It's awesome!

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 1999)

Like "The Empire Strikes Back," it gets off to a bit of a slow start, but after the pod race, everything is great! The light saber battles are fantastic! Excellent use of foreshadowing. I thought there were were some unnecessary special effects scenes (the underwater journey) and a little too much "Jar-Jar" but other than that, I have no criticisms.
Qui-Gon is a prototypical Jedi, at peace, and confident. He spends his words and energy wisely. Obi-Wan does not have as much screen time as I might have thought he would, but he is only an apprentice after all, and lets Qui-Gon make the decisions. We'll see a lot more of Obi-Wan in the next 2 movies. Jar Jar is pretty annoying, but the real world is filled with people like this. He's not as bad as some people say. Amidala and Padme: what can I say? Really good acting, very strong characters. Anakin is a 9 year-old boy with obviously mixed emotions, I did not see any "acting" problems. Palpatine gives me the creeps, since we all suspect/know what he will become. Darth Maul (wow!) has got moves and talent beyond belief. He is intense and (dare-I-say-it?) -- "menacing."
Any critic who saw this movie and gave it less than 3 1/2 stars must have been blindfolded. This movie has been over-analyzed -- its a lot easier to just sit down and enjoy it.