Rating: 
Summary: The First Star Wars DVD is a Force to be reckoned with...
Review: The Phantom Menace was ridiculed by critics and fans everywhere, from its dialogue, the story, and some of its characters. Personally I thought George Lucas did a fine job of introducing the main characters while still having a story to go along with it and still tie it to the original trilogy. This DVD is excellent in that it is a two disc set with the movie seperating it from the extras which is what DVDs currently do. The extra scenes in the movie are magnificent in the quality that they were done. The usual theatrical trailers and the behind the scenes movies were good. Very excellent job done by the LucasFilm team. I highly recommend this to everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: The Force is Not as Strong With This One
Review: When George Lucas decided to make the first prequel to the original "Star Wars" trilogy, devotees of the saga waited years with much anticipation for its release. When the time finally arrived, massive crowds gathered outside theatres, some waiting in protracted lines for days in advance, ready to once again enter that "galaxy far, far away" as soon as the doors opened. However, "Episode I - The Phantom Menace" left many die-hards of Lucas' space opera unsatisfied and disappointed. Not because it is a bad film, but because it lacks most of the elements which made the original trilogy the superb classic it is.Set decades before the unforgettable Blockade Runner star-fight scene which kicked off the series in "Episode IV - A New Hope", "The Phantom Menace" finds a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his mentor, Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), sent as diplomats to settle a trade dispute between the Galactic Trade Federation and the planet Naboo. Before the negotiations even begin, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon must brandish their lightsabers to battle droids, as the Galactic Trade Federation - used as puppets by Darth Sidious for a more sinister agenda - launches an invasion of Naboo. After the planet is seized by an army of Battle Droids, the two Jedi must rescue Naboo's adolescent queen - and future mother of Luke Skywalker - Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), and escort her through a conflict-ridden journey to the Galactic Republic capitol, the planet Coruscant. Along the way, they are accompanied by the boy who's fate we all know, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a loquacious - and annoying - Gungan, Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), and those two lovable droids, C-3PO and R2-D2 (Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker). There is plenty to enjoy in the first installment of the "Star Wars" prequels, like the exciting and fast-paced pod race sequence, action-packed star-fights, John Williams' impeccable - as always - score (one of his best!), and a spectacular, creatively-choreographed lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and the Sith, Darth Maul. Unfortunately, the film seems homogenized, foisting special effects and laser battles in lieu of heart and imagination. The story is not engaging. Because you already know the fates of most of the characters, it seems somewhat pointless and redundant - ostensibly, George Lucas had dollar signs on his mind instead of devoted fans of the saga while writing the screenplay. The characters, although likeable, lack depth and dimensionality; the performances are adequate but never exhibited spirit and empathy. The dialogue is clichéd and banal. Lastly, the visual effects (courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic) are as impressive as ever, but the starships and vehicles do not meet the stunning originality of the designs seen in episodes IV through VI. There is a lack of cohesion between "The Phantom Menace" and the original trilogy. Although part of the same body of work, they feel somehow disjointed. Perhaps the prequel is best viewed as a separate entity, not existing in the same world with the saga that began "A long time ago". George Lucas' vision is not how I wanted the "Star Wars" saga to begin.
Rating:
Summary: Intended for children
Review: Upon voicing their disappointment with this movie, Star Wars fans were told, "It's a child's movie." Why weren't we made aware of that *before* it was released? Very simply, it would have hurt sales. As with most Star Wars fans, I sort of expected the proverbial "second coming" with this movie. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I was happy to see Star Wars back in action, but I was disappointed with the movie itself. One thing to take into account is that the original Star Wars trilogy revolutionized movie making. In their day, those movies were quite astonishing. Having raised the "bar" so high, it is impossible for Lucas to recapture that magic we all felt in the late 70s and early 80s. Another thing to take into account is that most of us were quite young when we saw the original trilogy, making us more impressionable than we are now. My main complaints with this movie are the most famous: the clumsy reptilian oaf who mispronounces everything; the apparent racial stereotypes. The basis of Jar Jar's personality is obvious, as well as the other villians in the movie (Asian, Italian, Jewish accents, etc.). But, to be fair, Lucas also provided a few African American actors with roles as "good guys," such as Samuel L. Jackson as a Jedi. Lucas is a genius with special effects and coming up with nifty names that roll right off the tongue, but he's not so good finding good dialogue for his actors, or for even finding good actors; often, these actors come across as cardboard. I think that the most interesting character in the movie is Darth Maul . . . so, anyone who has seen this movie will know why I'm disappointed. If you are a Star Wars fan of old (1970s/80s) you will probably be confused by your feelings for this movie: you will be glad that Star Wars is back in action, but will be a little disappointd by the movie. One thing that can help to keep this movie in perspective is to remember that it really is, well, intended for children. Apparently, children love Jar Jar Binks . . . my nephew does.
