The biggest disappointment ever

Rating: 4/10 (29 May 2002)

Recently, after being asked the stock question, "What was the movie that was the biggest disappointment / let-down to you", Episode I - Phantom Menace popped immediately into my mind!
This is not because it was the worst movie ever. Rather it was because of the expectations we all had after a marvelous Star Wars trilogy and then a 16 year absence. To follow up such a legend, we would have hoped Lucas would have delivered something at least comparable in quality to the originals, especially if you consider the advancements in special effects and other film technology.
The effects are not bad in this movie. Not great by today's standards but not bad. Where it falls short is the STORY. What happened, George???

What interesting elements there are in the story are buried in mire. While the effects are reasonable - that's all they are. Reasonable. The original Star Wars was legendary for groundbreaking effects. We didn't see anything beyond the level of any other contemporary Sci-Fantasy film.
While this movie is certainly not as bad as many of the brain-dead stories which are typical of today's Hollywood banality, it's not up to the standards of the original Star Wars trilogy. It's just "another" film of the late 1990s. Common fodder.
To be honest - we wanted more. Much more. It's hard to follow up a legend with a "C+" film.