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Description
"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

Lets continue our Disney/Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary celebration with the beginning of the Skywalker Saga where a young boy with a grand destiny is discovered amid the emergence of a great evil; Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

The story begins with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi arriving on a Trade Federation Battleship to make negotiations with the Federation's viceroy Nute Gunray about their illegal blockade of the planet of Naboo.
Under orders from the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Gunray orders a squadron of battle droids to eliminate the two Jedi. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escape and discover that the Federation is about to invade Naboo.
As the Jedi land on the planet with the invasion force, they come across a clumsy Gungan named Jar-Jar Binks, and he escorts them to the underwater Gungan city of Otah Gunga, where Jar-Jar was banished from.
The Jedi meet the Gungan leader Boss Nass and grants them passage through the planet core to reach Naboo's capital city of Theed, which is currently under siege by the Droid Army as they capture the young Queen Amidala and her associates.
Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Jar-Jar manage to rescue Amidala, her handmaidens(one of them named Padme), Royal Captain Panaka, Royal Pilot Ric Olie, and a few of her guards. Qui-Gon suggests that Amidala pleads the situation to the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic.
Amidala agrees and they barely manage to escape Naboo as Amidala's Royal Starship is heavilly under fire by the Federation battleships, and an astromech droid numbered R2-D2 manages to give the ship enough power to pass the blockade, but the hyperdrive was heavilly damaged so the group decides to land on the desert world of Tatooine to refuel, and get the parts needed to fix the ship.
An enraged Sidious introduces Gunray to his Sith apprentice Darth Maul, and Maul is sent to Tatooine to retreive Amidala and escort her back to Naboo and force her to sign a treaty to make the Federation's blockade legal.
Qui-Gon, Padme, and Jar-Jar travel to Mos Espa and enter the shop of a crude Toydarian named Watto to purchase the parts. There they meet a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker and he escorts them to his home for cover from a nasty sandstorm. At the hovel, they meet Anakin's mother Shmi, and a protocal droid that he's been building named C-3PO.
Later, Anakin shows the group his Podracer that he's been working on, and plans on entering it in the Boonta Eve Podrace. Qui-Gon senses that the Force is very strong in Anakin, and makes a bet with Watto that if Anakin won the race, they would get the needed parts free of charge, and Anakin would be freed from his slavery.
Anakin miraculously wins the hazardous race, and his freedom, but realizes that he has to say goodbye to his mother. Anakin promises her that he will return one day to free her as he leaves with Qui-Gon to be trained as a Jedi. As the group prepares to leave, Maul attacks and briefly duels Qui-Gon before they manage to escape.
They finally arrive on Couruscant, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan go to the Jedi Temple to inform the Jedi Council of their encounter with Maul, and of Anakin, and Amidala goes to the Senate to plead her case alongside Naboo's senator Sheev Palpatine.
The Council, mostly Yoda and Mace Windu, are very weary of Anakin being trained in the ways of the Force, despite Qui-Gon's beleif that he may be the Chosen One, a being prophesized to one day bring balance to the Force.
With no help from the Senate, Amidala decides to return to Naboo to handle the situation herself by making an alliance with her Royal Army and the Gungans to combat the Droid Army and capture Gunray and gives orders to her pilots to destroy the main battleship controlling the droids while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face off against Maul.
The outcome of this battle will not only determine the fate of Naboo, but also of Anakin and the entire galaxy.

