It's a BEGINNING, People!

Rating: 10/10 (12 August 2000)

For all the people who are complaining about this movie, I would just like to point out that you are the people who never cared for the other three in the first place. You just got caught up in the "hype" and didn't want to be left out. So you jumped on the "cool" bandwagon and started talking about how always loved the first three, thinking you had us fans fooled, but we knwe. You know how? We ask you what you thought of the Phantom Menade after you watched it. And when someone started saying how "it didn't go anywhere" or "it just kind of ended with no real resolution" or "JarJar Binks was nothing but comic relief", we know you are just jumping on the bandwagon.
If you people will take the time to watch the original three, particularly Star Wars, you will realize how obvious you really were. This is not one movie on its own. It is Act I. The first trilogy was that way as well. If you watch Star Wars on its own, it doesn't hold up as well. If you watch it realizing it is just the beginnig of one long movie consisting of three individual Movie length sections, it works completely. The same holds true for the Phantom Menace. It is only the beginning of one long movie, to be shown in three parts. It introduces the characters, sets up the basic plot, and gets you thru the first segment of a longer story. The first trilogy was one long story how Anakin Skywalker redeemed himself. This trilogy is the story of his original fall from Grace. That is how you should view it. I mean, you don't read just the book of Genesis in the Bible and just say "Well, this really don't seem like it's gonna go anywhere." It has to be taken as a whole, or at least a small part of a larger story until the whole thing can be taken in.
As far as JarJar goes, of course he is the comic relief. What do you think R2 and C3PO were in the originals for? Sure, they saved the day a few times, particularly R2, but for the most part they were there to make you laugh. Same with the Ewoks.
Oh well, that's my little explanation for all you bandwagon jumpers out there. But don't worry, when the other two films come out, I'm sure we'll see you again, telling us about the masterful way this story was told across three movies, and all the detail that allowed them to put into the characters