Rating: 
Summary: Myst-the Movie
Review: There are over one thousand reviews here, so I will weigh in briefly with these points:A) These environmental special effects are great for a meditative interactive experience like the computer game Myst, but they are overdone and confectionary here. B) Some of the effects are carelessly done and therefore distracting. The droid battle sequence appears as if an SGI film sequencer had merely clicked his mouse (or whatever they use) 600 times to duplicate for an army the action sequence painstakingly created for one battle droid. C) The range of intriguing physical specimens of this universe laid out for us in the original Star Wars' cantina has been expanded by legions of cartoony mush-headed creatures that render pointless Lucas' attention to species nomenclature. D) It is indeed difficult to find child actors to fill roles that demand gravity and dramatic range. For the role of Anakin Skywalker, Lucas needed to search more carefully. E) Of the gravity that Anakin should have had, the other actors had an excess. In fact, at no time in my recollection did any of the characters have any dialogue that was incidental to the tense, rigid plot line, as did Han Solo with just about everyone in the original. Word is, Lucas is even more committed to special effects for Episode II than he was for this one. You wonder why he doesn't just do a "Toy Story"-type animated film. If G.Lucas doesn't want to run this thing completely into the ground, he would do well to listen, if not to the faceless,clamoring public, then to a trusted friend, one with no vested interest in his success, who might share some of those public opinions.
Rating: 
Summary: flawed genius
Review: There are so many annoying and niggling faults with this movie that under normal circumstances it would be classed as a real turkey. But, George Lucas has an uncanny knack for storytelling and an unrivaled sense of imagination. Don't get me wrong, The Phantom Menace is a great movie but is a pale shadow of it's predecessors. The most noticeable problem is that of characterisation. The characters are quite soulless and deliver lines in robotic fasion , lacking the passion of the earlier Star Wars movies . That said, the pod race and final lightsabre fight in particular are exhilarating and the movie does retain a Star Wars feel to it. If only Lucas could pace episode 2 better than episode 1, which did drag in scenes on Tattoine and those involving the political debates with the senate, we could see a much improved sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay
Review: There are some parts in this movie that are good and some parts that are bad, silly and stupid. I rate the good parts with the Jedi's and the silly and stupid parts with Jar Jar Binks.
Rating:
Summary: George Lucas is a techie more than an artist.
Review: There are some really, exciting wonderful effects in this movie. It just doesn't have the HEART or artistry it should. A little Jar Jar Binks goes a long way, and I understand the need for comic relief and the attempt to amuse the kids, so I wasn't overly bothered by him. Some restraint was needed, however, and that wasn't there. And in the extra material on the DVD it is sooooooo apparent George Lucas picked the WRONG KID. He must have fancied himself such a "Great Director" that he could make Jake Lloyd look like a junior Jack Nicholson. George Lucas does technical/visual stuff very well ("we'll fix it in post"), but he is not artistic enough to get heart and soul performances out of his actors -- who of course play second fiddle to the effects. He tends to stunt an actor's creativity. That's common knowledge. But from what I hear, G.L. learned from his mistakes and redeems himself in "Attack of the Clones" to a great extent. Let's hope so!
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre but entertaining
Review: There has been so much back and forth about how this movie sucks, or how great it is. I want to make a few points clear.
1) A movie is not great just because it's "Star Wars".
2) A movie is not great just because it has magnificent CGI
3) A movie is not great just because it has lots of action. The Phantom Menace is actually not a BAD film. It's an enjoyable movie if you're expectations aren't so high. In other words,
1) Don't expect characters like Han Solo, Leia or Luke to appear. The people in TPM are very different (and thank Lucas for that)
2) Don't expect a beginning - end story like A New Hope. This film is made keeping in mind the vast amount of plot it has to cover to reach .... well, you know (let's not spoil it for people who are new to this series). In a sense, this acknowledges Episode IV as the core of the series. I agree.
3) Don't expect a nasty Darth Vader type nemesis. The title "The Phantom Menace" obviously does not allude to a character named Phantom (I see the misunderstanding arising from the comic book Phantom connection). The phantom menace is the overhanging darkness that can be seen in the film, it's the first forming of the future empire, the first step towards total hopelessness in the galaxy (I don't think I've given anything away). So the title is actually very fitting, and suits the film well. My complaints about the movie are these, though.
1) I think the acting is sub-par. It's not consistently bad, bu it's strange that with so many acclaimed actors (Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Pernilla August, etc.) this film never really engages you. I do think it has more to do with G. Lucas, since he's directing (and the acting quality has actually gotten worse in the sequel).
2) The film is so overlaiden with plot that we never really get to know the characters, we never have a chance to fall in love with them. One mistake I think is that G. Lucas wanted to tell the story from the beginning. I think skipping parts of the plot (especially time-consuming bits that don't reveal much character) and trying to incorporate the information through, say, flash backs, or other ways might have been benefitial.
3) Ultimately, and I think this is falls mostly on Lucas's shoulders, this movie doesn't know whose story to be. A New Hope was Luke's story (and then we got to know the other characters) and in a way, The Original Trilogy centered around Luke, the same way that the Prequel Trilogy should center around Anakin. But in this first film he rather gets overshadowed by the political story. Not that it's a bad political story, but it makes the film less personal. So what DO I like then?
1) It's a beautiful film, incredible visuals and a treat for the eyes.
2) It has exciting action sequences, well choreographed battles and duels.
