Rating: 
Summary: I think you folks are missing something.
Review: I think some skeptics out there need to take another long look at this movie. I see the same fact pointed out over and over again, this movie had no plot. Well if you really take a long look at it, it does. Not only does it have a plot, but it's a fairly complex plot as well. The flashy animations and everything were nothing more then a backdrop to good story. Things like the pod race, were essential. I don't think it's the fact that this movie had no plot. I myself, believe it's that the plot was a little too complex for all the A.D.D. kids out there that had their attention pulled away, by all the shiny aliens in the background. Don't punish a director or writer for your lack of attention skills.
Rating: 
Summary: Insomnia Cure
Review: This ranks alongside "Not of this Earth" and "Hercules" starring Ferrigno as one of the WORST wastes of celluloid on the planet.No character development,STUPID comic relief,and 99% CGI.Basically-it's a Star Wars screensaver for your tv.I've tried 15 times to watch this disaster-and with a gallon of coffee and 5 liters of Mountain Dew-can't stay awake.
Keep in mind,I saw the original trilogy over 100 times and adore it-this...was a toy commercial.
Quoting Randall from animated 'Clerks'-"Get Lucas out of my sight!"
Rating: 
Summary: Many have been too hard...
Review: I was the first geek to arrive on the scene for the Epidsode I camp out the night before tickets went on sale at the Cinema 6 in Tooele, UT. I had read the book, and the Graphic Novel in advance, so I knew exactly what I was getting into when the film began. My expectations for this film were set at a pretty good level. I knew the story already, and was expecting a movie version of that story as I knew it.
The problem with Episode I is not necissarily the film itself. Although far from perfect Episode I is still creative, and innovative in its own right, and still revolutionary being the first movie to offer thousands of photorealistic computer generated characters in any given scene. The overal story is still very good, but I will confess the movie is not without its flaws.
Jar Jar Binks became annoying after a while, but did not detract from the over all movie. I do not see Jar Jar in any light different than I see C-3PO, who is equally annoying. However, the dry acting of this film really weakens what could have otherwise been the best of the Star Wars movies to date. Despite the dry acting, the story (I cannot stress this enough) is still very strong. The movie even features the best lightsaber fight scenes to date. Over all this movie is not only worth the price of admission, but is also a worthy addition to the Star Wars series. A friend of mine once stated that to judge the Star Wars movies individually is foolish. This is just a small part of a much larger story, and while I anticipate that Attack of the Clones will be both darker and more mature than the Phantom Menace. In all reality The Phantom Menace is equally as good as A New Hope (Episode IV) which also has problems with acting and annoying characters (ironically Luke, at that point.)
The DVD is the first of the series to land on the format and is quite possibly the most jam packed DVD of all time. I've had this disk since it came out and I am still finding nifty easter eggs several months later. And I don't think that there has ever been a DVD that has taken your hand through every step of the film making process the way that this one did. It was a great education in the making of the Star Wars movie, and sure made the process look lik a lot of fun, with a few hazards tossed in for good measure. The various making of featuretts are like an epic movie in and of themselves and are in many ways better than the movie itself. Collectors should buy this DVD, if not for the movie, than for the incredable DVD extras.
Rating: 
Summary: The Star Wars Brand Name Isn't Enough
Review: The special effects are eye-popping, and they are what get all of the 2 stars. The acting is servicable, considering what the actors were given to work with. Unfortunately, the rest is all bad news. You gotta do more than just put the words "Star Wars" before the title. You gotta have a story and you gotta know where you're going with it. Then you gotta write words that will inspire the actors. These all tend to hold the audience's interest, causing them to remain awake. I think Mr. Lucas needs to leave his version of a Neverland ranch or wherever it is that he holes up between movies and rediscover just what it was that inspired him to create the full-blooded thrill-ride that was the original Star Wars. When I first saw SW I was hooked for 2 hours. I was IN that rocket fighter with Luke. All I could think of when I left the theater was "I gotta see this AGAIN!" All I could think of while watching Phantom Menace was "Isn't this over YET?!!" In the original you were in the fight against the Empire; in Phantom Menace, you're only in a fight to not fall asleep. Why didn't he just have every role played by Jar Jar in different costumes? At least it would have been funny-type entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Better every time.
Review: It's one of those movies where after you see it once you think "It's good", then after you see it again you think "It's really good", and after you see it a third time you think "Damnnnn good". Every time you see it you pick up on some subtle little thing you hadn't yet noticed. This movie does justice to the series.
Rating:
Summary: An overflow of CGI and a trickle of everything else.
