Review of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) by Alex T — 18 Dec 2015

Ok, I saw this when it was first released at the age of about 5 or 6, but not in the context of being a prequel to the original series. Watching it now, is still a somewhat confusing experience - the plot being all over the place and dwelling too long in places (the build up to the race being one - that said, it was rather spectacular and thrilling).

Nonetheless, it was always going to be difficult to reproduce the experience of the originals, especially because that would entail ignoring all the wonderful CGI technology available, but The Phantom Menace isn't all that bad - it isn't as good as the originals (any of them, and probably will be the weakest of all the Star Wars films), but it is a good visual experience, and the second half is strong.

Focusing on the political subtext of corruption, infiltration, and greed is when this film was at its highest heights. The Senator character is certainly a believeable one at least.