Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

The Phantom Menace is an unnecessary prequel to be honest. Duel of the Fates is the only good thing happening.

Great movie with the best part with them fighting Darth Maul!

George Lucas returned to a galaxy far, far away after 16 years… and gave us The Phantom Menace, a film that somehow manages to look expensive and feel hollow at the same time. Let’s start with the story. It’s dull. Instead of space battles and rebellion, we get trade negotiations, senatorial debates, and the absolute snoozefest that is the taxation of trade routes. It’s a political thriller without the thrill, and characters talk in monotone exposition dumps that grind the film to a halt. Then there’s the cast. Ewan McGregor does his best, Liam Neeson tries to lend gravitas, but they’re saddled with wooden dialogue and nonexistent character development. Natalie Portman, a great actress, is forced to alternate between a weird royal monotone and confused teenager. And Jake Lloyd, as young Anakin, is unfortunately out of his depth—not entirely his fault, but hard to watch. Visually, the film was cutting-edge at the time, but it leans so heavily on CGI that nothing feels real or grounded. Entire sequences look like high-budget cutscenes from a ’90s video game. And don’t even get me started on Jar Jar Binks—an unfunny, racially questionable cartoon sidekick who sucks the air out of every scene he’s in. The only real highlight? Darth Maul. With minimal dialogue and maximum menace, he’s the most interesting character—and gets killed off in the first movie. His lightsaber duel with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan is genuinely thrilling, but it’s a lone spark in an otherwise lifeless experience. The Phantom Menace isn’t just disappointing—it’s baffling. It takes the rich, mythic legacy of Star Wars and buries it under bureaucracy, bad writing, and an obsession with digital effects. It should have been the triumphant start of a new era. Instead, it’s an awkward stumble into the prequel trilogy.

It's a film that involves a lot of politics, especially at the beginning it's quite confusing, but the film is good, a good adventure and an epic battle at the end.

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Classic film, a bit boring at times but sets a great expectation for what is to come

This movie gets a lot of shade, but I really enjoy it every time I watch it. I’m a 90s kid so this was my generation’s trilogy, so the nostalgia factor is high for me, but I mean come on Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson as Jedi!? How does it get any better than that? Go watch it and form your own opinion, it’s a fun ride to say the least.

The phantom menace might just be the most underrated Star Wars movie

Has aged well and much better received than when it first came out. Shows the genius of George Lucas. Built on the beautiful lore of the franchise

Darth maul is a goat🥶