Very strong in many aspects, not as strong in others.

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2015)

Disclaimer: I am 18 years old and had never seen Star Wars up until this point. While most people's view on Star Wars is clouded by nostalgia, here is my unaffected take on the 'classics'.
I'm watching Star Wars in this order: IV - V - I - II - III - VI
This is apparently the preferred order according to many. In any case, this means that I have seen A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back prior to this, and that is what I'll be comparing it to.
I believed the pacing was slightly off in A New Hope, but in The Phantom Menace it is spot on. Character development is also vastly improved, which is expected considering that it is a prequel. Also, the special effects are representative of the new age and vastly superior. In these aspects, The Phantom Menace surpasses A New Hope and lands on par with The Empire Strikes Back (minus the SFX, of course).
However, in other aspects, A New Hope shines stronger. The humor and cast is strong all the way through in A New Hope. This is not something I would say with as much confidence about this movie. Neither is horrible, and most humor and casting is still really good here, just not on par.
So in summary, I would actually place The Phantom Menace on the same level as A New Hope overall (come at me, nostalgic Star Wars fans!). The Phantom Menace tries harder to be more of a family movie, and for the most part succeeds.