Good, but will look even better with time.

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 1999)

Like the "original" Star Wars film, which we should probably be referring to as "A New Hope" these days, The Phantom Menace is the first of a trilogy. Unlike Episode IV, however, Episode I does not work particularly well as a stand-alone movie. When George Lucas first made Star Wars, he was not at all sure that he could ever make The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. For the original release, the beginning "scroll-off" letters did not say "Episode IV." This was later added after Star Wars became a success and the story could be told in its complete form.
Now, 22 years later, we're getting the complete form. Lucas already knows, as we all do, that he'll have PLENTY enough money to film Episodes II and III, whether or not Episode I is a "good" movie. So, we get a movie that is in essence a great big loose end-- it leads to the darker events of the rest of the prequel trilogy.
The computer effects were marvelous, although I think more time could be spent on some of the technical animatronics (the Trade Federation viceroys, Yoda, and C-3PO). Maybe soon we will see an Episode I Special Edition where they put the Trade Federation leaders' lips in sync. Of course, since they had vaguely Japanese voices, Lucas might have been making fun of old dubbed Godzilla films. Similar references were made in the old trilogy, but those references are invisible to us, since Star Wars has all but replaced them with its own mythology.
The acting was generally good, although it seemed a bit rushed or hasty. I do think the beginning of the film could have been much slower-paced. Jake Lloyd by no means deserves the nickname "Mannequin" Skywalker. Liam Neeson was excellent, as was Ewan McGregor (who did quite well as the younger Obi-Wan). Casting was done well to find actors that resembled the old cast, since Anakin IS Luke's father and Amidala IS Leia's mother. They should look similar.
All in all, I think this will look much better when the rest of the trilogy ties up this big loose end of a movie.