The story is a bit of a mixed bag as while it is nice seeing Anakin's upbringing into the Jedi, and seeing the beginning of the downfall of the Republic through Palpatine's corruption as those are easily the best written parts of the movie storywise, there is a good sense of drama, and the action scenes are very solid, the political aspect of the story is very confusing and all over the place. Like, why did the Sith want Naboo in particular to be blockaded/invaded? I guess because it's a more peaceful world, and causing death and misery there would lure the Jedi into letting them know of the Sith's return. Also, the pacing can be off as at times it's just fine, but at other times it can be very slow, and the humor is very hit or miss.
The action scenes are just as awesome as the ones from the original trilogy such as Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fending off the battle droids in the ship and escaping to the surface, the Gungan sub encountering the various underwater creatures, the escape from Naboo, the Boonta Eve Podrace, Qui-Gon and Darth Maul's brief duel on Tatooine, and the big Battle of Naboo with the Gungans fighting off the droids in the field, Padme and her men reaching Gunray, the space battle to destroy the control ship, and the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul.
The drama of the movie is mostly well handled, which does lead to some dramatic moments such as Anakin's arc throughout the movie, and Palpatine planting the seeds of corruption within the Republic.
The humor of the movie is very hit or miss as while there are a few decently funny moments mostly with R2 and 3PO, the majority of the jokes really fall flat, and yeah, many of them involve Jar-Jar. Including some very unfunny gross-out jokes.
The production values are incredibly solid with the sets and setpieces being very well built and having a great amount of detail, the use of actual filming locations is greatly utilized, the costumes, clothing, and alien makeup are very well crafted, and the lighting is pretty solid.
The special effects are mostly very well done as even though it is noticeably done with CGI mostly, it is still mostly pretty solid such as the enhanced backgrounds, environments, and designs for the various worlds, the battle droids do look pretty solid, the space shots with all the various starfighters, starships, and spacecraft flying around, the ground vehicles, the planet shots, and the effects for stuff like the lightsabers, lasers, explosions, fire, and water. My biggest gripe with the effects is when they're used for more organic beings like the Gungans, Watto, and Sebulba as while they're designs are decent, the CG on them makes them look synthetic.
The characters are a mixed bag as they're are some good and decently well written ones, and some pretty weak ones.
Even though Anakin is the movie's main protagonist, the movie doesn't really spend too much time with him as the spotlight is mostly focused on Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Padme, but i'll get to them in a bit. As for Anakin, while he does have his annoying moments, they're honestly not that many, and he is a decently well rounded character as we do see his struggles with attachments, and his eagerness to become a Jedi and a hero. And he does form a good bond with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
The supporting characters are a mixed bag as they're are some pretty solid and well written ones like Qui-Gon being a solid mentor, a younger Obi-Wan who can be a bit brash, but is overall quite level-headed, Padme who's initial reactions to the invasion are questionable, but turns around and does what needs to be done, C-3PO and R2-D2 are still solid characters who do get some good moments and laughs, even if 3PO isn't featured very much, Yoda being as wise as ever, Shmi being very caring and supportive, and some of the more minor characters like Tarpals and Boss Nass. But there are also some weak and/or underwritten characters such as Jar-Jar, although i don't think he's as annoying as most people think, is a very weak comic relief, Gunray and his associates being weak villains even though they're sole purpose in to be pawns in the Sith's plans, Watto and Sebulba aren't really likable, though this was probably intentional as they're supposed to be antagonists, and there are some uninteresting and underutilized characters like Sabe, Panaka, and aside from Yoda, the Jedi Council who thankfully will get more personality and fleshed out later in other projects.
Palpatine and Darth Maul are both very solid villains as Palpatine using his political power to plant the seeds of corruption within the Republic so he can ascend to Chancellor and further his plans for the fall of the Republic and the Jedi, and he does a solid job at playing both sides of the conflict which he'll only enhance later on. And Darth Maul, despite not saying much, and isn't the more well-rounded character he'll become later, is a very formidable and skilled force to reckon with as he is very relentless and deadly.
The acting is also a mixed bag as there are some pretty decent performances such as Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon, to an extent Jake Lloyd as Anakin, Natalie Portman as Padme when she's not using her queen identity, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, Frank Oz as Yoda, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace, Ray Park as Darth Maul, Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine, and Pernilla August as Shmi, there are still some awkwatd performances such as Ahmed Best as Jar-Jar mainly due to his voice and way of speaking, Portman's performance as Padme when she is using her queen moniker sounds weird, and sometimes Jake Lloyd can be a bit off.
The music by John Williams is just as awesome and well done as ever as his score really helps give the film it's action-packed, dramatic, adventurous, and foreboding tone.

