This movie is definitely worth watching! Despite what people say!

Rating: 9/10 (1 February 2006)

Ever since May 19, 1999, Older, Die-Hard Star Wars fans have bashed "The Phantom Menace", which is the first episode of the saga. The reason why they do this is simple: No matter what George Lucas comes up with in terms of movie ideas, or no matter how good the movie is - it will never be as good as the Original Star Wars Trilogy, or A New Hope (Star Wars Episode IV).
Older fans have to get over this. The original Trilogy are the Star Wars films that the older fans have come to grow up with, and I understand that seeing newer Star Wars films may disappoint them simply because of the fact that they never came out years ago when they could enjoy them to the fullest.
Please, let the Star Wars fans who really understand Star Wars enjoy the movies without people saying how much they hate them simply because they will never like anything better than the original trilogy. I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, but for God's sake, get over it, the Newer Trilogy is just as good as the older ones.
Over all, I have to say that the Phantom Menace delivered what I expected and I enjoyed watching it for the most part. Although I wasn't to excited when I watched the Pod Race. This just prolongs the somewhat boring Tatooine part of the movie. Probably the best part of The Phantom Menace was the end, when the conflicts climax and the stage becomes set for the next five films. Although I don't think that Darth Maul should have died in the film, he wasn't in this one enough anyways, and I'm sure fans would have wanted to see him again in Attack of the Clones.
The internal conflict is created nicely in Anakin Skywalker when he is freed from slavery. We see how he doesn't want things to change, in spite of his limited power to stop the change. His fear for loosing his mother is what surfaces Anakin's evil in this movie, and foreshadows events to come in the next movie (Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones).
Thnaks George for the wonderful, action packed exciting film. It was what I expected. -Steven Crummey, 16