Not a bad movie, but still more of the same.

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2001)

Good Points: Clearly the strength of Phantom Menace lies in the visuals. Lucas makes the most of current FX tech with mind-blowing computer animated eye candy. Also, we finally get to see Jedi combat the was it was probably meant to be all along. Well-choreographed fight scenes are abundant, and if the pod race doesn't make you grip your arm rests and grit your teeth, then you must be from L.A.
Bad Points: More so than in any other Star Wars movie, the story is severely lacking. It's hard to punch Lucas in the arm for this, though, as he's clearly setting things up for the next movie. We may very well experience the something similar to the original three films, having the middle movie turn out to be the best. But by itself, the story is nothing special. And as far as I'm concerned, Jar Jar Binks can take a long walk out a short airlock. This character serves one purpose: comic relief. That's it. Totally unnecessary, and further illustrating Lucas's penchant for keeping things just cheesy enough to make intelligent adults get that "Oh...come ON!" look. Even the title is ridiculous. "Phantom Menace" sounds like a Scooby Doo episode.
Bottom Line: Basically an enjoyable movie, but it just doesn't capture the drama of the other Star Wars films (what there was of it). If you're a Star Wars fan or into eye candy, you won't want to miss it. But don't expect to come away with the meaning of life.