Rating: 
Summary: Typical
Review: A typical Star Wars movie. It just doesn't get any better than this!
Rating: 
Summary: Lucas, get your head into DVD
Review: A very good film, perhaps the saga has gone on for too long though. And forget all these boxed VHS sets, when are they planning on releasing it on DVD! .Apart from that though, buy it,.. all your friends will want to watch it. Exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Very nicely done !
Review: A very nice video, good quality, nice visuals and great special effects. Recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: The First Episode is an effective prologue to the great saga
Review: A year ago, I could not wait to see Episode I. I did not once think that it could blow me away as Episode IV did as a young child. I was simply excited to see the saga continue. A year later, I must say that the movie was lacking in several respects, but set up the next two Episodes nicely. The storyline was intriguing but dragged in spots. I can think of two characters that bogged it down. The first is the insufferable space minstrel, Jar Jar Binks. I have no doubt that Lucas intended any characters to be offensive, but he was, and he added nothing to the story. The second "character" was, simply, CGI. There were too many special effects, and not only were those effects overwhelming at times, but they also reduced some of the human element that made the 1st three so effective. That being said, Episode I added political intrigue to the saga, with the duplicitous Palpatine pulling all of the strings. I also thought that the movie did a good job of fleshing out more of the Jedi philosophy, and demonstrating the level of skill the Jedi had, which was only alluded to in Episodes IV-VI. The cast, other than Binks, was solid. Liam Neeson is an ideal Jedi Master, and Ewan McGregor emulates Guiness' Obi Wan Kenobi with youthful spirit. Natalie Portman is stiff, but has potential as Amidala/Padme. I had hoped (even before Sixth Sense) that Haley Joel Osment would land the role of young Anakin, and I regret that he did not. Jake Lloyd was earnest, but he was very stiff. But the most unforgettable character in this movie is the awesome Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Maul. With only a few lines, and a show-stopping display of physical dexterity and prowess, Ray Parks' Maul becomes one of the greatest characters in the saga. Samuel L. Jackson and Frank Oz's Yoda didn't have enough to do. All in all, the climax is formulaic by Lucas standards (space battle-ground battle-saber duel. And at times, the Jedi Council seemed like a recalcitrant City Council (it was as if they said "oh, Qui-Gon, that Sith thing, we'll form a commission to look into it, but just handle it the best that you can.") But the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Maul saber duel is undeniably the best action sequence in recent memory (the classic Matrix sequences included). However, I think the cinematography could have been much better for all of the lightsaber duels, as many of the closeups were either too short in duration or cut off a lot of the action. In sum, Episode I provides a very good segue for the next two Episodes, and I anticipate that both will be outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: A list of reasons people don't like this film :
Review: a) It wasn't as intense and action-packed as the first 3 films. Obviously, this is true. But look at the film for a sec. - It's based 30 years before episode 4. - It's a lot more elegant and peaceful time in the universe. - No one is really up for violent bloodbaths and money is not the major driving force for most people. "Our security volunteers will be no match against a battle-hardened federation army." - Captain Pinaka - The peacfulness was obviously suppsed to be explained toe the viewers visually rather than verbally. Look at the costumes and palaces, etc. You never see anything like that in ep. 4, 5, + 6 because everyone is so caught up in their own personal being rather than functioning as one society as a whole. b) It's childish - I do kind of agree with you here, but I see it as being relevant to make it a childish movie partially to gain a new audience. Remember that fans of these movies are 20+ years older now, and a new wave of Star Wars fans need to be bred. Episodes 2+3 will definately be better for those who were expecting the serious dramatic feel to the first film. c) Special effects - Were there too many? Were they good enough? I don't think there were too many. As long as I can't tell the difference from real + effect when I watch the movie, I'm fine. But were they good enough? In some parts, no they weren't. When Qui-Gon saves Jar-Jar from the big tank right after he lands on Naboo, Jar-Jar's frame totally doesn't blend in to the background, and you can easily tell that he's not really there. Kind of similar to Jabba The Hut in Ep. 4 Special Edition when he talks with Han Solo. d) The plot was no where to be found. - Trust me, once u see episodes 2+3, the plot from ep. 1 will make a ton of more sense. If u don't want to know anything what will happen in ep. 2+3, I suggest you skip this part. - Things like R2-D2 + C3PO having their memories eraced (remember in ep. 4 when they landed on tatooine and had no memory of the planet that they were on so often in Ep. 1? And Owen saying to Luke to have their memories eraced must point to that memory eracing is a common act in the universe), Obi-Wan's reasoning for keeping Anikan's existence hidden, Palpatine's reign of terror in the Imperial Senate, eventually destorying it and starting up The Galatic Empire, Anikan's struggles in training and temptations from the Dark Side + Palpatine, new apprentaces for Darth Sideous, Storm Troopers introduced in place of droids, and a ton more. Note : All these plots movements have come from my own logical deduction. i'm with no way affiliated with anyone on the Star Wars projects, so these are not anything official, but they do make a lot of sense and give you something to look forward to. e) Finally, too much happens by chance. - I totally agree with you here, but for some reason maybe George thought it was neccessary to show how strong Anikan is with the force and doesn't realize it yet. Maybe showing he doesn't know his own strength and thus maybe shouldn't have been trained after all, or something like that. As for Jar-Jar's luck, I can't give any reasons for you there. But the film does get better every time you watch it and the luckiness doesn't really bother you after you get used to it. Expect a more mature and less funny Jar Jar in the next film thanks to his being general of the Gungan army. Anyway, this is a great film, and a great prequel to start off the second trilogy. Can't wait for episode 2.
