Rating: 
Summary: Star Wars returns: And man, what a ride
Review: First off, way to go george. This is simply the most eagerly awaited event in the history of film making. There will never be another Star Wars and this saga deserves its place as the foremost example of american culture there is. These films should go into a time capsule and be burried for 1000 years as our decendants will undoubetly want to relieve this fun fantasy.This episode does well to capture the feeling and grandeur of the originals in such a way as to suggest that merely months have gone by since "A new hope" was on the big screen for the first time. The story is captivating, and the characters are interesting, yes, even Jar Jar. Although I too did not really appreciate him until I read the book. My only complaint, it went too fast, both in story telling speed and time. 2 hours was hardly enough to satisfy this die hard SW fan who has been waiting for 17 years to see how it all started. And the story telling, while true to Lucas' passion for speed, went too quickly from one scene to another. IMHO All in all, a masterful return to the saga that holds such a special place in our hearts. Bravo. PS. Its a shoo in for the Oscar in all the same categories that Star Wars won for.
Rating:
Summary: No DVD because of technoligical advances...
Review: First off: BIG STAR WARS FAN! Anyway, there is a reason that Star Wars will not be on DVD for awhile. Most people (see below) seem to think that George Lucas is either behind the times or not into technology because he did not release it on DVD. Well, to those of you, "What are you thinking! " Lucas's movies are of the highest caliber technology movies in the history of the motion pictures. Because of his films and companies, technology is advancing faster and faster each year. For this reason, and the fact that he will film at least one of the next two on digital film, George Lucas is obviously holding off on the DVD until the technology is readily available, and when there is some standard for DVDs. When he finally does release the DVDs (after the next two films are completed and out of theaters) I'm sure there will be new footage and features on all of them, uncluding the new trilogy prequels. Lucas is a mastermind marketer and has made a wise decision to hold off on the release of the DVDs. Each and every film of the Star Wars saga is an excellent movie for all ages. I recommed the widescreen editions because of the amount of effort Lucas used in order to fill up the entire aspect ratio of the screen. Each frame of each movie is packed with visual information, and hidden messages are everywhere. What a great series!
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Summary: Bringing back fun to the big screen!
Review: First, I hate it when I read reviews that attempt to evaluate a movie to see if it has some wonderful moral or social message to send. I say HOGWASH. I choose to evalute a movie for what it is, and in the case of The Phantom Menace, it is a Science Fiction movie that precedes the original StarWars Trilogy. First, as the movie open with the famous: "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....", then the thundering Star Wars score I instantly reverted back to a 13 boy {I am now 36} with chills moving up my spine as I emerge myself into this wonderful Science Fiction movie. Some of the things that I bring back from the move is how good I felt when I left the theater. I particularly like the way certain things were assumed that you already knew like the Jedi-Knights. They never had to explain who they were because we already knew. I really enjoyed the continuity from that aspect. I thought that the charaters interacted with each other very well which helped to move the story along smoothly. I found the FX outstanding. It really kept me on the edge of my seat with the pod race and the light-saber battles. The villians were extremely well done and I was particularly please to see the original emperor from revenge of the Jedi return to the Phantom Menace. In a nutshell Was it a great Sci-Fi Movie?...Yes! Did I feel good after it was over?....Yes.. Would I go see it again?...yep (3 times in fact) Should you buy the tape?....yes (but only because Lucas is being a weenie about releasing it to DVD}
Rating: 
Summary: Weird Al's alternative
Review: Folks, go get Weird Al's Videos DVD instead. He gave complete synopsis of the SW/1 plot in few songs there, and unlike the original he did it nicely. I guarantee you'd laugh watching Yancovic, but not the original.
Rating: 
Summary: "We must do something quickly to stop the Federation."
