The Phantom Menace is a snore fest that should have never been released. It's disrespectful to the original franchise and doesn't really build any back story besides showing Palpatine's first grab for dominance. In my honest opinion, Attack of the Clones should have been the first in the prequel trilogy, only giving us a glimpse of Anakin as a child through flashbacks. Revenge of the Sith should have been the second, lining up thematically with The Empire Strikes Back. And a third movie should have shown Palpatine, Vader, and Tarkin's overthrow of the galaxy while a Rebellion in it's infantile stages begins it's struggle against the evil empire.
The Phantom Menace 3D is nothing more than another cash milking exercise by Mr. Lucas. The film is not improved even slightly by this new treatment. There are only a couple scenes that really use the 3D to it's full extent. That being the pod race scene and the final lightsaber duel between Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Darth Maul. Every time I watch this scene, I can't help but remind myself of the terrible waste of Darth Maul. He's a great character that had plenty of build up. Why did Lucas dispose of him so quickly?
I feel much better now that I've finally had a chance to honestly voice my contempt for The Phantom Menace. If it weren't for my son that really wanted to see a Star Wars movie in theaters, I probably would have skipped this and waited for the next one. I can't believe I got through this without ever mentioning Jar Jar. Whoops. There I go......................