Disappointing, but a treat for SW fans

Rating: 6/10 (7 March 2006)

After 16 years of waiting, George Lucas finally began answering the one question us geeks have been asking: How did Anakin become Darth Vader?
The Phantom Menace goes back to where the Star Wars saga truly begin: With the invasion of the planet Naboo. The galaxy is a bit different then what we saw with the originals. The Republic is still in control, the Jedi still exist and Darth Vader was snot-nosed little kid. Anyway back to the invasion. Jedi knights Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi (Liam Neeson and Ewan McGreggor) go to Naboo, save the Queen (Natalie Portman), wind up on that desert planet (I forgot how to spell it) after their ship is damaged and meet 9 year old Anakin Skywakler (Jake Lloyd), who offers to help find a way to fix the ship, while Qui Gon suspects there is more to this boy than meets the eye. Oh, and a Sith Lord is after them.
The film features some characters from the originals, such as Obi Wan, Yoda, R2-D2, C-3PO, Palpatine and Anakin, as well as some new ones. Some are good (Qui Gon, Mace Windo, Darth Maul), some are OK (Watto, Nute and Rune) while others are just annoying (Jar Jar Binks, of coarse).
The action is OK, and there are some fun scenes, like the Pod Race and the Lightsabre battle at the end, but other than that, it's a pretty slack film, is boring in some parts and some times ridicules (Anakin accidentally flies off, blows up a ship and saves Naboo) but if you are a fan or you like this type of thing, check it out some time.