Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and surpurb - most overhyped, but underrated film.
Review: Many people may have disliked THE PHANTOM MENACE because it was not made in the 70s or 80s and it didn't have Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, or Princess Lia. Well, duh...they weren't even born yet in this episode! And Darth Vader didn't exist, either. But this movie is just as excellent as the last three...just different.I think everybody has seen THE PHANTOM MENACE and knows what it's about so I don't really have to write a summary. But in THE PHANTOM MENACE, there are some interesting and new characters such as the young future-to-be Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), JarJar Binks, Anakin's mother Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August), Qui-Gonn Jonn (Liam Neeson), Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), and Darth Maul (Ray Park), along with many other new characters. THE PHANTOM MENACE was aiming more toward Anakin Skywalker's point of view. The special effects and sound effects are incredible. The storyline is pretty good, too. Even though this movie is very long, it is a very good long movie that will have you engrossed until the end. This isn't just for STAR WARS fans - though I do say I am a STAR WARS fan - this movie can be for anybody. Of course, it would be better to watch the other episodes so you know what's supposed to be happening and you are not totally clueless about everything. George Lucas did an amazing job with THE PHANTOM MENACE and I congratulate him on a job-well-done. It is a satisfying movie with excellent and surpurb acting from the entire cast essemble. It is a definite must see and must own for all STAR WARS fans and a great movie for just about anyone to see. Go and see this movie and I can guarentee you'll love it. Can't wait for Episode II out in theaters summer of 2002!
Rating: 
Summary: Mmmmmm.....
Review: Well this isn't as good as it should be. The plot is alittle on it's down side, and so is the charactors. Anikans character was alittle to in to it and he acted like a show of and all. I could even make this movie better than it is..... But, Obe one Kenobe's actor was great!, and so is the graphics but: wheres ep. 2?
Rating:
Summary: Where's Luke and Han when you need them?
Review: I've always been a huge "Star Wars" fan, infact, after nearly 20 years the original film is still my favorite movie of all time. Even its two successors "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi", although not as good as the original, are very well made and enjoyable movies themselves. Naturally, as with all the other fans of the series world wide, I couldn't wait to go see "Episode I" when it was finally released in the summer of '99. I went into the theater expecting to see something magical, something completely wonderful that would allow me, for two and a half hours, to relive my past childhood experiences of having seen the original film and "ROTJ" in the theaters. However, as I walked out of the theater, with the end credits rolling up on the screen behind me, I realized that I had allowed myself to get my hopes up only to have them come crashing back down around me. "Episode I" (properly titled "The Phantom Menace") is not really a bad movie, but it does lack a lot of the things that made the earlier three films so special. #1 The story itself is just not as good. Granted this is the "beginning" of the entire saga, and the story is not really awful, it just lacks a lot of the warmth and freshness that made the first three films so original and different from all other motion pictures. #2 The CGI effects are the real stars of this movie, and therefore only manage to over shadow the true elements of the film, the human actors. Don't get me wrong, I don't really hate the whole CGI thing in movies, but I will always believe that the old Harryhausen style of making film creatures and using real life props, costumes and settings will always be the better way to go in making motion pictures. To me, using "real" substances to make film effects and filming in "real" locations just make a movie seem more believable. Personally, I think that the whole use of CGIs only helped to "kill" the motion picture industry in the '90s. Sure it was nice to see old characters again, like Jabba, but I felt as though I were only watching cartoon drawings of them instead of actual "flesh and blood" representations. Granted the Special Edition releases of the original three films had new CGI scenes and characters added to them, but the films were basically the same as they had always been, just fine tuned a little. #3 I didn't really find myself being able to care about the characters as I had in the original trilogy. Even Yoda seemed kind of like a stranger to me in this one. And don't even get me started on Jar Jar Binks, a tragic attempt to create a character to help fill the void left by the missing Chewbacca. The only character who does have the same old "feel" to him is R2-D2. The film would've been better had C-3PO figured more prominently in the story line, considering his time spent on screen was maybe 5 minutes max. Hopefully (surely) we'll be seeing more of him in episodes 2 and 3. #4 The acting, particularly that done by the kid who played Anakin and the chick who played Queen Amidala/Padmee, was extremely card board and at times nearly unbearable. Granted, when Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford were cast in the original film they were pretty much amateurs when it came to acting, but they were able to do an excellent job anyway. finally, #5 The musical score composed by John Williams, who is truly an artist of his field, although not bad, does tend to sometimes lack the magical quality of the music he had written for the original trilogy. And many of the major themes (some understandably not appearing in this film) are not even present in the film. Even the Main Title is only heard a total of about 3 times during the movie. With all that having been said, and I know I've been a little harsh, one should not dismiss this movie as a meer imposter and not see it. For what it is, "The Phantom Menace" is not a bad movie, it just fails in its attempt to live up to the reputation of its three predecessors. Let's face it though, will any movie ever be able to compare to the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Considering the mostly dismal state of the motion picture industry today, I'd have to say that the possibility of that happening is highly unlikely. Good luck George, and may the Force be with you.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, Lousy format.
