Rating: 
Summary: Where's the good old Star Wars
Review: When i saw this movie at the theaters i was really impressed.I had never before in my life seen such good special effects in a movie before.But there was one thing dough.I had of course seen the old star wars trilogy before and i loved it.I loved it so much that i even used at least 50 dollars on the special edition versions.And when star wars episode 1 came too the theathers i was amazed.Amazed of how George Lucas could make an all time classic trilogy into a movie for childrens(12 years old).And when that happend all the star wars spirit ran away. The three stars i gave to this movie, i gave to the special effects and the few memerable scenes!
Rating:
Summary: Actually, 2.5 stars.
Review: When I saw this movie in theater, I was astonished. 20 years had been erased from my past. It was the early 80's again. I was reduced to a gawk-jawed wide-eyed 5 years old. The second time I saw this movie I drew the following conclusions: (For the most part) Good/Great actors performing poorly. Amazing Special Effects with which the actors/extras did not know how to interact (you could tell in many background scenes that the actors did not really know what was going on around them, and did not know how to act with imaginary machines/monsters) Underrated story with some gaping holes (I had to watch it twice to understand exactly what was going on and what Palpatine's design really was (he reminded me of Dudly Smith from LA Confidential.) Great action sequences. But as great as they were, they could have all been improved by multiple rewrites (preferrably by L. Kasdan and not George Lucas. Retire the writing table George, retire the directing chair, your vision is great, but your skills are lacking.) Overall, worth watching once, not worth buying on video/DVD The DVD doesn't even have a commentary which it desperately needs. Lucas needs to explain himself (if that is possible) to his legion of ex-fanatics turned fanatical critics. (PS: Jake Lloyd was miscast. I didn't hate him, but he was too young/inexperienced to play such an uncontemporary role. Interacting with things that he cannot see took it's tole on his performance. I was expecting to hate Jar-Jar, in his first scene I was uneasy about him, but as the film progressed, to my own astonishment, he grew on me. By the final droid battle, I was laughing aloud to his bumblings. He was corny, but so are Ewoks. Jar-Jar (his horrible name aside) took the bulk of the corniness upon himself. In any Lucas movie there's bound to be corny humor. I'd rather it be Jar Jar who expresses it than Liam Neeson. This movie is drawn out and very light-hearted. People did not like this. They forget it is just the introduction to the series. An ideally contrasting setup to the upcoming, dark brooding sequels.)
Rating:
Summary: At first I hated it.
Review: When I saw this movie when it first came out, I hated it. What a let down. Then I saw the DVD and watched it a couple of times. Once I got past the convaluted story and the Jar Jar Binks stuff I found that I kind of liked the movie. My 2 year old son seems fasinated by the film, so it cant be that bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Star Wars Caliber....not Star Wars Caliber indeed
Review: When I was finished with the Special Edition, I waited ravenously for TPM (The Phantom Menace for all those who don't know). I've been a Star Wars fanatic since I first saw them on USA's yearly christmas broadcasts. I waited and waited, refusing to look at any Star Wars sites online, so it didn't spoil the whole experience for when I finally did see it. First off, I must commend whoever made the decision to start the Star Wars fun with Episode Four. Episode One, if premiered in 1977, would've ruined it's future entirely. TPM was a blatant attempt to attract younger kids into the hype. That's all that TPM was. Hype. The first three movies (reffering to IV,V,VI) were full of darkness and life-and-death battles. Not TPM. And of course, most people will agree with me. Jar Jar. Possibly the most annoying character in all of Star Wars history. Another thing that really ticked me off was Darth Maul. I'm a big fan of the Sith. The Sith, in my opinion, are better than the Jedi by far. It's is utterly stupid to have a Sith Lord say approx. two lines, then die. In the first movie at that. If that's the best that the Sith can come up with, I don't know what the Jedi have been fearing all this time. TPM did have it's good points. The battles, both in space and with lightsabers, did have my blood pumping the entire time. Obi-Wan, while the casting could've been better, was an awesome fighter, and tapping into the Dark Side at the end was the perfect touch. Anakin ticked me off as well. How could Luke Skywalker descend from him. He must have inherited most of his courage and skill from Amidala. When you first see this kid, you think "Hey! This cannot be Darth Vader!" SPOILER[....]
Rating: 
Summary: "I care ..." (In the famous but winnie words from Luke S.)
