This is a very entertaining, fun, and eye-popping adventure

Rating: 5/10 (19 May 1999)

Perhaps you've heard about a few less-than-stellar reviews for the latest Star Wars film. Considering the hype and expectations of this film, you could be certain that a number of reviewers would be exceedingly tough on the film. Well, ignore all of that. If you enjoyed any of the previous installments of Star Wars then you'll enjoy The Phantom Menace.
We all know George Lucas and his style of storytelling... let's just say that he speaks better with visuals than with words. But what visuals! This has got to be the most visually stunning film ever made. Lucas has done on film what Tolkien did in novels... created a wholly believable, realistic universe. To be able to translate that to film and to do so convincingly is an amazing achievement. Chances are that you'll find yourself wanting to see this film a couple of extra times just to see all of the scenery, creatures, the pod race, and the light saber duels again.
The dialogue isn't exactly Shakespeare, and the character development and relationships aren't exactly deep. Then again, the Star Wars series isn't about that sort of thing. Shakespeare in Space might be an interesting idea, but its time has yet to come! What we have in Menace is a decent script with solid characters, respectable acting and a heavy reliance on visual storytelling ... by the way, this is also what we had with the other Star Wars films. We might gripe a bit about how the story is too adult for kids and too childish for adults, but that's something that we can live with, considering the end product.
My biggest gripe about SW:TPM concerns the comic relief character, Jar Jar Binks. He is at times irritatingly childish, and made me recall how I thought the Ewoks really detracted from Return of the Jedi. He does manage to be amusing at times, but his accented English was so muddled that I didn't understand 1/4 of what he said. Also, his body movements smacked of a computer-generated effect, and not so much a living, breathing being. I found myself wanting less Binks silliness.
A minor gripe is the short-lived career of Darth Maul, who made for quite the menacing, animalistic, evil dark force. He had great potential as a precursor to Darth Vader's dark side. But his on-screen time was exciting, and his light saber duels were eye-popping and thrilling.
In the end, this film isn't going to satisfy the viewer who thinks Ingmar Bergman is the greatest thing in filmmaking. However, any viewer who enjoyed the previous Star Wars films will be very pleased with Menace. This is a movie for fans, not for critics, and it should enjoy much-deserved great success. When the film is over, and you're swimming in a sea of fantastic images, excited thoughts of what will come in the next film, and trying to figure out when you'll come back to see Menace again, you'll realize that you were entertained for 2 hours and the time flew by. I wish I could say that about most movies I see.