Best of the Star Wars film by far

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 1999)

What did I think? I COULD NOT LOVE THIS FILM MORE!!! It literally had me on the edge of my seat for the total duration of the movie. Some say that the plot slowed down too much with the Anakin scenes and the Coruscant scenes. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the action behind the action. It is much more fast and furious than the slowing-down of A New Hope. But, there is something I must say about the pace of this film that I will come to later.
It is the least-simplistic plot of all the Star Wars movies. Some people say they were confused? Who are these people? Slack-jawed yocals? I guess these are the same people that would have trouble understanding the plot of Forrest Gump. For, although this the most complex plot of the Star Wars movies, it does not stray THAT far from the simplistic good-guy, bad-guy nature of the Star Wars films.
The acting was dead perfect. Liam, Ewan, and Natalie definitely knew their stuff. I actually expected bad acting, but that's not what I got. ..now, let's talk about Anakin: I didn't like his introduction. Well, I liked it, but it was too quick. It was rushed. And at first, I must admit I was a bit shaky about his acting. But, he came to grow on me. His acting wasn't bad at all. He acted his part just as perfectly as the other actors did. He acted like a nine year old boy. And, to tell you the truth, I really liked Jar Jar Binks! What a great new character! He was well-done in the script, but people were saying he stole the center of attention in the movie, so I was prepared for the worst. But I was proven wrong. And man, what a weird voice...cool but weird. PS: My 16 year old sister is IN LOVE with Jar Jar and Anakin.
I'm sorry to say this, I really am. I feel sad saying it, but.... "The Phantom Menace" is the best of the Star Wars films. And to tell you the truth, I honestly honestly didn't think it would be. The reviews made me think this was a ROTJ-level movie. And I LOVE TESB. I thought there was no way TPM would top TESB. I just didn't think it would. ....but it did. And do you know why? Because, in my honest opinion, TPM was more Star Wars-ish than the other Star Wars movies. There, I said it. Lucas has always said that Star wars is just Fantasy with technology. Star Wars is not sci-fi. And none of the Star Wars movies prove this better than TPM. A New Hope had this huge, planet-destroying space station. But, TPM has a beautiful planet, a majestic city, and a beautiful palace taken over by the villains. The Jedi Knights are real in this film. They aren't just some "hokey religion with ancient weapons", they are total bad-asses. There isn't ONE BIG image in TPM like the Death Star, and that's what I liked about this film. It was about the plot. It was about the Palace. A planet taken over, a beautiful (and I do mean beautiful) Queen who must flee, a slave who must win his freeedom, and a FANTASTIC capital planet (the senate and Jedi Council scenes were AWESOME), and finally the return to the planet and the fight to take back the palace and defeat the armies of the Federation. A wonderful, magical, fantastical story. More endearing to me, than the story of a farm boy who destroys a space station.
I cannot wait to see it again. When the movie ended, I really really wanted to get back in line and see it again. I am going to go see this movie as often as I can over the weeks to come. Like I said, there is just too much to absorb in two hours. Your eyes cannot digest it all. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST see this movie more than once to see everything. And that is not necesarilly true with the other films. Sure, I saw the special editions multiple times at the theater, but I did that because I liked the movies so much. This movie DEMANDS that you go see it more than once. You don't really have a choice. If you want to see the whole movie, you must go and see it again. I know I will.
Was it worth the wait? Was it worth all the fuss? YES. YES. A THOUSAND TIMES, YES.