Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace (PG)

I recently watched The Phantom Menace for the first time. To be honest, I didn't think I would like it, I guess I imagined it would be a lot like Star Trek, which I hate. I was honestly surprised, and am looking forward to seeing the next one.

It was exactly what I thought it would be, as I always imagined it to quite a serious movie. For those of you that haven't seen it, I would really recommend that you do. You never know, you may even enjoy it.

It's an OK film, but Jar Jar Binks was really annoying. Lucas should've really thought about long and hard before ruining the franchise with this film

I have to admit, I didn't see Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace until after I saw "Revenge of the Sith." I wanted to see that movie in particular. The trailer for it grabbed my attention when "Anakin" turned towards the camera with those glowing, yellow eyes. I saw the first 3 episodes (A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) when they first came out. Gives you an idea of how old I am. I was very impressed with them being a scifi fan and quite young at the time. "May the Force be with you" sprang from everyone's mouths for quite a while after that. I thought "Phantom Meanace" was a good "fun" movie. Loved the pod race. I also loved Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon. He's a great actor. I don't believe anyone could have topped Ewan McGregor's perfomance as Obi-Wan. No one could have honored Alec Guinness more. Strongly recommend this movie to everyone - scifi and all moviegoers. Kudos Mr. Lucas.

Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace is film undoubtedly is one of the most critically discussed films of all time. And thats a good thing, people are still bothered that it received critical backlash and that shows how much people 'live' Star Wars in general.

Personaly I cannot deny that I have a soft spot for it, there's somthing spinetingling about the pod race, the fight and Darth Maul.

Yes there are niggling flaws, but remember, If you were 10 when you saw a New Hope you would be 22 when you saw The Phantom Menace. You cannot deny that this is just an extremely expensive kids film. Thats the films greatest strength, it never forgets to be FUN! Just look at its good points and you will see what I mean, Padme's elegance, Jar Jars humour and Darth Maul+ Sideouses = MENACE!

Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace - Is it really awful? The film that made millions at the box office and disappointed a lot of Star Wars fans the world over. The start of new trilogy that tells us how the original films came to be. Disagree with me if you will, but The Phantom Menace isn`t a complete mess.

It is nice to look at (my jaw still drops at the first site of Gunga City) and I liked Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor as the master and pupil (top marks to Ewan for his Alec Guiness impression and keeping his dangly bits away). Its main weakness is that it tends to drag a bit and yes, Jar Jar Binks is only funny if you`re a kid. Also, after preaching to Chris Evans on how much he wanted to be in it, the always excellent Samuel L. Jackson only pops up for a few brief scenes. You`ll have to wait until Episode II where he gets medieval on our asses. And no amount of silly makeup can hide the fact that Natalie Portman can`t act and Jake Lloyd is annoying.

That said, the podrace is cool and the final lightsabre duel is better than anything in the original trilogy. Yes Darth Maul is cool, but he really could have done with some more screen time.

Overall, Episode I is neither a masterpiece nor a stinker. The scenes with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi laying down some smackage is cool, but can`t help the fact that it tends to drag a bit.

After much waiting and speculating, the Star Wars Episode One movie was finally here. Expectations were very high and everyone, including me, were prepared to see a visual and aural masterpiece. Trouble is, everyone has cought up with digital effects nowadays and Lucasfilm had to create something special or risk being overwhelmed by other less budgeted movies.....and that's what happened. Even though Episode One is one of the top grossing movies in history, this I belive, can be attributed to Star Wars fans and children flocking to the cinemas and not for the merit of the movie itself. Let's hope Episode Two is more mature.

As science fiction films go, Star Wars Episode 1 has a few good light sabre fight sequences and that's about it. Not a patch on any of the original Star wars films. Difficult to imagine Ewan McGregor as a budding Jedi after recovering from too much heroin in train spotting. Liam Neeson was much more convincing and carried the film (in my opinion)