Cmore's Star Wars, Episode 1 The Phantom Menace Review May 20th/99

Saw the midnight show. What a great addition to the Star Wars saga! I had very high hopes for this film. The first and foremost thing I want from Star Wars is top notch, it can't find it nowhere else, kickass, balls to the wall action. This movie has at least two scenes that could be taken out of the film, and sold for full price as short films, and people would pay over and over for it.

The Pod Race. Just the sound alone in this baby is a work of art. For something that had to basically be 100% digital, you felt these things where truly whizzing by you. (Oh, and the sand people playing snipers taking pot shots at the racing speeders is one of the greatest reactions from the crowd! And the Jawas "Whodini!! ...luaghed my ass off).

The "Duel Of The Fates". Holy Shit! Amazing! The idea of having these generator shield things was brilliant. It's the little things in Star Wars that does it for me, and there is this one scene right after Maul did his business with Qui. Obi Wan has time to absorb what he saw. He is pissed. And waiting for that shield to go up to break out some serious whoops ass. Blink and you miss it but in the corner you see just before the shield goes up, Obi is bouncing up and down like he is about to go into a prize fight. Meanwhile Maul paces like a Tiger in a cage. this fight lives up to your emotions and these two going at it makes the energy level in the theatre jump several notches. The cool factor is off the charts in this scene. The movie has the perfect balance of action and exposition. I really loved the scenes with mom Skywalker and her son Anakin. And the Jedi Council was great to have in there too. Now for the character reactions.

Obi Wan - McGregor really got this character. I can't wait to see him take charge in the next film. He has got Obi Wan down. Love the voice.

Qui Gon Jin - Liam portrays a Jedi Knight exactly how you would expect one to be. Cool, calm, and collected. Great performance!

Queen Amidala - The first time where a costume actually out plays the actor. How could they not? Costume design has got the Oscar in the bag. Love Natalie Portman. She's got that kick ass and take names attitude that her daughter Leia had.

Jar Jar - This character was fun. The battle stuff at the end got a little out of hand but over all this guy was a real hoot. From what I heard I was expecting real bad stuff from him. The most amazing thing is how seamless he integrated into th einvironment. How this digital character was able to walk in and out of the shadows and light and really seem to be there. In fact there was very little CG in this film that took you out of the film. You really had to look for it and I often had to ask myself ig something was real or generated.
Impressive!

Darth maul - Holy shit... the greatest ever to have ten or so minutes of screen time. Oh... he was very, very cool. Can you say instant icon? The double sided blade was ingenious in concept and flawless in execution. Ray Park is THE MAN!

Watto - You could not take your eyes off this creation. Truly one of the more inventive characters in the SW universe. "You supposed to be some kinda Jedi?"

I could make a list of things that were just so cool in this film. Just to address the other side of the fence. I just don't get it. I am wondering if these nay sayers actually saw the same film? That is fine if you thought it was too kid oriented, or whatever. But don't throw out the baby with the bathwater! Try and tell me that the pod race, even after all the hype didn't exceed your expectations. Tell me that the final duel was not incredible. Tell me that just establishing shots alone were not jaw dropping. in Empire you had a sock puppet trying to eat the Falcon. in Phantom you practically had a school of Godzilla sized fish swimming after the transport. I simply can not believe anyone coming away from this film did not feel their 10 bucks or whatever were not well spent. In fact, I walked out of the midnight show and saw two lines wrapped around the theatre for a 3am showing! They were not going to do one, but I guess demand was so great. myself and some friends came out and found outit was sold out. I have the week off, so we figured what the hell, we bought a couple tickets from scalpers and went back in! The second crowd was even MORE fun. This is what going to the movies is all about. Cheers and may the force... yea yea. Get in line for a great time!

Penguin's Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace Review May 29/99

Yes, the long awaited "Episode IV" of the Star Wars saga finally hit theaters on May 19th, 1999. After witnessing the downfall of Anakin Skywalker in the original trilogy, fans were eager to see the rise of his son, played by relative unknown Mark Hamil.However, there's a few problems already. First off, the film only made 500 million dollars in its opening weekend. Sure, until now, the for reaching that goal was 3 full years, but the box office watchers are disappointed, as they expected much more from such a long-awaited film.