Review: Whatever you think of The Phantom Menace, this is a wonderful cinematic event with tremendous cinematography and special effects. This HAS to be released on DVD. I don't understand Lucas' logic in not releasing it on DVD. I would buy it in an instant. Instead, I will deprive myself as an act of protest. :(
Rating:
Summary: we waited for a good movie and we got one
Review: i just don't understand the huge bashing this film and george lucas has taken from so-called fans for the past 2 years. sure this film was hyped more than any other film in movie history and sure everyone was looking for it to be the same as the other 3 (even though some have bashed jedi which is the funnest of the original 3)but when they didn't get the same kind of film they decided to take their anger out on george and jar jar. george lucas has given us the greatest movie sage ever and you bash the guy for it but will still shell out the money to see the next one many times (like you did with episode 1). the star wars saga wasn't ment to be a serious sc-fi saga (we have the boring star trek for that kinda crap)star wars was ment to be a fantasy saga ment for the whole family (that's why we have out ewoks/jar-jar)i'm a diehard star wars fan and have been ever since i say jedi in the theaters back when it 1st came out and when they re-released it a year later)and have yet to be letdown with anything lucas has done! people get so mad when he releases so many versions of the videos (he just re-releases the original trilogy because they were out of print and not being sold so he didn't do it to take all of your money again-plus he knows collectors out there want more and they got more!)he's not going to put out the dvd's because he doesn't have time (he's spending 2 years right now devoted to episode 2 and doesn't have time now and won't until 2005 because he heads right into episode 3 next summer)he wants the dvd's to be done right and not get rushed and done by someone else because he has tons of bonus footage to give us (episode 1 is rumored to be released on dvd this fall though!)it's funny when i hear all of these people call george greedy but then you whine about not getting the film you wanted or it wasn't this way or that way or you want the dvds now! TELL ME...IS IT GEORGE THAT'S THE GREEDY ONE OR IT'S ALL OF YOU WHO LIKE TO CRITICIZE THE GUY THAT GAVE YOU ALL OF THIS!? let's also remeber that george is telling a story here and he's had the phantom menace story in his head since he did the 1st 3 so it's not like he just made it up in 1998 and threw it together! ep. 1 came from the same time period as the other 3 classics and the next two films. ep. 1 is the begining of this whole 6 part saga and like george and many people have said it will be better when you can sit down and watch all six together and i personally think that will be true. i love ep.1 the same way i love the other 3 because in my mind george can't do any wrong with this saga and will continue to amaze and dazzle the true belivers and fans with the next two films! enjoy what you got because we're lucky that he came back to give us what we wanted!
Rating:
Summary: Mixed feelings, but still pretty good.
