Average Flick

Rating: 6/10 (3 December 2005)

After the original trilogy, I was eagerly awaiting this new installment in the Star Wars saga that was 16 years in the making . . . but I must admit, I was disappointed. Not that The Phantom Menace is a bad film, but it certainly isn't on the same leave as the Original Trilogy. For instance, there's too much exposition (too much dialogue and politics and little action). But ironically, this is to be expected. Whereas the Original Trilogy is about the Rebels who are continually evading the dreaded Empire (which brought a sense of danger everywhere they turned), this new film is about a government that's already in place where everyone has gone complacent. This makes for no sense of danger (everyone is new, the colors are vivid - compare that to the Original Trilogy where everything is faded and old) - in fact, the incident surrounding this film centers around a trade embargo on a wayward planet. Because the story is weak, the dialogue, acting, music (which is still great John Williams, just not on par with his Original Trilogy music), etc. all unfortunately suffer. There is also an over-reliance on CGI. All in all, a 6 out of 10.