In his view, the film is a tremendous disappointment. But bad reviews couldn't shoot down The Phantom Menace, which seemed to be wearing a "critic-proof vest." Newsweek readers wrote to the magazine in droves to protest, saying that reviews would have absolutely no effect on them and that the film was still a "must-see."
然而即使刊出這樣強烈的負面評論，《星際大戰》如同穿了「影評防彈衣」一樣，「新聞週刊」讀者投書紛紛抗議說，影評對他們沒有任何影響，仍是「非看不可」。