At last, the prequel has arrived!

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 1999)

People have been waiting for months to see the much hyped, new addition to the Star Wars trilogy. I was one of the fortunate people to see a sneak preview. In this episode of Star Wars, Jake Lloyd plays Anakin Skywalker (the young soon-to-be Darth Vader), who is one of the many people trapped in between the war of Queen Amidala's people. This youth looking queen is played by Natalie Portman, who is against sending her people to fight. She tries to prevent the war but it obviously fails. Some of the returning original characters include the drods R2-D2 and C-3PO, which are only two of the interesting new creatures.
In the cast (other than Lloyd and Portman) is Samuel L. Jackson, in a minor role, Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor. Other than these people the fil m consists of a bunch of no names. I don't really have a problem with any of the acting beside Jake Lloyd, but he is only a child. He is not as familiar with the movie business as some of the other actors are, so cut him a break. In a few years he may become the next male Drew Barrymoore.
Some critics say George Lucas has lost his imagination for the film and its characters, but I disagree. After stepping out of the business for 20 years and coming back in you must give him credit. Not only has he made the most looked foward to movie of the decade but it may be the highest grossing movie of all time.
I myself was not always a huge Star Wars fan, and I would never sleep outside a theater for tickets, but I enjoyed this film. After watching this it made me want to run out and rent the originals. "Star Wars Episode One- The Phantom Menace" may or may not surpass the gross of "Titanic", but I have my fingers crossed. And if it doesn't, we still have two other prequels to look foward too.