A Big Disappointment, there's no denying it,

Rating: 5/10 (25 July 2013)

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a decent movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a mediocre cast. It's certainly the weakest film in the franchise, which is upsetting since its technically the first, but there's still a lot of good in this film that I think the major fans never think about when they criticize this, Liam Neeson boasts a fantastic performance as Qui-Gon Jinn, his dialogue is terrific and at times quite inspirational even for reality, the soundtrack is once again fantastic, the effects are superb, Darth Maul is a terrific, memorable post-Darth Vader villain (even if his screen time is very limited) and any scene with C3PO, R2D2 or Yoda would bring a smile to any fans face. I will admit this film is a major disappointment for any fan of the franchise and there is honestly much more to complain about than to give praise to, first off the story takes forever to actually get going, over an hour in and we are still in Tatooine watching amateur pod racing, the comic relief is brutal, it's handled with pure class in the original three, but here it isn't even funny, particularly Jar Jar Binks, who is just horror to watch, also the main villain isn't introduced until about ninety minutes in, and is (spoiler ahead) killed off way too early, Darth Maul could have been terrific as the main villain of the entire prequels , serving as this trilogies Vader. I like many of the performances, but there are many, many cringe worthy ones as well, a tone of the characters with brief dialogue deliver it with no charisma, some of the voice actors are uninspired and others are quite racist, Natalie Portman literally just says her lines, and the worst part of the entire movie has to be Jake Lloyd, who is extremely irritating, dosen't say any of his dialogue the way he is suppose to and probably didn't even understand the story, but it isn't his fault really, he was only nine years old, George Lucas clearly couldn't direct him, age is no exception when you're making a movie, you should be telling your actors when they're doing a poor job, and strive to improve them. It has many great moments, but more so there are many imperfections, it's very hard to recommend Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace, but if you're watching the entire series, there is no way it can be missed.
Two Jedi Knights who have escaped from a hostile blockade meet a boy named Anakin Skywalker, whom one of them believes will bring balance to the force, and truly is the chosen one.
Best Performance: Liam Neeson Worst Performance: Jake Lloyd