Good movie but could have been better

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 1999)

I enjoyed The Phantom Menace, but I did leave the Cinema with the feeling that this movie lacked the originality of the other three. The scenes were brilliant, the landscapes of Naboo were particularly impressive.
The problem I had was that some of the scenes had a little too much predictability to them. How many of you knew that as soon as Anakin stalled his PodRacer at the start, that he was going to win the race at the last stretch of the last lap. Also the "Don't leave that cockpit" scene was very predictable. Secondly I must agree with the sentiments here that Jar Jar Binks and the leader of his race just seemed too glaringly out of place. I have no problem with the humour from this character, but it didn't seem to fit into the story that was going on around him.
The only scene that I found to be exceptionally imaginative was the scene where Neeson and Darth Maul were on opposite sides of the Force Field, and you were shown the two separate sides of the Force, with Neeson meditating and drawing on the power of the Light Side while Darth Maul paces back and forth psyching himself up and drawing on the Dark Side. Unfortunately the other scenes played out pretty much as you expected as soon as it started. This was a little disappointing in that I was hoping to see something new and not things that have been done in hundreds of movies before this one.
All that said I did enjoy the movie and would recommend that you all see it on the big screen so that you can truly appreciate the visuals that have been created here.
But for those of you seeing for the first time don't expect the best movie you have ever seen, just sit back and try to forget about all the hype involved or you will be sorely disappointed.