Visually Splendourous, Intellectually Torturous!

Rating: Null/10 (5 January 2002)

This movie appeals visually, but the plot, story and dialogue can drive you crazy with its predictability and contrived cliches. The fact that Lucas included the universally hated Jar Jar Binks, and stubbornly includes him in Episode 2 just sums up how nonsensical this movie is.
I maintain that the most important thing in any movie/show is not how a show start, or how good the idea for the plot may be, but it is how a movie ends. I've seen so many movies that had a good idea, but the writer wasn't clever enough to come up with a rewarding ending - for example the Cantonese movie "God of Cookery" was a total farce, as well as "Independence Day" and "Harry Potter". The Phantom Menace joins that hallowed list of unimaginative endings by having some kid defeat an entire army of thousands of robots by destroying one ship from the inside! It seems not only has Lucas ripped off his own movie "Star Wars" but he's also ripped off "Independence Day"!! Why anyone would want to copy a movie with a contrived ending is beyond me, but it just shows that Lucas just doesn't know how to write a "great" story.
Like I said, visually splendourous, but the movie has too many terrible elements like the stupid Jar Jar Binks, and the dumb ending to be a good movie. I give it a 3/10. Let's get a real writer for Episode 2!