The best bit was the opening "Star Wars" title
Star Wars Episode 1 "The Phantom Menace" is the first episode of the
Star Wars movie saga. It tells the story of a couple of Jedi knights who, whilst assisting a Queen save her home planet Naboo, find a young boy who could be the "chosen one" who could bring balance to the mystical "force". I've got to be frank - the best part of this movie is where the "Star Wars" logo appears over space and the familiar Star Wars theme blasts out. If you are a fan of the first films - it is a fantastic sense of hope, excitement and exhilaration. Pity that as soon as the "Star Wars" logo fades into the darkness - so does the movie. The traditional opening "Star Wars" backstory text talks about an intergalactic trade embargo, taxation and a blockade. Wow - that doesn't really get you going does it. And as soon as you settle into the movie - the characters are cardboard and only act as a background to the special effects; the story uninspired, over complex yet toned down for kiddies; the dialogue - ever so wooden ("Are you an angel?"/"What?"/"An Angel. I've heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They live on the moons of Iego, I think. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe."...as a case in point); the special effects aren't all that; and ultimately - maybe the backstory behind the original Star Wars trilogy isn't all that exciting. I mean we all knows what happens (Anakin gets the Queen knocked up and becomes Darth Vader)?! What's the point Most of the actors (most of which are really good in other films) look somewhat bored with the material. Perhaps they should have attempted to ad-lib the script - as George Lucas' script writing ability is at the 4th Grade level. The movie is terribly edited and paced - the movie gets incredibly bogged down over an unexciting "pod race" sequence and lead-up. I felt like I was watching a bad video game (everything including the acting is computer generated!). Perhaps the only redeeming feature of this movie is the final half an hour - it almost makes it feel reminiscent of the old Star Wars climatic sequences. But to be subjected to the first hour and a half is just unbearable. If only Lucas had just quit while he was ahead and stopped making Star Wars after "Return of the Jedi". I mean - I think I enjoyed the "Ewok" telemovies better than this junk.. gg1234 watch Dave Matthews Band: Listener Supported movie
lovely.
brad5555 watch Women movie
good.
Mvp22runners watch Sun Valley Serenade movie
Star wars is sweet.
DaniT627 watch Superman II movie
The Twilight Saga so far are good movies. I can't wait for Breaking Dawn. I've been told that the books are better, but I haven't read them yet..
mohen corleone watch 007 Quantum Of Solace movie
It is a distant galaxy eons before the gestation.
luisrockstar
Cool, Amazing, Fanatastic, .
Cbespo
Lots of action, well made...a must see for any Star Wars fan!.
arsenal55
this movie in my eyes is the best one out of the 6 star wars movies and is by far the best animated with the return of the sith and with darth maul..
c91364
amazing movie.
c91364
love it.
A solid but flawed addition to the Star Wars Saga
Well, after waiting 16 years for his next installment, George has given us
"The Phantom Menace". As a Star Wars fan I got what I expected - another chance to immerse myself in the Star Wars universe - a film whose sole purpose is essentially escapism. But as a movie fan, and judging it as I would any other movie, I frankly feel mildly disappointed. Any movie that's made can always be improved upon but I feel that this SHOULD have been better. Firstly the good points : 1) The visuals are stunning - a lot of love and hard work has quite obviously gone into the effects and the people involved can quite rightly be proud of their work 2) All the performances by the main cast were good. Particularly Natalie Portman and Pernilla August. 3) The Pod Race was exciting and amusing. 4) The final sabre duel was quite fantastic : Darth Maul prowling up and down like a caged tiger was a particularly excellent touch - it added real tension and anticipation to the scene. 5) The music as always was magnificent. The Star Wars saga would lose much of its charm and intensity without Williams' scores. And now the negatives : 1) The pacing was too fast in parts! The first half hour of the film just left me cold - you weren't led into the story. You were dumped straight into the action. On paper I'm sure the first half hour looked fantastic but I found myself sitting in the theatre going - 'hey, great special effect shot there!' I wasn't involved in the story and the scenes lacked tension and danger. 2) The film only truly started for me on reaching Tatooine. I finally got a chance to get to know the characters. However there still was not enough character development in the film as a whole. For example, Obi Wan had nothing to do or say throughout the movie except flash his light sabre around from time-to-time. Who is Obi Wan??? After seeing the film I'm none the wiser. And the final sabre duel (good as it was) would have been infinitely better had the relationship between Qui-Gon and Obi Wan been explored past the mere mentor-apprentice motif. The final sabre duel lacked emotional involvement as a consequence. 3) Why did they make Jar-Jar so incomprehensible?? I found myself becoming annoyed at having to strain to understand his nonsensical utterings! (Having said that, he wasn't as annoying as I'd been led to expect) Why George used easily identifiable racial accents for his alien characters completely puzzled me. It just shows a lack of imagination! 4) Not enough Darth Maul. 5) What's with the biological exposition on the Force! Was that necessary? The first three films pointed to links between the Force and genetics but I don't need tiresome cold scientific explanations as to the Force's origin, thank you very much! It just ruins the mystique. 6) Can we have less of the mindless gaffes that occur in the final battle scenes (You know the ones that save the day!) Its an insult to the audience's intelligence (In a full theatre I swear I didn't see a single soul who looked under sixteen! - has George forgotten about the original fans). In the original trilogy there was none of this cringeful embarrassing material (Ewoks excepted!!) Well I think I'll stop there. To summarise : a good movie that could have been a whole lot better. Perhaps there was too much story to cover in two hours? In which case the plot should have been shortened on the adage that "less is more". I've always thought that episode one was always going to be the lamest of the new films so I await the next installment with anticipation and hope ...... |
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