Rating: 
Summary: ZZZZZZ
Review: Maybe I'm older or maybe Lucas has finally lost his steam, but this movie flat out sucks. I saw the original Star Wars when I was 11 years old and was amazed. This however is a different animal. The story line and character developement moved at a very slooow pace. The special effects are good, but not great. Matrix had better effects and wasnt nearly as hyped as this movie. Unless your a hardcore Star Wars geek who reads the books then I would say rent this before you buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: phantom menace
Review: Just so people know, i'm not 12, i'm 14, but the childs review was the only one i was able to get into. i was reading alot of the reviews here on amazon.com,and i'm amazed at what some of them said, i mean sure, it's not like the original trilogy, but HEY! it' s different movie, set in a differant time, with different characters, of course it's gonna be different! i think so many people expected it to be like episode 4-6, and when they didn't get it, they were disappointed. the hype on this movie was just overwhelming, there was no way Mr. Lucas was going to be able to please everyone,i thought it was a well made movie, the special-effects were incredible,and all the different planets were cool, i especially liked Naboo. darth maul's face must have taken forever to do, my brother thought it was sooo cool, and he made me paint his face like that fro halloween.the only person that i had problems with was anakin, and it was for only one part, when Qui-Gon dies, i mean ya think he ould have cried.other than that i didn't have a problem, and i didn't think jar jar wasn't annoying, but my dad thought so,i mean, for heavens sake, he's supposed to be annoying in the movie, even Qui-Gon got a little ticked at him.i do admit though, i miss Han, and i think thats why this movie is not my fave Star Wars one. here's a thought, what if george Lucas had made episode 1-3 first and was making 4-6 just now? don't you think that they would judge those movies by 1-3, if they had been? i think to enjoy this movie, you have to sit back and not judge them by the old ones, if you do that you'll be fine. ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: avoid it at all costs
Review: Take the original Star Wars and remove chemistry between the characters, remove the senses of adventure and realism, and don't allow the actors to act, and you have Phantom Menace. Watching this, one would think that Lucas had never seen the original three movies. He literally took everything that made the first movies great and threw them out the window. I don't know how any director could have a movie with such top-notch actors and wind up with such a lack of feeling, but I guess a control freak like George was able to do it. To top it all off, we learn that that the ability to use the Force, which we previously thought was mystical and spiritual, is really due to things called midichlorians in the blood. What?!? And forget about Haley Joel Osment, the boy who played the Spoon Kid from the Matrix should have played Anakin. This movie is a poor successor to one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. It plays more like a parody than a prequel.
Rating:
Summary: The king is dead..
Review: Aside from the direction, writing, acting and yes, FX, 'The Phantom Menace' is a great film. But seriously, 'Menace' has got to be one of the most poorly executed films in history. Indeed, most people who hate 'Menace', are hardcore Star Wars fans; they just haven't sacrificed taste on the alter of obsession. In fact, I think that the 'lean and hungry' George Lucas from 1977 would even be horrifed at 'Menace'. This flick is one whopping bore of a movie, a collection of computer generated images devoid of feeling, emotion and above all the very reality of human existence. It would rival Tarkovsky's Solaris as the most sleep-inducing science fiction film of all time, if not for the deafening prowess of THX technicians and the constant onslaught of explosions. Even John Williams' music is his worst score since Amistad. It is a collection of excerpts from the previous three films and the new compositions introduced sound as if they've been reluctantly written. When I first saw it, I found myself playing the game of "Spot the ILM Effect." Sequences seen in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Waterworld, Starship Troopers, Robocop, the original Star Wars trilogy and Jurassic Park. "Only a movie," says the great bearded guru. Yes, well, 'The Phantom Menace' is shameless in its pilfering of scenes from blockbusters. Whatever your thoughts are on the Star Wars universe, the "charm" and "humor" of the original three films have been reduced by Lucas, the "great auteur," to cutesy moments aimed primarily at avid watchers of Teletubbies. Lucas apparently never met a cliché he didn't swoon over. His script is a muddled piece of idiocy, more hack job than Joseph Campbell. As a director, he treats his actors worse than ignoble props, sacrificing the vital human moments they need to express for the sake of his gratuitous digital effects and allowing them to speak their inane lines with bland monotony and all the emotional impact of a plate of Brussel sprouts. His direction is so flat that he makes Hitchcock, who once dismissed actors as mere cattle and insisted that the motivation behind a performance was a paycheck, look like the greatest Method director who ever lived. And do you really think Ep.II will be better?? Like he would 'change' his style....Why should he? He's surrounded himself with so much wealth and power, he could release a film worse than 'Menace' and still rake in millions. So when you pluck down your hard earned cash for the next one, don't say we didn't warn you. We'll be enjoying Lord Of The Rings and The Matrix.
