Not As Bad As Everyone Says... BUT Not That Good Either.

Rating: 4/10 (20 December 2015)

The Phantom Menace is a perfect example what NOT to do when bringing back a beloved franchise, that earned MILLIONS of fans through its quality.
But is it as bad as everyone says? No. Not at all. Because, some things are done very well here. Like the final battle between Qui Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul and also the Pod Racing scene. But of course, the main thing done wrong was Jar Jar Binks, and he's the main reason why this movie is the worst Star Wars ever made. Why? Because he's the most unnecessary character to be added, and is also one of the most annoying. You could see Lucas was clearly trying to add some more comedic elements into the movie, but the humour here is bland. It's not funny. At all.
It also goes without saying, nobody cares about Anakin when he was a kid. Nobody. This was another unnecessary thing added to the movie. These movies were meant to be about his path to the dark side, not his life as a child. Nobody wanted this.
However, the good things in this movie were certainly the battle sequences. They were great. And the locations were very Star Wars-y too. They had a great feel to them. And also the Pod Racing, as mentioned before, was very fun to watch. I just wish there were more Pod Races in this movie, and battle sequences especially. But it feels so drawn out. Which is why the movie is rated as low as it is.
5/10 - ONLY JUST average.