i wish i could say that there is something more to the new star wars installment than what you see in the commercials , but there isn't . 
george lucas is an expert at crafting triumphant , special effects-bound flicks and he has done it again . 
this is the first star wars film i've seen on the big screen , so , of course , the impact was much greater than when i watched the three original episodes on video . 
what is compelling about the phantom menace is not its disposable story , but its amazing visuals . 
basically , the film's plot is centered around trade disputes between two planets . 
qui-gon ( liam neeson ) and his young apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) set out with the animated jar-jar binks to fix the mess that may result in war . 
when their ship breaks down and they are stranded , they find a young boy , anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) and his slave mother . 
qui-gon strongly believes that anakin is destined for jedi greatness and immediately takes him under his wing . 
anakin participates in a heart-pounding podrace , one of the highlights of the film , to get the equipment needed to fix qui-gon's ship . 
however , most everyone is doubtful about entrusting the future to some unknown slave boy . 
meanwhile , queen amadala ( natalie portman ) is frustrated and at wit's end , being na ? ve and young and having so much responsibility on her shoulders . 
there are hardly any emotional scenes in the film- even when we discover that anakin will be leaving his slave mother behind to begin jedi training , the frenzied excitement of the whole film wears down the poignancy to the size of a crumb . 
this does not prove that the phantom menace is poorly made for it is brilliantly made . 
in all the star wars films , human emotions that we , the audience , can identify with are usually nil , but the films are for pure enjoyment , not for uplifting purposes . 
despite the fun of watching the movie , the phantom menace is not without flaws . 
for starters , we have the ill-conceived , moronic character jar-jar binks who should be considered a threat to star wars galactic society and to the audience . 
what a klutz ! 
george lucas clumsily tried to create a fun character that would be as memorable as , say , yoda , r2-d2 , or c3-po , but , alas , his efforts were in vain . 
secondly ( this may be good or bad , depending on your point of view ) , the movie's atmosphere is so different from the familiar comic-book feel of the previous three star wars installments . 
this is due , perhaps , to the utter complexity to this movie's plot and the higher level of sophistication of the visual effects used here . 
the movie seems to be reaching for epic proportions . 
i can't say much about the acting , though acting has never been what you saw star wars movies for anyway . 
however , there is absolutely no pizzazz to the performances- they are straightforward and , at times , stale . 
natalie portman has a great presence , but her turn as queen amadala makes the queen a stoic , unfeeling ? enigma . 
there is nothing we can hold onto in her performance to make us believe the trade predicament is anything of importance . 
jake lloyd is the only actor here who has an ounce of evident spunk . 
despite the inevitable faults , there is so much to enjoy about the movie . 
the heightened excitement of the final sequences doesn't quite surpass the famous the empire strikes back climactic scenes , but they are amazing and edge-of-your-seat fun in their own rite . 
the film is a treasure to look at . 
the visual effects are astonishing 99 . 8% of the time- the awe-inspiring , mouth-opening , eye-popping sight of the underwater city is nothing short of production design and special effects genius . 
not since 1997's the fifth element has there been a film as drenched in visual treats as this one . 
the production design is reminiscent of the fifth element , the previous star wars movies , kubrick's 2001 , maybe even of fritz lang's classic silent metropolis . 
however , all the sets are so original . 
the original star wars movies can't even match the grandeur of this film's visuals and that is a sheer pleasure for the viewer- it gives us hope of even greater things for the upcoming episode . 
the costumes are remarkable and have jean-paul gaultier written all over them . 
whether its queen amadala's gigantic wardrobe complete with gold-embroidery and feathers , or the jedis' simple brown uniforms , the costume designer has fused talent with outrageousness . 
the costumes are one of the true delights of watching the movie . 
as for john williams' score , i don't think he's done one as complex or powerful since ? i can't even remember . 
it is as epic as his schindler's list score and as thrilling and zestful as jaws . 
it includes the bare bones of his music from the previous three films , but williams has added on , made the music much more intense and moving . 
what with the overwhelming hoopla that circled this movie , one might come in with high expectations and be disappointed . 
there is very little to hate in the film : it's a very accomplished and skillfully made flick . 
it is the best " fun " film and the best big-budget film out today , most definitely .