Overall, while this is a big step below it's three predecessors, and i would really only recommend watching it for continuity's sake for the franchise, i don't think it's a sin against nature like some fans do. I think it's because i did grow up with this movie as much as i did with the originals, so i do have a bit of a soft spot for it. And even though to an extent i do somewhat like it, it is best to point out the flaws.

Cast:
Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn
Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala
Ahmed Best as Jar-Jar Binks
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2
Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker
Frank Oz as Yoda
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine / Darth Sidious
Ray Park as Darth Maul
Peter Serafinowicz as the voice of Darth Maul
Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka
Oliver Ford Davies as Sio Bibble
Keira Knightley as Sabé
Silas Carson as Nute Gunray, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Lott Dod, Naboo Pilot
Jerome St. John Blake as Rune Haako, Oppo Rancisis, Orn Free Taa, Mas Amedda
James Taylor as Rune Haako (voice)
Brian Blessed as Boss Nass
Andy Secombe as Watto
Lewis MacLeod as Sebulba
Terence Stamp as Chancellor Valorum
Greg Proops and Scott Capurro as Fode and Beed
Alan Ruscoe as Plo Koon, Daultay Dofine
Ralph Brown plays Ric Olie
Matthew Wood as Bib Fortuna
Scott Schumann as Jabba the Hutt
Dominic West as Naboo guard
Sofia Coppola appears as Saché
Christian Simpson as Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes
Lindsay Duncan as TC-14
Hassani Shapi as Eeth Koth
Dipika O'Neill Joti as Depa Billaba
Gin Clarke as Adi Gallia
Khan Bonfils as Saesee Tiin
Michaela Cottrel as Even Piell

Crew:
Written and Directed by George Lucas
Produced by Rick McCallum
Music by John Williams

Misc.
Production company: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date: May 19, 1999
Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes

Description
"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

Lets continue our Disney/Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary celebration with the beginning of the Skywalker Saga where a young boy with a grand destiny is discovered amid the emergence of a great evil; Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

The story begins with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi arriving on a Trade Federation Battleship to make negotiations with the Federation's viceroy Nute Gunray about their illegal blockade of the planet of Naboo.
Under orders from the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Gunray orders a squadron of battle droids to eliminate the two Jedi. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escape and discover that the Federation is about to invade Naboo.
As the Jedi land on the planet with the invasion force, they come across a clumsy Gungan named Jar-Jar Binks, and he escorts them to the underwater Gungan city of Otah Gunga, where Jar-Jar was banished from.
The Jedi meet the Gungan leader Boss Nass and grants them passage through the planet core to reach Naboo's capital city of Theed, which is currently under siege by the Droid Army as they capture the young Queen Amidala and her associates.
Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Jar-Jar manage to rescue Amidala, her handmaidens(one of them named Padme), Royal Captain Panaka, Royal Pilot Ric Olie, and a few of her guards. Qui-Gon suggests that Amidala pleads the situation to the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic.
Amidala agrees and they barely manage to escape Naboo as Amidala's Royal Starship is heavilly under fire by the Federation battleships, and an astromech droid numbered R2-D2 manages to give the ship enough power to pass the blockade, but the hyperdrive was heavilly damaged so the group decides to land on the desert world of Tatooine to refuel, and get the parts needed to fix the ship.
An enraged Sidious introduces Gunray to his Sith apprentice Darth Maul, and Maul is sent to Tatooine to retreive Amidala and escort her back to Naboo and force her to sign a treaty to make the Federation's blockade legal.
Qui-Gon, Padme, and Jar-Jar travel to Mos Espa and enter the shop of a crude Toydarian named Watto to purchase the parts. There they meet a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker and he escorts them to his home for cover from a nasty sandstorm. At the hovel, they meet Anakin's mother Shmi, and a protocal droid that he's been building named C-3PO.
Later, Anakin shows the group his Podracer that he's been working on, and plans on entering it in the Boonta Eve Podrace. Qui-Gon senses that the Force is very strong in Anakin, and makes a bet with Watto that if Anakin won the race, they would get the needed parts free of charge, and Anakin would be freed from his slavery.
Anakin miraculously wins the hazardous race, and his freedom, but realizes that he has to say goodbye to his mother. Anakin promises her that he will return one day to free her as he leaves with Qui-Gon to be trained as a Jedi. As the group prepares to leave, Maul attacks and briefly duels Qui-Gon before they manage to escape.
They finally arrive on Couruscant, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan go to the Jedi Temple to inform the Jedi Council of their encounter with Maul, and of Anakin, and Amidala goes to the Senate to plead her case alongside Naboo's senator Sheev Palpatine.
The Council, mostly Yoda and Mace Windu, are very weary of Anakin being trained in the ways of the Force, despite Qui-Gon's beleif that he may be the Chosen One, a being prophesized to one day bring balance to the Force.
With no help from the Senate, Amidala decides to return to Naboo to handle the situation herself by making an alliance with her Royal Army and the Gungans to combat the Droid Army and capture Gunray and gives orders to her pilots to destroy the main battleship controlling the droids while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face off against Maul.
The outcome of this battle will not only determine the fate of Naboo, but also of Anakin and the entire galaxy.

