Rating: Summary: young, caring Skywalker leading up to the evil Vader Review: All the negative reviewers need to pipe down. After a 14 year drought, this Star Wars was just as good as the first three. True, the actors were probably left to direct themselves, but the creatures and the special effects were great. We got to see the future connection between Palpatine and young Skywalker. Did anyone catch the fact the Skywalker was caring and kind as a child? We all know what he becomes later on. This alone will make me anticipate the next two movies to see how he becomes so "twisted and evil". And, at the end of the movie, we got to see young Obi-wan sporting the brown robe with the hood. Natalie Portman was elequent in her role as the queen. This is an instant classic! Buy it!
Rating: Summary: Great DVD Review: All the stuff a life long Star Wars Fan would want.
Rating: Summary: Don't lose sight of your vision George. Review: All too easy to write a bad review on this film. Far too much expectation is levelled in the direction of George Lucas. And every single person who slates this film will still buy the DVD. The film is trashed merely because it doesn't live up to expectations. And it never would have. The film is George Lucas' vision, and not the collaborative efforts of the millions of fans out there who feel they could do it better. I hope he does not bow to the masses for the next two, that in itself would be a betrayal. This DVD has an unprecedented level of extra material, and has probably had the most money spent on it, more so than the T2 Ultimate Edition which incredible expense and effort was invested into. Completing shots that didn't make it into the final cut is unheard of until now, all too often we are treated to no more than rough cuts and storyboards. This DVD is made for the fans and for that they should be thankful. Don't lose sight George. Not everyone thinks you have lost it.
Rating: Summary: Good entertainment, but the leaste effective Star Wars! Review: Almost a great movie, it wasn't Jar Jar, it was Liam Neeson that hurt this film. His portrayal of a moody almost stupid highly trained Jedi blows my mind! What was Lucas thinking? Yes Jedi have human bodies and are therefore subject to the earthly needs, thus they turn to the "Dark Side", but they are still powerful, but for personal gain, not universal peace and justice for all. Strange character he was! In all fairness he didn't write the part, but I got the feeling he didn't believe in the character.
Rating: Summary: "Forced" Menace Review: Almost everyone agrees that EPISODE 1 isn't the best installment in the series. The direction by George Lucas is rather flat. Sure, it has some visaully stunning landscapes and F/X, but it seems to me that while Lucas is busy seeng how far his technology can take him, acting and other essential elements are put to one side. I am aware of how difficult it must have been for Lucas to decide how the beloved saga would begin After a 16 year gap between episodes, this was a major undertaking, that fact is not lost on me. The recent theatrical release of ATTACK OF THE CLONES, prompted me to take another look at the film and the DVD. I still feel the same way I did after first seeing the film in theaters. I wont bore you by repeating what others have said here and elsewhere. AOTC addresses some of the problems of TPM (and is a slightly better film). What amazes me is the fact that, the extras on the 2 disc set, help to make this one of the best DVDs that I have ever seen, even though the film is disappointing. The documentary and multiple featurettes really take you inside the film in a way that few DVDs ever have. Unlike most DVDs with multple featurettes, facts are never repeated, great care must have been taken to ensure that errors like that did not occur. Culled from over 600 hours of footage, it never gets boring, or puts you to sleep. The deleted scenes are cool to see but don't offer anything new to the film. The next great feature is the 12 part web documentary in case you missed it online. There is a rather extensive photo gallery, trailers, television spots, the print campaign, the popular "Duel of the Fates" music video, and DVD-ROM content. All of this is presented using a clever menu layout. The first disc has a good commentary track from Lucas and other production insiders. Lucas makes no apologies for the film and plows ahead I am a huge fan of the first trilogy, and perhaps my affection for those films, influences my thoughts about the newer films. However, it's hard not to argue that THE PHANTOM MENACE DVD, is among the best ever produced. It gets only 4 stars because of my feelings about the film and not the DVD extras Recommended of course