Rating: 
Summary: STAR WARS IS UNFORGETTABLE
Review: Everybody talking about Starwars. But The Star Wars Series are historical movies. Unforgettable movies of all the time in cinema history. Everyman talks but everyman is not making a great film. Thanks to Sir George Lucas for Star Wars.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry - I loved it and you can't change that
Review: First off, I remember when my wife and I went to see this movie in the theatre. When the music started and the classic yellow scrolling text began, chills went down my spine. From that point onward, I was once again drawn into the world of Star Wars and when the movie ended, I was excited, exhilirated and disappointed (that it ended). Yes, I loved this movie as much as the second installment. For all those who despised this movie and complained about the lack of character development, maybe you need to go back and watch Episode IV. There wasn't that much character development there either. It was a swashbuckling, space adventure period. Not much of a human element to it at that time, and that's what is was meant to be. The characters during the Empire regime did NOT develop themselves in The New Hope. The actual development of the characters didn't come through until Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back and it wasn't completed until the end of Episode VI. Episode I sets the ground for Anakin's fall from Jedi to Darth Vader. The next episode builds on Anakin's training as well as introducing us to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, so we'll hopefully gain some more insight as to how they are really related to Luke because in Episode I, Anakin was an only child (as far as we know). So whose "Uncle" and "Aunt" are they really? Or, is that how Luke was raised to believe? The only other thing I don't know at this time is, will we find out who Luke's mother really is? IS it the Queen? If so, what happens to her after Anakin becomes Darth Vader? These questions should hopefully be answered by the end of Episode III, since that will show Anakin's downfall to Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine. The characters will be fully defined at that point. But then, who needs to know? We KNOW what Senator Palpatine is like. We KNOW who Anakin will become. We already know about Obi Wan in some respects. As for Jar Jar, call me crazy, but I liked him. I didn't think he was annoying. Maybe it's still the kid in me (and my 5 year daughter loves him). Maybe I still have that quality I had when I was 11 years old and saw Star Wars for the first time in the theatres. Overall, it was a way to get a new generation of children introduced to Star Wars. Heck, go back and watch the antics between C3PO and R2D2. They were there for comic relief as well. Look at what happens to C3PO and all the things he says. He can be just as clumsy as Jar Jar. But, noone complains about him. In fact, I remember C3PO and R2D2 being compared to Laurel and Hardy when Star Wars first came out. They added some comic relief with the banter that went on between them. Episode I has me excited for the next two installments to see how Anakin falls to the Emperor and how the Empire eventually comes into power. We already know how it started with Palpatine becoming Chancelor. Plus, C3PO won't have to join a nudist colony since he'll finally get some coverings. On a different note, did anyone notice during the scenes in the Senate where ET makes an appearance? I didn't notice that in the theatres, but I did in the movie. My 5-year-old daughter loves it since she loves ET. If you're a TRUE Star Wars fan, this movie is a must-see and is very enjoyable, even with some loopholes in the story, such as Obi Wan stating he was trained by Yoda in Empire Strikes Back and it ends up being Qui Gon. Of course, once Qui Gon was killed, Yoda could still be a "mentor" to Obi Wan. Who's to say a Jedi's training is done once he's given the title of Jedi? There's always more to learn, even in real life. My hats off to George Lucas. I was NOT disappointed in the least bit from this movie.
Rating:
Summary: May The The Force Be With You, George Lucas
Review: I read a lot of the reviews and a lot of them I disagree with. I don't think that this movie was necesarily better than the first one, I just enjoyed watching it more (probably I didn't appreciate movies as much when I first saw "Star Wars"). The special effects were outstanding, just as the script was. The unknown actors did a good job at saying their lines as well. Everybody except for Anakin Skywalker, it's obvious that this was his first movie. I agree with one of the other reviews, Haley Joel Osment would have made this a five-star movie, but he doesn't look at all like someone related to Luke Skywalker. Whaterver this kid's name is, he acted a lot like Luck may act when he was a boy, and looked a lot like him, so that was defenatly why he got the part. Besides that, this movie was awesome. Darth Maul's face amazed me, god knows how long that make-up job took. The pod-race was unbelievable, same with the ending fight scene between Darth Maul, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Qui Gon Jin. I think that this movie will impress more of a audience between the ages of 8-18. So if you have your youth, go get this movie, you'll love it!
Rating:
Summary: anakin
Review: my only real problem with this movie was anakin skywalker. i know he's only a kid, but he really was an awful actor. episode 1 would have been greatly improved had they gotten Haley Joel Osment to play anakin
Rating: 
Summary: A Fond Childhood Memory Destroyed.
Review: George Lucas must have known that he could put out a stinker and that die-hard Star Wars fans would still call it a masterpiece. However, for the average fan like myself, "The Phantom Menace" was mediocre at best. Let's face it, Lucas had over 14 years to come up with a solid script for Episode I. Instead we got a bad episode of "Lost In Space".(My apologies to Dr. Smith!) Hollywood once again created a beautiful fantasy world but not any interesting characters to inhabit it(Jake Lloyd played Anakin as a little twit). The story raised more questions that it answered(the characters refered to events that happened before this movie; Episode I). Great actors were given some truly awful lines(from the look on Natalie Portman's face she wanted off this leaky Lucasfilm ship). And as a final insult to fans, George decided to release it in VHS only (Mr. Lucas have you no shame sir?)... There are 20 seconds of promos before the movie when there could have been some additional footage or interviews. I will say that credit is due to Ray Park for doing a fantastic job with Darth Maul. As the final light sabre battle is well choreographed and actually pretty exciting. Buy it used for that reason but don't buy it new. And before anybody e-mails me saying what a genius George Lucas is, look up the other Lucasfilm turkey, 1978's "Star Wars Holiday Special". Let's hope Episode II is a lot better!
Rating:
Summary: Not good enough.
Review: This new star wars episode, while showing great photography, special effects, and innovative cinematic techniques, misses what the original series had - a good story, mystery, and as others put it, a sense of humor and that 'spark'. Although it is worth seeing (although I don't know, it somehow can ruin one's impression of the originals), it definitely doesn't seem destined to be the classics of its predecessors.
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