Rating: 
Summary: The story continues with great FX but less character
Review: For some, the first trilogy represents a wonderful myth based on classic themes; for others who don't know what all the fuss is about, it's childish drek with lousy science and illogical continuity. Harlan Ellison assailed the STAR WARS movie as dribble, citing, for instance, the fact that the space ships make noise in space (where there is no sound). If you accept that Lucas is making a grand mythology - and that is clearly what he is attempting - then how does the beginning of this new trilogy (the story of the fall of Darth Vader) hold up? Where it fails for me - besides the fact that we are following the story of Darth Vader, whereas personally I am more interested in the story of Obi-Wan - is that, in PHANTOM MENACE, the characters are not nearly as personable as Han, Luke, Leia, and family. For all the goofy acting and mournfully trite dialogue perpetrated in those movies, the performances created characters we could feel we knew and liked, whereas in PHANTOM MENACE they are more like figures, played with sobriety as if enacting a museum piece. No personal connection is possible with little Annakin, the dynamic duo jedis (although Ewan MacGregor does an impressive job emulating a younger version of the character created by Sir Alec Guinness, in body and voice), or even the amazing-looking villain with nothing to say and no back story of his own. To make up for the lack of character, Lucas throws in the digitally-animated nuisance of Jar-Jar Binks, a "loveable" character most fans love to hate. Is there anything endearing about this thing? Without personable characters, the mythology is in danger of becoming grandiose; and that would be a sorry fate for what began with STAR WARS.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I will have a DVD player by the time DVD is released
Review: For someone who sees very few movies in the theater, and who owns mostly Disney (other than the original SW trilogy) on VHS, holding my breath for this movie was odd. I do not usually go to the theater simply because I cannot stand hype; I avoided hearing too much about this movie beforehand so that I would not be disappointed, and apparently it worked. My complaints about the story itself are minor... I too was irritated by JarJar, but my 4 year old, who understands the complexities of no plot more complex than say the Little Mermaid, loved him, and told me to hush in the theater when I groaned after his 5th idiocy in as many minutes. And I too wanted more of Darth Maul, especially fight scenes, however I understand why this was not so. Remembering my original reaction, at 7, to Luke's opening whine, er I mean, line, in New Hope, I can't honestly say that this movie was worse in dialogue. I personally didn't become a fan of SW until I read the books, and I realize now this was because the worlds and characters simply did not seem real, I saw right through and was distracted by the cinemetography. That really cannot be said about this episode. Although some parts are obviously digitized if you aren't caught up in it, it is more surreal than unreal. Because I have the other 3 memorized <g>, I caught some discrepancies in the story, but not enough to make it so the story doesn't work. And although the movie isn't as "dark" as some wanted it to be, artistically this had to be so: how else would viewers see the tragedy of the boy from prosphesy? The story must NOT be dark, except a little foreshadowing, until the prophesy starts turning. And as far as the complaints about the mysticism gone once we learn the force is caused by micro-organisms, I found this to be the most fascinating element in the movie. Lucas used an X-file-esque explanation for that which cannot be explained, and increased the implications instead of killing them. For anyone who was a casual watcher of the SW originals and expected to finally be caught up in the magic by this film, or anyone who tried too hard to create their own fantasy, I can see how it would be a let down. For those who enjoy mythologies, and understand the complexities involved in making them work, and for those who enjoy a movie with action and fight scenes with a plot that is not able to stand alone (it isn't supposed to!), this movie is an excellent one. And for those of us who simply enjoy Star Wars, and remember the surprise of its success when originally released, this movie is a welcome addition.
Rating:
Summary: The Phantom Movie
Review: For starters, the Phantom Menace is one that needed a little more ummfff- or some more pazzaz. It contained some errors that I hope won't blunder the entire STAR WARS storyline. However, the movie does present itself as a science fiction movie should - dazzingly, imaginative, and stunning, as well as a good storyline. But the story was plagued in some ways. It left me with a lot of questions that I hope will be answered by Lucas in the next movies yet to come. For instance, How come Qui-Gon didn't disappear?, Why does Anakin not have a father?, and What was Jar-Jar's role? Whatever the disappointment we may have felt, the movie was terrific if not entertaining. It surpassed many other movies I saw during the year and made me yearing for George to write and make the next two. The movie goes to show us that you don't need violence (bloodshed) and nudity to make a moviegoers go wild.
Rating:
Summary: 3 Stars?!?! I'll tell you why...
