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Burdened by exposition and populated with stock characters, The Phantom Menace gets the Star Wars prequels off to a bumpy -- albeit visually dazzling -- start.
All Critics (222) | Top Critics (63) | Fresh (120) | Rotten (102) | DVD (21)
The movie is fun, for the most part, and several scenes are as good or better than anything Lucas created in the original films. The human characters, however, are not nearly as interesting as those in the earlier episodes. Dec 14, 2015 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
The movie is fun, for the most part, and several scenes are as good or better than anything Lucas created in the original films. The human characters, however, are not nearly as interesting as those in the earlier episodes.
Joe Holleman
Do kids really want to follow a plot about intergalactic trade embargoes? Nov 16, 2015 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Do kids really want to follow a plot about intergalactic trade embargoes?
Kate Muir
What I can't comprehend is why the political details had to be so tedious and abstract. Will the kids of our nation and the world truly be titillated by trade wars and the spectacle of a do-nothing Senate? Nov 16, 2015 | Full Review…
What I can't comprehend is why the political details had to be so tedious and abstract. Will the kids of our nation and the world truly be titillated by trade wars and the spectacle of a do-nothing Senate?
Joe Morgenstern
Look, I wanted to love The Phantom Menace, too. I was an adolescent boy and would enjoy being one again for a couple of hours. But the movie has a way of deflating all but the most delusional of hopes. Nov 16, 2015 | Full Review…
Look, I wanted to love The Phantom Menace, too. I was an adolescent boy and would enjoy being one again for a couple of hours. But the movie has a way of deflating all but the most delusional of hopes.
David Edelstein
Mr. Lucas is not without a certain technocratic sagacity, but I don't think he's communicating even with the young as astutely as he once did. Nov 16, 2015 | Full Review…
Mr. Lucas is not without a certain technocratic sagacity, but I don't think he's communicating even with the young as astutely as he once did.
Andrew Sarris
Character and personality take a back seat on this ride. Nov 16, 2015 | Full Review…
Character and personality take a back seat on this ride.
Jay Carr
Despite all the exposition it can also feel very confusing of who is doing what and why. Apr 18, 2019 | Rating: D | Full Review…
Despite all the exposition it can also feel very confusing of who is doing what and why.
Rachel Wagner
I really don't want to be one of those Episode I haters, it does have SOME merit, but man, it just grates on you how annoying it is for the majority of its runtime... Jan 26, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
I really don't want to be one of those Episode I haters, it does have SOME merit, but man, it just grates on you how annoying it is for the majority of its runtime...
David Hogan
It had almost impossibly high expectations tagged on to it and unfortunately did not scale the heights it was hoped/expected it would. This could've been so much more. Dec 17, 2018 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…
It had almost impossibly high expectations tagged on to it and unfortunately did not scale the heights it was hoped/expected it would. This could've been so much more.
Matt Hudson
The pod-racing sequence halfway through is exhilarating... The rest of it just about hangs together with some truly dreadful dialogue. Dec 12, 2018 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
The pod-racing sequence halfway through is exhilarating... The rest of it just about hangs together with some truly dreadful dialogue.
Ivan Radford
From the point of view of the series as a whole, the new movie is pure backstory. And in spite of all the zipping and zapping, its own plot barely advances an inch. Aug 15, 2018 | Full Review…
From the point of view of the series as a whole, the new movie is pure backstory. And in spite of all the zipping and zapping, its own plot barely advances an inch.
Louis Menand
Exceptional fight choreography coupled with one of the best songs in Star Wars' history certainly isn't enough to save [it], but next time someone makes the ill-advised choice to check it out, you at least have [a] great sequence to look forward to. May 17, 2018 | Full Review…
Exceptional fight choreography coupled with one of the best songs in Star Wars' history certainly isn't enough to save [it], but next time someone makes the ill-advised choice to check it out, you at least have [a] great sequence to look forward to.
Amelia Emberwing
This movie is terrible
Super Reviewer
Phantom is a frustrating watch, however there are elements worth admiring: its ambition plot, Williams' score, the art direction, and the iconic duel with Darth Maul.
Filled with horrific dialogue, laughable characters, a laughable plot, ad really no interesting stakes during this film, "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" is not at all what I wanted from a film that is supposed to be the huge opening to the segue into the fantastic Original Trilogy. The positives include the score, the sound effects, and most of the visual effects, which provide some great eye candy for audiences, but if that's all the film has, then what the hell is the film's purpose? It does helm one of the best lightsaber battles in the franchise and there are a few fun fan service moments, but I don't have anything else nice to say, and I could rant for days, so I am stopping here. This film is a complete mess in every way, but it still could have been worse.
I've had a saying that I've used for almost 20 years now in relation to The Phantom Menace. I compare the film to waking up Christmas morning expecting some great present only to receive socks. Nothing against socks. They have a place and are quite needed, but there's no flash with it. The same goes for The Phantom Menace, a film that really doesn't live up to the excitement of the films that came before it. The film follows the early adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Jake Loyd), the boy found in the Tatoine desert by Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). In that sentence the film sounds like it would have some potential. Throw in trade routes, treaties, and Jar Jar Binks and you derail any exciting ideas that are out there. Sadly, this is what the film focuses on as it fails in many ways. Bloated with CGI overindulgence and dialogue that is embarrassing the film relies on its action, which it hands out in spoonfuls. Looking back over 15 years later you can see what a great film this could have been. The opening scenes with the Jedi fighting droids and hiding on the planet of Naboo. The pod race. The ending with three fronts and Darth Maul. If these sections could have been bridged in a better way than this could have been a far superior film than it turned out to be. Why, of why, didn't we get more Darth Maul when he was plastered on every piece of merchandise back in 1999? There are the parts to a good Star Wars film there, just not enough hardware to pull it together. Would it have compared to the originals? No, but that's ok. This film was parsecs away from those films (error intended) What The Phantom menace represents is the footing that the saga is built on. It's buried deep underground and doesn't serve much purpose. It's there doing its job, even if it's an ugly mess. Kind of like socks. I've softened a bit on the film, but I can't call it anything more than average. That's it. An average film equals a horrible Star Wars film. Even years later this is still one of the most disappointing films of all time.
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