Rating: 
Summary: Enter stage left... heroes and demons.
Review: Lucas managed to make such an event out of the release of The Phantom Menace that I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I must have read ten articles, watched adverts and trailers and I even caught a part of the "making of" on TV. Talk about building expectations, how could anything, barring the second coming, live up to it all. I suppose that was the question going through my mind as I approached the cinema. Would you believe I was even a little nervous?
Yes the cinematography was breathtaking, the effects were cutting edge, the design was first class, blah blah blah. But that's not what makes a good film. Does it have a decent story, interesting characters, suspense, action? In short, does it pack enough emotional content? Well, in this case... Yes, it does. How could I think George Lucas might let me down.
I happen to think Natalie Portman stole the show entirely, but maybe her beauty and the fabulous costumes had something to do with it. And, as much as the first Star Wars was cast with relatively unknown actors, Liam Neeson added just the right touch of weight to the ensemble. Of course I wouldn't be the first to suggest Ewan McGregor is going to be giving us memorable performances for years to come and I'm not talking about the Star Wars prequels. All in all, a stand out cast were able to make what could have been a light sci-fi romp, into another classic.
During the early moments of the story, we join two Jedi, only this time they are set amid a backdrop where Jedi are thick on the ground and are given routine tasks, like diplomatic negotiation. Obi-Wan is familiar to us but not as a young man yet to be promoted to Jedi knight. His friend and master, Qui-Gon Jinn, is the other Jedi and it is this duo that teaches us the true nature of a Jedi's role. In the first films the Jedi culture was all but extinct. In The Phantom Menace it is in full flower and we can watch in awe as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan defy poison gas, blast shielding and military robots. In fact it isn't until they come up against another, albeit darker, proponent of the Jedi arts, that they are forced to pause.
I have to say, Darth Maul was wonderful. I suppose it was always going to be a tough job coming up with a "bad guy" concept to match Darth Vader but wow! Ray Park was and is a stunt-man rather than an actor but during the final fight scene where force fields temporarily separate the combatants, his frustrated strides brought to mind a caged tiger. I certainly didn't envy our heroes, waiting to face such an animalistic warrior.
There are quite a few set piece scenes in the film, all of them memorable. The journey through the center of the earth was fabulous; talk about your perfect fishing hole. The pod race was probably a little over cooked but fun none the less. And it did contain a nice homage to the locked fenders in "Return of the Jedi". But for me, it was the little things which won my heart. Like the moment when Padme, "Hand-maiden to the Queen", is scrubbing the heroic R2-D2 but takes a moment to comfort the young Anakin who's just coming to terms with a potentially permanent separation from his mother. It's all the more poignant after we learn more about Padme's true role.
So, as much as I was anticipating the release of Episode One, I am now left with the distressing feeling that the true test of my patience is still to come. I have two years to wait for Episode two and who knows when "three" will appear. We're waiting George, we're waiting.
Rating: 
Summary: 16 years of waiting and two hours of great fun.
Review: After 16 years of waiting to return to that great galaxy far, far away, we've finally arrived there. This movie is the best movie of last year, while it was the least of the four Star Wars movies it had everything the last trilogy did. A great story(good v.s. evil), spectacular sets and effects(which I can't believe lost to the Matrix), cool characters(especially the digitally animated ones), and fantastic music(John Williams rules!). I know a lot of you didn't like this movie, let's take a look at some of the things you didn't like and examine them: 1. Jar Jar Binks. Get a life people! Find something better to do than make fun of an imaginary character. 2. Anakin Skywalker. Sure Jake Lloyd's not the world's best actor, but he's a heck of a lot better than some other actors today. 3. The acting. I feel it had the exact same acting feel as the other movies. 4. The plot. There wasn't just one plot, there were several different subplots. I rate this movie up with the other three. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. If you want to see a very fun movie filled with podraces, space battles, and lightsaber duels or just want a really fun movie. Check this one out now!
Rating: 
Summary: GREEDY LUCAS
Review: Why aren't ANY of the Star Wars Movies available on DVD (the most popular technology today! ) ? The answer is: George Lucas is GREEDY! He knows that many 'suckers' will buy the VHS versions of his movies, then he will add special features for DVD versions, which will also be picked up by the same suckers! He gets twice the amount of money for one film, which didn't knock my socks off anyway! Leave the video alone, and wait for the DVD! If you need to see thi 'movie', rent it 1st!
Rating:
Summary: Love it! Love it! Love it!
