Visually it was breathtaking. George Lucas et al have amazing vision of other worlds.

Rating: 6/10 (29 May 1999)

I was glad to see that the many incredible special effects were concentrated largely on the look of other planets and worlds, and not solely on violence and on buildings blowing up. George Lucas has an incredible ability to create new and exciting worlds. This time, (as opposed to the earlier Star Wars movies), the sets looked like real places. I was especially impressed with the underwater world. I absolutely loved the gelatin-like bubble the characters had to break through to enter the underwater city. It was pure genius. Although I had trouble keeping up with the story-line, as Lucas seems to switch quickly from one situation to another, the real problems with the movie were his characterizations. The biggest challenge for me as a Star Wars fan is accepting a young and innocent Darth Vader. The sandy haired, blue eyed Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) was a perfect looking choice visually. However, with Lloyd's lack of charisma, and acting ability, along with his character Skywalker's later-to-be-developed evil personality, it made it difficult for me to accept him in any position of hero. Lucas should have been smarter with his choice. Equally perfectly cast in looks was Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala, the future mother of Luke Skywalker. However, her acting was too uneven and choppy, and moves from stiffness to sweetness and finally to heroism. My guess is that given a better choice for opposite lead, she could possibly work out well in future episodes. Especially, (I hate to say it), if she has more carefully guided direction. The characterizations of Obe-Won Kanobee, (Ewan McGregor)and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) could have been a bit more fleshed-out. I would have liked to have known more about them such as, who they are and where did they come from, etc. Also the romance in the movie was wasted on the too young, and was a bit awkward to watch. It would have been more palatable if there were equally a romance between Qui-Gon Jinn and Skywalker's mother, for example. Or perhaps, stage a romance using Obe-Won Kanobee. But please, leave the main romance to the adults Lucas! Well, now that George Lucas has the look of the movie down pat, maybe he can concentrate more on the story and characterizations. Just as a p.s., too bad for the loss of Neeson, put in another cute older main male character for us older female fans in your upcoming episodes. Thanks.