I saw The Phantom Menace last night and I thought I'd share my review with you. For those of you who haven't seen it, I'm warning you, some of what I write may be spoilers to you, so read with caution. Just as most books start off slow, introducing characters, etc, The Phantom Menace does in starting the Star Wars saga. It's no where near the excitement of Empire, or even Jedi. And because of this, my initial reaction was one of subtle disapointment. But as I thought about it, this movie really isn't about the mysteries of the Force or redemption of the soul, but rather it's about setting us up for what's to come and why things will happen later. And with this I think it does a pretty good job. My main arguments are that there should have been a little more emotion in this film. I didn't get the feeling certain things were dire enough at times. I also think that Jar Jar should have had half as many lines. He talked WAY too much. But seriously those are the only two main things I can find fault with. Sure, I could get nitpicky like some people have, but I see a larger picture here. A lot of what happened in this one I feel (hope) will be explained/expanded apon in Episodes II and III. Like, does Anikin really not have a father? And why was the Jedi council so quick to judge Anikin to be unfit to be a Jedi if he had more potential than even Yoda? Do they know something? I left the movie feeling unfulfilled, and I think that's why. I believe the questions will be answered and all the stuff people thought was "dumb" or "boring" will in fact turn out to have significance later on. Perhaps they just don't make sense now. That's my hope anyway. What did I like about the movie? The light saber duels. They were stunning and worth the price of admission by themselves. So overal I liked the movie, yet didn't think it was as complete as it could have been, and lacked emotion in certain spots. However, I plan on seeing it a few more times. I remember I didn't think the first Star Wars was all that until I saw Empire and Jedi. Only then did A New Hope fit the grand picture. I'm hoping the same happens with this movie.