Lucas lost it.

Rating: 1/10 (16 April 2000)

Having seen the TPM three times now my opinion is that it was a disaster of a Star Wars film. Shockingly bad in parts, I believe the TPM has now seriously damaged the story of the prequels and infuriated many of the fans of the original films who expected to see a far superior film.
The pacing of TPM was erratic. The film started far too fast - this was Episode One - where it all began- we needed an opening scene to remember - one that said "this movie is going to be one of the greats." (**Spoiler Alert**) But before we could settle into our seats Qui Gon/Obi Wan were already on our screens battling with their lightsabers while green aliens (The Viceroy- see later) engaged in confusing banter.
A few minutes later having survived the forest scene and met that idiotic fool Jar Jar they're swimming towards an underwater city. Lucas wanted to cram so much into the 2 hours that it backfired and most likely left many viewers disoriented and lost. Silly music unnecessarily accompanied some of the scenes - an attempt to create a sense of emotion. Many directors these days appear to favour this strategy- sometimes silence is by far the most effective option.
The Characters: Qui-Gon/Obi Wan: Lucas didn't develop them enough and they seemed cold and wooden (probably due to Lucas' direction rather than the actors themselves - who did well.) Anakin: Huge mistake committed here - basically the kid was far too cocky and self-assured such that it was difficult to like him. If Lucas had made him more vulnerable/insecure and introverted - it would have worked a lot better. One never feels that this is the future Darth Vader. At no point do you feel he is in danger (e.g. pod-race scene) and later on when he takes off in the fighter and destroys the ship (btw: this makes a mockery of all the missions of the previous films - I mean a 10 year-old kid taking it out by himself - ridiculous.)
Jar Jar: This ridiculous character almost ruined the entire movie! Whenever he opened his mouth I cringed in embarrassment. I thought "George, what have you done?" This gungan idiot with his incomprehensible dialogue and childish slapstick was a disgrace.
The Viceroy: These guys were important characters as they were central to the plot - but they too were pathetic. They could have been much more sinister if they were human. Instead they were green cowardly weirdos with "Charlie Chan" accents.
The only "alien characters" who were any good were Watto and Sebulba. Previous characters from the original movies (Jabba/Sand People/Jawas) were thrown in for the sake of it. Also Darth Maul needed to be in this a lot more - we learned nothing about the Sith.
Great moments: Lightsaber duels - brilliant and any scene Darth Maul was in. Terrible moments (and there were many): Two-headed pod-race commentator/ kids talking/ Sand people behaving like a bunch of mischievous adolescents/seeing Mrs Jabba the Hut (with breasts)/ any scene Jar Jar was in.
I hope Lucas can get his act together for Episode II - with serious plot, more character development, less computer animation and oh yes- more Star Wars theme music.