Review: For the 1st installment of the Star Wars silver screen story, it was pretty damn good. So why 3 stars? First, Jar-Jar. I hate Jar-Jar with a burning salty passion. Second, I hate that kid who plays Anakin. Third, the pod race was a bit too long for my taste. After a while, it made me seem as though lucas didn't have enough material for the movie, so he pumped the movie with pod racing. Other than that, I gotta wait for the Attack of the Clones!!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic World, But Surprisingly Shallow
Review: For the beginning of a saga that is already rich in fairy-tale and fantasy tropes, The Phantom Menace lacks the density it needs. Even for the beginning of a prequel trilogy that may be fairly self-contained, this first of the three is surprisingly weak. Biological explanations of the Force are not enough--we need to know about the relationship between the Sith and Jedi now. The fact that the first film largely ignores such interesting material leaves me wary of the next two films (even though they'll be darker and probably more interesting), because they will now have to take up the issues that Phantom ignored. I do admire Lucas's attempt to create a political fantasy, but despite all the talk in the original trilogy about governors and senators, the Star Wars saga is not as political as Lucas seems to want it to be. Even Return of the Jedi surpasses Phantom in that Lucas kept himself honed in on the fantasy--the emotional struggle, even the high dramatics were far more interesting in that weakest film of the first trilogy. Now, we have Phantom, which is, surprisingly, even simpler than A New Hope. With all the richness already set up in the first trilogy, it pained me to see that Lucas ignored it. Phantom is a decent action film with incredibly realized fantastic worlds. And that is about it.
Rating: 
Summary: What in the hell is this?
Review: For the boneheads who hail this movie, lay off the drugs. It sucks. I wouldn't waste a dime on anything that has George Lucas associated with it. Talking about a monetary scheme. The new Star Wars flicks are just proof that americans follow like sheep...get a life...
Rating:
Summary: Not The Same Movie!
Review: For the DVD release, George Lucas added a few deleted scenes to the actuall film. The pod race is a lot longer! The change is definatly for the better! The 5.1 audio is so cool! And the new hour long making of Episode 1 is the best documentary I've ever seen! I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan and I'm raving about this DVD! This is definately something you want to own even if you own the VHS. This movie tells the story of how young Anakin Skywalker is freed from slavery leaving his mother behind to start his training as a jedi knight. And you get the feeling that he and Queen Amidala like eachother a little to much as the Queen fights to save her people from the trade federations attacks. Buy this 2-disc DVD for all ages!
Rating: 
Summary: simply put: STAR WARS IS RUINED!
Review: For the love of God couldn't they have just left it alone? The first 3 were perfect. But now Star Wars will be forever tarnished. Episode One was easily the biggest gimmick in the history of movie making; the biggest let down of all time. I remember sitting in the theater and praying for Luke, Han, Leia, Lando, Vader, or Chewy to pop-up on the screen and save this thing. But that didn't happen. Instead I found myself slouching in the seat and feeling stupid for wasting so much time waiting in line. Now on to the movie itself: I felt sorry for Liam Neeson, what a pity to waste such great talent. Ewen McGregor was good also, probably just him and Neeson, unfortunately their acting wasn't enough to save such a poorly written script. All the rest of the cast were mediocre. (I'll get to The Kid later...) The special effects were... uh, stupid. Special effects aren't supposed to be characters. It was like watching a puppet show or something. I dont' know how George is gonna remedy this problem in the next movie-- it seems he's dug quite a large hole for himself. Plus he's also stuck with some of the same dumb actors, i.e. Natalie Portman. What was Jar Jar's purpose? He was fine for about 10 seconds. I think as a rule they should've limited the dialogue between real people and animated characters to no more than 10 seconds. Finally, Anakin. The golden rule in hollywood: never use child actors (except the kid from The 6th Sense and the girl from Excorcist). Okay, I'm done wasting anymore time on this movie.
Rating:
Summary: If Empire Strikes Back is a diamond, then Ep. 1 is gneiss
Review: For the uninitiated, the G. Lucas American film series about warfare amongst the stars is a peculiar look at parallel universes and strange creatures interacting with humans in an attempt to secure peace throughout the galaxy. Indeed, this war amongst the stars, or "Star Wars" as it is called, is indeed a film series about love and betrayal, incest and abandonment, good midgets and bad midgets, strange fish creatures with too much power, and robots. Indeed, this film series (whose art house qualities remind the intellectual filmgoer of the Decalogue in scope, or perhaps a parallel can be best made between Star Wars and the Trois Couleurs Trilogy, in that both series exhibit semi-paradoxical tendencies for the both the surreal and the comic while trying to maintain at least some semblance of the post-modernistic cliche of parallel bereavement and longing for the freudian (or perhaps jungian would be better) other in that the subconscious is always expressed in terms of pseudo-violence, usually directed towards the self but often manifested in the form of senseless destruction against establishment regulation. It is important to remember this war amongst the stars in these quasi-anthropological terms, for the genesis of such serial work too can have its roots in the experimental (think of the obvious parallels between Return of the Jedi and, say, Man With a Movie Camera). With that in mind, Star Wars Episode One... ...sucks.
Rating:
Summary: A nice peek into SW history...
Review: For those of us who grew up watching the "Original" trilogy, this is an interesting peek into the history of the Star Wars universe, although I think Jar Jar's character was a bit too comical for the movie, I like the CGI effects and how the characters inteacted. The down side was that there wasn't the air of mystery in the force (we learn that it's generated by microscopic creatures in symbiosis with living things) which is a big disappointment for me.
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