Rating: 
Summary: I doubt I will buy this
Review: While I did love the first three Star Wars, this version was not up to par.... I hated Jar-Jar Creap and the wasted storyline they had with the young Darth Vader could have been better.... I don't think they should have made him so young, it would have been better if he was in his early teens, where you can say, yeah I see why he went to the Dark Force... Instead we have a boring race to save the day. YARN!!!!But their is light at the end of this narrow tunnel... The other characters were way better.. Queen Amidala played by Natalie Portman was a freshing change in the story. Darth Maul was, well; what can I say EVIL. For the life of me I don't know why they waited 2 years before they put out the DVD I thought that was pretty stupid. Even if I really like this movie, and I had to have it I would never buy the VHS version, No way. Hopefully when the other two comes out they will release the DVD as well as the VHS.
Rating: 
Summary: Star Wars?? I dont think so. An enjoyable afternoon..
Review: Ok, first of all I', giving it two, because it was watchable. But lets compare. Now of course the original movies were designed with plenty of cliche's and sillyness, but they tell a good story, certainly linked to mythology, and for the most part make sense. Now its a known fact that lucas brought innovations in movie making in episodes 4 + 5 (ANH, ESB), but these were for story telling, not innovations for the sake of it. I would argue that lucas has done so much with ILM and CG, that any new innovations were made for the sake of it. I would also argue that unlike the previous movies, plot was built around these effects. In the previous trilogy, the effects were build around the plot. Jar-jar is the perfect example. He can be explained away by the need to have the gundam (spelling?) forces during the final battle, but thats just a poor recreation of the ewoks. Heres why: as annoying as we found the ewoks, there was a point: technology alone doesnt win. A less advanced force could win. The ewok in ROTJ did it well, even if we as fans didnt like it. The Droid/Gungam thing was just poor. As was the anakin destroying the Droid Control Ship. No point, other than to have anakin do it. His winning the podrace was more than enough. It was in fact, too much of a rip of the original movie. Maul was an interesting character, but the audience never got to learn about him. And then theres the movie itself... it was designed so you have to see it twice to understand lots of the lines in the beginning. Ca-Ching!!! Finally, a word to Mr. Lucas: We're not stupid. We do remember past statements, even though you claim they werent made. (PErfect example: on the Spec edition tapes, he talks about all 9 episodes, all written, although he doubted the last 3 would be made, that he had written it as 3 trilogies from the beginning). 3 years later, he says this is something someone else made up. PErsonally, when i saw it, once the star wars euphoria wore off, it seemed to me like a movie with little thought into the script, and most into the effects. Even putting aside the expectations, it was not a "Star Wars" quality of movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood's "Technology God" throws us a bone. . .
Review: Oh boy oh boy. The first of what will doubtlessly be 14 different releases of E1 on DVD. I'm not rating the movie here, I'm rating the Lucasfilm Imperial marketing strategy. I have gone from child of the Star Wars trilogy to father of children who don't really give a damn about Star Wars. While I'm sure I'll buy a version of E1 on DVD, it won't be this one. I'll wait for the supermegaultra double trilogy that comes out in 2029. Proof positive that Lucas doesn't care about movies, he cares about marketing. The true Darth Sidious.
Rating:
Summary: Unworthy of the name "Star Wars"
Review: The original Star Wars and its sequel were fun movies that played to both adults and kids, handled mature themes in a respectable way (remember the murder of Luke's aunt and uncle?) and held fast to high standards. With "Return of the Jedi" these ideals began to weaken. With "The Phanton Menace" they were abandoned completely. The special effects were good (hence the two stars), but that's about it. As an example of the abandonment of the high standards, the stormtroopers of the early movies are replaced in firefights by combat droids. Although this is politically correct, it gives the impression that by the time of the original Star Wars movie technology had regressed, continuity people! Darth Vader in the original movies was a well defined figure of menace. In Phantom Mencae Darth Maul is exactly that, a phantom. He lacks definiton, personality and even menace (he looks ridiculous and fights like Van Dame on a sugar high). In the original movies, the comic relief (R2D2, C3PO) were useful and capable. Jar Jar Binks, the comedy relief from "Phantom Menace" may have been funny in a juvenile way, but he accomplishes nothing. Jeez, if the forces of good rely on guys like him no wonder the empire took over so easily! Previously, the force had been "an energy force that surrounds us and binds the galaxies together." In 1976 we were all saying "May the Force be with you." Now, thanks to episode I, it turns out the force is a bacterial infection, "May disease be with you?!" In the original movies, Luke was a kid we could all relate to because he seemed human. In this movie, Annakin Skywalker is an ace pilot, a droid inventor, pilots a fighter in combat, and he's what, 7?!? I can see 7 year olds in the audience cheering for this bit of nonsense, but what about those of us with a cohesive sense of logic? In the films all time low-point, however, Annakin is informed that despite his accomplishments, he is too old to begin traiing as a jedi. How old do you have to be, a fetus? Luke must have been positively ancient when he began his training. CONITINUITY PEOPLE! Overall, "Phantom Menace" has none of the intelligence, wit or verve of the original movies. It is child-oriented piffle.