Rating:
Summary: Q: What can I say?
Review: A: A few things. 1st- I have never seen a movie on DVD, I own one but it's not attatched to a t.v. in my house(I don't know why). So I could care less about the debate between the two. 2nd- On the movie cover for the VHS it is stated that episode one is set only 30 years before the later three. How in the world can this be! In Star Wars(4) Obi-Wan has to be at least 60-75. In E1 he is at most 20-25, if not younger. In retrospect so is Anakin; we all saw him at the very end of the sixth movie, and he was old. Who ever wrote this jacket must have over-looked the original movies. 3rd- Jar-Jar Binks is not as annoying as people think. I'm 19 and I found him entertaining. His whole race added color to an otherwise totally human movie. Look at the other three, there were tons of different species, but in this movie 90% of the characters are human only. Take out Jar-Jar's species and you have a boring outer-space movie with nothing but humans. 4th- Natalie Portman played a rather exceptional role as the young queen. As the Queen she appeared cold and heartless (except towards her peeople), which is how queens act. As Palame she played a loveable teenager. I know alot of teenage girls who act just like her; she played a very good part. I guess it helps that she is 18. Jake Lloyd played a rather convincing 9 year old, seeing how he is one(I mean, were you people ever kids!). I can recall fonder and happier days when I would yell "yippie! " at the top of my lungs when happy or excited about something. 5th- At the end of the movie Palpatine makes reference to Anakin's abbilities. He says that they will be watching him in the future. Does this mean that the Dark Emperor already has plans to make Anakin his next Sith? 6th- The special effects were good..ok extremely good. 7th- I "loved" the new idea that a light-saber can be stuck into a blast door, and also melt it. I guess the batteries were running low in the later three movies. I mean, we never saw that much power from the light-sabers in the forth, fifth, and sixth movies. Great idea Lucas, but in a galaxy far, far away...didn't they have rechargeable batteries. Take for example that Obi-Wan took up Qai-Gon's saber after he died, and then in Star Wars(4) Luke gains access to this same light-saber. Well, ole Obi-Wan should of at least told Luke, "It's not as powerful as it used to be", or something. About all said saber cut through later was Vador's wrist! I'll bet Darth Vador had this same problem..seeing as how they were the only ones to use l-bs, and they had to be from the same time period. 8th- Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menance was the best movie I saw in 1999, and I didn't have to wait but 5 mintues to get tickets! This was on the second day it came out. 9th- It's a good movie. Don't read these reviews. Just watch it for yourself...and then come here and write a review for yourself. 10th- I would actually give this movie 4 and 1/2 stars, but it wasn't there. The acting was excellent, the graphics were out of this world, and the new characters are just ansestors of our favs from the later 70's and early 80's. I say we all sit back and enjoy the ride to come. After all..we do know what happens in the end. Now we're just learing the details that lead up to that end. I can't help it: May The Force Be With YOU!
Rating:
Summary: Stars Wars Episode 1 Review
Review: Absolutely awsome! Stars Wars Episode 1 is the best of the series! The special affects are two thumbs up and the music is great! I would highly recomend this movie to anyone. It is an action packed funny movie that will last forever! May the Force be with you.
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Summary: The Emperor of the Dark Side and much more!
Review: Actor Ian Mcdarmid has a somewhat cloud surrounding his character,Senator Palpatine. True viewers(fans)of the Star Wars movies learned a lot more from The Stars Wars Episode I,Phantom Menace. His deceiving intentions will be revealed some in Attack of the Clones,but everything of course will be revealed in Episode III. Amidala,Anakin/Vader,Luke&Leia,The identity of the Emperor(No Georgio did not tell me.)I have even seen the future remakes of the original three movies, all complete with modern technology and of course different actors with a very updated version of "Star Wars,The Empire Strikes Back,and The Return of the Jedi".I don't yet know of the actors bcause the writers are having a tough time with Episode III. I think that Episode Three might need to come out in more than a one part movie, they (Lucasfilms) may need at least a two part series to release. A good possibility could be Thanksgiving 2003 for Part I of episode III, and Christmas 2003,or New Years 2004 for the release of par two of Episode III. I have a lot more, but just like Episode III there is too much to tell and not nearly as much time as one would like. However if the powers that be, if they choose,I can write parts for them since I have a better understanding than anyone else except G, of course. I do have to say good bye for now and I to shall take a great interest in watching.
