Rating: 
Summary: The Adventure Continues
Review: It's back and I for one am glad that it is. Many people were disappointed with it, but lets face it, any prequel would have been found lacking. All in all, it is a great family movie. Unless, you have read the novels, it picks up on how Anakin Skywalker was picked to be a Jedi Knight, how Obi Wan will be the one who will train him, Who will be the mother of Luke and Leia Skywalker and How the Dark Lord of the Sith will become the evil Emperor of the Republic. One unforgettable character is Jar Jar Binks and the role he plays in helping Queen Ambadala regains her throne on her planet Baboo .The highlight of the film is Pod races and the final climatic battle in space and on the ground battle on BaBoo The special effects are great and Liam Neeson as Qui Gon Jin is superb. Get the movie, it is worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: It's just not the same.
Review: It's been said before but I'll say it again. If Lucas had spent nearly as much time on story and character development as he did on computer generated whimsy, this may have been more up to par with the "original" trilogy. Hence, when I was working at my video store and they gave us the exciting news that "Episode I" was finally to make it's long-awaited arrival to DVD, my response was an overwhelming "So?"Extra-features, commentaries, making-of's, all that jazz doesn't make up for the fact that this movie is a sure sign that somewhere between Jedi and Phantom, Lucas got a little too caught up in the business of keeping track of his royalties than keeping track of his imagination. Sure, standing alone, it's a decent picture (I still say Galaxy Quest was that year's best sci-fi release), but when held up next to it's three big brothers...well it's kinda like holding a Pokemon Pikachu wristwatch won from a crane game next to Big Ben.
Rating:
Summary: George Lucas is using his fans for generating profit...
Review: It's been said hundreds of times in earlier reviews, but I'm still going to say this: The only reason why "Star Wars Episode 1" is not going to be released on DVD in the near future, is because George Lucas is greedy, and he wants to get all the money he can from VHS sales, before he releases it on the media which it deserves, DVD. Hasn't Lucas made enough money? All the DVD owners out there -- wait until Lucas pulls himself together, and releases it on DVD, otherwise you're going to pay twice for the same movie -- cause it is going to be released on DVD at some point. The funny thing is, Lucas' official excuse for not releasing "Phantom Menace" on DVD, is because the quality of DVD doesn't provide the quality he thinks his movie deserves. Well, last time I checked, DVD was far superior to VHS, both in terms of video and sound quality. But maybe that's just me (and every single hi-fi magazine in the world)? Enough said, as for the movie itself, I think it was overrated, and of course, seriously hyped. Of course it has a lot of great visual effects, etc. but that doesn't make a movie alone. All in all, it's an okay movie, though. I give the movie three stars, but considering Lucas and his greed, I don't think it deserves any more than two stars.
Rating: 
Summary: I've got a bad feeling about this
Review: It's been several months since I watched The Phantom Menace. So I decided to pop in the VHS and watch it again.....Well, overall, the film has the awkward feel of a television pilot. A crisis forces together a motley crew of adventurers, introducing everyone, focusing on no one. If I had to pick six words to describe this movie, they would be, "too busy, too silly, no mystery." When George said it was a 'kid flick', man, he wasn't joking. Christ, is it really necessary to fill every friggen piece of the screen with ships and cute aliens?? Too many scenes fall flat as the actors try to spew that Saturday morning "dialog". There's too much focus on characters, events, and plot points that don't matter. Darth Maul has maybe ten minutes of screen time, ALL of it critical. Jar Jar Binks has nearly 90 minutes and is LUCKY to perform one significant act in any of that time. Also, the old flicks could only hint of a much larger universe. Now Lucas has the power to show us EVERYTHING and it simply overwhelms. It's like watching Stevie Ray Vaughn in concert. We know he can play, but he has to slow down and play some actual songs or the audience tunes him out. I believe great art 'usually' comes from adversity. No one expected the original film to do well, and Lucas had to fight 20th Century Fox the whole way. Film is also a collaborative art, and no matter who you are, you need to have someone around you empowered to say when you're screwing up. Lucas used to have producer Gary Kurtz, who was given the axe after "The Empire Strikes Back" (can ya tell, baby?). More importantly, he used to have ex-wife, Marcia, who partially edited all three original films (and some of Scorcese's). As Lucas just loves to say, "this time I got to make the film I always wanted". S-c-a-r-y...I think the lack of adversity has generated a certain laziness that will ultimately doom the whole prequel trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Have for Star Wars Fans