Rating: 
Summary: Great
Review: This movie was great...
Rating: 
Summary: The best movie ever.
Review: Well thats an understatement I enjoy th whole Star Wars saga. And this is the cherry to top the ice cream sundae. Unlike others I think Jar Jar isn't totally annoying. I heard on the dvd you will be able to take jar jar away. If your looking for a star wars site go to theforce.net
Rating:
Summary: The Writer/Director Menace
Review: [....]Like many others that have written reviews, I am totally disappointed with Episode I. The problems in a nutshell: (1) too many plot lines, especially throw-away plots that barely tie into the chief plot (i.e. the phantom menace--the Trade Federation overshadowing the plotting Palpatine); (2) Horrible dialogue (like others have stated, the actors were given some of the most inane lines in recent blockbuster history--e.g. "Now that's pod racing," exclaims young Annie as he *accidentally* destroys thousands of "enemy" alien beings and robots on the Trade Federation ship); (3) Even more horrible directing. Let's face facts now: George Lucas comes up with imaginative characters, settings, plot lines, etc. He is a story teller. He is not, however, a screenwriter or director--or more appropriately, he fails at such attempts. Most viewers agree that Star Wars [...] is a basic yet solid movie, with decent acting and spectacular effects. The mystical force drew us audience members in and kept us waiting for Empire and Jedi. A better moview with a stronger plot, Empire Strikes Back has superb directing and screenwriting (NOTE: Lucas did NOT write the screenplay NOR did he direct). Compare scenes such as the lightsaber dual with any other. The intensity and emotion poured out in those few minutes is unrivaled--even by the excellent and artistic choreography of the Darth Maul/Qui Gon Jinn/Obi Wan battle. Some of us still get shivers watching Darth Vader reveal his identity to Luke, shortly after he lobs off his son's hand. ANOTHER NOTE: Ewan McGregor's onscreen acting took place only when Darth Maul kills Qui Gon--and that is not the actor's fault, but the writer/director's! The director of Empire captured pure emotion in shots of faces without any dialogue. Just view the "carbonite freezing" scene, with individual shots of Leia, Han, Vader, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, etc. The pure emotion that the director attempted in the shots really worked! Furthermore, the director was not afraid to get the actors/characters dirty. Luke is a sweaty, torn, and bleading frazzle at the end of Empire; compare with the well groomed while battling scenes of Return of the Jedi and Phantom. Empire Strikes Back is revered as the best Star Wars movie overall because of the following: only TWO major plots (One major, one minor) dominate the movie. Luke remains the focus, the force is discussed [...], the maturation of Luke is observed throughout. The Phantom Menace is an example of a good intentions and good plot line gone awry. Palpatine is barely in the movie, and Maul makes a memorable appearance for a fight, but their few lines (three sentences for Maul?) and appearances are so overshadowed by TOTALLY UNNECESSARY SCENES including the "spectacular" (sarcasm) Pod Race. Here's an idea for a movie: have the title match up with the chief plot. Here are some more unbelievably bad points of the Phantom Menace: 1. actor and character lines for Anakin Skywalker. Couldn't be more boring (though cute) and canned. With all of that aside, the boy is a cute kid. I had to laugh when Yoda says, "there is much fear in you." Both the audience AND Anakin are thinking the same thing. "What [...]are you talking about, Yoda?! The only emotion I have is for a fast sports car . . . er, pod racer." NOTE: Anakin left his mom in a matter of minutes from being released and he sure didn't show fear. [...] he was fearLESS! (In this case, that meant he didn't care or think about what he was getting into, but that's another issue.) 2. Waisted talent: Liam, Ewan, and Natalie are sure wasted on this show. Sadly, they obviously followed the director's tips. BEST ACTING IN SHOW: Natalie Portman--she's the only one that snuck in a bit of emotion to her lines. 3. Bizarre surprises: (a) virgin birth of Anakin, (b) force is actually not an energy field but microscopic organisms, (c) Obi Wan was not actually trained by Yoda, but Qui Gon, (d) Jedis are a bunch of ignorant and dismissive elitists, (e) everybody in Star Wars is related somehow--even C3PO was--this is absurd--made by Anakin. No, he couldn't have been a translator for any number of characters; indeed, Luke's very father, in childhood, built a the gold-plated British twit that came to meet Luke, on the same planet (Tatooine) where he was born/created--even though C3PO has no idea where the hell he is in Star Wars (episode one). Need I say more?
