It's just a film and a good film at that.

Rating: 7/10 (21 May 1999)

One thing I need to get off my chest: George Lucas has seemingly become so enveloped in his obsession over technology that he has lost grasp of the original storytelling talents that made the first three installments of this saga great. Those were successful because the stories were tales anyone could relate to and while the acting was not Shakespearean, the characters were interesting with believable motivations. Phantom is ill paced and the relationships between characters do not seem to have relevancy. As a fan I would say simply that the film didn't find me wanting to run to the store and by the action figure for any particular character. All and all though, it is still a good film-- much better than the usual summer drivel offered each summer. I guess as much as I denied it to myself and friends, I wanted this film to live up to all the hype it was receiving. Maybe next time George.