Review: It's easy to argue over whether Jar-Jar was worse than Ewoks in 'contrived cuteness' or whether his accent detracted from the value of the movie. And yes, some of the rich "you're deep in the middle of a story" feeling of the other movies is lost here, since this of course is the beginning. Still, the Star Wars series has had an incredible impact on most people - from references to it showing up *everywhere*, to use of its terms in standard news broadcasts, even to many young women realizing, through Leia and Amidala, that women *can* be wielding laser pistols right alongside the men. I got the VHS version immediately, and there was no question in my mind that I would order this DVD as soon as humanly possible, and sit and explore its NUMEROUS special features. The commentary, storyboards, documentaries, features on design, and rest are all fascinating. To me, this movie wasn't of epic, sweeping moments, although there were a few of those. Perhaps THE favorite scene of mine is when Qui-Gon and Darth Maul are face to face with the energy barrier between them. They both realize that they temporarily are "stuck". Qui-Gon uses this time in the best possible way he can - he sits and recharges, storing all of his energy for the fierce battle that is about to come. Darth Maul is incapable of any thought but getting at Qui-Gon - and paces back and forth, burning his energy and impatient to get at it. This one scene symbolizes to me the huge difference between the sides of the force. Yes, the graphics are incredible, but the light saber battles to me are far more impressive, the amazing choreography that outshine any previous fight scenes. The pod racing scenes ended up getting me addicted to the pod racer game for a solid month, if not more. It's a movie that gets into you and has implications on the things we aspire to and the way in which we talk to each other. That's pretty impressive for a sci-fi tale. I highly recommend getting this, if only because it is a piece of our cultural history.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Not Great, But Good
Review: It's easy to say that following in the footsteps of greatness is hard, but Star wars has done it before, with "The Empire Strikes Back" being better than the (real-chronologically) first Star Wars movie. "The Phantom Menace" does have incredible computer-generated scenes, including the underwater city of the Gungin, and the capital city of Naboo. The fight scene between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, and young Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the best ever (right up there with Liam Neeson's sword-fight in "Rob Roy"). "The Phantom Menace" is a good movie, but it could have been better. Here's my list of suggestions: 1. Less Jar-Jar Binks. I would not eliminate the character, as some would, but he gets too much screen-time. Less is better. More is obnoxious. 2. More of Qui-Gon Jinn. This is a critical character, and we hardly get to know him. He definitely should have survived the first movie. I hope that he reappears, in ghost form (like Obi-Wan Kenobi does in Episodes V and VI) in Episode II ("Attack of the Clones"). 3. More Darth Maul. See #2 above. 4. More explanation of the Jedi-Sith dispute. We know who is bad and who is good, but are given only sketchy details of an apparently long-standing feud. Darth Sidius could have been shown teaching Darth Maul his heritege; we'd get more necessary background information, and Darth Maul would have become less one-dimensional. 5. I'll get booed for this, probably, but here goes: Eliminate the pod race story-line. It was unnecessary and I think it was inserted only to give the special effects people a chance to show off. More believable ways could have been found to demonstrate Anakin's skills and potential. 6. Give us more of Anakin's life on the slave planet, so we can see how a child could mature into Darth Vader. I will still go see the next movie, but I will not watch "The Phantom Menace" several times, as I did the first three Star Wars installments.
Rating:
Summary: Ass-kicking!
Review: It's far from perfect, and can't touch the original three but it still a hell of a movie. When I saw this film in the theatres I was so amazed that I went back a few times more. And admittedly, it loses a bit of impact on video. Lets not lose faith just yet, we got two more episodes left!
Rating:
Summary: Stop the hate!
