Paper-thin turned into a gross understatement.....

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2000)

Needless to say, the phantom menace was one of the most vigorously anticipated movies in The Netherlands, my residence at the time of release. Before the movie hit the theatres, I watched a download off some korean site on my computer, and thought it was cool. When it finally hit the theatre, my girlfriend and I went to see it after the initial rush for tickets had died down. In retrospect, the tickets to that movie weren't worth the paper they were printed on. She even fell asleep and although I seldom do that, I can empathise. The movie becomes unbelievably dull once you punch through the enormous barrage of sound and animation, and is simply not suited for repetitive viewing.
Some say the story is paper-thin... If only it was: I had to whip out a full size electron microscope to even find hints of a story. The characters were about as deep as a shot-glass, and the whole experience was just an anti-climatic.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not a star-wars hater. Quite the opposite, I've enjoyed parts 4, 5 and 6 many times. This one however is a powerhouse FX movie with all the animation, sound and gadgets in the world. But a pretty thing without more to it is just that: a pretty thing. And that gets boring at an alarming pace.
Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson and Pernilla August are good actors in which I'm disappointed because all the big bucks in the world don't justify letting yourself be hired for this B-movie. And for those that doubt their acting skills after seeing this particular film, go see movies like "Enskilda Samtal", "Trainspotting", "Brassed off", "Schindlers list" and "Micheal Collins". Those that read this and haven't seen the film yet might as well have a look at the above instead.
Lucas should have simply quit while he was ahead. It might make him money, but the man has lost my faith as a director/producer.