Not on par with the classic trilogy, but still worth seeing.

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2002)

First off, there was no way in hell this film could have lived up to the amount of hype surrounding it. Even if it were on par with any of the original three, it wouldn't live up to expectations. C'mon people, lighten up. Like any movie, you have to appreciate the good and just accept the bad. The moment reviews started popping up left and right in 1999, it almost seemed vogue to bash Episode 1. In a way this overwrought negativity has made it easier for Attack of the Clones -the public was seemingly brought back down to earth by the problems with Phantom Menace. Of course, at the same time it also puts pressure on AOTC to make up for many people's disappointment last time.
Did I like Phantom Menace? Yes, I did. Was I disappointed in it? Of course, but I didn't really think about it much until a while after I exited the movie theatre. I still felt some of the magic I had experienced the first time around with the classic trilogy at a much younger age, but something was off.
Just the over-merchandising of the whole event left a bad taste in my mouth even before I saw the picture. Everything was overdone, from the product tie-ins, to the heavy toy production, to the inflatable Darth Maul lawn chairs -it was just ridiculous. And then the movie itself . . .

(WARNING: Some spoilers follow, but since the original trilogy has been a pop culture fixture for over twenty years, I think we all know how everything ends up anyway.)
THE BAD: Only one main character was allowed to develop: Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn. Everyone else just seemed to go through the motions. I realize that it's hard to find decent child actors, especially for the daunting task of a young Darth Vader, but c'mon, Jake Lloyd? I still find it hard to believe that Haley Joel Osment auditioned for the part and lost to Lloyd, but then again this is the same film that brought us such gems as Jar Jar Binks, aliens that sound like Charlie Chan, and General Zod losing his power because of a teenage girl. Sorry Mr. Stamp ;-) Of course the other young'n in this flick also takes some ribbing. Natalie Portman has proven that she can be a great actress if given the proper material and motivation. For proof go rent Leon (aka The Professional) or the underrated Mars Attacks. Here, her regal side acts truly regal -hence she's dull as wood. Undercover as one of her own handmaidens, the audience occasionally gets a glimpse of a more lively girl.
Jar Jar Binks. The moment this character opened his computer-created mouth, I felt chills up my spine; the bad kind. Sure, Lucas claims that Binks is the hook for the younger crowd, but if I remember right, I thought that the Ewoks were way too cutesy when I was just a lad. Compared to any Gungan, the Ewoks are masters of subtlety and seriousness when it comes to creating alien characters. Teddy bears with spears defeating the biggest, baddest army in the galaxy? Seems like a breath of fresh air compared to the recently introduced race of floppy-eared, baby-talking, frog monsters.
And of course, we move on to the most marketed character of them all: Darth Maul. That cool tattooed visage was plastered everywhere, yet the bad boy himself only got about ten minutes of screen time. Once again, there's a great lack of character development. He's evil, he's deadly, and he's a just a mindless killer for his master. That's it. He had a few lines that were in the script at some point that would have given him a little personality of his own, but unfortunately they were dropped. Why? Was Lucas afraid that a stunt man couldn't act, let alone speak? (Same trick with Darth Vader: Prowse as the body; Jones as the voice) Ray Park is indeed physically amazing as a fighter, but X-Men and Sleepy Hollow also show that he can really act. So what went wrong?
THE GOOD: Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor make a great pair of Jedi Knights. Even though McGregor seems to get the shaft when it comes to over-all exposure, his mannerisms and actions really fit those of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Neeson transcends even the dullest dialogue given to him and carries himself with such presence that he becomes a real Jedi Knight on screen; there is no question about.
The true surprise is the supporting cast. A lot of the leads are dull and fall flat, but characters such as Shmi Skywalker, Mace Windu, Sebulba, Watto, and good ol' Jabba the Hutt add life to the background, despite their small amount of time on screen.
Of course, there's the action sequences. While the pod race seems almost out of place in this movie, it is indeed a great action scene to watch, especially with surround-sound. And of course, the three-way lightsaber battle at the end is absolutely stunning to watch, but seems too scripted. The beauty of Luke and Vader's fighting was that it looked raw for the most part. Here it looks like the actors are running through a series of motions, even though they do breath life and copious energy into it.
And it's always good to see some old friends like Yoda hanging around.

All in all, this movie is worth seeing, and the DVD is definitely worth purchasing if only for the huge amount of extras and behind the scenes material. Sure it's got problems, and it's not on par with the original trilogy, but it ain't all bad.