4.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 31/08/2009

Aaaaah, Ewan. This is the first Star Wars chronologically, and therefore is a difficult one to do well, as all the storylines for future films need to be established. The acting is fabulous and the CGI is good (but a little too much sometimes). Any story where good and evil are matched against one another is always rewarding, although the closure doesn't happen until the 6th episode (yes this is number 1!!) but it is definitely good for a film all on its own. Thumbs up!

5.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 24/08/2009

great movie ,have always been a star wars fan.The pod race was great love the sound of them racing,sounds like a formula 1 race.

3.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 13/07/2007

Ah what could have been in the start new Star Wars trilogy is the feeling I left with after watching this film. It was really a mixed bag of good and bad with the bad leaving a bad taste in the mouth of myself and the good that at least it set up a nice base for future installments.

First, the good. I thought Liam Neeson did a very good job with Qui-Gon Jinn, especially given what he had to work with in terms of writing. I also liked McGregor and Portman roles in this movie and thought they did a nice job of being introduced and having a larger role in the future films. I also surprisingly liked Darth Maul and thought more time could have been spent on his character and his main fight scene was quite fast-paced and enjoyable.

Now, the bad and there is a lot. First, Jar Jar Binks was completely unnecessary though I won't go in much seeing as how this aspect has been drilled. I also didn't like the acting of Jake Lloyd with Anakin Skywalker and it felt quite kiddish to be honest. I thought they would have been well off to start with Anakin at either 12 or 13 years old just from the simple point of acting should improve with the actors age. The pod racing sequence went on way too long and I was disappointed they didn't show Anakin using 'the force' during it. The scenes between Padme and Anakin were quite awkward and seemed a bit forced at times to get across that their paths will be linked in the future. Lastly, the use of CGI in this film really didn't do much for me. The non-human characters seemed quite hollow in comparison to original trilogy and although this is sci-fi, it took away from the genuineness I thought the original trilogy through the overuse of computer generate characters.

Overall, this movie was nowhere near the league of the original trilogy and this coming from a 20 year old who often prefers more recent movies to classics (not always of course). The movie in general often lacked real emotions and it felt like the kids movie which is something the original trilogy did so well. It took a sci-fi series that allowed adults to enjoy without shame and often made unrealistic characters and circumstances draw out real emotion. This installment failed to do both and can't even be in the same breath of Star Wars (A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back or even The Return of the Jedi.

4.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 16/06/2007

This is the first of the Star Wars movie, and I thought it was a good starting place. While it sacrificed some of the charm of the original Star Wars for big budget graphics and speical effects, it still adds somethign to the story line. The people cast as the new characters certainly made them their own, and all in all not too bad a movie

5.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 06/06/2007

great movie. i think it really lifted star wars game with the graphics and stuff. A bit confusing how the movies weren't made in story line order but other than that a great film for people who like star wars. The jedi battles are better in this movie due to the graphis and the pod racing is very cool. Plus yoder does't look like a puppet any more which is good. Great film

1.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 02/05/2007

George Lucas' long-awaited return to the Star Wars series, The Phantom Menace, is a mind-numbing film that does a good job at destroying childhood memories of the brilliant originals. The plot is incredibly simple, and the young Anakin Skywalker (who would go on to become Darth Vader) really grates on the nerves. Even great actors like Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman turn in terrible performances - the acting in the originals was never great, but at least they looked like they were having heaps of fun. Plays out like one big long advertisement for Star Wars merchandise.

5.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 13/04/2007

Two Jedi knights, Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with a Naboo outcast, named Jar-Jar Binks, must help Queen Padmé save her world from greedy trade executives, and along the way, they discover a young boy, named Anakin Skywalker, who has the potential to be a powerful Jedi himself.

2.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 19/03/2007

it was star wars that made george lucas what he was- a legend. i especially loved how he filmed the star wars films out of order, releasing the fifth one before the second one etc. how ever this first movie of the star wars series is a real disappointment, with too much talking and too little fighting

5.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 14/03/2007

I quite enjoyed this one, although it's not as good as the originals obviously. The first episode sees Obi Wan Kenobi (aka Ben Kenobi in the older ones) as a young apprentice. He and his master Qui-Gon Jin (sorry, I'm terrible with the spellings I know) are escorting the queen across the galaxy when they crash land on Tatooine, a desert planet. There, they find a young boy by the name of Anakin Skywalker with a determined nature and courage and wisdom that reaches beyond his years. Qui-Gon wants to train him as an apprentice. But will he be able to convince the Jedi council?

5.0 out of 5 based on 31 reviews. – Customer review on 11/03/2007

When i first saw episode one it was so awesome i had to buy episode one racer for n64. It was 1999 and i was in australia in july,....the hype for this movie was intense and when i watched it i was simply blown away. Anakin is probably the cutest little kid in this film, he has a no-negative attitufude..until woman get involved. LOL anyway this is one awesome movie, i know my review is K**p and doesnt say much but just get it anyway.