Review: Let's face it: "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" will forever be known as the worst Star Wars movie ever produced. Even people who seriously defend this movie have to agree Episodes IV, V, and VI were better. The big question concerning this movie: what went wrong? How could the most hyped movie of all time coin the term "Episode I Syndrome"? The answer is simple: "The Phantom Menace" tries to be too much of what the first three movies were known for and fails to allow other factors have the same degree of quality.When "Star Wars: A New Hope" was released, it was praised for its then-revolutionary special effects, and the next two movies received an equal amount of praise. But George Lucas also managed to give these movie a coherent and suitable plot so they wouldn't be seen as "tech-demos". When CGI evolved, movies started to use them more and more, until some movies were nothing but. "Tron", "The Haunting", and "The Mummy Returns" are all infamous examples of movies that utilized excellent special effects but had nothing else to show for it. "Episode I", unfortunately, joins this crowd. The movie becomes questionable at the very beginning, when the famous Star Wars Theme plays and the opening paragraph runs. Unlike previous Star Wars openings, this one talks about...politics? We're introduced to the new Star Wars movie not with a galactic battle or terrible crisis, but politics? Why? Then we meet the two Jedi and immediately we sense something is wrong. Why is the dialogue so...stiff? Emotionless? Even flat? Aren't the two actors enjoying themselves? Aren't they glad they're in a legendary Star Wars movie? Sadly, the movie never tells us, because this kind of feeling remains throughout the entire movie. Despite some really interesting battles, the central theme of the story remains politics, and this was Lucas's first mistake. Isn't the saga called Star WARS? Lucas' second mistake was his biggest: the CGI. Now, it's not that this CGI is bad; in fact, it's probably some of the best ever created for a film. The problem is that Lucas uses it far too much. It's as if in every other scene Lucas decided, "I think I'll put a wow-inducing special effect here. It might not be necessary, but it'll look cool." And sadly, the high use of CGI contributed to the low quality of plot and acting. The plot is probably the flimsiet plot ever devised in a Star Wars film, and the actors don't seem to be enjoying themslves at all. We never connect with Liam Neeson's Qui-Con Jinn, and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't match the one played by the late, great Alec Guinness. Jake Lloyd can't make us sympathize with the boy that'll eventually grow up to be Darth Vader, and Natalie Portman can't seem to push herself to be Queen Amidala. Probably the only characters who actually enjoy themselves are the entirely-CGIed ones such as Watto and Jar Jar Binks, but the trouble is most moviegoers find Jar Jar so annoying that they really don't care. This also shows that Lucas was probably more interested in the CGI effects than the actual actors. How Star Wars fans see this film is very relative. Some don't mind it and actually like it; others find it a complete blasphemy to the Star Wars mythos (Midichlorians, anyone?). But everyone has to agree that George Lucas made some serious mistakes with this movie and that "Episode I" doesn't even compare to the three original movies. Whether or not "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" is merely a giant preview for the (hopefully) superior "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" we'll have to wait and see. Whether or not "Episode I" is a good movie is all up to you.
Rating: 
Summary: 90% CGI Effects + 10% Plot = DULL
Review: A long time ago,in a film studio far far away...George Lucas began a franchise. The original Star Wars ( now Episode 4 ),relied on an actual story,that was accentuated by "special effects". After seeing "The Phantom Menace",you will find yourself wanting of those simpler times. Frankly,they spent too much time on trying to WOW everybody with computer imagery,and they forgot to write an actual story,that mattered! Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman both give good performances,now if they only had a film to use them in! The film worries more about showing us all these "really cool aliens",and all these "really cool planets and space ships",than advancing the story. What purpose did the Pod Race serve? The Underwater Kingdom? Did we need the stereo type characters? ( not only is there Stephen Fetchit...er...Jar Jar Binks,we have the anti-semetic Watto the pawnbroker,and let's not forget the overly Asian aliens at the begining of the film.) What were THEY thinking?? Is it any wonder that Darth Maul stood out? He was the only interesting character! ( Okay,Samuel L.Jackson as Mace Windu is good too...but that's a given.). A lame Episode 1,with a lotta explaining to do! The film itself is only worthy of 1 star. But the 2nd Disc full of nifty extras,bumps it up to a 3 star deal!
Rating:
Summary: I hope everyone reads this review..........
Review: When I first saw The Phantom Menace, I was amazed by the great movie it was. I wasn't an internet user yet. I simply don't get why everyone ruins with words this excellent movie. That's right: EXCELLENT. There's a great balance between action, and everything. It's got a good story to begin the saga. Jar Jar is fun, not stupid. If "A New Hope" had been released in 1999, I'd bet you'd all say the same about C-3PO. The problem is everyone tought the movie was going to be exactly as he/she had imagined it. Well, welcome to reality. Our speculations are not George Lucas' story. Just as a final word, I really recommend to watch this movie as the story it is and not what you thought it'd be back in 1997. Congratulations to everyone involved in this movie.
Rating:
Summary: I really like this DVD/MOVIE (from kelsi)
Review: I really like this movie & I don't care what any one says but I love JarJarBinks ( 10 out of 10 I say). And I, for some reson like finding product placements. :-S . there are hidden(so far I found 4) I don't know why people don't like him(Jar Jar), he is: funny, cool, ect, but nowhere neer stupid. my other favouites are: R2D2 (beep beep!!!) and chewy even though he isn't in this one well any way I give this movie 5 *'s and I don't care what any one says but JarJar is cool...
Rating:
Summary: If it wasn't a Star Wars movie, it would have been 2 stars
Review: It took me two viewings to fully appreciate the beginning of the most famous trilogy created. The movie had an enormous build-up and no movie could fully live up to the hype, but it just was not a great movie as the other three were. The look of the movie was absolutely spectacular with full digital worlds that looked incredibly real and lifelike. However, the same could not be said for the characters. They are as flat and dull and seem to be inserted to let Lucas expand his digi-lands. THe dialogue is sparse and uninteresting and there isn't the same feel as the other movies. For many fans, the first three movies had a "magical" feel as we followed the story. This movie didn't seem to have any magic or warmth like the others. I think the tech-heavy feel of this movie had something to do with it. Many will disagree, but I thought the kid who played Annakin was perfect and was one of the bright spots of the movie. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor were fine but were given extremely little to work with. The dialogue in the movie was rather dull and uninteresting unlike the vivid images and breathtaking special effects. As one reviewer said, this movie was just an introduction to all the characters thus, the plodding pace of the movie. However, if this would have been the beginning to the Star Wars saga, it would be a blip on the movie map, instead of a major destination.
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