Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: May 19, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
15
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
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.
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
An astonishing achievement in imaginative filmmaking. Read full review
88
New York PostJohn Podhoretz
Forget the hype, and the backlash. The Phantom Menace is captivating.
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A highly entertaining and visually breathtaking movie, capable at times of rocking and delighting you. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Not a masterpiece, but it's an example of how imagination, craftsmanship, and technological bravura can fashion superior entertainment out of something that is far from flawless. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Avoid the hype, just go enjoy the movie Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
It's up to snuff. It sustains the gee-whiz spirit of the series. Read full review
80
Film.comTed Fry
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.
75
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Let the killjoys squawk. Lucas has proved he has the Naboos to pull it off again. And again. And again. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The computer-driven effects are impressive, but the adventure is hampered by a flat screenplay, dull acting, and just a hint as to why the dark side of the Force will eventually transform cute little Anakin into the evil Darth Vader. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Despite a shaky start and the presence of questionable elements throughout, by the time it arrives at its finale -- which copies Return Of The Jedi's triple-climax structure -- The Phantom Menace has won its place alongside the original Star Wars trilogy. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Fails to recapture the elemental magic of Star Wars, and that, ironically, is because it represents the coarse culmination of the original film's adrenaline aesthetic. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
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. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Good enough, but only just. It's got the hardware, but neither the characters, the imagination, nor the resonance one had hoped for. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
In the end, Phantom needed more human and less digital scale. The magic of "Star Wars" lay in Lucas' ability to play the human comedy in a fantastic future. With Phantom, he has brought the series to the brink of total artificiality, the future as a video game. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
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. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Not at all bad for a toy commercial. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
What I mean is that to watch The Phantom Menace as a lifelong "Star Wars" fan is to engage in constant, fragile negotiations between a cherished familiarity and the shock of the new. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Phantom is easily consumable eye candy, but it contains no nutrients for the heart or mind. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyGreg Burk
I warn you, I'm gonna continue whining about the movie. Just keep in mind that I liked it. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The entire film is curiously soulless, with major characters making their entrances and exits (some of which are unexpectedly final) as if they were breezing in from some other screening next door. Read full review
50
SalonCharles Taylor
"Star Wars" fans deserve better. Read full review
50
Film.comSean Means
It earns an "Incomplete'' -- because we won't know the results until we see Lucas' next chapter.
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
In special effects, Lucas has moved a galaxy beyond. In energy, not yet. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
While the new film is certainly serviceable, it's noticeably lacking in warmth and humor, and though its visual strengths are real and considerable, from a dramatic point of view it's ponderous and plodding. Read full review
40
Washington PostRita Kempley
The Empire strikes out. Read full review
40
Film.comJohn Hartl
Story. Character. They used to mean something to George Lucas. Read full review
40
NewsweekDavid Ansen
All the state-of-the-art technology in the world is no help to an actor saddled with Lucas's tinny dialogue. Read full review
40
TNT RoughCutAndy Jones
Not only is it just a movie, it's just a ho-hum movie.
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It is likely to disappoint more people than creator George Lucas would have liked. Read full review
30
Film.comTom Keogh
It's a complete drag.
30
Film.comRobert Horton
Computer technology may be the actual phantom menace, after all.
20
SlateDavid Edelstein
George Lucas does it his way in the pallid Phantom Menace. Even cultists will wish he'd hired a director and some writers. Read full review
20
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
This ain't no movie. It's a very long, very tedious infomercial for Phantom Menace action figures, on sale now at a Target or Toys "R" Us near you. Read full review
20
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
The Phantom Menace is simply a billboard for itself. Anyone who sees it will be experiencing it for the second time. The hype was not about the movie, the hype was the movie. Read full review
0
Slant MagazineCalum Marsh
It's difficult to discern precisely where this all went wrong, and even more difficult to speculate about possible improvements. Read full review
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