Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I don't understand the hate for this movie. This movie is not perfect but it is still pretty good. Storytelling: This movie has a very solid story. This movie was about characters doing whatever it takes to do what is right. This was very evident with Qui-Gon and Anakin's character development.Qui-Gon refused to give into Padme's demands and allowed Anakin to podrace. Qui-Gon did this not only to win the spare parts he needed but also used it as an opportunity to free Anakin. Qui-Gon advocated for Anakin's training despite the Jedi Council not wanting to. It was through Qui-Gon's death that the Jedi Council honored Qui-Gon's wish and allowed Anakin to train as Obi-Wan's apprentice.Anakin put other people before himself twice in this movie. Anakin podraced to help the people in need without expecting anything in return. During the Battle of Naboo, Anakin risked his life to take out the droid control ship. Though part of it was an accident, he could have just turned away from the battle. Anakin, however, refused to retreat. Through bravery and selflessness, Anakin destroyed the droid control ship, allowing Naboo to score their victory against the Trade Federation. This movie also explored the beginning of Palpatine's rise to power and Anakin's turn to the dark side. Anakin being taken away from his mother and the Jedi's lack of compassion that planted the seeds of the Anakin's eventual turn to the dark side and the downfall of the Jedi. Characters:Most characters were great. Some, however, were out of character. Anakin: Well-written character who was selfless, brave, and compassionate. The Jedi showing lack of compassion will Anakin to turn into a selfish, lustful, and ambitious character in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Qui-Gon: Well-written character who was a true leader who believed in doing what was right rather than listening to what everyone else wanted. He was one of the few good Jedi.Shmi: Well-written character who was compassionate and supportive to Anakin and Qui-Gon's team. Padme: Well-written character who cared about her people but also hates putting other people's lives in danger. Jar Jar Binks: Great comic-relief character. All of his jokes were funny.Boss Nass: Great character who is angry at the Naboo for the way they treat his people. He also was really funny. Mace Windu: Great character who did not like Anakin and is part of the reason Anakin turned to the dark side. Obi-Wan: Out of character. Obi-Wan should have been excited to see Anakin and should have supported him since the beginning. Yoda: Out of character. Yoda should not have been so quick to turn down Anakin like the rest of the Jedi. Yoda gave Luke a chance in Empire Strikes Back so he should have given Anakin a chance in this movie.Darth Maul: A bland villain with no motivation whatsoever. He's cool but nothing more than that.Palpatine: An excellent villain who is smart, power-hungry and secretly pretends to be a good guy.Emotion:Because the movie had great characters and great storytelling, this movie had a lot of emotion in it. Here are all the emotional scenes:Shmi allowing Anakin to podraceAnakin testing his podracerAnakin winning the podraceAnakin leaving his motherPadme begging Boss Nass for helpQui-Gon's deathAnakin blowing up the trade federation shipQui-Gon's funeralActing/Dialogue: Almost all of the acting was great. The acting was a little wooden/cringy at times, but that is a very minor flaw in the movie. Pacing:This movie was very well-paced. This movie never got boring. The movie was very easy to keep up with. The movie flowed very nicely.Visuals and Sound Effects:Most of the visuals were well-done, except the scenes with CGI. The CGI is dated. It doesn't look terrible, it just doesn't look great. Fortunately this movie does not rely on too much CGI. In terms of sound effects, they were well-done.In Conclusion:This movie is great but not perfect. Though this movie had problems with a couple characters and CGI, this movie still had great storytelling, mostly great characters, emotion, and great action scenes. This movie gets way too much hate. Fans focus way too much on a few problems that they overlook the greatness of this movie. As a fan of Star Wars, I can say that I really like this movie.Score: 75%

When I watch a movie, I hate when someone's disturbing me. When I saw this, I gladly paused the movie and gave our dogs a bath. Of course, I had to continue watching "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace." It was..... sleepy. Man, with tons of dialogue you'd think that a writer on the level of George Lucas could at least make an interesting line. But, sadly, he did not. This movie (not the actors) deserved the hate it got.

The movie has several flaws, but I still think it's watchable. The action is the highlight of this movie, the duels, dogfights, and ground battles are very good, though some of the effects are very rubbery. The characters aren't super investing but their likeable enough. Some acting is terrible, like Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, but Obi-wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, and the other Jedi range from fine to pretty good. The plot can be confusing but it's not terrible. Jar jar... Jar jar is annoying when it comes to slapstick, but his speech paterns are funny to me. Overall it's a very ok movie and I'll give it 63%

Almost impossible to watch this garbage. No acting, annoying characters, poor dialogs, incomprehensible and blatantly stupid story that destroys minute by minute what George Lucas achieved in original trilogy. Almost feels as the story was written by an imbecile. And for imbeciles. The entire enterprise shows perfectly what happens, when the only goal of production is to maximize profit. And sell of overpriced toys. For me, it is mind blowing, how people can fall for this plastic toys advertising campaign. This isn't even a B-movie. It would be seriously unfair to B-movies - put this rubbish in the same category. On the positive side? Well... Lucas no longer directs or writes - saving us from similar experiences.