Review: It's funny how people react to this movie. Some call it "flat," others say it "lacks edginess," and others say it "doesn't feel like a Star Wars movie." Of course, people are entitled to think whatever they want; I just feel that they're judging The Phantom Menace based on 16 years of their own expectations rather than judging it for what it is: a visually stunning space-fantasy popcorn flick. The battle scenes outdo anything in the original trilogy! I'll grant that it doesn't have the underlying heavy mythology of the original movies, but that's because it _is_ the underlying heavy mythology of the original movies. The plot is kind of convoluted, but you should be able to make sense of everything if you pay close attention. If not, just enjoy the visuals. The DVD itself is outstanding. The picture and sound are perfect and there are plenty of extras, including an hour-long documentary focusing on the making of the movie. Rick McCallum is hilarious. My favorite extra is the first web featurette, showing George Lucas going to work on his first day of writing the script (November 1, 1994). The deleted scenes are great also. This is one of the most loaded DVDs on the market, so give it a shot. It may be impossible, but try to watch without prejudice!
Rating:
Summary: Could it of ever lived up to the anticipation????
Review: It's funny, in this day and age that a movie like this could come out and be "snubbed" the way it is.... It is perplexing to me!! This is a great movie, period, for many reasons and yet I read bad review after bad review, people calling it a "B" movie with A+ special affects. It's Star Wars for Pete Sake!!! Not one of the original movies was a literary masterpiece!! 'Com on folks, lighten up and enjoy it for what it is... A Sci-Fi adventure, and it's supposed to be fun, light, "un-real" and have great special affects. This movie has those very qualities; squared!! Though I have to agree on some level that Jar Jar can get to be a little much. Also, I feel you never warm up to Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn. The only thing that I can come up with that is Jinn is a little "mechanical" in his demeanor and though he doesn't do anything to keep you FROM connecting with him, he doesn't do anything to win you over either. This could also be a direct result of Liam Neeson though. I've seen quite a few of his pictures and this is a common occurrence with the characters that he plays. Also, as a side note, I'm hoping that one of the films will delve more into the mystique of the Jedi night and the "Force". Now back to the movie... What made the first 3 so great was the "newness" that the films had! We, John Q public, had never experienced anything like it and the affects were so mind blowing that the whole experience was phenomenal!! But now, there has been so many of these types of movies; The Star Treks, Starship troopers, lost in space, etc (never mind the bombardment of space shows on TV)... That we never thought the new Star Wars would be another one in the pack; we expected it to be as ground breaking as the originals! This was an impossible feat and that's why it "failed" on some level. Also, the time between Return of the Jedi and the release of Phantom Menace probably caused the "larger than life" anticipation. It's a shame really, a good movie lost to it's own promise... The DVD is quite spectacular and one of the best as far as extras go. I'm not big on extras though; I just like the great Audio and Video. I'm a Home Theater owner and this is the very movie that fits HT!! The pod race is demo material and the luscious landscapes and horizons on the different planets are total eye candy! This is one to buy and watch over and over! Just remember, you need to keep your mind in the same genre that the movie is in and you will fully enjoy it... I promise!!
Rating:
Summary: Bottom Line, the film doesn't work with the first trilogy
Review: It's hard to believe that the films sequal from 1977 has loopholes, or perhaps Lucas accidently made loopholes, who cares, the film doesn't work. First off, kill Jar Jar, comic relief, he help kill the film, and since when do aliens seem so cultural, you know Japaneese accents, even Jamican. The film seemed to computorized, note to Lucas, every stinking thing in the film doesn't have to be computor animated. Then C-3P0, Ha! If Anikan is a slave boy, then how could he build a robot in which there are other types of the same kind. And wouldn't C-3P0 know that vadar was his builder. And I though Ben said that the force is in everyliving thing, yeah, were going to test for the force. Hey, the podrace sceen, annoying, who needs {or wants to} see ten minuets of people racing. Perhaps it is true, if you don't do any real projects {I know that the special edition was a project, but it was just to release great films to a generation that saw deteriating films} you do lose your talent, the only thing good about this film is the Wierd Al song.
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