Rating: 
Summary: Falls way short
Review: Actually, 1 1/2, but I'll be nice and round up... First off, I was utterly disappointed with the changing of the Force from a spiritual power into some biological thing that could be measured. In Episodes 4-6, we are shown that the Force can take root in and flower in any person and they could develop their connection to that energy. Now it's a blood count thing. Like the Force is cholesterol or something. Ugh. Second off, I am going to put the Jar Jar thing to bed once and for all: Star Wars came out when I was a little kid and I didn't need some computer generated buffoon who sounded like a Cajun slave to grab my interest. Third of all, anyone who has studied the Nazi rise to power in Germany will recognize where the majority of the "plot" for this movie came from. Fourthly, why did the aliens have accents? Did the Trade Federation guys grow up in Tokyo? Was Watto a paisano? What was up with that? Also, I don't think the characterization with each accent was too appropriate (the japaneese accent with the money hungry trade fed, the italian one with the slave-owning junk dealer, etc.) Good things about this movie? I loved the Sand People shooting at the Pod Racers. That was great. For the few seconds Darth Maul was on screen, he was nice. The effects were ok too. I say skip it. Sure hope they hand off the action to Samuel L. Jackson in Pt. 2...
Rating:
Summary: A Menace to Hollywood society
Review: After 16 years of waiting impatiently, George Lucas finally releases the forth Star Wars film which is actually the first Episode of a six part story. The original Star Wars film was Episode Four, Empire: Episode Five and Jedi: Episode Six which concludes the epic saga.
The hype prior to release of the Phantom Menace was bigger than the Death Star and significantly, bigger than Marlon Brando. It was ridiculously hyped beyond belief and only the media was to blame. LFL actually asked for the hype to be contained, but by that time it had gotten out of control.
Those of you who bought into that hype and were seriously let down by the film are brainwashed, weak-minded fools who will only like something when it is in vogue.
Phantom Menace was getting embarrassingly poor reviews even before it's release. Which is hardly fair to any film.
Even as the poor reviews came flooding out, Phantom Menace was making a killing at the box office. It has held its place as the second highest grossing film at the global box office underneath James Cameron's blockbuster, Titanic. The Film;
The movie failed to meet expectations of the fans because they were expecting to see the excitement and enthusiasm of the original trilogy. There were complaints by some who wanted a "Han Solo" type character. Why would you want that when Han appears in the last three films? Other complaints were things like "Why are the two Jedi acting so wooden". Well one of the most important Jedi traits is to show NO EMOTION. But I guess an epic scope storyline like this one is way above and beyond that of the armchair critics of our "seen it all before and can't impress me" world.
If this film was released in 1977 instead of the original, people would have accepted it more openly. But the sad fact is now that the people consider Star Wars as their own. Just because the audience of 1977 grew up it does not mean that the films also have to grow up as well. If they did would they fit in with the old series and come together as one 12 hour movie? I don't think so.
Lucas himself said way before this movie was released that "The first one starts off very slow, it's a very innocent kind of film. As the series progresses it gets darker and finally we will see how and why he (Anakin Skywalker) gets into the mask and becomes Darth Vader"
That statement was the key to understanding how the first episode was going to be played out.
Nothing much really happens in this film. It merely sets up the next two and does it beautifully.
We get to see a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) meet for the first time. It also introduces Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), the mother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.
We also get to see a younger Palpatine (Ian Mcdiarmid) as a Senator on the magnificent planet capital, Coruscant. His political machinations seem to have gone unnoticed by so many. Palpatine who is the Senator of Naboo is also the sith lord, Darth Sidious. As Sidious, he uses the hugely rich and resourceful Trade Federation to blockade his own planet. As Palpatine he uses Amidala, Queen of Naboo to further his own political ambitions, which by the end of the film he has succeeded in.
A glorious spectacle epic in scope, which has been unsurpassed by no other film. Phantom Menace is beautifully designed with spectacular results. It serves as an appetiser for the upcoming sequels and has secured its place in film history.
Hollywood seems to be scared of Lucas. After all, he's the most successful independant filmmaker today. He seems to have a bad reputation just because he is a sucsess story and he accomplished it all on his own terms.
They told him it couldn't be done way back in the 70s. They are still telling him the same thing today. Wake up Hollywood, Lucas' way is the way of the future.
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