, but I still liked them a lot. The music in this movie was amazing (I don't know where John Williams continues to get ideas from after all these years), the casting was excellent, and the story was somewhat intriguing. I'm eagerly awaiting the releases of the next two, just to see how everything worked out between Episode I and Episode IV. There was, however, one huge mistake in this movie: Jar Jar Binks.
Rating:
Summary: People are too literal
Review: Ok, I've heard it all. "I hate Jar-Jar", "There's no acting!", blah blah blah. I was first introduced to Star Wars at the innocent age of three. I saw Return of the Jedi in the theater and can only remember walking out of it after it was over. I was three. The magic of seeing that movie (and having a father who enjoyed the first three films) was that I can now say that i have seen the trilogy well over 300 times, each film. Only because every time I watch these movies, I keep an open mind and view them as if I was three years old again, the only benefit to being older is that I can actually understand what Yoda means when he talks about the force. This is exactly the same attitude I took in with me when I entered that theater to watch the latest offering from Lucas and Company. And I loved every minute of it. Did I complain about the acting? No. Why? Because it's Star Wars, I'm not saying the acting was bad ever, but watch all four again, you'll see similarities in ALL of the acting. Does Jar Jar suck? Of course he does, but I'm too mezmerized, by the dark side of the force and one of the coolest lightsaber battles I have ever seen, to notice. The quality of the Phantom Menace is something that has only been surpassed by the first three Star Wars films and the Matrix. I've never seen anything that can do better, even with all of its apparent flaws, my heart still races when Obi-Wan busts out his lightsaber with ferocious malaise to avenge the death of his master. And I've seen it over 100 times, 15 or so in the theater. The DVD makes it even better! The inclusion of the extra scenes, the hour and a half long documentary about just making the movie. And it's not one of those documentaries where they explain the film. Its literally a camera on the sidelines while they're making the film! Fantastic. Oh and the blooper reel had me rolling for about 5 minutes after I saw what pickup that jawa sandcrawler actually had! All I can say is I've seen the latest trailer for Attack of the Clones and I'm going to be waiting patiently for the next 8 weeks. Because once that movie is released, all of the people who have spoken badly about Episode I will be suddenly silenced.
Rating:
Summary: Great bonus material on this DVD
Review: The bonus material on this DVD makes this a good value. Sci-fi and/or Star Wars fans will enjoy this DVD.
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