I enjoyed watching it at the cinema, but now it seems dull and disappointing...

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2005)

I have to admit, I enjoyed watching 'The Phantom Menace' when it was on at the cinema. I was swept in by the special effects and thought Jar Jar was hilarious. However, when I sat down to watch it seriously, I was severely let down. George Lucas has obviously lost his film-making touch throughout the years. He doesn't concentrate on the characters enough, and there are too many special effects, some of which are very obvious. Considering the acting talent he had at his disposal, I would have thought that this film would be as good as the original trilogy was, but it wasn't. Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman all just seem to go through the motions, and this is one film I think they should leave off their resumes. And as for Jake Lloyd...well, if Lucas wanted to surprise the audience by showing them what Darth Vader/Anakin was like as a child, then he has succeeded a little too much. Lloyd is extremely irritating in that "child actor" way, and I really did think he was even more annoying than Jar Jar (who is basically a black stereotype made to look like an alien). I liked the John Williams score, but it just isn't enough here.