Review: When I watched Episode 1, at 30 years old, I was transported back to 1977, when I saw "Star Wars" in Brazil, probably twice as mystified as the US kids because I had to read subtitles in Portuguese, and to me the entire movie was in an alien language, English. Unfortunately for those around me I never grew out of the Star Wars phase of my life, still much less overbearing than trekkies, I would imagine. There is a beauty about accepting the narrative without having to explain every detail about how something is scientifically or physically possible. That is a simple beauty of Star Wars, it is the reality of the time portrayed in the movies, and all the technology is merely an everyday fact to the story, sort of like the Internet as an everyday reality today. I really do not think that the new episode lost any of its magic. Sure it is a bit silly and corny, but often when talking about grandeur, you cannot help it but make it that way. The people who are criticizing the new movies so much probably were not the ones who were around 4 to 15 when they watched the original... that is the people the movie appealed to... Just like the new fans, who are around that age... Most of the people who hate Jar Jar are older, but not me, heck, it is a children's movie. To all the people who criticize Lucas so much, you must have no heart, and no imagination. Lucas managed to write a good story, and made it with no cursing, and virtually no blood. In an age where the idols of youth include pop artists who get in trouble for weapons, gang involvement, and murder, this is pretty good. Of course there is a time and place for a good "Type O Negative" or "Rage Against the Machine" CD, as well as "Pulp Fiction" and "Platoon"... All I am saying is that there is a time for everything, and those criticizing Lucas harshly are just not seeing the movie with the "right eyes" for the moment. Best Regards, Demon
Rating:
Summary: Total Pish
Review: When I went to see the movie, I had high expectations. I hadenjoyed the first three films and thought this would be as good. I wassadly disapointed. The only good thing in the whole movie was the pod racing scene. It had better effects, but lacked the same plot, suspence and character that the three older films had.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie for what it is
Review: When most people saw the original movies they were young, with that I think alot of people were expecting the same magic. That magic died when you were a kid and you wont find it in a movie. What you will find in this movie is more question with a few answers and thats exactly what i expect from a movie of this caliber and scope. I think it deserves much more praise than what it's getting.
Rating: 
Summary: Horribly, horribly bad! Wake up, people!
Review: When seeing the film in a theatre, I guess I was overwhelmed by the hype and brouhaha. Possibly, the thundering sound system and pretty lights on the big screen dazzled med. Walking out of the theatre, I felt numb, and somewhat dissapointed. But still, I accepted "Episode One" as a reasonably bad sequel. But watching it again on DVD made me reconcider. This is a horrible film, barely watchable, and the anti-thesis of all that is good filmmaking. The poor actors stumble across their flat bluescreens, fighting imaginary monsters while things blow up. The feeiling of fakeness is pervasive. Everything is flat, digital and aimed to please a 9-year old audience. Star Wars is entertaining for about two hours, after that, it leaves you feeling hollow. There is nothing to digest here. Seeing it more than once is almost impossible - I had to take breaks from this sloppy mush! And those extra 6 hours of special features don't really help. The worst thing about Episode 1 is propably that it forces us, the grown fans of the original films, to realise that the original trilogi wasn't really all that good, either...
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Review: When seeing the original Star Wars Trilogy for the first time, I along with most (True) Star Wars fans were at the most impressionable time of our lives - we were kids. Since then, we have all become more cynical. And with the release of the Phantom Menace, expectations were so unachievable, that not even a Lucas/Spielberg/Cameron/Coppola pairing could meet them. For me, it was back to basics: Not only setting the platform for the following five prequels, but getting the buy in from the younger viewers (as we once did). Can you imagine if he had seen this for the first time in 1977? I also don't see the extreme necessity in loading the Phantom Menace with major character development - it would have been better, but it leaves us gasping for more info. Now that's an opera! Either you are a Star Wars fan or not. As for me, I loved every minute.
Rating:
Summary: the truth comes out
Review: when star wars came outin 1977, george lucas it's director was hailed as a genius and a great storyteller. millions of people declared star wars as one of the geatest sci fi movies. these people did not notice how it's creator, george lucas had ripped of his story from tolkein's lord of the rings and akira kurowosa's seven samurai.star wars was followed by two equally good sequels, and george lucas was the golden boy of hollywood. twenty years later when lucas announced that he would be making a new star wars that would tell the origins of his memorable characters, his loyal fans rejoiced. lucas would save sci fi as he did in 77 they thought. little did they notice that lucas had not made a good film since star wars. in 1999 the phantom menance opened worldwide as the most anticipated movie ever. expectations were high as people expected this to be a worthy addition to the famous saga. titanic, which had the current record for highest grossing movie worlwide was expected to be dethrowned by star wars loyal fans.little did the fans notice that it's creator lucas had no one to steal from. what the phantom menance became was one of the worst prequels in cinema history. lucas has lost it his fans declared, but little did they realize that he never had it.
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