Great Entertainment...

Rating: Null/10 (18 July 1999)

I saw The Phantom Menace last night and although I tried to ignore all the hype and expectations that this movie had to live up to (which was difficult as TPM has to be the most hyped movie EVER !!!) and go in there with a totally open mind, when I saw those immortal words came up on that screen at the beginning I found myself sat there thinking "Please let this be good, please let this be good..". And thankfully it was.
Sure this movie isn't without it's flaws. The first 20 minutes or so seem very awkward and I was really thinking that if it carried on this way it was going to be the biggest let down in movie history. But seeing as George Lucas hasn't directed a movie in some time he obviously had to get into the swing of things again and I was prepared to let it go. The film did pick up immensely though and although there was very little background to any of the plot and practically no character development whatsoever, the film built up nicely to an absolutely blinding lightsaber battle finale. I'll go with most critics view that this film just opened loads of possibilities and then left them to be explored in later episodes which was a shame as I'm sure George Lucas could have stuffed enough in there to keep us satisfied, add a little more substance to the movie and have plenty more surprises for later installments.
And I don't know if it's just me or not but considering the story is supposed to be set 40 years ago the technology of the age seems vastly superior to that seen in the other 3 movies which is strange...
Of the acting I thought Ewan McGregor did a great job of playing Obi-Wan Kenobi. There were times when he spoke where I swear it sounded just like Alec Guiness. But unfortunately Liam Neeson gives the most wooden and uncaring performance I've ever seen for some completely unfathomable reason. Natalie Portman is good as the Queen AND her handmaiden Padme and the character voice are good if slightly cartoonish. I liked Watoo the owner of the junk yard who sounded just like Marlon Brando from the Godfather but the crappy dubbed sounding Japanese accents of those aliens at the beginning that worked for Darth Sidious. Pleeeeeaase!!! There are some nice humourous touches too like Jabba the Hutt introducing the pod race and then his aid waking him up when it's all over. And the botched heroics of Jar Jar Binks who, despite what you might have heard is not nearly as annoying as you might think. Still, with that said the action sequences are faultless and keep you on the edge of your seat, the FX are, as expected, stunning and although it doesn't quite have that Star Wars buzz (partly I feel due to the new mediums and technologies used in TPM.)there are still enough ties to the current Star Wars universe to give it good continuity.
When I came out of the cinema I thought to myself "was I satisfied with that as a part of the Star Wars Saga...?". And I came to the conclusion that Yes I bloody was and I can't wait until Episode 2. Come on George, get your finger out, do you really expect us to wait until 2002..?