Great show, but someone forgot to write a story first

Rating: 7/10 (21 May 1999)

It is nearly impossible to talk about this movie adequately without divulging plot details. Therefore, this discussion may be somewhat cryptic.
Being a big fan of the Star Wars universe, although not a die-hard, I expected a really good movie, but I kept my expectations low. Good thing I did.
There were many things I did like. Lucas and his team have a keen visual sense and an unparalleled ability to create interesting creatures and places. The fight sequences were excellent. The movie should have had more of them.
The story itself, however, was a few shades less than thrilling. There is almost no character development. The story meanders around without actually making you care very much about the characters. I feel this is a key mistake. Further, the actual "plot" was unengaging. The plot elements themselves were almost arbitrary and seemed to have been picked to fit scene ideas, rather than the scenes following the plot.
The only plot element I will divulge is one I think everyone knows about anyway. The "Big Race". Part "Grease" and part "Ben Hur". Great visuals, but completely ridiculous. Sometimes, a nod to a well-known plot element is a neat thing, other times it just seems ill-conceived and lazy. It gets far worse, but I'll let you discover on your own what I mean Suffice it to say that the conflict resolution is amazingly bad on several different levels.
As far as the "humor" goes, Lucas takes us to undiscovered plateaus of cartoonish sickly-sweet cute in an attempt to illicit cheap laughs. We know there has to be a cute character in there to provide comic relief, but if you *must* have one, at least make him a little more entertaining or at least don't make him stick out like a sore muppet thumb.
With the exception of the kid who played Anakin, the actors were exceptional. Their gifts were largely wasted on middle-school dialogue and schizophrenic turns of emotion.
Having said all that, there was enough in the movie to make a Star Wars fan such as myself have a good time. There were many truly exciting parts, and frankly I can't get enough. So, go see the movie -- you'll probably enjoy it. Just don't expect a good story or to be as emotionally involved as you were while watching the previous three Star Wars films.