Great

Rating: 9/10 (11 September 1999)

Simply great
I'll make my comment short, there are 1700 others to read anyway if you want the details ;)
* The music is excellent. I have the soundtracks from all SW movies, and I am thinking very seriously of getting my hands on other Williams stuff, like Jurassic Park.
* Special effects - 10/10.
* Storyline. Well, it satisfies me and serves its purpose. I am certain that when seen in context with the coming two films it will shine. It is inferior to ESB, but it shouldn't be a surprise, it is after all the beginning of the saga, and has to get everything going.
* Title - another user discussed the meaning of "The Phantom Menace". I interpret it as Darth Sidious being the phantom menace, pulling all the strings. My guess is that Sidious/Palpatine was one of the supporters of the trade tax which made the Trade Federation easy to approach when Sidious had a deal they could take advantage of. The blockade and invasion later permitted Amidala, influenced by the Senator, to move for a vote of no confidence in the Chancellor. The sympathy generated from the Naboo invasion then helps Palpatine getting elected. Sidious is the phantom menace, and the Jedi still has no clue who he is. It will be interesting seeing how this is developed.
* Acting - well, I think it was good. Nothing was bad enough to attract my attention, but I have no problem admitting that I'm not a big critic of acting.
* Characters. I do agree to a certain extent that they aren't developed enough, especially Qui-Gon Jinn. However, the book by Terry Brooks "solved" this problem for me. It provides lots of additional depth to the movie and character development. Jar Jar? OK, he was annoying the first two times I saw the movie, but then I got used to him. :) Lucky me ;) Watto was quite excellent, and I also liked Boss Nass. Darth Maul *wow*. The apex of the Star Wars experience, I think, was for me the moment when choir accompanied a zoom-in on Darth Maul as he ignited the second end of his lightsabre. Ah!! What a moment! Obi Wan, well, both he and Padmè will have more screentime in the next two films. Anakin Skywalker was OK. Darth Sidious also.
I would now, after having seen the movie four times, not hesitate a second to give it 10/10. This isn't fair to other movies, since my judgment is affected by the fact that I'm a HUGE fan (I can discuss Skywalker/Vader's influence on the fall of the Republic for hours, etc.) and when I'm viewing it, it feels like TPM fits into a greater whole. This makes some of the usual criticism baseless, since one can say it is meant to be that way. Small things like that the uniforms of the Republican Guards bear much resemblance to those of the Imperial Royal Guard, Vader's breathing on the end of the tape, the Sith Infiltrator's similarity to the TIE Interceptor.. well, it feels perfect. And I should not forget the smile of Portman at the end, :)), quite a re-run of Fisher's in Episode IV, don't you agree? ;) The camera panning to Palpatine after the Yoda/Windu-sequence with "...was destroyed? The master, or the apprentice?"... I could go on forever. 2002, people, 2002. :)