Review: I have to be honest I was not to keen on this movie at first but after watch it two times it was fantastic sure it had it problems but that only leaves room for imporvment I must have seen seen it 5 times when I got It. I think to many people act like crtics when it comes to this movie I think they should just sit back and enjoy it for what it is not what it can be.
Rating:
Summary: The Worst Film of 1999
Review: "The Phantom Menace" did little more than extend the box-office longevity of the "Star Wars" franchise. It is an empty, soulless film that lacks the spirit, adventure and human element that made the previous trilogy so memorable. George Lucas was so caught up in the digital technology and special effects that he thought little about story construction and character development. (If you blink, you'll miss Samuel L. Jackson -- whose role is incredibly miniscule.) To make matters worse, Lucas sabotaged his own film with the obnoxious creation of Jar Jar Binks. The only memorable sequence in "Phantom Menace" is the pod race, which was ripped off from "Ben Hur" and "Viva Las Vegas" (I kid you not). For all the money it has made, this alleged film doesn't have an original, imaginative bone in its body. The next installment in the "Star Wars" saga has nowhere to go but up -- especially if Lucas kills off Jar Jar Binks.
Rating:
Summary: Not Very Good.
Review: Never has the popularity of a movie escaped me more than the popularity of this one. What am I missing here? This is, simply put, the most dreadful movie I have ever had the misfortune of watching. My five year old son saw this movie with his Grandma and couldn't wait for it to be released on Video. When it did, I watched it with him, squirming all the way. To further distance myself from the rest of the human race, I though the movie's only redeeming quality was it's comic releif- namely, Jar Jar Binks. Sorry, Mr. Lucas. This one's not for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but still packs a good punch!
Review: This movie is pretty decent but, it seems as if the movie is more reared to kids. Unlike the original 3 "Star Wars" flicks, this one has characters like Jar Jar Binks, which to me is a 3rd wheel to the rest of the story. Just as Jet Jaguar is to "Godzilla vs. Megalon" (1973) or Robin to the Batman series. It does have great special effects scenes through out the entire movie with starships and podracers galore! Queen Amidala plays an interesting character in the republic's struggles. Adding the unmade C-3PO in the movie was a good idea to mix in more characters from the classic series into the new film. Darth Maul is quite frankly one of the coolest bad guys on the movie screens ( beating out King Ghidorah on my list ). Anikan is a good character, but plays it again too much reared to real little kids and kind of hard for older people to relate to. All the robots in the film are cool but it poses some questions to me. Why do they have more advanced vehicals and droids in this movie than are in the 1977 "Star Wars"? They have battle droid robots to get fried instead of the real human Stormtroopers, obviously they were smarter in the past. George Lucas should have tooken that into consideration as he was making this film. Over every thing else, this film is still a very good addition to the "Star Wars" series and every one should own it.
Rating:
Summary: Some people need imagination in their lives...
Review: All of teh hardcore-Star Wars fans love to pick out the bad details in this movie and then give it a bad review saying that it "doesn't follow classic star wars." Well frankly, I don't care! This was a gtreat movie, fan or not. Of course, the graphics and special effects were great but I also thought it was a very good storyline and plot that had great action-packed sequences that kept you on the edge of your seat. People of all ages can enjoy this movie even if they haven't seen the original Star Wars yet. Saying that it is just a bunch of special effects with no plot is trash. Can't you people just sit back and enjoy a movie for once without picking out every bad detail (as I said above)?
Rating: 
Summary: where's the DVD
Review: Lucas and Speilberg make great movies. You would think they would want to present their movies in the best format possible, i.e.-DVD. Why do they resist in bringing out their movies in DVD?
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I really like this movie, it was interesting, action packed and most importantly followed the Star Wars story line. Some people have critisized the Phantom Menace's plot though I think it is one of the best I have seen in a while. Of course the main critisizm of the plot was that it seemed unfinished. My answer to this is: well duh. Episode 1 is not quite as good as the original trilogy storywise, but what can you expect it is basicaly the first chapter in a story and first chapters are never the best. And hey having a story that's "not quite as good as the original trilogy" is still pretty good. The acting is pretty good all around with the only exception I can think of being Jake Lloyd (the young Anakin). I kinda thought his acting left a bit to be desired with such lines as "yippee", and "wizard". However this is more than made up for by the stellar perforamnces of Liam Neeson (Qui-gon Jinn) and Ian McDiarmond (Senator Palpatine). In terms of special effects I still can't believe that The Phantom Menace didn't win the Oscar. They were simply incredible and no other movie effects in history has even come close to the ones in Episode 1. All in all I would recommend this movie for everyone. It's a fun family movie but there are layers to it so as to make it interesting for everyone. Have Fun!
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