Rating: 
Summary: A Very Disappointing Film
Review: In the original Star Wars movie the villains were interesting. Darth Vader was menacing, but you didn't hate him. A lit. teacher once told me for a movie to work the bad guy has to be likeable & interesting. Well in this movie they're not. Instead the villains have no depth or background. That's why Lucas had to make Darth Maul look like Satan. It's probably also why he had to add that crazy side kick Jar Jar Binks. Not that I hated it, it just wasn't worth a ten year wait. I honestly had the impression the only reason this film was written, was to set up the sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Minor Irratations but Big on fun
Review: The new Star Wars is here. Many critics bashed it for it's poorly developed characters, use of to much special effects, among other complaints. Critics also bashed the first Star Wars when it came out in 1977 but now look at it and the movies have become among the most popular of movies. Anyways, the plot for this new installation in the Star Wars serious is much more thicker then the older films. I know, the characters are very shallow and Jar Jar Binks is downright annoying. I see no use for him except a ploy used by the movie makers to make the kiddies laugh. Little Jake Loydd did O.K. as Anakin, he still has a lot of maturing to do, but he did more then I expected. Besides, Star Wars doesn't need Oscar nominating Acting! It's all about fun. The special effects are simply astounding and takes your breath away. The vistas, the cities, the space stations, all of it is created with a new breath and never before attempted in other movies. I do admit that some of it looks very CG, but most of it is very well done. Seeing the special effects alone is worth the buying of a movie. The sound is amazing as well, not Matrix-caliver stuff, but better then most out there. The whole movie was a thrill ride and brought back (not as well though) the memories of seeing first Star Wars for the first time. Highly Recommended, I predict it will become a classic in a few years. It'll grow on people as time progresses
Rating:
Summary: it's Star Wars, what can I say?
Review: What can I say? This movie was excellent, but before I go into that, I'll talk mainly about the less-than-excellent parts of the movie. I know when Lucas pictured Jar Jar he mainly had little kids in mind, and that's admirable that he knows how to capture a wide audience (as if it's hard, I mean, come on, this is Star Wars!), but if you ask me, Jar Jar recieved a little too much screen time that could have productively been used on something more intriguing, like the infamous light saber battles. In my opinion, you can never get enough of those, there's just something about them that makes them stand out from the rest of the movie. Maybe it's because the light saber is the signature tool for Star Wars, and any hard-core Star Wars fan can never get enough of the light saber battles :). One other small thing that bothered me was that the pod racing scene was too long. I know that this was a big factor of the movie, and don't get me wrong, it was good, but after a while, it just lost its lure. Now that that's done, let's get to the good stuff. There's not much I can say, besides that the rest of the movie was great! The special effects were as good as anticipated, but everybody already knows that. Some things I thought that were really good that haven't gotten much attention I'm going to mention. One is the music, which was very well written and fit the movie perfectly. Another was the costumes. I don't know what the people at the Academy were thinking (and don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly the experienced movie critic-), but the costumes used in Star Wars were truly unique and deserved that Oscar. The actors also portrayed the roles well and appeared to be very real. Quigon and Obi Won were everything I would have expected and more--they played their parts very well. All in all, I think this movie was a great beginning to a great saga and I am impatiently awaiting the release of episodes 2 and 3.
Rating:
Summary: I would give it 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars if I could.
Review: This collection rocks, if you like Star Wars this is what you should get. Not to mention all the stuff it comes with like the video strip and the booklet. The movie is great to except for Jar Jar. He may be funny at first but then he starts to get a little annoying.
Rating:
Summary: "I have a bad feeling about this!"
Review: Who picked these actors? What casting agency picked them? Was it the same people that cast Barney? Don't get me wrong- this is a GREAT movie- but you would think that this "multi-million dollar" flix would pick better actors. In the original "Star Wars"- the actors had emotions, they cried, they laughed, they interacted with each other. This new movie had none of that- it seemed like these actors were just saying their lines- nothing else. I've seen Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman do great in other movies- why not this one? In one scene- were Anakin and his mother say their goodbyes- there is no emotion what so ever- and you would think that a mother that was loosing her one and only child would have greater emotions then just "Don't turn around!...what is my next line Mr. Lucas?" The actress playing Anakin's mother (Pernila August) seemed like she had trouble remembering her lines, and speaking them in English. Besides the acting- this movie is great- the locations, the effects, the strange characters, the bad actors. I recommend this movie because it has great action scenes, great effects, and SOME of the actors were good.
