Rating: 
Summary: The Best STAR WARS movie yet!
Review: That is all I have to say. If you have a bad review for this movie just put your copy on Ebay and let someone else enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Real Stinker
Review: To respond to a review which asks "could you have done better?", I say a first year film student could have done better. Please, what an irrelevant question. Can you make a better car than an auto company? Can you make a better computer than a Dell or Gateway? The point I am trying to make is that lay people do not need to have in-depth expertise in a subject in order to review or comment on it. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, this movie really stinks. If you are into special effects and nothing else then go see it otherwise just keep on rewatching the trilogy until George gets it right.
Rating: 
Summary: Great special effects do not a great movie make...
Review: You can be dazzled with all of the state-of-the-art technology in the world and still come up feeling short-changed, especially in the emotion department. Everyone has talked this film to death, but what I don't get is that there is nothing that draws you to the film emotionally like the first trilogy. And what's the deal with Liam Neeson's departure and then the next scene there's cheering and a big celebration? Hollow and flat. None of the exhilarating happiness of the earlier films. Just bloated with self-importance. I'm sure Episode II will be better...
Rating:
Summary: This is a truly awesome movie!
Review: The first time I saw this movie in the theatre I was just totally blown away. Everything happens so fast that you have to see it more than once to take everything in. The special effects were absolutely the best I've ever seen--Jar Jar Binks was amazing (more about Jar Jar follows). It's a total farce that The Matrix STOLE the special effects oscar from The Phantom Menace! The Matrix used special effects rampantly and just as filler for an otherwise mediocre story, while The Phantom Menace actually used special effects to tell a real story. Before I'd seen Episode 1, I'd only seen the first Star Wars movie, which I thought was kind of so-so. I must say that Episode 1 is what made me a Star Wars fan! The people that don't like this movie obviously are too narrow-minded to accept anything different than the Star Wars movies they saw when they were kids. There has been some whining about the "lack of character development" and "bad acting," but this is complete nonsense. The acting fits perfectly into the context of the movie and the character development is subtle, but extrememly believable. The story is also very realistic and well conceived, contrary to what some people say. Now, onto my favorite part of the film, Jar Jar Binks. Not only did I feel that Jar Jar was a magnificent work of art, but I also found him to be the most human character in the movie. He is the kind of character that everybody should be able to relate to because he acts like most of us would if we were put in his situation--he gets scared. I also like him because he is sooooo cute and loveable. In fact, I love him so much that I've bought a life-sized statue of him! People who hate him need to see a psychiatrist to figure out how they could hate something so sweet and innocent. How could anybody hate such a cute guy?
Rating:
Summary: Brought me back to SW
Review: This movie is great (and was sadly neglected at the Oscars, who clung to their pet "American Beauty"). It's hardly groundbreaking or earth-shattering, but it is good solid entertainment that will have you clinging to your seat. For years I was disillusioned with Star Wars because of the dopey, average fiction churned out by the wannabe authors, none of them with GL's imagination and unrecognizable characters (my sister claims that in one trilogy, Leia bears a remarkable resemblance to a certain nitpicky, near-sadistic Starfleet Admiral Nechayev). They portrayed the Jedi as a glorified police force, rather than a near-religious order who devote their lives and souls to their ideals, and the Republic as being like the Star Trek Federation without the "to boldly go" and the starships--all bureaucrats. It was--and is, now that they're trying to emulate George--disgusting. Well, George saved all that. He brings us straight into the action: the tiny jungle-swamp planet of Naboo is being blockaded by the Trade Federation, who are trying to get the young Queen Amidala to agree to a treaty. They are in league with a mysterious dark-robed man. Two Jedi show up: Qui-Gon Jinn and apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (think a knight's squire), but the Trade Federation quickly tries to kill them. It doesn't work, or it would've been a really short movie. They try to escape with the queen to the capital planet of Coruscant to unwind a plot, but along the way Qui-Gon runs into a slave boy with special abilities... Anyone who saw the original trilogy will recognize five particular faces, and can tell that this sets up the two other prequels. The characters are wonderful: Qui-Gon Jinn is played by the ever-hunky Liam Neeson, with a stately manner and air about him, as the strong Jedi Master who leads with his heart. I was skeptical about the choice of "Trainspotting" Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but five minutes into this movie and I was convinced. Jake Lloyd is one of the better child actors I have seen, and Natalie Portman is simply perfect as ultra-pressured Queen Amidala. Ah, on to Jar Jar Binks. He wasn't THAT bad, people. He grated on me the first time I saw this movie, but he grew on me as I continued watching. And if you think he's a racist stereotype: go find something REAL to protest about, okay? Life is too short to go trying to find supposedly racist things to complain about. You're insulting the actor's integrity as well when you say that... Now, on to the next part. The special effects take your breath away, especially Artoo's first scene--but the lightsaber battles really take the cake. The "Duel of the Fates" near the end is probably the best-choreographed swordfight in the history of television. Even the amazing swordfights of "ROTJ" and "ESB" can't hold a candle to it. A small note: I think it's worth it to buy the widescreen video. Why? Because during the "Relax" scene on the "regular" video, they chopped out Obi-Wan during a very amusing line.