Rating:
Summary: underrated
Review: Star Wars episode 1 is in my oppinion extremely underrated. I think that this one is better than episode 4 because well, the new trilogy isn't all about action, there is more romance, drama, and the story is much better than atleast ep. 4. Infact this was my favorite SW movie(aside from Jedi)because this has much more chracters and plot than the first one. The story revolves around the start of the intergalactic war when Naboo gets invaded. When the Jedis Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jin go in to settle the conflict it nearly starts war. After that fails they go to Naboo where battles are raging, there they meet Gungan Jar Jar binks. From there the movie starts getting better and beter. This movie tells about the characters of the original and how they got to what they are now. Now you know how Anakin got to the darkside. The originals actually make alot more sense. i am not saying that I don't like the originals(Return of the Jedi was my favorite movie of all time actually. The special effects are mezmorizing and just add to the fun of this amazing series. I dissagree harshley with most of the other posters. The DVD quality of this set is great. it is loaded with special features, more than any other DVD. The special features include, exclusive deleted Scenes Documentary features seven new sequences completed exclusively for this DVD including extended Podrace scenes. All new hour long documentary film culled from over 600 hours of footage, The beggining takes you where few people have been before-inside Lucasfilm and ILM during the production of episode 1. Multi-Angle storyboard-to-animatic-to-film segment featuring the Submarine and Podrace Lap 1 sequences. Five Featurettes explore the phantom Menace's storyline, design, costumes, visual effects and fight scenes. Award Winning twelve-part web documentary series that chronicles the production of Episode 1. Duel of the Fates music video featuring John Williams. never Before seen Production Photo Gallery with special caption feature. Theatrical posters and print campaigns from around the wold. Theatrical teaser and launch trailers, plus seven TV spots. Star Wars: Star Fighter the making of a game, featurette from Lucas Arts. DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content. That is an amazing amount of special features. A great example of what a DVD can do. This DVD also includes on the first disc: Comentary by George Lucas, Rick Mcallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Denis Muren, and Scott Squires. Anamorphic Widescreen(Aspect Ratio 2.35:1). Sound: English Dolby 5. 1 surround EX, English Dolby 2.0 Surround, Spanish Dolby 2.0 surround, Subtitles: English. Star Wars episode 1 isn't only a movie it has tons of special featues and remains a showcase of what a DVD can do, a sample of what it can do in the future. This DVD is highly reccomended to sci-fi/Star Wars fans, action fans. Grade...A+ ~Dan~
Rating: 
Summary: A good opening movie to the saga -- A Well Put Together DVD
Review: Episode I is not a bad movie. It is a well presented opening to the story that is Star Wars. The symbolism, imagery, and important questions are all answered in this film that we have all been waiting for since Return Of The Jedi. A good story needs good actors to play the characters in the movie, and The Phantom Menace delivers. I was most impressed with Liam Neeson, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi's master, Qui-Gon Jinn. The character and the actor playing him held this entire movie together. I also liked Jake Lloyd as the young prodigy, Anakin Skywalker, and Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala. The first scene between Anakin and Padme was well written and acted, and won my vote of approval for this film. I also liked the reoccurring theme that was present in the previous 3 Star Wars films that comprised the original trilogy of having characters that aren't what they appear to be. Because of this, parts of this movie take on a different significance when seeing this movie more than once. The only criticisms that I have of this film are small. I think that George Lucas could have cut down on the CGI scenes. CGI scenes look like CGI scenes, which are just a step above the quality of a well animated cartoon. Jar Jar Binks, although not one of the story's more endearing characters, gets the right amount of screen time, and in my opinion was no more annoying than the teddy bear muppet Ewoks in Return Of The Jedi. I also thought that scenes regarding Anakin's Jedi training could have used a slight change in written dialogue, but I think I understood what transpired in the movie. Another aspect of this film that takes away from any suspense is that we know what happens to a large number of the main characters because this film is a prequel. Knowing this influences how viewers may feel about many aspects of this movie. It would be like reading the last several chapters of a book, then starting by reading the first page of the book. The DVD packaging is presented in a fashion that is well suited to DVD. What I liked most about the director's commentary of the film was that the name of the person would appear at the top of the screen when they were talking. Most DVD packages that have director's commentary do not have this feature, and it is often confusing to know who exactly is talking. The second DVD has a twelve part making of Episode I that was originally accessible only by the Internet, along with 5 featurettes that explore certain aspects of the film, and an extended documentary about the making of the film. There are also 7 deleted scenes which can be viewed either separately, or as a whole with commentary from George Lucas and others in between each deleted scene -- keep watching at the end credits of this version, which shows a Jawa Sandcrawler in overdrive traveling faster over the Tatooine landscape than the racing pods -- I had no idea they could go that fast! There are also 2 movie trailers, a music video, and 7 television commercials promoting the film. I know that somewhere there is an Easter Egg on one of the DVD's that can be found of bloopers that didn't make the film.
