Disappointed
Created: 16/04/08
No movie ever got so many people excited and then left them hanging more than Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Sixteen years of waiting were hard for many Star Wars fans to stomache. I will give you the Pros/Cons of several aspects of the movie.
Pros -
1) Music - John Williams once again. Duel of the Fates is one of the better chorale songs to come out in a long time!
2) Actors - Liam Niessen, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman. These are excellent actors and have done some other work that is exceptional.
3) Effects - The special and digital effects of the film are impressive from the opening scene. Coruscant and the Senate Chamber are stunning!
Cons -
1) Jar Jar - seriously the most annoying character in any film. C-3PO doesn't compare even at his whiniest.
2) Not enough fighting - the lightsaber duel at the end of the film was amazing. Maul and Obi-Wan seriously kick trash. There is simply not enough of it though!
3) Jake Lloyd - at least make him a little older. The kid is irritating beyond all reason!
4) George Lucas is not a good director. This could have been such an amazing movie. He is a storyteller and doesn't know how to get the best out of his actors.
Overall, a decent movie but not anywhere near as good as it could have been.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

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An excellent start to the series , but for kids !!
Created: 22/06/06
As someone who watched the prequal trilogy soon after watching the original, I feel I can give a fairer opinion on the films than certain other fans, and I have to say that The Phantom Menace was a DVD worth buying.
The Storyline, In my Opinion, was fairly good, better once you see episodes 2 and 3, with some fantastic Lightsabre Duals and action scenes. The acting by Jake Lloyd could have been better in most places, but Ray Park's portrayal of Darth Maul was brilliant, and although there has been accusations of 'wooden acting' I think all the actors played their parts fairly well.
One major reason This Film didn't get 5 from me was Jar-Jar Binks. Fair enough, it was a good Idea to feature a character like this, but the ammount of Idiocy coming from him every 15 seconds is simply too much. I don't think anyone would have minded Jar-Jar if Lucas had simply featured less scenes with him messing about (sometimes totally unnecessarily), but like I say, he was shown far too often doing something stupid, which, in some cases, ruins the films atmosphere.
All in all, I think this is a great addition to the Star Wars Saga, and an enjoyable Sci-Fi film for kids and Adults, the DVD has great special features, and is well worth the price.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Star Wars Return to Glory!!!
Created: 22/09/06
After so many years the world's beloved Star Wars returns for a new trilogy just so you'll have to watch it so you can find out all about young Kenobi and Vader. The Jedi are a prominent authority figure in this series and we will eventually get to see their downfall by the hands of the Sith. Darth Maul is the best part because he is one of the most awesome bad guys ever. How could the Jedi defeat him? Kind of lame to find out but you will. Not as classic as the original trilogy but still a great start to a new world of Star Wars. Must watch. 4/5
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

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bought it for reference
Created: 04/03/10
I am a huge Star Wars fan, and am lucky that I get to build some of the props from the movie for a client. So I got the DVD for reference. The movie however is horrible, I will not go into a tirade on how many things are so wrong with this film. My advice is stick to episode 4,5 and 6. Especially 5, one of the best films of all time.
One good thing is the "making of" features, as it shows exactly how and who caused this movie to be so bad, namely Rick McCallum and George Lucas

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Worst of the saga, but still part of it
Created: 14/03/10
I really only bought this film because it was the only part of the saga I didn't have on DVD. It has some cool parts (backstory, podrace, three-way lightsaber battle), but overall, I'm sad to say, the movie is pretty lame.
I think the heavy use of CGI gave the actors so little to interact with that it greatly affected their performances in a negative way. The kid that plays Anakin creates almost the most annoying character of the film, second only to Jar-Jar Binks.
But, if you're a die hard Star Wars fan, it's still worth watching from time to time. Then again, if you're a die hard Star Wars fan, you probably already knew everything you just read.

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