Review: This movie showed off what Lucas does best with his very well done special effects. The movie looks really good without seeming overdone. The acting is as good as can be found in any movie, there is not a bad actor in the bunch. The lightsaber fights are spectacular. They did well to bring in Ray Parks to coreograph the fights. The movie manages to keep the kind of light space opera tone, while manageing to upgrade the movie to current standards. I don't know if Lucas could have done any better, and I have to respect his descion to change the way the movie is presented. All things must change, or what's the point of makeing more of them. What I didn't like was the way that the movie lost the more serious tones of the first trilogy. Some of the writing just doesn't take itself seriously. The battle sceanes outside of the lightsaber deuls are just too kiddy. I missed the way that in the previous movies the particapants seemed to take what they were doing seriously. To take someone elses words, "they shot fake looking laserbeams at each other and dodged them like they were real." They went to far putting in a pod racing sceane that was there just for a video game, and they overwrote their comedy, and drama, making the movie seem too contrived at times. But overall this movie is still better than most. For kids who havn't seen the old Star Wars this will be an exciting introduction to this great world. And perhaps that was the point after all.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much Hype
Review: Some fans had been waiting over twenty years to see the first installment of the Star Wars series. They wanted to see how these stories all started. They had seen episodes four, five and six; they were impressed. They queued for a chance to see the previews; they were impressed. They waited impatiently, some slept on the streets, so eager to get a ticket for the Phantom Menace, they saw Episode 1. They were unimpressed. How surprising! Nothing is worse for a film than a mountain of hype built up prior to it. It will never, ever reach those lofty expectations. Thankfully my expectations were low. I enjoyed the first three Star Wars movies but my enjoyment never matured into an obsession. They were fine, not great. Science Fiction was never my favourite genre. But still, I had to see Phantom Menace. It was the biggest grosser of the Summer, even if it came with unflattering reviews. Away from the hype, The Phantom Menace isn't bad, not bad at all. It's not a great film, but neither were the other three, or at least they never aspired to be great movies. Phantom Menace can surely hold its own when looked at against the other three installments, and as a science fiction film it is most definitely above average. Plaudits go to the casting directors. Liam Neeson is noble, Ewen McGregor embodies the iconic Obi-Won with a grace that was expected and Natalie Portman is adept at what is essentially a dual role. The weaknesses are Jake Lloyd, a child with a touch too much confidence for the role. Casting a child must be impossible. How do you balance the cutesy factor from the annoying factor? They failed. The other principle player was CGI created and popular opinion suggests Jar Jar was a mistake. I don't. He was fun. Director Lucas keeps the immortal opening title sequence and the equally recognisable wipe cuts. His direction is fine, it is his writing that fails. A tax dilemma? Why such a snoozeworthy plot? It seems Lucas has fallen in love with his world a little too much. To be fair though, the action scenes are exciting. The battle scene is powerful cinema, better than the acclaimed pod-chasing moment. The Phantom Menace does more than enough to satisfy normal cinemagoers. Unfortunately, Star Wars are anything but normal so satisfaction is not guaranteed.
Rating:
Summary: A good addistion
Review: This is a really good movie, furthering the original trilogy wonderfully. The plot is good, and the special effects are awsome!
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!!!!!!!
Review: I don't care what anyone thinks about this film. People didn't like it cause it wasn't adult enough. I personally think that we have way too many violent and artificial movies out there, that don't deserve half the recognition they get. Some people say that the acting was bad. Well, if you recall a little movie that came out in 1977, called Star Wars, only had one good actor, and his name was Alec. We all seem to forget that a Star Wars movie isn't about acting. It's about taking us to another world. It's about the universal battle of good versus evil. This movie gives us everything we want from a Star Wars movie. Some of it is slow going, but is necesary in order to establish a story-line for the future of this Saga. For those of us who crave action, the last 30 minutes of this film blew me away. The light- saber duel is the best fight sequence I have ever witnesed. And I have seen thousands of fims in my many years. The intensity and power displayed by Liam Neeson, Ewan McGreggor and Ray Park, is amazing. The job that Natalie Portman does as the Queen is at the very least, perfect. The Visual and Sound effects are the best in any movie before it. The fact that The Matrix won the Oscars instead, is a travesty. It had nothing to do with how good the Matrix is, it's just that "Hollywood" is very anti-Lucas. Personally, I think that this film should have won an oscar for Visual effects, Sound effects, Make-up (just look at how many actors were getting dressed up as aliens), costumes (it should have won an oscar for Amidala's dresses, alone), and of course the original score. The Original Score done by John Williams, is spectacullar. It's the only Original Score Soundtrack I own. I find myself humming to some of the music, sometimes. If you're hesitating, don't. Buy this film as soon as you can. It only gets better the more times you watch it. Just let this film wisk you away to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..........
Rating: 
Summary: Space opera at its worst
Review: I'm certainly glad I didn't waste my free movie pass to see this movie. I waited until a friend loaned me his VHS copy, but still I felt cheated. Lucas dashed off a no-hearted effort on this one. It was like an especially weak Sci-Fi Channel production. In fact, it's not even up to those standards. Lucas acts as though neither special effects nor audience tastes have progressed since the late seventies, when Star Wars was somewhat innovative. What a worthless story line. The scorecard of political intrigues certainly wasn't worth following. I can't remember when I've seen a movie with so little character development. The acting was abysmal, with the exception of Liam Neeson. The quiet dignity he brought to his role was very effective, but wasted. His good acting made the terrible acting of everyone else around him look even worse. Lucas was obviously influenced by the wooden acting of the various popular Star Trek series. The kid that played Anakin and the woman who played the queen were especially terrible. The character of Binks had no endearing qualities to him, so I assume he was placed in the movie solely to annoy us. Lucas sleepwalked his way through this one. I've seen many terrible movies in my day, but this is the first one in which I felt cheated out of two hours of my life.
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