Rating: 
Summary: The Phantom Movie
Review: Let me start by saying that I, as a teen in 1977, fell completely in love with the first STAR WARS. Everything worked and everyone loved it. I enjoyed THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK until it stopped: it didn't end, it just stopped.
When I sat through RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1983, I was surrounded by little kids who ran straight out of the mall theatre to the nearby toy store to buy their own cuddly, adorable Ewoks and Yodas...then I gave up. Twenty years later--which I thought would've been plenty of time to think and rethink the series--I go see THE PHANTOM MENACE.
As much as I disliked the toy commercial that was RETURN OF THE JEDI, at least there were interesting characters showing up once in a while. I understand they pretty much stood around in the background while muppets fought and drooled, but they were there. PHANTOM actually made the human characters the LEAST interesting characters in the movie.
The pod race, which everyone said was the highlight, came off like an expensive video game (watch the chariot race in BEN-HUR for some genuine excitement). Jar Jar Dink or whatever his name was is easily the most annoying non-character I've ever seen in a movie (Joe Pesci in the LETHAL WEAPON sequels is in second place). Everyone looks bored. The low point: sitting in the theatre to the bitter end (my wife had walked out to shop in the mall halfway through since she couldn't stay awake), watching digital armies of robots fight digital armies of frog-things and not one human being in sight.
Rating: 
Summary: It is a videogame not a movie.
Review: This is a terrible movie. I love the original star wars trilogy, but this movie is horrible. The acting is stiff, the dialogue is dead and the computer generated graphics are overwhelming, did I mention that the music is nothing special?. It looks and feels more like a videogame than a movie. TERRIBLE.
Rating:
Summary: Stinker.
Review: This movie will never be good while the title Star Wars is attached to it. The characters were boring; Qui-Gon Jinn died before we could get to know him, Obi-Wan was bland and expressionless and Darth Maul? Come on, horns? Yeah, right. Plus, we get the stupendous Queen Amidala was just about as exciting as a stuffed frog. The only exciting person in the whole wretched flick was Anakin, but we know his fate so it's not too exciting. And where the heck was Han Solo's father? That would have been sweet.
As for plot, it wasn't intriguing because they introduce you to the problem, think it out and solve it all in the same movie. The only thing that saves this movie from the dump is that it has decent special effects and it is part of the Star Wars saga. Just watch Episode 2, it's alot better. @lex
Rating:
Summary: The saga had to start somewhere!
Review: The DVD itself has plenty of things packed into it. The movie; I thought it was a very good movie. I did initially watch it a couple times at the theater with my family. It took a couple viewings to begin to understand what Jar Jar was saying. Overall though, I think The Phantom Menace is a very good movie, especially with the light sabre battle between Obi Wan, Qui Gon and Darth Maul. Believable and stunning.
Rating:
Summary: The saga continues. . .
Review: Overall a good movie, especially if you are a Lucas fan. It is best viewed with surround sound or the pod race seams flat. Since this is setting the stage for the rest of the series, it is not as exciting as the original three, but a must for the collector.
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