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We don't want to remember it's pretty bad. Then we do.
"Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace" got dismissive reviews in 1999, and it deserves the same today. But you probably know that.
You realize how much humor Harrison Ford brought to things; without him, at times the movie itself feels frozen in Carbonite.
There are no romance, no humor, ultimately nobody to care about in this oddly sterile movie.
It does the job just fine. That job, as director George Lucas freely admits, is quite simply to thrill the beating hearts and the inquiring minds of 12-year-old boys.
It sustains the gee-whiz spirit of the series and offers a swashbuckling extragalactic getaway, creating illusions that are even more plausible than the kitchen-raiding raptors of Jurassic Park.
Has a film director ever induced such terrible performances from such great actors? Liam Neeson - wooden, Ewan McGregor - monotone and the Oscar winning Natalie Portman - a speaking alarm clock!
It hardly needs to be said that the 3D conversion here is nothing more than proficient, that it adds nothing and actually takes away some of the clarity and vividness of the film's varied colour palette.
Darth Maul is back, this time waving his wand in 3D. "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" was poorly received by critics when it debuted, so does it fare any better with its new up-conversion? Not really. Paul Chambers, CNN.
It's a nifty enough film that's entertaining but not comparable to the original 'Star Wars.'
It's cinematic junk food, the pernicious effect of which had already set in long before this film came out.
The Phantom Menace is, at best and worst, a mediocre film-a boring adventure undermined by anemic political theatrics and the rusty artistic tastes of its maker.
The 3D conversion on this film is one of the best I've ever seen... and that's what makes it worth paying some extra money to see it again in the theater.
The Phantom Menace, in any number of dimensions, is an exercise in disappointment, a film filled with enough callbacks to the first trilogy to remind you about what you loved about them without adding much of note in all the new material.
Naturally, if you already despise everything George Lucas touches, well, these aren't the droids you're looking for. It's more of a 3D party for fans and admirers, playing to the convinced with a conversion.
You may never experience this or any Star Wars movie as a cinematic experience ever again. Especially not in theater.
The 3D conversion isn't going to change your opinion on the movie or give you a whole new moviegoing experience, but it's not bad either.
You'll be surprised at how well its assets hold up and how much easier its liabilities slide away as a result. But $15 a ticket? Please George. Some of us have kids to feed... and yours don't need the money.
The special effects are something to see in 3D, but don't listen too closely to the screenplay or try to work out who is who.
A pop-culture calamity, a soulless, passionless film whose only real effect was to smudge the happy memories of the three originals.
For the most part, the sludgy re-processing of the original leaves everything looking as if it was lensed through a wet, worn sock. Only one sequence -- the epic pod race on the planet Tatooine -- goes close to making any worthwhile use of the 3D format
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