Positive review from a professional film reviewer

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 1999)

The Phantom Menace is a fine film very much in the tradition of Star Wars. I know some nay-sayers will take issue that the story is simplistic and doesn't hint at the future events we know (from having seen Episodes IV, V and VI) are coming. But Star Wars didn't really hint all that much at the events of Empire and Jedi either. No, The Phantom Menace stands on it's own as a delightful treat full of visual splendour