Most people can't write, direct, edit and produce their own films by themselves.

Rating: 2/10 (18 September 2007)

The reason the old Star Wars movies are far and away better than the new ones, is because Lucas was only responsible for 20% of the dialog in his original trilogy...And "Empire" is the best of those because Lucas wasn't even on the set for filming...Some of the best one-liners from those movies were ad-libs from either the cast, director or just people on the set...If you read the "Annotated Screenplays" for the original Trilogy, you'll find that Lucas' original, unedited screenplays for his first three movies, are just as ridiculous as his new Star Wars movies.
In "The Phantom Menace", we find that the lack of an outside editor leaves us watching UNNESSICARY scenes that go on forever...Five to ten minutes of pointless dialogue, that explains exactly what we're going to see VISUALLY in the next few minutes anyway...Every tiny intention and background motivation for every character must be explained on-screen as the entire movie comes to a hault...These jarring stops also accompany any reference to his other films...Hey Lucas, take a cue from Stephen King and only reward the attentive.
Other than being a terrible story, executed terribly and filled with easily forgettable characters, the movie is a triumph of sight and sound...For Home Theater demo purposes, the "Pod Race" and the "Light Saber" fights are amazing...If you want to sell some speakers, impress your friends or make your neigbors angry, this is the movie for you...I've always been impressed the production value that comes out of Lucas Film's ILM studios...But to quote Lucas himself: "A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing." (What happened?).
If you're just looking for an entertaining special effects display with amazing picture and sound, rent any one of Lucas' new Star Wars titles..."The Phantom Menace" gets you started down this road...But if you're looking for melodramatic, spiritual undertones with the strong character and story development of his original work, you will be VERY disappointed...I'll warn the viewers at home that like the way The Matix two and three kind of ruin the original, Lucas' new movies definitely take away from his old flicks (as does his "Special Edition Trilogy")...Watch at your own risk.