Rating: 
Summary: Not perfect, but not bad...
Review: When I first saw this, I was left with a feeling that something was not quite right. I still feel that way, but it doesn't get in the way of my enjoyment of this really rather good film. Since it is these things that stand out, I'll start with the things that I think were very, very wrong here. Midichlorians: possibly the stupidest rationale for magical powers I've ever heard - not to mention the somewhat fascist implication that some people are our natural leaders due entirely to accident of birth, rather than personal drive (a problematic question in all sf/fantasy, actually, but particularly grating here, considering Lucas' recent attempts to provide a "P.C." veneer to even the original movies). Digital characters: all right, so it's still a relatively new technology - so why is Jar-Jar so behind the curve? (See the much better digital character in _The Mummy_.) Anyway, they still don't look like they are actually *there*, most obviously in the scene where Obi-Wan first meets the annoying frog-creature. Speaking of which, Jar-Jar Binks: not quite as grating on the small screen (even in widescreen), but still, maybe it should have been toned down a little. Lucas is spending too much time playing to the audience instead of telling a story lately (see the revised "music video" in Jedi Special Edition, for instance), and this movie is no exception. Lucas, why can't you just trust the story instead of trying so hard? Next, the resolution of the final battle: the Trade Federation must be run by an entire government of idiots. Who in their right mind makes an entire army that can be turned off by (what amounts to) one switch? More, a switch that can be turned off by a single soldier (even if that soldier is the future tyrant of the universe)? Then there is the dialogue: Lucas is not the best dialogue writer around, to say it kindly. He really should retain someone else to rewrite his scripts. C-3PO's origin: why, oh why did you have to do this, Lucas? Why couldn't you have just started everything with the 2 droid buddies on the same starship? Just plain bad science: what the heck? Planet core? Wouldn't they get a little toasty in that little submarine? Finally, virgin birth: not only unnecessary, but actually trite in the way it is contrived. Now for what I thought worked, or was good, in the movie. The lightsaber duel is the best swordfighting sequence I've ever seen, and high on the list of martial arts sequences. The story is certainly of fairly good quality (even if I did have to read in some motivations that weren't given exposition, such as Darth Sidious/Senator Palpatine's intent to sacrifice the Trade Federation in his bid to become Emperor). The amazing vista of the final battle, even if it does end badly, is one of the scenes that almost inspires me to learn digital effects work - but then I remember how stupid they look (excepting distant shots and mechanical objects, such as droids). The podrace, even if it is pretty much a lot of time spent on a very small plot element, is so much fun to watch that I, for one, don't care. Darth Maul just plain rules (too bad he had to be killed off - I would've liked to have seen more about him). In refutation of those who thought that this movie was going to be the second coming or something: Lucas maintained from the moment that he was asked about Episodes 1, 2, 3 (on the re-release of episode 4, where that soubriquet was first applied) that they were the least interesting portion of the story, which is why he started where he did. For me, I've always preferred the second act, where the heroes end up deep in it (Empire is my favorite of all of the episodes yet made). Since the first three episodes are going to end up as acts 1 and 2, I'm looking forward to the next installments with relish. In summary: I would definitely recommend seeing this movie, with the caveat that one should not expect it to be anywhere close to Episode 4 in quality.
Rating:
Summary: Mesa Liken dis movie....
