VHS : Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace [1999]

Rating: - 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.

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Rating: - 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

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Rating: - 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.

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Rating: - 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.

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