People who thought this movie sucked had better think twice.

Rating: Null/10 (5 September 1999)

Okay, I think I've made a comment before in the Internet Movie Database, but now I'd like to comment on how so many people thought this movie was horrible. I just want to point how some of the things that people talked about can be easily discredited.
1) For anyone who thinks that Storm Troopers should've been used instead of droids don't know anything about Star Wars. Storm Troopers most likely don't come into play until the Empire is formed - when the Emperor(Darth Sidious/Senator Palpatine) probably realizes that Storm Troopers(Humans) are more effective than droids because Humans don't go "Uhh, wait... uhh, that doesn't compute... uhh, YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" Humans will always be smarter than droids, and more capable of making better decisions. But Sidious has to determine this later on when he's building his empire.
2) Okay, Jar Jar Binks's name should be Jar Jar Stinks. But don't you think 3PO was kind of corny too in the original trilogy? I know he wasn't as annoying as Jar Jar, but he WAS quite a winer. Every Star Wars movie has to have some annoying character in it.
3) I also admit that Darth Maul should've had more screen time. But if you think about it, it's not really all that necessary. Darth Maul's purpose in the movie is to stress the fact that, "always two, there are - a master, and an apprentice." Maul's purpose was to be killed off so that Darth Sidious would be forced to find a new apprentice(Anakin/Darth Vader). That's why he was cut in half so that you'd know that this guy is history. That he won't come back. So he wasn't meant to be a main villain. Also, people are trying to compare Darth Vader to Darth Maul. People think that Darth Maul was supposed to be the main villain. DARTH SIDIOUS IS THE MAIN VILLAIN! He's the one who will eventually take over the Republic and build his evil empire. We all remember how evil the Emperor(Sidious/Palpatine) was in Return of the Jedi. He was way more evil than Darth Vader. So please, quit comparing Darth Maul to Darth Vader because you're comparing the wrong villans. I mean, Maul wasn't meant to be that important. He was just meant to be cool. I'm also surprised that some people I know didn't realize that Palpatine and Sidious are the same person and that he'll eventually take over the Republic and create his evil empire. That to me is what's cool. Once the next two movies come out, Sidious's role will be more defined and people(hopefully) will realize that Darth Maul was just a distraction. Just someone to fill the role of Sidious's apprentice. I know that Maul had a little more screen time than Sidious, but Lucas wanted Sidious to remain more of a mystery. SIDIOUS is the Phantom Menace. Not Darth Maul.
4) Also, people complain that the new movie is too digital. That there are too many digital characters and not enough puppets. I sort of agree and sort of don't. I mean, people say that by the time Episode III comes out, the technology will be so advanced, that the original trilogy won't look like it's supposed to take place after Episodes I-III. But the way I look at it is that because the Repubic gets crushed by Episode III, that would explain why things look so run down in Episodes IV-VI. I know it doesn't explain the digital characters, but that's why Lucas came out with the Special Editions - so that the trilogy he's making now doesn't look too much like it's supposed to take place after the original trilogy.
5) The pod-racing scene was TOTALLY necessary. This scene displays Anakin's Jedi reflexes. The movie explains that Anakin's the only human who can do it, and by showing you the pod-race, you realize that the kid definitely has the force within him because you know that YOU wouldn't be able to race that fast without killing yourself! Ever played the Episode I: Racer game? Some of those levels are frickin' impossible!
6) Some people complain that there wasn't enough character development. I think that there was. There could've been more, but I was satisfied. And besides, I don't think this movie was supposed to focus on character development, but more on the story as a whole. And I'm sure that if you weren't satisfied with this movie's character development, you should be satisfied with the next movie because Lucas himself said that it won't be focusing so much on special effects, but more on Anakin's training, his start toward the dark side, and his relationship with Amidala. It'll probably have the Clone Wars(which Obi Wan mentioned in Episode IV) and that will require special effects, and it'll probably have some digital characters as well. But mostly, it'll focus more on telling a story rather than displaying dazzling special effects.
In Conclusion, you can't really compare ONE movie to a trilogy. This story isn't done yet. The other Star Wars story(Episodes IV-VI) are completed. People should wait until Episodes II and III are completed so that they can compare one completed story to another completed story. Everything in The Phantom Menace are just pawns. Nothing's really that relevant to what the full story is really about. This movie is just setting you up for the next two. That's the movie's purpose. Hopefully the people who hated this movie will come to appreciate it more when the next two movies are completed. Hopefully they'll realize it's importance.
Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 9