As one who stood in line for the original openings of the first 3 Star Wars flicks, but waited nearly a month before viewing this one, I agree that the Phantom Menace is a disappointment to those of us er.. *coff* mature enough to wait like I did; it lacks the warmth and humor as well as the good ensemble work of the oldies. Sure, there's a lot of bang bang shoot-em-up- but so much milder than the real slasher flicks out there and tame compared to what I hear is on tv most every day and night. But for a good comic-book summer escape film, it's fine.
I asked my 13-yr-old what he thought about the racist accusations- because I certainly could see what the reviewer meant when I read about them- and my son pointed out that for someone like him, who hasn't been exposed to those stereotypes before, they didn't have that connotation before. Lucas should have known better, though. I think he's lost his creative spark.
Now, if Liam Neeson wants to keep his hair long and look at me that way, I'll take it all back... *sigh*
Allison-engaging-in-a-summer-fantasy