The story is a bit of a mixed bag as while it is nice seeing Anakin's upbringing into the Jedi, and seeing the beginning of the downfall of the Republic through Palpatine's corruption as those are easily the best written parts of the movie storywise, there is a good sense of drama, and the action scenes are very solid, the political aspect of the story is very confusing and all over the place. Like, why did the Sith want Naboo in particular to be blockaded/invaded? I guess because it's a more peaceful world, and causing death and misery there would lure the Jedi into letting them know of the Sith's return. Also, the pacing can be off as at times it's just fine, but at other times it can be very slow, and the humor is very hit or miss.
The action scenes are just as awesome as the ones from the original trilogy such as Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fending off the battle droids in the ship and escaping to the surface, the Gungan sub encountering the various underwater creatures, the escape from Naboo, the Boonta Eve Podrace, Qui-Gon and Darth Maul's brief duel on Tatooine, and the big Battle of Naboo with the Gungans fighting off the droids in the field, Padme and her men reaching Gunray, the space battle to destroy the control ship, and the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul.
The drama of the movie is mostly well handled, which does lead to some dramatic moments such as Anakin's arc throughout the movie, and Palpatine planting the seeds of corruption within the Republic.
The humor of the movie is very hit or miss as while there are a few decently funny moments mostly with R2 and 3PO, the majority of the jokes really fall flat, and yeah, many of them involve Jar-Jar. Including some very unfunny gross-out jokes.
The production values are incredibly solid with the sets and setpieces being very well built and having a great amount of detail, the use of actual filming locations is greatly utilized, the costumes, clothing, and alien makeup are very well crafted, and the lighting is pretty solid.
The special effects are mostly very well done as even though it is noticeably done with CGI mostly, it is still mostly pretty solid such as the enhanced backgrounds, environments, and designs for the various worlds, the battle droids do look pretty solid, the space shots with all the various starfighters, starships, and spacecraft flying around, the ground vehicles, the planet shots, and the effects for stuff like the lightsabers, lasers, explosions, fire, and water. My biggest gripe with the effects is when they're used for more organic beings like the Gungans, Watto, and Sebulba as while they're designs are decent, the CG on them makes them look synthetic.
The characters are a mixed bag as they're are some good and decently well written ones, and some pretty weak ones.
Even though Anakin is the movie's main protagonist, the movie doesn't really spend too much time with him as the spotlight is mostly focused on Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Padme, but i'll get to them in a bit. As for Anakin, while he does have his annoying moments, they're honestly not that many, and he is a decently well rounded character as we do see his struggles with attachments, and his eagerness to become a Jedi and a hero. And he does form a good bond with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
The supporting characters are a mixed bag as they're are some pretty solid and well written ones like Qui-Gon being a solid mentor, a younger Obi-Wan who can be a bit brash, but is overall quite level-headed, Padme who's initial reactions to the invasion are questionable, but turns around and does what needs to be done, C-3PO and R2-D2 are still solid characters who do get some good moments and laughs, even if 3PO isn't featured very much, Yoda being as wise as ever, Shmi being very caring and supportive, and some of the more minor characters like Tarpals and Boss Nass. But there are also some weak and/or underwritten characters such as Jar-Jar, although i don't think he's as annoying as most people think, is a very weak comic relief, Gunray and his associates being weak villains even though they're sole purpose in to be pawns in the Sith's plans, Watto and Sebulba aren't really likable, though this was probably intentional as they're supposed to be antagonists, and there are some uninteresting and underutilized characters like Sabe, Panaka, and aside from Yoda, the Jedi Council who thankfully will get more personality and fleshed out later in other projects.
Palpatine and Darth Maul are both very solid villains as Palpatine using his political power to plant the seeds of corruption within the Republic so he can ascend to Chancellor and further his plans for the fall of the Republic and the Jedi, and he does a solid job at playing both sides of the conflict which he'll only enhance later on. And Darth Maul, despite not saying much, and isn't the more well-rounded character he'll become later, is a very formidable and skilled force to reckon with as he is very relentless and deadly.
The acting is also a mixed bag as there are some pretty decent performances such as Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon, to an extent Jake Lloyd as Anakin, Natalie Portman as Padme when she's not using her queen identity, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, Frank Oz as Yoda, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace, Ray Park as Darth Maul, Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine, and Pernilla August as Shmi, there are still some awkwatd performances such as Ahmed Best as Jar-Jar mainly due to his voice and way of speaking, Portman's performance as Padme when she is using her queen moniker sounds weird, and sometimes Jake Lloyd can be a bit off.
The music by John Williams is just as awesome and well done as ever as his score really helps give the film it's action-packed, dramatic, adventurous, and foreboding tone.

