Reviews

The Phantom Menace:

Disappointing? Wooden acting? Weak story line?

For me this was a marvellous, and beautiful, piece of entertainment; I will be going for at least one more viewing.

It should be stated that while I have always enjoyed Star Wars it is not good science fiction. It is a morality play wrapped up in a western, and placed far, far away. But what the hell - shades of grey can be soooooooooooooooo tiresome.

As the culmination of this trilogy is already known the film can play with the viewers emotions in interesting ways. The introduction and development of Anakin Skywalker is very touching.

My children thoroughly enjoyed the film - especially the much derided Jar Jar Binks.

My only wish is that George lose his myopic perspective and release all the films on DVD!!

Yes, I agree the film is slow and, perhaps, overlong. Yes, there appears little in common between the methods presented in the film and documented 'horse whispering'.

However this film needed to show the passage of time, which is, after all, the greatest healer. I found the film to be moving.

I was interested in a comment that there was no 'motivation' for the disfunctionality in the family unit. As one who has witnessed many divorces I feel that I can safely say that in real life these forces can be subtle enough to elude the participants; let alone an audience.

I was greatly relieved that the trite ending I envisaged didn't occur.

Overall if you want a gently paced but powerfully emotive film then it is to be recommended; a liking of horses helps greatly!!