Rating:  -
This is an awesome movie, lets just say one thing Dart Maul And Jar Jar Binks rules, i think they made the movie. i love this movie. this is a sweet movie
Rating:  -
Although I enjoyed the look of "The Phantom Menace," and found many of the characters intriguing, the overall impact fell just short of 3 stars or my idea of the positive zone. There simply isn't enough depth to the story or characters to enable me to suspend my belief in the face of the unconvincing and slightly ridiculous Star Wars mythology. Maybe the point is not to pay attention to this stuff at all but I can't be satisfied by great action scenes and some nifty sci-fi settings alone.
Rating:  -
Yes, my main gripe, like many fans of the franchise, is Jake Lloyd. But to surprise a few people, I have no problems with Jar Jar Binks. He doesn't bother me in any way when I watch it. Do I think he was a little over the top? Yes. Do I think he, along with the Neimoidians, are racial stereotypes of Jamaicans and Asians respectively? No. The story is good but it can plod along at a very sluggish pace. For instance, once the story gets to Tatooine, they could've trimmed a few scenes, the Podrace imparticular. And some scenes on Coruscant feel slow as well, like the pointless scenes of watching Palpatine take the Queen to her apartment suite. Its brief but un-necessary. Liam Neeson does an admirable job as Qui-Gon, portraying him as a caring yet very formidable warrior. Ewan McGregor portrays Obi-Wan as a young, headstrong Jedi. The character at least goes through development over the course of the prequel trilogy and he'll eventually become the character from the "first" (fourth) film. Natalie Portman is alright as Queen Amidala but she's no Princess Leia. Though her hairdos can outdo Leia's and both are good with a blaster, the way the character's acted out comes across as wooden and stiff. And when Portman actually is the Queen, where does that deep, accented way of speaking come from? Is that Keira Knightley dubbing her voice when she's in the Queen's clothes? I don't know. And then there's Jake Lloyd, who's able to take the concept of what Anakin is to become in the future and make the character less intimidating. To know that in Vader's youth, he was prone to shout "Yipee!" and be called "Ani". That's not very threatening! Though I will give him credit for at least trying, its just that they did not capture the best (if there is any) performances of the actor and I'm pretty sure Lucas and the producers could've done A LOT better. There are some familiar faces from the original movies; Kenny Baker as R2-D2 (not much has changed over the course of six films) and his first meeting with a pre-gold plated C-3PO (still played by Anthony Daniels) and Ian McDiarmid as Senator (later Supreme Chancellor) Palpatine and his sinister alter ego, Darth Sidious. Darth Maul is a formidable villain for the film, though there always seems to be a co-villain in the newer films instead of just one singular villain, but I guess for all six you can count the Emperor as an over-arching villain, but I digress. And there are cameos by a young Jabba the Hutt, some Wookies in the Senate scene and General Zod himself, Terence Stamp as Supreme Chancellor Vallorum. The fight scenes are some the best, the four different fights at the climax being the standout. And its time for to once again praise John Williams. The man can do no wrong it seems as the music is just fantastic. My favorite set pieces being Duel of the Fates and the space fight. And The Imperial March is incorporated into Anakin's theme, forshadowing the fate the character will meet.
Rating: -
I have seen all the Star Wars films with the exception of Episode III, and they are some of the best movies perhaps of all time. This one, the first in the series of newer movies following the life of Anakin Skywalker, is probably the best, if there is one that is better than all the others. I've always thought that the newer movies had sub-par acting in comparison to the original three, but Episode I has an exceptional performance by Liam Neeson. The special effects are absolutely stunning. The best scenes in the movie, in my opinion, are the podrace scene and the Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul lightsaber battle. The effects in the podrace scenes are good in the fact that they accurarley portray the speed of the podracers and there are several crashes that are quite graphic. The lightsaber battle is longer than in the other movies and is, I believe the best lightsaber scene in any of the movies (I don't know about Episode III, but from what I've heard, there are some good lightsaber scenes in that one too). If you are new to Star Wars, I would start with this episode, not Episode IV, because you can see them in the correct order. I would also watch this one first because it's a good intro into the series. I highly recommend this!!
Rating:  -
This could have been one of the better Star Wars movies. It certainly had excellent special effects and a superb duel between two Jedi and the Sith. However, it was marred by two characters. Jar Jar Binks turned out to be one of the most annoying characters ever conceived, whose every utterance was like hearing fingernails raked across a blackboard (one prominent critic wrote in anticipation of the next Star Wars movie, "Jar Jar Binks must die!" Unfortunately, he did not). The other was the child Anakin. I think, however, that this was primarily due to the dialogue given him; there were many instances where he just should have been silent and Lucas had him talking his head off with inane comments, but in truth his inflection left a lot to be desired during the exciting parts).
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