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Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
The first movie in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi travel to the planet of Naboo to initiate negotiations but not everything turns out well. Is this movie worth your time and money? Brief summary and recommendations inside.
Director: George Lucas
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: August 2, 2007
Runtime: 133 minutes
Availability: on DVD and Blu-Ray, buy here, buy Blu-Ray here
I know Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace begins the Star Wars trilogy chronologically. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi go to the planet of Naboo to negotiate a peace treating between the natives and the Trade Federation that blockaded their planet.
The plot of the movie is pretty good, but when you compare it to the other stories, it’s just okay. The writing for this movie isn’t the best but it’s decent. The Original Trilogy had better writing in it.
The acting is pretty good; Liam Neeson is good in his role as Qui-Gon Jinn, my favorite character in the movie. Ewan McGregor is fine as Obi-Wan, he’s one of the better actors in this prequel trilogy. Jake Lloyd plays young Anakin Skywalker and he’s an okay actor, I blame a lot of acting problems on George Lucas’ bad writing for the prequel trilogy. Natalie Portman is a great actress, but she did an okay job in this movie, still the writing hampers everyone’s acting.
The music is very good, it’s one of the few good things about this movie. John Williams is an excellent composer and I enjoyed the score for this movie.
The visual effects are okay, but they’re really dated now and Jar Jar BInks is an example of conspicuous CGI and the movie just looks okay. What stands out are the lightsaber fights, they look really good. The podracing sequence is probably the best part of the movie when it comes to visual effects.
This movie is rated PG for sci-fi action/violence. It’s not too violent, but it isn’t for little kids. I’d recommend at least age eight or nine before letting them see this movie.
I do recommend this movie, but certain Star Wars fans don’t like this movie. I enjoyed it, but it’s not necessarily a must buy movie, but if you enjoy science fiction movies, you’ll probably like it; I’d say borrow it from the library or off your friends. It’s a fun movie, but the quality of the writing isn’t that great.