Rating: 
Summary: Remember, we're not 7 anymore.
Review: A lot of 30 year olds are harping about how episode 1 was disappointing. Others say it was too directed at kids. Guess what? So were the first ones. Here are the facts:1) Watch it as a 7-year old, you'll love it 2) The characters in the first trilogy took 3 episodes to be developed. Give these guys some time. 3) Sure, Jar Jar can be annoying, but so can 3PO. 4) The effects are great. They are cutting edge. However, we are not surprised by them anymore. The key to enjoying this very good film is not to be expecting to be blown away like we were in 1977. It's not perfect. It has its flaws, but so did episodes IV-VI. But it's science fiction which tells a story we have been thinking about for 17 years...and it's a pretty darn good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly harmless ...
Review: Okay, it is Star Wars. Very cool. Great effects. Cool ships. Interesting story. The tale of young Anakin has probably been told in as many different ways as there are Star Wars fans to imagine it, so no matter what Lucas comes up with, it would be at least a bit of a letdown. Still, the tale of young Anakin's meeting with his mentor (and his mentor's mentor) is a fairly solid bit of preparation for what has to be young Anakin's coming of age in episode 2. But there have always been enough irritants in the Star Wars series to make them as annoying as a gnat at a picnic, and they seem to have come to a head with PM. First off is Jar-Jar (or Uncle Jar, or Steppin Jar-Jar). This poorly designed rastafarian alien with the pseudo Chinese accent and the barely hidden African American phenotype is annoying at best, and downright offensive at worst. Maybe it's me, but the story behind Star Wars is more than enough to engross and entertain children, there is no need for some Marketing-geek designed character whose sole function is to sell action figures and peddle breakfast cereals. This abominable trend that started with the Ewoks has got to END with Jar-Jar. Next, although I am not overly offended by it, I am becoming more distracted by Lucas' continuing appropriation and fascination with Asian culture. The influence of other cultures can be a very effective tool, but using such ham-handed Asiana in what is an "alien" world can be seen as a dangerous and ethnically tainted parallelism. You don't believe the Asian influence is there? Compare the costumes for Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul with anything seen in a Kurosawa film. Speaking of Maul, isn't it odd how his face looks remarkable like a Kabuki-actor in devil make-up? And what about the names Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan? If you are still not convinced, just check out the Queen Amidala outfit again. Lucas has gone on record as naming Kurosawa as a major influence, but the costumes, names and accents are beginning to border on a psychpathic obsession. Not only that, but to have so much overt Asian incluence without including ANY Asian actors begins to just feel funny -- especially since it is a portrayal of that "alien" world. Still, this is a very entertaining and enjoyable movie. Hopefully the next one will focus more on story and character (like the 1st one), making all of the irritants just a little less intrusive.
Rating:
Summary: The Star Wars saga begins....
Review: George Lucas lives up to all of the wild expectations with the "The Phantom Menace", and has me counting down the days until the release of episode ii. The only thing that kept me from giving the movie 5 stars was some of the silly humor. Also, I thought John Williams' score was exceptional - a highlight of the movie for me - I would highly recommend the CD. Speaking of the music - for those of you with keen hearing, listen carefully to the very end when the last of the credits are rolling - you'll hear an ominous yet familiar sound. . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Putrescently Abysmal
Review: George "The Emperor" Lucas takes us on a souless journey through a boring CG video game. I shoulda known it was gonna stink when he started mangling the old movies by adding CG effects(the "Special Editions"). What surprise is in store for us next movie Darth Lucas? Han Solo is Jar-Jar Binks and C-3PO's love child? Give us a break. You can click the "No" button below now.....
Rating:
Summary: Get a New Storyline, George!
Review: So where have we seen this before? A journey to another planet, a desperate battle on the planet surface that can only be won when a good guy does the impossible in a fighter high above the planet. Good guys win. The end. Three out of four Star Wars movie have had this same basic plot - only Empire was different. Excellent visual effects. Flat acting from all but Liam Neeson. Hey, George! Get a new storyline! The old one is worn out and special effects can't save it anymore.
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