New characters don't work!

Rating: 2/10 (19 May 1999)

Phantom Menace has a fairly good story, and there are specific scenes that rival some of the greatest in history, but as a whole it just comes off as an average movie with exceptional effects. This is mostly because the new characters Lucas cuts into the screen time of well-known ones are completely uninteresting. The original trilogy's characters were instant classics, Han Solo and his down-to-Earth wit, Leia and her femininist spark, but the new additions, from Qui-Gon to the young versions of the folks we know and love, seem to just be filler material to tell the story. Not one character besides the infamous Jar-Jar is memorable; Darth Maul only has three lines! Nevertheless, this is a fun addition to the movies, with lots of bonuses for SW buffs--thing everyone wanted to see, or at least *I* did--double-edged lightsabres, ample-breasted female Hutts, and Tuskan Raider cameoes. It's not worth a 20-year wait, that's for sure.