Very good movie - but could have been better.

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 1999)

Star Wars the Phantom Menace was a very good movie. I'm a Star Wars fan, and was expecting a lot out of this film, and for the most part it delivered. George Lucas had a nearly impossible job of trying to please a generation of fanatics that have grown up on Star Wars. Prequels are rather difficult to pull off anyway, trying to tell an interesting story when the fates of the main characters are known. I'll give him an A for effort, but a B+ for the finished film.
There are some things about this movie that are undeniable. The sets are unbelievable, the pacing is good, the music moving, and the FX the best I've ever seen. The plot was pretty good, but uneven. The film slowed way down on Tatooine (the desert planet). I heard a rumor that the next movie was going to take place entirely on Tatoonie. Please Mr. Lucas, don't!!! After creating some of the most dazzling and beautiful worlds in the history of fiction (Naboo & Coruscant), don't set the next film on that dull lifeless rock.
The acting in the Phantom Menace was also first rate. Qui-Gon Jin (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Konobi (Ewan Mcgregor) are the Jedi's answer to Batman and Robin. There seemed to be a natural chemistry between them. As the film begins they are headed to the planet Naboo to help Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) settle a trade dispute. Portman acting is somewhat wasted in the Queen's regal personality, and she seems to play 2nd fiddle to her own costumes. By the way (if) Star Wars T.P.M. doesn't win the oscar for costumes & special FX something is really wrong in Hollywood.
I still had a couple of problems with the movie. First problem : Jar Jar Binks. Much has been written about this Gungan (who a lot of people seems to hate more than Hitler). Come on, he's not that bad. He's was actually kinda funny, but he was in way to much of the movie. Slapstick comedy and funny voices should not be over used, or they get tiresome quickly. Question. Why did he need to travel to Tatoonie? On Naboo he could serve as a guide, but on a desert planet he seemed way out of place. He did live in a underwater city on a lush green planet right? What logic did it make for Qui-Gon (a Jedi Master) to take this bumbling idiot on a "mission of the utmost importance". Leaving him behind would have given the (adult) audience a much needed break from his goofy humor.
My 2nd big problem was in the casting of 10 yr old Jack LLoyd as Anakin Skywalker, the character who the entire saga is built around. Sorry I just didn't buy it. I won't blast Lloyd's acting like some reviewers, he did the best job he could. His performance would have been ok if this were a daytime soap, but it's not. This is Star Wars. A universe with deep, rich and believable characters. Again I don't blame Lloyd. Lucas should have casted an older actor for the part. Are we to believe that a little boy could win a pod race when no other human being can even pilot one! And that this same little boy was able to destroy a target in space in a craft he knew nothing about, when pilots who had trained for years in the same ships couldn't. Worse yet, did anyone really think there was any romantic chemistry between Lloyd (Anakin) and Portman (Padme)??? An older actor (say 18 or so) would have been more believable and more able to deliver serious lines.
Still even with some faults, this is a fun movie to watch. Darth Maul may be the coolest villian I have ever seen, and his light sabre battle with Qui-Gon & Obi-Won is the most EXCITING FIGHT SCENE in the history of Star Wars. In fact the last 30 minutes of this movie may be the best 30 minutes in the history of sci fi. It's faults can be overlooked. If you have not seen this movie yet do so quickly. It must be seen on the big screen.

8 stars (out of 10).
Oh by the way, why do some online reviewers feel the need to say stupid things like "it was the worst movie I've ever seen". Everyone has a right to their opinion, but if Star Wars T.P.M. is the worst movie that you've ever seen, you've either seen very few movies, or are the luckiest movie goer alive. Hint: When you say things like that you greatly diminish your own opinion to the rest of us.