Rating: 
Summary: Lucas begins another trilogy
Review: The Phantom Menace was an awesome movie. The special effects were out of this world. The characters in this movie were exceptional. Some say Jar Jar was annoying, and shouldn't have gotten that much TV time, but I thought his character was well played out. His voice could've been better, but wasn't too bad. It'll be interesting to see how Queen Amidala and Skywalker fall in love, and who is Anakin's father.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for a good movie? Try A New Hope instead
Review: The Phantom Menace was over-anticipated. The movie itself has no relationships shown between characters, and by the end of the movie you forget some characters even existed (like Shmi Skywalker, or one of the podracers). The other movies were well-paced and had a gripping storyline. This one focused more on CG, special effects, and overall, the tough job of trying to live up to its expectation. It had no storyline whatsoever. Again, if you're looking for a good movie, try A New Hope instead.
Rating:
Summary: Wider is better, but not much.
Review: The Phantom Menace was perhaps the most-hyped movie of the century, but that hype was something it could never live up to. The special effects were amazing, but the storyline was severely lacking. Of course, every Star Wars fans knows this by now, as well as a good percentage of the rest of the population. The consolation here is that if you want to buy the movie, you should buy the widescreen edition so you're not missing half the cast. Of course, fans with enough patience can always wait until 2010 to buy the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: OK Movie, Great DVD
Review: The Phantom Menace was probably the most heavily anticipated movie in history. It was the prequel to the original Star Wars series and George Lucas was taking the helm as director for the first time since Star Wars in 1977. The film was hyped incessantly and, of course, the final product failed to live up to the expectations. The Phantom Menace is not a bad film. It actually is absolutely amazing to look at and the special effects are incredible. The problem with the film is the plot. It seems disjointed as it bounces around from scene to scene. It seems that Mr. Lucas was to preoccupied with getting the film to look right than the actual story (which is what made the first Star Wars so great). Many people weren't happy with the casting of several roles, especially Ewan MacGregor as Obi Won Kenobi, but he does a decent job in an undeveloped role. Liam Neeson is commanding as Qui Gon Jin and Natalie Portman is quite good as Queen Amadala. The biggest complaint that most people had with the film was with the character of Jar Jar Binks and I won't disagree with most of what's been said about the annoying character. Mr. Lucas has previously shunned the DVD arena (American Graffiti is the only one of his films to appear in the format), but he goes about this release with a vengeance. The extras, including seven deleted scenes, are worth buying this DVD alone. Mr. Lucas spent an additional four million dollars on them and the money is well spent.
Rating:
Summary: It Had Some Big Shoes to Fill
Review: The Phantom Menace was probably the most heavily anticipated movie in history. Since Star Wars hit the silver screen in 1977 I haven't heard many ask about how the characters got to where there were, but I didn't hear one complaint about possibly learning of the character's pasts as everyone rushed to the theater to find out. The final product failed to live up to the expectations set for it however. Don't get me wrong the Phantom Menace is not a bad film, and the special effects are incredible, but the plot seems disjointed as it bounces around from scene to scene possibly confusing some of the viewers. Not to mention that quite simply this episode just had some very big shoes to fill. The cast did a wonderful job, and I couldn't have enjoyed the preformances more. I was also touched by the fact that George Lucas stuck to so much of his original effects from the previous three movies. I would have never guessed I could have been paying this muh attention, but it quickly dawned on me that Han Solo might be missing, but the vehicles that everyone flies around with sound just as they would have in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Rating:
Summary: The First Star Wars DVD is a Force to be reckoned with...
Review: The Phantom Menace was ridiculed by critics and fans everywhere, from its dialogue, the story, and some of its characters. Personally I thought George Lucas did a fine job of introducing the main characters while still having a story to go along with it and still tie it to the original trilogy. This DVD is excellent in that it is a two disc set with the movie seperating it from the extras which is what DVDs currently do. The extra scenes in the movie are magnificent in the quality that they were done. The usual theatrical trailers and the behind the scenes movies were good. Very excellent job done by the LucasFilm team. I highly recommend this to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: The New Star Wars Movie
Review: The Phantom Menace was the biggest hit of 1999. The movie has spectacular special effects and a great soundtrack. It does have flaws, though. The story line isn't bad, but the acting could have been a whole lot better. Also, Jar Jar is incredibly annoying!