Rating: Summary: for entertainment only Review: Along with the multitudes of Star Wars fans, I only expect an honest effort with anything associated with a Lucasfilms production. That being said though, I am extremely at a loss for words with my disappointment with the movie. The overall plot had a potential that was obliterated by a whole range of easily preventable dynamics. Actors and an actress (*cough, cough*) that are being hansomely imbursed for their craft have to find a way to convince me of their roles in this movie. Ewan McGregor,Liam Neeson and Ian McDarmid were the only ones to save their characters in the movie. I can almost excuse Jake Lloyd but obviously his role is vital and his interest seemed to fade towards the end. I felt like he wanted to do a SpyKids installment the second he revved up the Naboo fighter towards the end. Way too many references or 'pats-on-the-back' of the previous Classic trilogy for comedy relief. The jokes here (and in Attack of the Clones) seemed forced (no pun intended) and did not serve the momentum. This movie most likely had an expensive budget and any attempts at levity better serve the story, which it didn't. The final celebration at the very end makes me cringe. They basically did the same thing at Yavin 4 on Episode IV "A New Hope" which was filmed with taste and humility. Why it was done here seemed to be nothing more than and exercise for IML. It would've been nice to end the movie with Qui-Gonn's funeral on a little bit more of a somber note. (the movie was subtitled The Phantom Menace, right?) I do have kind remarks, however. The DVD package was quite extensive and thorough. The transfer was excellent and the sound was crystal. But I guess we have taken that as asssumed, coming from one of the leaders of cinematic technology, neh? :)
Rating: Summary: What fans miss Review: Alot of people don't realize that Phantom Menace was a great movie for 1999, Compared to some of the other movies of 99' Menace has great sequals,which we've all have watched and the story line was great. I think alot of fans just missed the great Han Solo which added a little something more than Jar Jar Binks to this movie. Sorry, Han wasn't born just yet and we needed to all see what started these...before their time trilogys. I give Phantomn Menace the top gun because of the story and the grat Lucas effects.
Rating: Summary: An Okay movie Review: Already over 2,000 reviews on this thing so far. That's amazing, but even more amazing was how uninspiring this film was. The city planet was a strange place, and it reminded of all the trips to Boston on Rte 128 or Rte 495. I can't imagine a planet that reminds me of New York City. That was a truly disturbing vision. Then there were the Jedi's. Not too inspiring, either. The villains were preposterous, as was the alleged UN of the planets. Just the same kind of stuff as in the year 2002. Boring, boring, and politically boring. Ja-Ja Binks was the real winner, here, and I'm not getting into the racist dialogue. He had nothing to do with being a Jamaican, no matter what anyone says. He was a unique character, and his city under the sea was truly inspiring. The rest of the movie was a set-up for the next. Typical Lucas fare.
Rating: Summary: What a dissapointment Review: Alright first off I must say the original Star Wars Trilogy are 3 of my favorite movies ever created. I was greatly anticipating this movie because I did not see what George Lucas could do wrong. I mean the Indiana Jones Trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy, and the 2 ewoks movies were all great in my opinion. I was expecting another trilogy of masterpieces. I would have to say the acting was a huge drawback to this movie. I did not say it was bad acting just didn't seem right somehow. First off the kid that plays Anakin is my least favorite kid actor barely beating off the kid in Sixth Sense. Now that that is out of the way again there is just something about the actors that I find lacking. Not one actor in this really makes me feel anything at all except maybe Liam Neeson. There isn't anyone with the chrisma of Harrison Ford or the biting but alluring Carrie Fisher or even James Earl Jones voice acting for Vader. Even the tiny roles filled by Captain Needa or Admiral Ozzel were so much better than any 1 person's role in this entire film. The spacecraft in this are horrible looking. Jar Jar Binks is riduculously stupid and annoying, but not as annoying as Anakin. The special effects are good but I prefer the older ones of the old movie for one reason and one alone. The special effects in the older series although not as well done add to the movie they don't take away from it. I find the special effects in this one actually detract from the movie by becoming the main focus. The best thing about the movie is another soundtrack by John Williams. I find the dialogue boring as well as the character relations. It almost seemed like the actors were too busy trying to isolate themselves as the stars in the movie instead of building up a nice team of people. Liam was really the only actor that didn't seem to put that idea in my mind. The only part in the movie I liked was the final battle with Darth Maul and the 2 jedi. The double light-saber kicked a** and the music added a lot to the scene. All around I think the movie was ruined by independant acting, poor dialogue, too much focus on special effects detracted from the scene, and all the new spacecraft and aliens that were added were retarded.
Rating: Summary: Terrible movie, um, nice DVD extras Review: Alright I'll cut out all the negative Star Wars vibes for all the geeks out there, this film was just plain boring, pure and simple. Boring, boring, boring. It was really boring.
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