Review: Mesa enjoyed de star wars episode one, it was bombad! Mesa thinken dat Jar Jar binks fella was quiten de goody actor, and noten understandin peoples disliken of hesa fine actin. mesa also liken de special effects and de bad fella darth maul getten crunched at the enden. The pod race was muy exciten and the sequel will be maxi big, mesa not minden tellin you.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars: Episode WON!
Review: I have to admit that I went into this movie with a great amount of skepticism. Could Lucas pull it off again, or would this be another one of his later debacles like American Graffitti or Hey There, Georgie Girl? And Laim Neeson as a Jedi? And please don't get me started about JarJar Binks. But on the whole I was pleasantly surprised. Casting Ewan Macgregor as a young (old?) Obe Wan was brilliant, and Liaim Neeson made me believe that a lone Jedi could actually defeat an entire solar system of evil entitties with just a fancy sword. I was, however, a bit troubled by the character of Darth Maul. His face was so prominent in the teaser posters that I thought he'd have a much bigger role in the movie. However, his duel with Obe Wan and Liem Neeson at the end more than made up for the fact that he wasn't in the movie much. I liked it, but he simply and, I must say unequivicalily, wasn't in the movie hardly at all, and this kind of disturbed me, as the teaser posters led me to believe that his role would be much bigger. But actually, his role in the movie was quite limited, which perplexed me, as his prominence in the pre-advertisments had me believing that this was to be a big player in the Star Wars universe (omniverse). Alas, this was not to be, as the character's role was much smaller than I anticipated, which was a bit of a let down, as I felt the ads emphisized the character of Darth Maul to be a major player in the story, but it was not to be, as he turned out to be only a minor henchmen, which seemed confusing as I was led to believe, through all the pre-release hoopla, that this particular character was to be an important player in the new movie, but it was not the case. His role was quite diminished, and yet his visage was quite large in the pre-hype publicity. However, this turned out to be all show and no go, as the character of Darth Maul was reduced to that of a second rate supporting character, which was surprising given that his face was the dominaant feature in the SWE1 advertising. So, in the end I found the movie to be quite sassifying, despite the fact that the character of Darth Maul was conspicuously absent through out most of the movie, which was unusual given his featured presence in the movie's advertising. He wasn't in it much. I though he was going to be. But he wasn't.
Rating:
Summary: Myst-the Movie
Review: There are over one thousand reviews here, so I will weigh in briefly with these points: A) These environmental special effects are great for a meditative interactive experience like the computer game Myst, but they are overdone and confectionary here. B) Some of the effects are carelessly done and therefore distracting. The droid battle sequence appears as if an SGI film sequencer had merely clicked his mouse (or whatever they use) 600 times to duplicate for an army the action sequence painstakingly created for one battle droid. C) The range of intriguing physical specimens of this universe laid out for us in the original Star Wars' cantina has been expanded by legions of cartoony mush-headed creatures that render pointless Lucas' attention to species nomenclature. D) It is indeed difficult to find child actors to fill roles that demand gravity and dramatic range. For the role of Anakin Skywalker, Lucas needed to search more carefully. E) Of the gravity that Anakin should have had, the other actors had an excess. In fact, at no time in my recollection did any of the characters have any dialogue that was incidental to the tense, rigid plot line, as did Han Solo with just about everyone in the original. Word is, Lucas is even more committed to special effects for Episode II than he was for this one. You wonder why he doesn't just do a "Toy Story"-type animated film. If G.Lucas doesn't want to run this thing completely into the ground, he would do well to listen, if not to the faceless,clamoring public, then to a trusted friend, one with no vested interest in his success, who might share some of those public opinions.
Rating:
Summary: actually I rate it: less then one star
Review: Blatant commercialisim at it's worst! This video game of a movie simultaneously stinks and ruins a legendary trilogy. Parts of the story are too convenient, others too pointlessly silly, and other's too complicated to care about. I never thought Lucas could make a movie worse then his "Howard the Duck", but then Jar Jar came in and closed the coffin on what once was a good filmaker. The only scenes in this piece of dung that are watchable are the reruns of the first three: the race, the duel, and the good guy blowing up the space station. NOTE: Whenever you have the same ending THREE times in a FOUR movie set, you have got a heap of junk that is only going to get worse. It's bad enough to see this movie, do not make the mistake of buying it. This is, to me, the worst film ever made in the history of our far, far away universe.
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