This is the first Star Wars, and it explains a lot. The violence is kept mild, even more so than the originals, because the shooting is only at battle droids. However, a giant sea monster is (bloodlessly) ripped in two and eaten, and at the end (SPOILER) Qui-Gon Jinn is skewered on a lightsaber by Darth Maul, and then Darth Maul is sliced in half and shoved into a pit. Even though it's completely bloodless, it's a bit gross. Otherwise, the movie's fine, and has some exciting chases, cool swordplay, and battles.
Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Not perfect, but still a lot of fun.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 10 and Up
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that the level of violence is about the same as in the other movies -- lots of shooting and explosions, and no blood. Many of the bad guys are robots. They get blown up but don't really "die." One of the main characters is killed, and a bad guy is sliced in half.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the references to Anakin's never having had a father and having been somehow immaculately conceived at the sub-cellular level.
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More on Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
What’s the Story?
As this Star Wars chapter begins, the Senate is deadlocked by bureaucrats and the Trade Federation is imposing heavy tariffs. The Federation has blockaded the planet of Naboo, inhabited on land by the followers of Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) and undersea by the floppy- eared, pidgen-English-speaking Gungans. Two Jedi knights (Liam Neeson as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewen McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi) arrive to negotiate, but the Federation invades the planet. With Gungan Jar Jar Binks, they rescue the Queen so she can make the case for her people before the Senate. They make a pit stop on Tatooine, Luke Skywalker's home planet, where they meets young Anakin Skywalker, destined to become not only father to Luke and Leia, but also Darth Vader. A mechanical prodigy blessed with a lot of The Force, Anakin is building the future C3PO and a flying car called a podracer. Anakin and his mother are slaves, owned by bug-like junk dealer Watto. To help the queen, Anakin enters a podrace, wins his freedom, and soon they are all on their way. The queen appears before the Senate to ask for support and Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi appear before the Jedi Council to ask that Anakin be trained as a Jedi. The Queen is able to initiate a vote of no confidence, but the results are inconclusive. And the Jedi Council turns down Anakin. They return to Naboo, where they persuade the Gungan to join them in fighting the Federation, including the scary-looking and mysterious Darth Gaul.
Is It Any Good?
It may not be as great as you hoped, but it is not as bad as you feared. In fact, it exactly has the same strengths and weaknesses as the original three, plus breathtakingly spectacular visual design and special effects. Those strengths are, in addition to the computer graphics and design, sensational action sequences, including a "Ben Hur"-like race, battle scenes, and some fancy fighting with the Jedi's favorite weapon, the light sabers, and a young queen who is strong and courageous.
The weaknesses are cardboardy characters with emotionless line readings. The director appears to have been more concerned with making his computer characters seem alive than his human ones. The grown-up actors seem constrained by their participation in a legend and the younger actors seem as though they are floundering. Han Solo is sorely missed. So is Chewbacca. Instead of a Wookie, we get a floppy-eared klutz. (In fairness, kids will most likely enjoy his slapstick antics). Despite the addition of two black characters, Samuel L. Jackson has little to do and the movie is still heavily white Anglo-Saxon, with some of the bad guys and comic characters using Asian or Caribbean accents. Kids under 12 who have somehow missed the original trilogy may find that viewing it will help them to get familiar with the characters and with concepts like The Force before seeing this one.
Movie Details
Studio: Lucasfilm, Director: George Lucas
Run time: 133 minutes
Theatrical release: 5/19/1999, DVD release: 10/16/2001
MPAA Rating: PG for violence
Run time: 133 minutes
Theatrical release: 5/19/1999, DVD release: 10/16/2001
MPAA Rating: PG for violence
Our Members Say
See all 27 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Great movie, with a little voilence in it.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
good for kids 9 and up
i like all the star wars movies but this one is okay
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Not only the movie is bad, it is also woefully inappropriately for kids. Why is it that so many parents think otherwise, and expose their children to such violence and mature subjects since they are 4 or 5? It amazes me. This movie - as well as any other of the six made under the Star Wars name - should not be given to toddlers or tweens, no matter how much pressure they experience from peers.
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
funny, but slow paced.
i think it is a good movie because it is very funny.it is sort of slow though, it will go from boring talking to action filled battels. a few duels, battles and a spacefight. a driods lower body is seen walking, even though it dosent have an upper body. one villan is pretty scary, but shouldnt bother older kids. a man is stabbed by a lightsaber, and anoter is sliced in half, and his body splits apart. alot of carashes in a podrace.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Star Wars. Don't just turn it down because of the trailers.
Ok, for starters, the movie is violent.Its got lots of guns and sabers and tanks, so if u dont like war dont let your kid watch it. Also theres a bit of gory parts. No blood, but a man gets impaled by a saber and u can see the hole in his back. Another guy gets sliced in half by a saber, and u see his two separate body parts fly off in different directions. They get pretty graphic with the slicing of robots, too. Theres a scene with a high tech "podrace" that is kinda violent but basically its just a bunch of oversized vehicles trying to destroy each other. Lots of explosions,intense battles, and some scenes contain a mild feeling of hatred between two foes. Theres also a villain named Darth Maul that may be scary for some kids. But for an average nine year old, that should be pretty ok. Personally, im a star wars fan and i liked it alot. So theres what i think.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
BAD BAD BAD. SHAME SHAME SHAME.
I could bag this movie forever, and rite a list twenty pages long on why I wanted to burn this film. Whatever happened to the good films that used to come out of Lucasfilms?! Instead, they shove this rubbish down our throats! 'Hello, me Jar Jar! Mesa so tupid!' Shame shame shame. Immature and childish. Darth Maul is pretty cool though, he does a sucessful fight at the end which left me entertained.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
A Wonderful film, Just as good as the others!
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
A Film to go see!!!!!
A Wonderful film, Just as good as the others!
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I rate this title on for age 3 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
i love anikin as a boy
i love him he looks like me!
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I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
STAR WARS ROCKS
I HAVE THIS MOVIE AND IT ROCKS
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Episode I a bit too kiddy.
I think George Lucas might have forgotten that the fans of Episodes IV-VI are in there mid-late thirties, that being said, The Phantom Menace seems to be aimed at kids and soley kids, as where the first three films were for all ages. One star gets knocked off for Jar Jar Binks.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
OK for 8+
this movie is no more scary then the other star wars. I recommend it but a lot was boring.
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I rate this title pause for age 5 and give it
Good Sci-Fi movie
This Sci-Fi Space Adventure is a good movie but by no means the caliber of the original trilogy.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Interesting prequel for the star wars trilogy
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Great
It's a great movie and there is nothing to complain about. There are no things that would stop a parent from letting their kid watch it, except that it might be scary for really little kids. I love it!!!!
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Its good
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
itz pretty good...
itz a pretty good movie if ur a star wars fan. watch it with your children( unless they get scared really easily, because theres a sith in it that has a red and black face and looks somewhat like a demon with several horns on its head) the violence isnt in issue just mainly robot wars ( no blood or gore) and a man gets stabbed and another man gets cut in half( red smoke rises from the cut and appers to be some form of bleeding) good movie.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Eh...
Star Wars Episode I was a good movie but probably the worst Star Wars film. It had some awesome action scenes and really good special effects, but cheesy acting and got a little boring sometimes. Plus Jar Jar Binks bugged me to death! As far as content goes, I think anyone a mature 4 or older could probably see this, although it is a bit violent and the villian Darth Maul may be a bit scary for toddlers.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents don't think the messages are positive |
| 100% | of parents say it's too violent |
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