The roar of the grease paint, the smell of the crowd...

Rating: 10/10 (24 May 1999)

Being a fan of the Star Wars series (no longer just a trilogy), I thoroughly enjoyed The Phantom Menace, or TPM. I thought it was well-paced, well-plotted and reasonably well-acted. I loved the action scenes like the lightsaber duels and the pod race, and I took delight at the inside "jokes" that were spread throughout. The visuals were amazing, the sound effects spectacular, and the music, as always, outstanding (thank you, John Williams).
I was not, however, without criticism. The biggest ax that I had to grind was with one element I feel to be extremely important in movies: character development (specifically, the lack thereof). Like the original Star Wars in 1977, now called A New Hope (Episode IV), The Phantom Menace is the first movie in a series. As such, it must introduce the audience to the main characters of the entire series (or sub-series, in this case). However, unlike A New Hope, which was rewritten as a stand-alone film, The Phantom Menace is written specifically as an introductory chapter. As such, the characters are not nearly as fully developed as they were in A New Hope.
Darth Maul, for instance, is not developed at all. The audience is supposed to believe that this is a villain that needs to be destroyed, but we have no idea of his character, his thoughts, his goals, anything. Maul has no personality, no vigor; he just merely exists. The duel at the end is thus more obligatory than anything else: it must occur. There is not personal involvement between the dueling parties.
This is the major weakness of The Phantom Menace: lack of character development. People wanted to see the sequels to A New Hope because they were captivated by the characters as well as the story line. Character development gave Lucas the momentum he needed to make sequels. The Phantom Menace has no such momentum, and will have to rely on the "Force," if you will, of the entire Star Wars phenomenon to drive its success and its sequels.
As a fan, I enjoyed the movie immensely, but found the lack of character development very disatisfying. Of the four Star Wars movies, I rank The Phantom Menace 3rd, ahead of Return of the Jedi (Empire is my favorite, just for clarification). I do recommend it to anyone -- just don't expect a Citizen Kane, or even an Empire Strikes Back.