Review: Following a 16-year hiatus from the original "Star Wars" trilogy, writer/director/producer George Lucas returned with the beginning of a new "Star Wars" trilogy set years before the events that take place in the first trilogy. This set of "prequels" (as the term was coined) begins with the 1999 film "Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace". In this film, the Empire does not yet exist. Instead, the galaxy is governed by the Republic, whose main political body is a large, elected assembly of representatives known as the Senate. The chief executive, known as the Chancellor, has very limited powers and is elected by the Senate. Unfortunately, due in part to its size and countless political interests, the Senate operates extremely slowly and is incapable of making quick decisions when necessary. Such is the case with the planet of Naboo, which is headed by an elected queen, Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). Naboo is under threat of invasion by a group calling itself the Trade Federation, which is headed by Viceroy Nute Gunray (Silas Carson), because Queen Amidala has refused to sign a peace treaty with it that would ultimately deprive Naboo of its sovereignty. Naboo's senatorial representative, Senator Palpatine (the returning Ian McDiarmid), is able to have Chancellor Finis Valorum (Terence Stamp, who played "Bernadette" in the 1994 Australian film "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") send two Jedi to Naboo to broker a peace agreement. Upon the advice of a cloaked individual known as Darth Sidious (also Ian McDiarmid), the Viceroy orders that the two Jedi, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his teacher Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), be ambushed upon their arrival to the Federation starship. However, they barely escape to Naboo's surface along with the Federation's invading droid army. On Naboo's surface, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon meet an irritating, non-human Naboo native named Jar Jar Binks (voice done by Ahmed Best) who helps them obtain transportation to Queen Amidala's palace without being noticed by the invading droid army. Once there, they help the resistant Queen escape the planet's surface (along with Jar Jar), but damage to their ship forces them to travel to the desert planet of Tattooine instead of the Republic's primary planet known as Coruscant. On Tattooine, their search for replacement parts leads them to a winged individual known as Watto (voice done by Andrew Secombe), his very young slave, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and Anakin's mother who is also enslaved, Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August). As with any previous "Star Wars" film, the cinematography and special effects used in "The Phantom Menace" are excellent; but sadly, the writing and dialog are pallid. The film's two biggest problems are the character Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd's portrayal of Anakin. When George Lucas released the previous "Star Wars" film in 1983 ("Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi"), he introduced a bunch of furry little creatures known as Ewoks. Many people found them endearing, but some found them annoying. In similar fashion, Lucas created an underwater species on Naboo known as the Gungan, of which Jar Jar Binks is part. Unfortuneately, the Gungan's Jamaican accents and immature vocabulary made them (especially Jar Jar) far more annoying than endearing. As for Jake Lloyd, it is very strange that with so many fine, young talented actors, that Lucas would select a highly animated and unconvincing actor to portray one of the film's most important characters. There are, however, many memorable scenes in the film that partially make up for the film's inadequacies including Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon on the Federation starship, views of Naboo, the pod race, Qui-Gon's first encounter with Darth Maul (played by Ray Park, voice by Peter Serafinowicz), Queen Amidala's address to the Senate, Anakin standing before the Jedi Council that is headed by Yoda (voice done by Frank Oz), the Gungan/droid battle, the Naboo castle invasion, and the final battle between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon with Obi-Wan. Other memorable characters include C-3PO (the returning Anthony Daniels), R2-D2 (the returning Kenny Baker), Sebulba (voice done by Lewis Macleod), Captain Panaka (Hugh Quarshie), Jabba the Hut and Boss Nass (Brian Blessed). Overall, I rate the double-DVD version of "Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace" with 4 out of 5 stars. The additional DVD includes many fascinating clips of how the film was made, including the creation of Darth Maul and the choreography of his fights.
Rating:
Summary: it was okay
Review: for a big budget, tons of special FX kind of movie, it was okay, it was entertaining. but it's definitely not a classic. the VHS quality is HORRIBLE. picture quality is poor compared to the SW:TRILOGY that was released. and this is THX certified? i dont think so... and paying 15 more dollars for the widescreen version? forget it... the xtra stuff you get is such a piece of crap. the book is so not new [pictures were taken from other star wars released books]. i suggest you just rent it.
Rating:
Summary: Episode 1 - A Terriffic Beginning
Review: For a new viewer who hasn't seen the middle trilogy, this is an excelent beginning to an epic story. Like many others, when I saw the movie the first time, I was mildly dissapointed and placed the movie #4 of the 4. After a second viewing and clearing my mind of episodes 4-6, my appreciation grew and anticipation of coming episodes heightend. Lucas has set this clockwork into motion with a masterful opening episode.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough Darth Maul
Review: For a science fiction movie this was great! However, for a Star Wars movie it was only very good, but very good none the less. In my opinion, George Lucas did not utilize Ewan McGregors acting abilities as much as he could have, and another thing that the movie lacked was Darth Maul! I mean good gosh, he was only in the movie for about 5 minutes, and he was one of the main attraction that lead me to go see the movie four times in the theatre. Oh well, besides these minor flaws this movies was very good and worth seeing over and over again. May the force continue on.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best dvd's yet
Review: For all starwars fans this is well worth the money the deleted scenes are so cool and one of them george lucas put back in the movie so this dvd has more than the original release. You can't go wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Hey guys it's a great movie.
Review: For all those critics who've been ranting on Lucas and The Phantom Menace lighten up. It's a great movie. That's the effect that Episode one is supposed to give off. That things are good but they're going to get bad really soon. I think it was genius to have Lucas cast Jake Lloyd as the young Anakin Skywalker, it will make Anakins seduction to the Dark Side much more heart-wrenching. Would Luke's salvation of Vader have been nearly as rewarding if he had been the cynic Han Solo? We're talking about foils here. If your paying attention instead of being overwhelmed and gawking at the special effects you can see the classic triology shinning through. I think to many people are blinded to the real story because they can't get their eyes past the beauty of Naboo. George Lucas is writting a Saga not just a compilation of unrelated stories, these movies are acts to a gargantuan story.
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