A look at things to come...

Rating: 8/10 (23 May 1999)

Simply put: Episode 1 was just good fun.
When I left the theatre after watching The Phantom Menace, I was pumped. I had just watched one of the best sword fights I'd ever seen on film, an amazing racing sequence that just pulls you right into it, some more of George Lucas' amazing creature designs. I don't know what more one could ask of a Star Wars film. (Well, Han Solo, I guess)
The film's flaws are quite simple: The opening was a bit slow (but once the characters land on Tatooine things really pick up), and -of course- Jar Jar Binks was *very* overused, though he does grow on you when they start cutting screen time down!
But the movie's strengths more than make up for it. The action is fast paced, the effects are incredible, the sound effects were top notch, and John Williams' score is arguably the best of the series. Natalie Portman did a great job as the young Queen trying to save her people, and Ewan MacGregor did a superb job as Obi-Wan, you really felt like he was a young Alec Guinness.
What I also really liked was the parallels that Lucas set up between this film and A New Hope (umm... a movie foil?). Both centre and around boys on Tatooine who crave adventure in the far reaches of the galaxy, said boy starts falling for a princess/queen, a bad guy in black just walks on screen and redefines evil incarnate (I loved Darth Maul BTW), and finally the award ceremonies at the end of the movie. A nice version of history repeats itself, I think.
On a final note, many critics have complained about flat characters that don't develop. My response: How much did Luke grow in the first film?
8/10