"This film is clearly a disappointment," said the analysts for "Entertainment Daily" magazine. "Sure, it broke records, but after waiting for 16 years, most fans were expecting young actress Carrie Fisher to reach out of the screen, grab them by the lapels and make sweet love to them. Oddly enough, that didn't seem to happen."
After the earliest 12:01 showing last Tuesday, fans walked out with a number of complaints. "Maaaaaan, what was up with C3P0?" whined one fan who had "YODA = GOD" tattooed on his left eyelid. "I mean, that sense of humor
was so childish. There was nothing like that in the original trilogy!" One nearby spectator mentioned JarJar Binks, from the original series. "Dude, JarJar was nothing like that!" The rabid YODA worshipper then punched the bystander in the throat. Many complained about Mark Hamil's performance. "My god, he was so stiff!"
"Yeah, really, more like 'Puke' Skywalker." And Oscar-nominated actor Sir Alec Guinness was also disliked. One male fan who came dressed in full "Queen Amidala" regalia, stated "He was just boring and bland, it was like watching paint dry." Though a few commented that he acted just like Qui-Gon in the original trilogy, the cross-dressing fan merely scoffed. "Dude, Qui-Gon was noble and calm. Guinness wasn't even close to that."
"Governor Tarkin was a total badass," one fan declared, "But he must've had, like, six minutes of screen time, and then he was dead! The guy barely spoke! What a gyp." He quickly tacked on that "Han Solo's wig was REAL fucking obvious, too. And those stuntmen were all fat and shit." "There's too many people in funky suits walking around in the background," commented another overweight lad. "It was distracting. Not like the CGI back in the days of Episodes I-III."

Some remarks were also made that Carrie Fisher's "Princess Leia" was a boring
and stiff character. However, arguments flew back that she merely had to act thusly, to convey her sense of nobility. Some even compared her to the fighting royalty seen in the first trilogy, in the form of Queen Amidala.
Many interest groups are also attacking the release -- but for differentreasons. "Lucas' choice of names for the human military working for the Empire is both sickening and insulting," stated Linda Snyder, president
of Facism Under Control. "Calling those men 'stormtroopers' brings to mind the era of Nazi facism of World War II. Calling upon such sick fanatical terrorists is both racist and demeaning to all who suffered under Hitler's regime." Snyder went on to state that her and her fellow FUCers would not stand for such things in our modern media and would fight to bring awareness to the public over this issue. Others claim that the "Greedo" bounty hunter character defames those of eastern descent. "Greedo's language and vocal tones sound suspiciously like those of the
Japanese. Lucas is making this villianious alien into an oriental man! So now he hates the Japanese as well! It's even there in the body traits. Look at that small mouth! Just like the Japanese!"

Some religious groups were upset with Qui Gon's death scene. "What, his body just disappeared? Is that supposed to be like when the body of our savior vanished from the tomb after dying at the hands of
his oppressors? So, what, Qui Gon is Jesus now? Whata croc." Of course, his death was no real surprise, as rumors of it leaked onto the internet before the film's release, and the soundtrack was released two weeks ago, which announced Qui Gon's demise in one of the track titles.

Ash Draven's� Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace Review May 20th/99

The Phantom Menace was not the Star Wars you knew as a kid. This is not a Sci-Fi film. It is Fantasy film with
Sci-Fi overtones. It took about a half hour to realize that Phantom Menace is nothing like the first three movies.That Said: GO SEE THIS FILM. SOME THINGS THAT HELP TO KNOW WHEN YOU GO IN

The first 1/2 Hour will be a bit hard to get through, as it is a bit rushed, but Neeson holds it together and the rest of the film makes thewait worth it. If you go in fearing the worst of Jar Jar and his ilk by the end of the film
you will most Likely find Jar Jar to be tolerable and not hate him as if he were a damn Ewok.

Sit through the credits. You'll thank yourself for the surprise (2 Actually) at the end. Don't expect anything too deep. While it isn't aimed straight at children it is aimed at the child inside us all. If you want dark, deep, and� character development wait for Episodes 2 & 3.SOME THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TOO You will love the Pod Race. Oh, Man You'll love the race. I thought it was going be some gratuitous action, but Lucas worked it into the plot quite well. You will go back just to see the last 1/2 Hour. It moves so fast you better have your eyes tapped open.

Realize you've never seen Jedi Knights at the top of their game, enjoy.

Foreshadowing. Either brief Appearances or mentions or names, peoples or places we've only heard about or seen years later make this movie a real treat for the fans of the originals.

Sooooo with that said GO SEE THE MOVIE & REMEMBER - THIS IS NOT STAR WARS, EMPIRE or JEDI. THIS IS ITS OWN MOVIE.