Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 332 Ratings

  • Starring: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman
  • Summary: Set decades before the original "Star Wars" series, in the era of the Republic, The Phantom Menace is a prequel which introduces many of the major characters.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 36
  2. Negative: 6 out of 36
  1. 91
    Phantom may not be the best entry in the series, but it's the most technically accomplished, and it makes you as hungry for the next film as you've been for this one.
  2. Reviewed by: Ted Fry
    80
    A breathless, exciting family movie with a couple of truly memorable sequences, and just enough in the way of story and character to keep the franchise going for another 20 years.
  3. 60
    It's a kiddie movie rejiggered for childish grown-ups, of whom there are enough to make it a hit. How such childishness has become a virtual secular religion is hard to imagine.
  4. Reviewed by: Tom Keogh
    30
    It's a complete drag.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 110
  2. Negative: 29 out of 110
  1. GlennL.
    9
    Excellent film which starts the prequel series of the Star Wars Trilogy.
  2. Holds a special place in my list as the first movie I can remember seeing in a theatre with my father. It's a good movie, but the prequel trilogy is no comparison to the original films. Expand
  3. "The Phantom Menace" is a decent movie that I would overall recommend only to those obsessed with the franchise because the film is a explanation film that connects what happened before the age of Luke, not amazing CGI or powerful quotes like the other ones did. Expand
  4. I was one of the original SW fans who camped outside the multiplex up to a year before The Phantom Menace opened in May 1999. Fair enough this was the Odeon in Manchester, England (and not Sunny California), but hey at least I can say I was there, with the tramps and junkies, in the rain, mud and urine and semen... Yep a great time to be homeless it was. Anyway when the police finally told me the cinemas restraining order against me was no longer enforceable I went straight in to see this movie. And what a movie it was. First off I was really happy it had the original trilogy's opening (and closing) credits. I was also glad it was set in outer space, just like the other films. I was also glad they decided to re-use the original John Williams theme and not go for some rubbish modern pop music. As for the rest of the film, the acting across the board was on the whole cleverly under stated, with occasional moments of over statement. The length of the film was about average. Meanwhile the title of the film proved to be no where near as bad as other potential film titles such as: â Expand

See all 110 User Reviews

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