Cheap Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) (George Lucas) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Full Screen Edition)

AN INTERESTING - IF AT TIMES SLOW MOVING - WAY TO START OFF THE PREQUEL TRILOGY
JUST WHAT IS THE PHANTOM MENACE?: [plot spoilers BELOW] <
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>The "Phantom Menace" opens with Obi-Wan Kenobi [Ewan McGregor] as a young apprentice Jedi. Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) is his very stable mentor. Anakin Skywalker [Jake Lloyd], the future father of Luke Skywalker who will become the evil Darth Vader, is just a 9-year-old boy. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are assigned to settle the matter of the Trade Federation cutting off all access routes to the planet Naboo. Somehow the Trade Federation seems to think they have a legal right to do this. However, when the Jedi's arrive on the Trade Federations vessel for peaceful negotiation, they are immediately attacked and marked for death. Switching to plan B, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escort Queen Amidala [Natalie Portman] from Naboo to a meeting of the Republic's leaders in Coruscant, but mechanical problems with their spaceship force them to land on the planet Tatooine. Here, Qui-Gon meets Anakin who has been living with his mother as the slave of a salvage dealer. Believing that Anakin could be the leader the Jedis have been searching for, Qui-Gon attempts to bargain with the Salvage Dealer for Anakin's freedom. Naturally, Qui-Gon plans to get permission from the Jedi counsel to instruct Anakin about the "The Force", with aims at making him a Jedi and the ultimate savior of the galaxy. All of this comes to a climax during the pod race which settles the issue of Anakin's freedom and gets Qui-Gon the spare parts he needs to repair his ship. This allows the Jedis to continue on their voyage to transport the Queen and bring Anakin to the Jedi Counsel to seek their approval for his training. <
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>BUT THAT'S NOT ALL: <
>Of course, things don't go exactly like they are supposed to and there are many obstacles to be overcome. Many still exist at the film's conclusion. Some characters are notably absent and some are killed off, much to my chagrin, but it is, after all, something that happened long ago and far away! This is okay, because there are two more prequels to follow and settle these issues and, most of all, to illustrate Anakin's rise and ultimate fall to the "Dark Side of The Force". <
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>IS THIS A WORTHY ADDITION TO THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE? <
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>Star Wars is a tough act to follow - pure and simple. So what could be more difficult than creating a prequel trilogy for the most celebrated film trilogy in history? Add to that, high space fantasy, huge expectations, and the lack of plot resolutions in each individual segment of the prequel trilogy, and you're looking at a tall order before one even looks at the technology and budget needed to do this thing right. To achieve the ultimate goal of this film -- which is to tie together the original trilogy with the convulsive elements that caused the "STAR WARS" in the first place -- is impossible until the prequel trilogy is complete. Now in 2006, having had the opportunity to see the prequel trilogy in its entirety, this opening segment [The Phantom Menace] feels and plays much better than it did before the trilogy was completed. The effects are wonderful and very real, the dialogue, never a strong point, still isn't, but the story and the spectacle do get told. As a piece of a 5-star, 6-film saga, this is a worthy component. <
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>A neat film and an even neater DVD with very interesting features. Well worth seeing, but, "THE REVENGE OF THE SITH" held my attention and interest much tighter throughout the entire film. <
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Good
I really llike Star Wars, and this movie was no exception, but why did there have to be so much Jar Jar?! Yeah, yeah, he was sort of revalant to the plot, but as one of my friends said, "Less Jar Jar, more Maul!!!" he has a point. There aren't a whole lot of lightsaber fights with the jedi in this episode. The pod racing and whatever duels there were in the movie were exciting, but it was a bit more talky than episodes II- VI. Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent movie and has a place on your shelf, but episodes IV, V, and VI should be there too. (So should Episodes II and III they're really good)