Rating:
Summary: Fell short of expectations
Review: I could not believe how weak this movie turned out to be after the enormous amount of hype surrounding its release. So many different areas should have been focused on instead of the ones that were. I am now totally unexcited for episode 2 to come out. I am much, MUCH more excited to see the Matrix 2, to tell the truth. And why has it taken so long to release a DVD of this movie? Where are the DVDs for the other episodes? WHERE, Mr. Lucas?!?!?!
Rating:
Summary: BEST ONE YET
Review: This space fighting, saving Nabbo from the evil darkside of the force film is the best star wars yet. Dont get me wrong the other three where fantastic considering episode four was made in 1977 ten years before i was born. Lucas is one of the greatest directors of all time, to come up with the story of living and fighting in space is a fantastic thing to be able to do let alone making it into the best space film ever made along with the other two follow ups after that. And now to have come up again with another fantastic idea of going back to the days when the evil Darth Vader was a sweet little innocent slave boy Anakin Skywalker hoping to one day become a Jedi knight. There are apparently going to be two more follow ups to the story, where Anakin gets involved with the darkside of the force and ends up being Darth Vader. Episode one - The Phantom Menace is a great start to the classic Star Wars films, with Obi Wan Kanobi still training to become a Jedi master by his master Qui Gon Jinn (played by Liam Neeson). Again trying to save a planet (Naboo) from the evil darkside of the force and picking up little undiscovered Darth Vader who then is Anakin Skywalker wanting to become a Jedi.
Rating:
Summary: A great start to a continuing saga.
Review: I'm simply amazed at how much criticism these movies get, especially with "The Phantom Menace." And I'm very pleased, because what exemplifies art more than the critics? It goes to show that Lucas truly shows his creative roots with these movies, as people draw different interpretations and beliefs from all of them; and no movie in history has ever done this as much as the Star Wars films have. To me, it's not about who likes or dislikes them, it's the feel that you get when you've seen the whole story unravel. To some, Star Wars is a film that reflects our society through the use of beautiful, galactic-wide set pieces, and the people who know Star Wars for that usually come off enjoying it, regardless of the hype and what the die-hard fans think of it. And then there are those who look at the series as a comic book, those who seem to think this one was a little more childish than the classic trilogy, completely forgetting why many people marveled to it in the first place. "Phantom" got its fair share of criticism, as did Episodes IV, V, and VI, and so does every other movie in history. People act like "Phantom" was just a bad movie, because it maybe didn't gross as much as was expected, and didn't completely meet others' expectations. But this belief only comes from the sixteen years of hype that have been following it. Trust me, there are worse movies in the world, and "Phantom" didn't suffer as badly as people thought. In my opinion, "Phantom" is one of the greatest examples of storytelling on-screen, and matches any of the classic films, including "The Empire Strikes Back." It's no more or no less than what the past three films were, and that trend will continue with however many chapters Lucas decides to tell. That's enough of my political views on the movie. My job is to review, not debate. "The Phantom Menace" is historically the first chapter in George Lucas' epic space opera. In this movie, we're introduced to the height of the Old Republic, the golden age of the galaxy, the wisdom of the Jedi Knights--and in the background, we have Anakin Skywalker, the boy destined to bring balance to the mystical energy field known as the Force. With "Phantom", the start of Anakin's journey becomes an important plot element that will decide his fate, something the wisdomic Jedi Knights, namely Yoda and Mace Windu, seem to understand. In this huge galactic turmoil that plagues the planet Naboo, we also see the corruption that will mar and eventually bring the downfall of the Old Republic, as Senator Palpatine begins to manipulate anyone who gets in his way to his rise to power. All of these elements are perfect ground for the forthcoming Episodes II and III, and serve as a basis for "A New Hope", "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". In terms of plot, "Phantom" mirrors Episode IV, as it serves as an introduction of what's to come. Its main purpose is to set up the dark events that will mire the rest of the trilogy, and it does a great job on that level. There's a lot of movie magic surrounding the mystery of this film, but its colorful atmosphere and wildly amusing characters is what makes for an entertaining film. Lucas draws from classic film fare, like "Ben-Hur" and "Flash Gordon", to continue telling his masterful stories. Every trace of his imagination and creativity is evident in this film, and how anyone could dream of a more classy, fantastical movie bewilders me. If there's a downside to the film, I thought more attention could be paid to the live-action characters. George's visual emphasis dominated the very lively world of "Phantom", as it always has with the original films. I just think his direction should linger more toward his physical actors, as they're essentially just as important to the story as all the visual details. "Phantom" makes for a very crucial part of an entertaining and deeply involved space story. As far as its theatrical release goes, it met all my expectations and thensome. You really couldn't have asked for a better film for what it represents at this stage of the arching story, and for those who continue to bash it, you don't seem to look at Star Wars the same way I do, and you obviously don't fully understand the complex story George has been trying to tell for decades. I think it was an awesome flick.
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