Not that good, but not that bad either

Rating: 5/10 (14 July 2007)

I'm more of a casual "Star Wars" fan, which is probably why I don't think of Ep I as the train wreck that more hardcore fans see it as. In fact, I think the movie was going to be disappointing to most simply because it was so anticipated; when you stand outside a movie theater for hours, days or even weeks waiting to see a movie, I don't see how that movie can possibly meet your expectations.
Yes, Jar Jar's antics get old fast, and it's hard to accept that this whiny little kid is supposed to be the same character as Darth Vader, but overall this is a fun, watchable film. The action starts almost immediately (and there's plenty of it); there's suspense, mystery and treachery all about; and we finally get to see many of the things that were only talked about in the original trilogy. Liam Neeson is particularly enjoyable in his role, and it's a real shame that they didn't include his character in the next two films.
What I really thinks hurts the movie is that it's missing most of the beloved characters from the first trilogy that made up the heart of that series. Combine that with the fact that we already know what's going to happen in the big picture, and the film loses a lot of the emotional attachment that made the originals so fun to watch. You don't have as much invested in the characters, so you don't care that much if they live or die (the same factor that makes a lot of slasher films so lame).
And, like all the "Star Wars" movies, there's a big loss in the translation from big screen to small screen. I remember being on the edge of my seat during the pod race scene when I saw this in the theater, but on a TV screen it's just not as exciting. The same goes for the climactic space battle. These movies were meant to be seen in theaters, and watching them at home makes their flaws a lot more noticeable.
In conclusion, I feel that watching "Phantom Menace" is like going to a football game where you don't follow either of the teams. It's still fun to watch the show, but it's not the experience that watching your favorite team is.