Thoroughly enjoyable, ignore the critics.

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 1999)

The Phantom Menace is a good addition to the Star Wars saga. The special effects are stunning, and good performances are put in by both Liam Neeson and Ewan MacGregor as Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi respectively. The film manages to generate the excitement of the earlier trilogy, and sets the scene nicely for the next two films. My only gripes are that Jar Jar was rather annoying and needed a translator, that we didn't see more of Darth Maul and that Queen Amidala and Anakin's roles were played in a rather forced manner.
Overall it was better than Return of the Jedi, but not quite as good as the other two.