OK, here's the story:32 years before the first Star Wars movie, Obi-Wan(Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gonn(Liam Neeson), 2 Jedi Knights, are sent to stop a blockade of a small planet. After they get the picture the planet's being taken over, the Jedi rescue the queen(Natile Portman) and head to the planet Coracaunt to get help from the Galantc Republic. On the way, they get stranded on Tatoine and meet Anikin Skywalker(Jake Lloyd) and his mother Shmi(Prunilla August), who help the Jedi get off the planet.
If you have a dvd player, get the dvd. It has a documentary,deleted scenes, a commentary, and about a bajillion other extras.
This is a good movie, but watch it with an open mind. Don't think it'll be as good as the first Star Wars movies, 'cause it just isn't that good. On its own it's a pretty good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated!
Review: The Phantom Menace! Highly anticipated, yet to some, a huge disappointment. A disappointment only to those who expected to see 'the best movie of all time.' Episode I is merely an introduction; the first part of a 6 episode saga. A saga, which truly is THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. When renting this video, keep in mind that this is the beginning. Keep in mind that there are GROUNDBREAKING effects. Keep in mind that Lucas funded most of the movie out of his own pocket! This isn't a hollywood production. It wasn't meant to have flashy lights and a popular soundtrack. It is a story; the best ever told.
Rating:
Summary: It did what it had to do...
Review: The Phantom Menace, one of the most controversial, criticized and anticipated movie of all time. it's impossible for any filmmaker to recreat the success of his first movie, but despite some mediocre momments, George and his crew manage to make a pretty, good movie. Episode I is just as entertaining as the original, but the cast doesn't have that witty, chemistry that Luke and Co. had. However, the Duel of the fates fight scene with Darth Maul is excellent but interrupted by that Jar Jar. The podrace made Star wars haters show respect for the films. the sets, costumes,landscapes are beautiful. John Williams put alot of energy into the score. The story isn't that bad, needs more work on character developement though. For now I'd Accept the childish vibe that it has but i'd expect that ep 2 would be as mature as Anakin at 20. Since I'm a caribbean, Jar Jar was a bit offensive, but George won points with Sam Jackson as a Jedi and Capt.Panaka. Darth Maul, good villain but has nothing prove that he can be a match for Vader, except in a Duel. Qui-Gon is also a good character but has better cemistry with Watto than Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan doesn't mingle much with the rest of the cast or leaves Qui-Gon's shadow until the end. I've been a fan since birth and I'm not very disappointed with this film. Yes, it could have been better, but after Matrix, It had some of the best Special FX than any other movie since Titanic so forget about Hollow Man! Still I wouldn't expect everyone to feel the same way about Menace. This is a note 4 critics that dissed the podrace, for years movies has copied Star wars(ID4, wing commander, etc.) so what if the race reminds you of Ben Hur. The film did what it had to do- kick off The Saga and it did it! George, good luck wit' EP2!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: The thrill is gone...
Review: The Phantom Menace, which carried the hopes of so many Star Wars fans, was a dissappointing on many levels. The acting is merely mediocre, with the exception of Liam Neeson who is the films only redeeming feature. The overload of digital material also destroys the magic that was present in the other films. So what if the characters in the older films were people in rubber suits? At least there was something real about them. This film gives you the feeling that you are watching a computer game, therefore there is no attachment to any character. All of the grandiose ideas of what the Jedi order may have been like are also shattered in this story. This film may be appealing to the up and coming generation with its glossy images and lack of intellect, however, the fans of the original trilogy, like myself will not experience the old "magic" with this film.
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