The good, the bad, and the incredibly corny

Rating: 5/10 (2 November 2001)

The Good - Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Liam Neeson did a fantastic job with the limitations of such a script, and with the pressure of being part of such a vast franchise. Neeson reminded me of the Ben Kenobi we all know from the originals. Ewan McGregor's part wasn't as big as I'd thought it would be, but he was cast PERFECTLY as a young, impatient Obi-Wan. Natalie Portman is great in every movie I've seen her in, and she holds her own in this one as well. The light-sabre battles in the movie are breathtaking and significantly improved from the originals. Incredible special effects in general.
The Bad - Jar Jar Binks, enough said. For some reason, George Lucas thinks he is funny. The only times I laughed were during the discussions between R2D2 and C3P0 ("I beg your pardon, but what do you mean--naked??") This movie is also WAY too talkative, as many scenes involve the characters just sitting around talking, and that doesn't seem to bold well with the name "Star Wars".
The Corny - Episode I has some really corny lines throughout the course of the movie. Two notable examples come to mind. First, Anakin Skywalker's mother, Shmi, had just about the worst lines one could possibly imagine. I can't believe someone actually proofed her script and said "this is good, lets go with this". I literally cringe every time she speaks. Second is the supposed "romance" blossoming between Anakin and Padme. Even though there's only supposed to be 4 years difference between them, Padme looks MUCH older than Anakin, and it just doesn't work (I heard they won some magazine award for "Worst On-Screen Couple"). The dialogue between them is also pretty laughable, but I won't even go into it.
All in all, though, if you're a fan of Star Wars, this is a must see. Darth Maul is creepy in a great way, and the plot, though a little complicated and a little too political, is still pretty good, as it sets the stage for the later movies in the 'Prequel Trilogy'. You might want to fast-forward the scenes with Jar-Jar and Shmi Skywalker, though.