Crap.

And I say this not because as an old fart I think the original films were works of art, because they weren't.

I say it because the film is cheap, exploitive, simplistic, commercialized crap.  The script is buffoon like, most of the acting is wooden, the action sequences are predictable, overlong and uninteresting, and the plot is a cliched pastiche.

Other than all that, of course, its fine.

The new generation of Star Wars movie series can appreciate much better this delivery, since they are not biased by what we have seen and lived 30 years ago. Other than a few hints and names weakly linked to the rest of the epic, The Phantom Menace could stand on its own as a movie by itself. Total exploitation of all special effects technology available, it is an entertaining episode and certainly setting the foundation for the rest.

The up side was it had Darth Maul, the down side being he died and Jar Jar.

Introduced to the horror that is Jar-Jar, but good otherwise...