Quite flashy, not bad, looking forward to Episode II

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 1999)

To start out, this movie is great. It has great action, great effects, great music, and (mostly) great characters. The special effects truly are the reason I enjoy this movie so much. The very best scenes are on the republic capital of Coruscant. It is wonderfully done, and very realistic. The action scenes are wonderful, and remind me of the impossibly fast fighting in The Matrix. Natalie Portman is wonderful as the queen, and Neeson is a fine Obi-Wan. The computerized Jar Jar Binks was not as big an annoyance as I had been fearing, and actually was quite amusing in many parts. Jake Lloyd was actually my least favorite actor here. He just does not seem to get many scenes right. I can't wait for him to start blowing up planets and wiping out the Jedi. The movie is good, but it is a kids film. Don't expect the depth and plot of the originals, there is too much glitz for that to happen here. Hopefully the depth of the series will show itself