Not The Star Wars We Grew Up With

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2004)

The Phantom Menace is the worst Star Wars movie that has ever been made. Having said that, there is still a lot to like about this movie and it is worth viewing if you have any love for science fiction movies in general or Star Wars in particular. No, this is not as good as the original trilogy. However, the movie does introduce us to characters who we already know and love from the original trilogy in their younger form. The film's characters are not as memorable as the characters in the original trilogy, nor is the story as compelling. There are some very nice special effects, and basically that's what this movie is riding on, the spectacle of the special effects. But it is worth watching, if you can just agree to have fun with the spectacle and ignore the fact that it's not up to previous efforts standards. It's certainly as good as any non-Star Wars scifi action/adventure.