3) It has great CGI, and gives us a clue of how the beloved Star Wars story started. If you see my first three point you'll understand why this makes it merely mediocre. I suppose this film is better thought about than watched. As far as the DVD goes, it's very well put together, with great picture and sound, and many extras. The prime reason for getting this DVD, though, was for the documentary "The Beginning", where G. Lucas raves about JJ Binks being the KEY to the movie, saying he's probably the funniest characters in the SW series. Also we get to see the screen tests (or auditions) for the last three choices for Anakin, where Jake Lloyd does the worst job of them all, quickly followed by G. Lucas's rave about this talent "He's perfect!" If you're short on money, get something more worthwile, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones series, or Lord of the Rings (or the Original Trilogy as it'll be available September 21, 2004). You might even want to get the book version. If you have some money left over, though, this movie won't be the gem of any collection, but it won't bring shame over it either.
Rating:
Summary: The Phantom Meance Defense
Review: There has been so much criticism of this movie it makes me sick. People are nitpiking over the smallest things. Lets examine. 1) The biggest of all complaints is Jar Jar Binks. The complaint is that he's just not funny and I completely agree with this except I don't think he was supposed to be funny. His Juvenile pranks are just in Character with his species, which is a lower inteligence. We all know that when kids are young they do dumb stuff that they think is funny, but really is not. Another complaint about him is that his dialect is supposedly racist. I can see why people thought this. In Hollywood a while back black people were portrayed with a similar dialect. Thats because in the eyes of the racist white Hollywood bigwigs black were of a lower inteligence. Now when George Lucas was devolping the Jar Jar Character he had to devolp dialoge which would show the character being of lower inteligence. As a resolt, the two dialects turned out be similiar. If Lucas is being racist in this movie at all its to the Gungan race. 2)Another complaint about it was that there wasn't enought character development. This would be true if this was a complete story, on it's own, but it's not. It's the first of a Trilogy. Thats like reading 1/3 of a book and complaining that the characters weren't developed enough. You have to read the whole book before you can decide that. 3. The Plot is too confusing! Thats the worst complaint i've ever heard. If you are unable to understand the plot of a movie thats rated PG then your in troupble. I can name about five 8 year olds right now who could give you a plot sumarary, an analysis, and the foreshadowing involved. And if it was a little complecated I don't recall anybody whining about how "The Usual Suspects" or "Pulp Fiction" were too confusing. Well I could go forever about all the other unfair nitpicks that have fallen on to this movie from critics that don't have any sort of imagination at all, but I won't because I think I've hit the big ones. But please send your nit picks about this movie to me and i'll answer you with a logical explanation to why they are hollow. I think this is a tactic (the ability to think logically) which most critics should start using more before they attack a movie....
Rating:
Summary: This is where it all started
Review: There is an inescapable truth that has been pointed out by this movie - there is a huge difference between liking Star Wars and understanding Star Wars. To those who watched the first trilogy simply for the flashing lights and pretty colors this movie won't make any sense at all. But for those who understood the mythical underpinnings of the saga this movie made perfect sense. This is where everything starts. It shows the Old Republic, the Galactic Senate, and the initial conception of the Evil Galactic Empire. But beyond all of that this installment shows us a true Jedi Master in his own element - and what he is capable of. This is the beginning. The first chapter. From here things will descend into oblivion over the course of the next two episodes leading up to that Star Destroyer chasing Princess Leia's Tantive IV Blockade Runner over the surface of Tatooine. Complaining about the lack of a "Han Solo" character is simply idiotic. To have one would be redundant. The story already has a "Han Solo" character. He enters the story in Chapter IV. This movie forces you to re-evaluate the first trilogy to incorporate the information presented here. Information regarding the Jedi Council, the training of a Jedi, how the Empire came to be, what Luke and Leia's mother was like, and above all the origin of Anakin Skywalker, his importance to the galaxy, and why the character of Darth Vader is a tragic figure. Earlier complaints about the movie being "dumbed down" are completely inaccurate. It is in fact the other way around, and low-brows are complaining because Lucas is forcing them to connect the dots themselves. And Jar Jar was put there specifically so the kids would have something to latch onto, because the grandeur of the story would no doubt airplane the younger ones. Basically if you don't get it, you just don't get it, and nothing anyone can say will change that. And if you do get it, then you already know this movie was a milestone and you already know everything I have been saying. Bring on Episode II
Rating: 
Summary: Just because it's "Star Wars" doesn't mean it's good
Review: there is no character depth... the entire film is a superficial blow'em up science fiction movie. Dont say the original movies were like that.. because in the old ones George lucas had a lot of heart and character to the characters... now they're just stand ins in a movie that George Lucas obviously didn't want to make. I was anxious to see this movie since the old star wars movies, but now I have no inspiration to see Episode 2. I hope Lucas doesn't make it.
Rating:
Summary: Where Did We Go Wrong?????
Review: There is no emotion, There is peace.
There is no ignorance, There is knowledge.
There is no passion, There is surrenity.
There is no death, There is the force. Now to the film. Ha ha! What reviews that this film received. I like this film because of Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar Binks is very funny. Jake Loid acted well! playing Anakin Skywalker. I sure like this film. The negative reviews of this film make me laugh so hard! I'd fall down in a faint. This is by far a very great film. I'm sure I'm gonna love episode II as well as this one. I know because I saw this first in the theatres, and then on VHS. I got the regular film, not the witescreen addition. I also bought this at a store down in Utah. I highly recommend this to future fans.
Rating:
Summary: The Phantom Stinker
Review: There is no other way to say it, this movie sucks. The plot was dull and dealt mostly with politics, I thought I was watching C-Span for a minute. The acting and dailogue were horrible. I would rather watch paint dry than another "Star Wars" movie. George Lucas does not care about the quality of his movies, he cares only about the money. The only people who enjoyed this are the die hard Star Wars fans.
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