Rating: 
Summary: It sucked
Review: too many effects and not enough work on the actual story...maybe its just a kids movie but for true fans i hope the next two get a lot better
Rating: 
Summary: Greatness.
Review: If you haven't seen the Phantom Menace, go watch it now. It is simply the best STAR WARS to date, and by a long stretch. I know many fans won't agree, but I thought EVERYTHING in this movie was done perfectly. The acting is simple, yes, but excellent. Good vs Evil. Liam Neeson is particularly believable and Ewan Mc Gregor convinces as Obi Wan. The special effects are absolute bliss. I had never been in such awe during an entire movie. The atmosphere is very convincing as well, and the plot is well explained. The scenario might be a little linear, but it needs to be in order to keep track of the events. No Star Wars episode featured better overall acting. Only Harrison Ford is really missed. Of course the special effects absolutely crush any former (later?) episode, but it was to be expected. The fans disappointed by this movie are so on a very emotional level, because they learned to grow with the trilogy and watched it so many times that the flaws became perfection. With time, this episode will be subject to the same cult...Objectively, the Phantom Menace is REALLY the best Star Wars ever made.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Episode Ever!
Review: Sigh. This movie was disapointing to say the least. It wasn't just a poor Star Wars, it was just a bad movie. Jar-Jar quips aside, the movie lacked any semblance ofcharacter development, the direction was poor and left the actors with little to work with. The dialogue was, well, ugh. The dialogue in episodes 4-6 may not have been realistic, but at least it was epic. The few epic lines in this movie are reserved for Palpatine, and one or two for Amidala. The action sequences were just dull. Especially the opening forty minutes. This was a combination of poor dialogue and development, see the 2 minutes spent in the Gungan home before another snoozer of an action sequence, in tandem with poor and unispired direction. There were no original or inspired shots, the camera failed to comunicate the emotion of the sequence. Granted this was a problem with episode 4, the other Star Wars Lucas directed, but the final assualt on the Death Star was quite dramtic there. Here it is lacking. I believe the defenders of Star Wars episode 1 are people taken with the fact that it is Star Wars, as they continue to watch and the novelty of it being Star Wars fades, they will come to relaize how painfulthis film is. Lucas saved fantasy once, butnow he's killng it, and 1999 was the year Star Wars died with the death of Chewie and the release of Episode 1.Better luck next time Lucas.
Rating:
Summary: Episode 1 - A Terriffic Beginning
Review: For a new viewer who hasn't seen the middle trilogy, this is an excelent beginning to an epic story. Like many others, when I saw the movie the first time, I was mildly dissapointed and placed the movie #4 of the 4. After a second viewing and clearing my mind of episodes 4-6, my appreciation grew and anticipation of coming episodes heightend. Lucas has set this clockwork into motion with a masterful opening episode.
Rating: 
Summary: The only way to watch THE PHANTOM MENACE
Review: With a movie that is all about special effects, the only way tosee it is the WIDESCREEN version. People who buy the PAN AND SCANversion that is fitted to your television will miss millions of dollars in digital landscapes. It's like missing parts of a painting. And with a thin plot and almost zero character development you will need all the eye candy available to you to get through THE PHANTOM MENACE. Not exactly as much fun as watching Luke, Leia, and Han race against time to get rid of all-time baddie Darth Vader -- infact, this movie comes nowhere near the original trilogy's charm which was as much about the great young cast as the special effects. Now 22 years later we get computer effects that make your jaw drop, and a bunch of actors lost in a blue screen. But for what it's worth -- it's an amusing ride, if not all that the original was.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy the PAN and SCAN...
Review: I was really excited yesterday to pick up Phantom Menace yesterday but was really disappointed when I watched it last night. Most of the the movie is so "compacted" that you miss part of the action at times that takes place to the left or right from the center of action. Example: When Naboo is invaded, Droid fighters fly past the palace (in the movie). On video, you hear but do not see and the focus on the queen looking out the window is a little jerky. Most reactions from actors on the side are missing as the action unfolds, etc. AVOID THIS VERSION LIKE THE PLAQUE. Lucas couldn't be bothered to put the time into the DVD version that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel on this version. Gee....Thanks, George. Good Movie..Buy the Widescreen (I am, anyne can bid on my "viewed once" copy in Auctions.)
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Be So Cynical
Review: Not the best, but was Return Of The Jedi great? No, but this was a good movie. I hated it the first time, loved it the second. People bust on this movie now because the world is much more cynical than it was when the first ones were released. If you can watch this movie without being like that, and letting your imagination go for two hours, you will love it. The world needs more entertainment that allows you to do that.
Rating:
Summary: The most Played out Prequel
Review: I think this movie was played out along time ago but to go and make the first episode was a waste of time and money. I think that the other star wars episodes were fine and then they have to go along and make a new one. This movie has been played out to many times
Rating:
Summary: Get the widescreen!
Review: You've already seen the movie by now, and if you haven't, the 500+ comments already posted here will probably give you all the info you need. My comments are about the video itself. Spend the extra ten bucks or whatever it is and GET THE WIDESCREEN VERSION. We all know that with pan and scan, you lose almost half the picture. That's fine if you're watching, say, The Runaway Bride. However, there's a *lot* to see in this movie, and watching the stuff in the background is half the fun; if you get the pan and scan to save a few bucks, you'll be getting less than you paid for. Oh, and don't blame poor Jake Lloyd for Anakin's stilted dialog (especially the egregious blobs of exposition he spouts on Tatooine). Blame Darth Lucas... and hope the next script is edited by someone with a better track record.
Rating:
Summary: More than meets the eye. . .
Review: The first time is saw The Phantom Menace, I was honestly disappointed. The other three movies seemed to be on a far more galactic scale. Yet, on subsequent viewings of the movie, I gradually realized just how many subtle ideas and foreshadowing events Lucas is planning. This is the beginning of a far greater and wide reaching epic. I loved it!
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