A unique look at the series but quite flawed...

Rating: 7/10 (9 April 2005)

Enter Star Wars.
Beginning of the most successful Science Fiction epic of all time.
Brilliant in so many ways.
Enter Empire Strikes Back.
Consumes the first with immense professionalism and a brilliant final sequence.
Enter Return of the Jedi.
A dark take at the emotions of Luke and a finale that leaves you breathless.
Now comes The Phantom Menace...
It starts off, "whodathunkit" in space. With a ship approaching the Trade Federation ship that is blocking off all entry into Naboo. The first person to speak is an unnamed (irrelevant character altogether) female captain with an unnecessarily high (and very annoying) voice who thankfully DIES ten minutes later, then we get a glimpse of the shady Viceroy, a "lazy" villain who starts off the long string of ethnic mockery with his horribly obvious Japanese accent.
This is a movie that had so much potential, the cast was brilliant (save for Jake Lloyd...); the animation was up to date; and you know the story just clicks with the original trilogy the moment you hear the name "Obi-Wan" leave Qui Gon Jinn's (Liam Neeson, Schindler's List) mouth and you see him standing there, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting) in all his youth.
But what it really has not got going for it was the horrible actor playing Anakin; the intensely frequent, blatant and aggravating ethnic accent mockery; and the Gungans... yes, the latter alone was a catastrophe, easily the stupidest things created by Mr. Lucas and to make Jar Jar Binks sound like a Jamaican- wannabe has just crossed the line...
The dialogue is pretty horrible too, "Roger-roger"; "They'll squash us, cut us into tiny little pieces, and then blast us into oblivion!"; and the ever annoying "Mesa Gungan!".
However these can be overlooked by some (not by many...) with its spectacular Pod Race scene, which takes up a good slice of the movie; and the brilliant lightsaber finale, which seemed to have sparked up a short-lasting craze for the Double-Edged Lightsaber in which you see the main villain Darth Maul (Ray Park) wield in the fight scene where sparks fly and a unique obstruction twist leads to ultra drama.
I certainly enjoyed it, I can't guarantee you will, though if you can look past the flaws, move on to the slightly less flawed Episode II and get your blood pumping for Episode III, then you'll love the Star Wars series more than you did before.