Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace [1999] - DVD (Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Pernilla August - Dir: George Lucas)

"I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event ... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: sure, this is Star Wars, but it is my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breathing Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a mélange of creatures, flora and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film-the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park. Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim) and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over sceptics. Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson

Customer Reviews of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace [1999]

steveTatt
UK
10th October 2008

Quite possibly the worst film ever made!!!
OK where to start on this truly horrific crime of a film?

Jar Jar Binks may actually be the worst character in the history of cinema - all those animators and actors who worked to realise this affront to human decency should find a revolver and do the decent thing.

Why do all American kids have problems talking properly? Do they think that speaking like a cutesy 3 year old makes them endearing? Jake whatshisname (Anakin) should never ever be allowed in front of a camera again.

Who came up with the 'story'? My ship is broken, want to come with us, Kid? Seems to be about it.

Also,Why is it that in 'attack of the clones' Anakin has aged about ten years, but Padme is (amazingly) about 3 years older than she was in TPM surely they should have made Padme the same age as Anakin in ep.1 (or was two cutesy kids too much, even for Lucas).

Really, don't bother with this wilful destruction of the Star Wars heritage.

greenie
Reading U.K.
9th October 2008

oh dear
charging money for this film is just insulting i won't even watch it if i'm being payed. ok maybe i'm being a little bit harsh but then again lets be a little bit objective i remember seeing this film for the first time and the little history bit at the beginning came up and the music was going and i was loving every moment of it the first fight scene seemed good and then george lucas took a steaming turd over what could have been so brilliant. the pod racing was ok but the commentators did my head in and im sorry i've been trying not mention jar jar binks because he was the steaming turd in question i was talking about. now this review is a bit long winded just to say its a bad film but i have to say darth maul was pretty cool. this being said i think there is only one way for star wars episodes 1, 2 and 3 to go which is in the bin classed as being non canonical and then start again but with a slight twist i.e. keeping lucas and speilburg away as they have obviously lost the plot and should be executed for this outrage that was called a film. ARG what do you mean rate it i have i gave it no stars thats how bad it is

Mr. G. Bywater

8th September 2008

Looks Like A Cartoon..
We waited a long time for this and the major feeling was of huge dissapointment. Having given it a good 5 or 6 years Im currently giving it another go and I have to say, the main weakness is that it looks like a cartoon. I dont think the overly complicated plot or the hugely irritating JarJar Binks(who actually gets harder to like with each view)ruin this film so much as the ridiculous use of cgi for every scene. Can someone explain to me why if in 1977 George Lucas could afford to fly to Tunisia and other "real" locations he couldn't have done that 20 years later? I mean, imagine how great this could have looked with NO CGI!? It may have been fairly good. I take it Lucas is either too lazy and unnspired or has no idea what his loyal fanbase would have actually wanted. Star Wars films are meant to look like the original trilogy. I know a lot of the ships models were tiny toys but at least they were real! One thing good about this is the pod chase, and the fact that attack of the clones and especially revenge of the sith were a lot better. Still, I cant watch Hayden or Natalie Portman without laughing or cringing. They truly are the most wooden uninspiring actors i have ever seen. Respect to Ewan Mcgregor must be given, it must have been a dream come true for him, and he put his all into the OB1 role. Anyhow, watch Empire again and again instead....You wont be dissapointed.

Mariam Zahedi
London - UK
28th August 2008

New Fan, Completely Amazed
(I wrote this review back in 2004 and only found it again recently)

Before I start on this review, let me tell you that I am a relatively new fan of star wars, so my opinions may be slightly different than those loyal fans who have been with these movies from the very begining.

I saw this film a few days after watching the original trilogy, and although I still prefer the original, I think this is amazing too. It is incredible to see Annakin Skywalker as that little innocent boy, and unnerving to remember what he becomes. It goes to show how even the most evil villains began life as a normal person. They weren't born evil.

The plot is interesting, and I think the acting is pretty good. But my favourite thing about the movie is seeing the younger versions of everyone, what they were like before they became the well known charactors we know today. Obi Wan seemed so different from that confident and expereinced old man that you meet in episode 4, but Annakin still amazes me the most. Throughout all the movie I just kept remembering his face in episode 6, when Luke removed his mask, and wondering how could anyone so sweet become something so pitiless and cruel? It was kind of sad.

Overall, I give this film a 5, because even though it wasn't as good as the originals, it was still a very good film.

Bladder
UK
4th August 2008

Menacingly Bad
Went I went to the cinema to watch this I was glued to my seat, otherwise I would have left.