Overall, while this is a big step below it's three predecessors, and i would really only recommend watching it for continuity's sake for the franchise, i don't think it's a sin against nature like some fans do. I think it's because i did grow up with this movie as much as i did with the originals, so i do have a bit of a soft spot for it. And even though to an extent i do somewhat like it, it is best to point out the flaws.

Cast:
Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn
Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala
Ahmed Best as Jar-Jar Binks
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2
Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker
Frank Oz as Yoda
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine / Darth Sidious
Ray Park as Darth Maul
Peter Serafinowicz as the voice of Darth Maul
Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka
Oliver Ford Davies as Sio Bibble
Keira Knightley as Sabé
Silas Carson as Nute Gunray, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Lott Dod, Naboo Pilot
Jerome St. John Blake as Rune Haako, Oppo Rancisis, Orn Free Taa, Mas Amedda
James Taylor as Rune Haako (voice)
Brian Blessed as Boss Nass
Andy Secombe as Watto
Lewis MacLeod as Sebulba
Terence Stamp as Chancellor Valorum
Greg Proops and Scott Capurro as Fode and Beed
Alan Ruscoe as Plo Koon, Daultay Dofine
Ralph Brown plays Ric Olie
Matthew Wood as Bib Fortuna
Scott Schumann as Jabba the Hutt
Dominic West as Naboo guard
Sofia Coppola appears as Saché
Christian Simpson as Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes
Lindsay Duncan as TC-14
Hassani Shapi as Eeth Koth
Dipika O'Neill Joti as Depa Billaba
Gin Clarke as Adi Gallia
Khan Bonfils as Saesee Tiin
Michaela Cottrel as Even Piell

Crew:
Written and Directed by George Lucas
Produced by Rick McCallum
Music by John Williams

Misc.
Production company: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date: May 19, 1999
Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes