Rating: 
Summary: George Lucas has lost his touch...
Review: With the release of Episode I, a new and old generation of Star Wars "buffs" gathered...the reactions were very mixed. The biggest of the flaws to this movie was the fact that Lucas had diverted from an audience of older, more mature thinkers of the original trilogy, to a more child-like movie for the younger viewers (especially the dreaded Jar Jar Binks)...the actors and actresses in this movie did not do as well as the such-which for the trilogy. The way that Jake Lloyd acted out this movie is in comparison to the way that most children would act out movies in the early 1940s...also the movie was made to be more "Americanized" than a real distant, and unknown culture. Yes, Lucas has lost his dark, spiritual, and intellectual touch...
Rating: 
Summary: Episode 1 is a huge disappointment
Review: With the way Episode 1 went, I can only hope Lucas gets his act together for Episode 2, because this film was a disaster. True, the special effects were stunning, especially the underwater giant fish, but special effects don't make a movie good. There are so many things wrong with this movie, such as:a)Young Skywalker manages to destroy the bulk of an orbiting space station by "luck". b)There is no Hans Solo c)Jar-Jar Binks is an idiot, and completely ruins what was left of the film. d)Not enough Samuel L. Jackson or Yoda e)The plot was fairly basic In conclsion, buy the first three Star Wars films, they were amazing, while this was far from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Yuck
Review: words cannot describe the atrocity george lucas has commited on mankind by making this movie Down with the anti-christ! Down with George!
Rating: 
Summary: Glorious DVD, so-so story
Review: Would anybody be totally happy with anything George Lucas came out with following the outrageous build-up for this film? Probably not, but one tends to think he could have done just a bit better than this. I know there are some "Star" fans who adore anything new about "Star Wars", and there were many who despised this film after only half the film. Granted, I hated Jar-Jar Binks, myself, thinking he was just too silly for words. But the film does have some really fine moments, and some greatness, too.
No matter what I thought of the film, however, I really have to take my hat off to Mr. Lucas for putting out such a high-quality DVD. The picture transfer is exceptional, the sound out-of-this-world, and enough extras to satisfy ANYBODY. All included, the film and extras take up two discs, with all sorts of behind the scenes stuff and commentary.
Really, only DVD does this film any kind of justice, because only here can one see all the background scenery in all its complex glory. One can watch this film many times and still see something new every time. What incredible detail.
Well, as I said, the film could have been better, but it does have its moments, and the DVD is one of the best ever produced, so indeed well-worth including in any DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: Nice DVD, bad movie
Review: Wouldn't it be nice if Lucas had put as much thought into making the actual movie "Phantom Menace" as he did designing a DVD to explain how he made the movie? As a DVD this is a good buy if you are a Star Wars fan -- and who the hell isn't? -- are interested in the filmmaking process' nuts and bolts, or want to see how a movie that is 80% special effects is really shot. The problem is the "extra features" don't hide the fact that "The Phantom Menace" is a one-and-a-half star film riding the back of a five-star triology. Badly written, sluggishly paced, filled with one-dimensional characters, and frequent digressions from its own largely incomprehensible plot, this is easily the worst outing of the lot, and the only comfort for fans is that Lucas could scarcely do worse in "Episode II." Laim Neeson is pretty good as the worlds-weary Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn, though his character seems to have very little moral sense for a Jedi ("I didn't come here to free slaves," he explains at one point....well what the hell kind of guardian of peace & justice are you anyway?). The excellent Ewan McGregor is completely wasted as young Obi-Wan, though he does an excellent job of wielding his lightsaber. Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) is cute as hell but either she can't act, which I doubt, or she can't choke out her dialogue without sounding like she's reading it upside-down in bad light on a moving train ("Now...ambassador...we...will...discuss...a....new...treaty...")
and Jake Lloyd just plain sucks as young Darth Vader, though again it's hard to tell where his bad acting stops and the crappy script begins. Ian McDairmid is enjoyably smarmy as chancellor Palpatine, but since he's holding back his villainy for later episodes, he doesn't exactly steal the scenes he's in. And Samuel L. Jackson is strictly a cameo. The most striking character in the film, ironically enough, is Darth Maul, the super-badass Sith Lord who is Darth's precusor. Maul might as well be the Man With No Name for all the dialogue he gets, and those who thought he was going to give ol' Darth a run for his money as a villain will be disappointed. Maul is strictly a man of action, but what action! Actor Ray Park has some outstanding moves, and the lightsaber duel at the end is ALMOST, but not quite, worth watching the rest of the film. All in all, not worth the 16 year wait. My only suggestion, however, would have been letting Maul chop off Jar Jar Binks' head, preferably about halfway through the film, when it becomes painfully apparent this drivelling idiot is going to do his best to ruin an already flawed film. Hopefully somebody else will be quicker on the trigger in the next outing so we won't have to hear his stupid remarks or atrocious, space-rastafarian grammar.
Rating: 
Summary: george lucas triuph's again
Review: wow i must congadulat george lucas on the great movie scince episode 6 i love the trade federation battle droids jar jar binks was hesstarical the fight scenes are amazing i went to the movies to see it and i own it on tape it is great buy it or your missing out on a great peice of histroy
Rating:
Summary: A Historic piece of JUNK!
Review: Wow this movie was bad. It was boring, the script was lame, the acting was bad, and I did not even see the plot for I was too busy sleeping! I love star wars but this movie did not even have to come out. They released this movie for a smaller audiance but Im sure they did not like It because it was soooo boring! Episode 2 should have been the first one. The fact that Anikan is like 10 and Padme like 17 is a little creepy considering they marry in episode 2. Wow that was bad! Thank god for DVDs.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning of Star Wars
Review: WOW to G. Lucas for keeping this film PLOT alive since the 1970s!! Expect team-action scenes that culminate from the "brain-storming" scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, talk about a bad actting, writting, and directing
Review: Wow, I was hoping that it would be a good movie, but I now know, that you can't expect a good movie, from a cheap billionare who cuts corners every chance he gets. Like he dosn't have enough money. Some of the worst actting I have ever seen, and the visual effects weren't great either. You would think with all the money he has, he would spent it to make a great movie, but I guess I was wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Hit and Miss, But Mostly Hit
Review: Writer/director/producer George Lucas' long awaited prequel to his blockbuster sci-fi saga is a flawed but fun family film. Set three decades before the original "Star Wars", "The Phantom Menace" has the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) coming to the aid of the teenaged Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) when her planet is invaded by the greedy alien Trade Federation's robot army. While fleeing from the bad guys, our heroes meet friendly nine year old slave Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a boy who may be the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy, although we know he'll grow up to become the villainous Darth Vader instead. Complicating the plot is that the Trade Federation is a pawn in the evil Sith Lords Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) and Darth Maul's (Ray Park) unfolding scheme to gain control of the Galactic Republic and destroy the Jedi Knights. Old favorites like R2-D2, C-3PO, Yoda, and Jabba the Hutt also have small roles, and we meet new all-CGI characters like Jar Jar Binks, a clumsy, cartoonish amphibian alien whose goofy antics and pidgin English dialogue is at first annoying, but grows on you. "The Phantom Menace" actually surpasses the original "Star Wars" when it comes to special effects, production design, and epic scope. ILM has effectively blended live action with computer animation to create believable alien worlds, the intense light sabre battles make the old fights look like child's play, and the plot's political machinations are surprisingly complex. However the acting is mixed, the dialogue is occasionally cheesey, there is too much slapstick and not enough true wit, and the characters lack the appealing dynamics of the original films. You also have to be very familiar with the "Star Wars" universe to keep track of where the story is going.
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