A highly entertaining film for the entire family.

Rating: 9/10 (9 October 1999)

First off, I can understand why some people were disappointed with this movie: all the advanced hype created advanced expectations that were impossible to meet. However, I can say that my expectations were more than met when I saw this movie. That's probably because I didn't have unreasonable expectations going in. Since this was a "Star Wars" movie, I wasn't expecting really deep story-telling or Oscar caliber acting. All I was expecting was that the film would provide me with two hours of exceptional entertainment like the first trilogy did and I felt "The Phantom Menace" succeeded admirably in that respect. The film contains some of the most phenomenal effects I have ever seen, spectacular action scenes and another great score from John Williams. So, it seems to me that this film delivered everything the first three films did. There were flaws, however. The film doesn't really stand on its own (but really, only "A New Hope" does) and seems like a teaser for the rest of the saga. The acting is competent for the most part, but everyone has moments (some more than others) where they are pretty mediocre. There is also the tendency for banal dialogue. In other words, this film has more or less the same flaws as the earlier films. As for the complaints that this was a "kiddie" film, remember that the "Star Wars" movies are supposed to be family films. A family film MUST appeal to children as well as containing elements that adults can enjoy. Since I highly enjoyed this film, I conclude that TPM is a great family movie. One last thing: I liked Jar Jar Binks for most of the film. I just think he needs to be toned down a bit for the next installments.
Overall, I'm giving "The Phantom Menace" ****1/2 (out of *****).