A good beginning.

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 1999)

Phantom Menace was... different. The special effects were, of course, amazing, as were the light saber battles and costuming, etc. I prefer a mix of puppetry and CGI (A la Jurrasic Park) for realism, but this was very well done. The acting was, for the most part, very good. The characters were memorable, though they didn't seem to have the chemistry of Luke, Leia, and Han. Jake Lloyd was great, especially considering his age, and Natalie Portman portrayed a dedicated leader very well. What stands out about this movie, in comparison to the original three, is the deepening and intricacy of the plot. The three original movies each had a very simple story: Blow up the Death star, save captured friends, etc. The plotting on the part of Darth Sidious and the political games in the senate made this more of a thinking movie, especially given several other plot threads involving Anakin and the Sith. That, though, may be one of the problems with the film. It gave a more adult plot, with themes that would be lost on most children (Anakin's virgin birth, the symbiotic relationship with the midichlorians), but reduced itself to more childish humor. An attempt to draw all audiences, I suppose, but I did find Jar Jar extremely annoying... Over all, this is a good movie, and a great beginning. Anakin, Amidala and Qui-Gonn were focused on in this movie, and hopefully we'll learn more of Obi-Wann in the second. This is an excellent first chapter, and I have a feeling it will only get better.