Utterly rubbish in every way.

Rating: 2/10 (3 December 2001)

Unfortunatley it took me a long time to realise that Espisode I: The Phantom Menace was poor, poor beyong all imaginable parameters.
I still hav e trouble accepting just how bad it really is.

i owe a lot to George Lucas, he provided me with 3 superb films that allowed me to wonder and imagine at the world as I grew up. Indeed, Star Wars-released a year before I was born-was a film I watched every day for 2 years(according to my parents)
What I can't understand is how someone with such vision and ability has created something with no discernable heart, soul, emotion or cohesiveness.
I can't imagine why Rick McCallum was allowed to oversea such a mishmash of stilted, mishmassed, children orientated rubbish. The appeal of the original trilogy is that it appealed across the ages, wheras this celluloid is merely a mis-matched collection of graphics against live action footage, and sadly the much heralded CGI graphics will look ropey in 10 years time.
Jar-Jar Binks was apparantly added as a nod to kids, but who cares when the whole film is aimed at children from 5-11. Binks is embarrassing, crude, and even the live actors can manage to meet eye contact.
The sad thing is that I STILL try to watch this film in an attempt to make it appeal to me. It does not happen. Darth Maul was the only redeeming feature, yet he is already dead.
One sadly must put the blame at the door of George Lucas. He arrogantly expects people to wait 20+ years for follow up masterpieces, yet glaringly fails to deliver. I thought the man was a genius, yet he actually appears to be the first Direstor/Creator/Whatever who wants to replace actors with CGI, thus undermining what all his previous efforts were built upon.
I can only hope for improvement with Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but somehow, with so much to be drawn from it(the Mandalorian Battles/Clone wars, Padme/Anakin angles, MAce Windu, etc, etc) I don't think so. Even Ewoks were more palatable to this
Maybe I'm wrong. Prove me wrong. Don't ever make me cringe watching any STAR WARS.