Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

    a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode I (1998)

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi [USA:PG, 2 h 16 min]

Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd
Director: George Lucas
Writer: George Lucas

IMDb rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 6.6/10 (417,687 votes)

When Jedi knights Qui-Gonn Jinn and his padwan Obi-Wan Kenobi attempt to settle a dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo, they discover the shocking truth about a long extinct group that were rivals to the Jedi themselves. (IMDb)

Critical reception:

The film received generally mixed reviews. As of 2014, The Phantom Menace holds a 57% "Rotten" rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.8/10 based on 191 reviews, with the critics consensus: "Lucas needs to improve on the plot and character development, but there's plenty of eye candy to behold." It also has a score of 51/100 ("mixed or average reviews") on Metacritic based on 36 reviews. On both sites, it is the lowest-rated film in the Star Wars film series, excluding the animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Many aspects of the scripting were criticized, especially that of the character Jar Jar Binks, who was regarded by many members of the older fan community as toyetic—a merchandising opportunity rather than a serious character. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described Binks as "a major miscue, a comic-relief character who's frankly not funny." George Lucas criticized the American media for using fan opinions from the Internet as a reliable source for news stories. In 2002, with the release of Attack of the Clones, Ewan McGregor said he thought The Phantom Menace was "kind of flat", and said, "I think there is much more humor and ... color in 'Episode II'." Drew Grant of Salon.com wrote, "Perhaps the absolute creative freedom director George Lucas enjoyed while dreaming up the flick's 'comic' relief—with no studio execs and not many an independently minded actor involved—is a path to the dark side." (Wikipedia)

Awards:

• 1999 Academy Award for Best Sound Editing (nominated); Best Sound Mixing (nominated); Best Visual Effects (nominated)
• 1999 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director (nominated); Worst New Star of the Decade (nominated); Worst Picture (nominated); Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble (nominated); Worst Screenplay (nominated); Worst Supporting Actor; Worst Supporting Actress (nominated)
• 2000 BAFTA Award for Best Sound (nominated); Best Special Visual Effects (nominated)
• Another 2 wins and 10 nominations

More info at IMDb, Freebase, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Netflix.
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