Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
52
(35 sources)
52
(35 sources)
-
91
Portland Oregonian
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. Read Full Review » -
88
New York Post
Forget the hype, and the backlash. The Phantom Menace is captivating. Read Full Review » -
88
Chicago Tribune
A highly entertaining and visually breathtaking movie, capable at times of rocking and delighting you. Read Full Review » -
88
ReelViews
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 » -
88
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83
-
80
Film.com
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. Read Full Review » -
80
The New York Times
It's up to snuff. It sustains the gee-whiz spirit of the series. Read Full Review » -
75
USA Today
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 Monitor
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 Onion (A.V. Club)
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 Weekly
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
New York Daily News
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 » -
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
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 Globe
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 » -
60
TV Guide
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
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60
LA Weekly
I warn you, I'm gonna continue whining about the movie. Just keep in mind that I liked it. Read Full Review » -
60
Variety
Phantom is easily consumable eye candy, but it contains no nutrients for the heart or mind. Read Full Review » -
60
LA Weekly
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 » -
50
Los Angeles Times
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 » -
50
San Francisco Chronicle
In special effects, Lucas has moved a galaxy beyond. In energy, not yet. Read Full Review » -
50
Film.com
It earns an "Incomplete'' -- because we won't know the results until we see Lucas' next chapter. Read Full Review » -
50
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50
Austin Chronicle
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 » -
40
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40
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40
Newsweek
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
Washington Post
It is likely to disappoint more people than creator George Lucas would have liked. Read Full Review » -
40
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30
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30
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20
Slate
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 Observer
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 Voice
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 »
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