A truly fun film--nothing is perfect, but this movie was very good.

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 1999)

I must say that I really did enjoy this movie, and I won't have any spoilers in here if you want to enjoy it yourself. I have heard critics say that it had a "Phantom" plot, but I could NOT disagree more. The film has it's own very good plot, while at the same time showing a lot of other plots that will be developed in II and III, and were already brought up in IV, V, and VI.
Another critique I read was that the character Jar-Jar Binks was one of the most obnoxious film creations ever, but I heartily disagree. Jar-Jar was obviously aimed more at kids, but this movie is intended for kids as much as anyone else. Besides, Jar-Jar is fairly humorous, even if he does cross the line into being slightly annoying from time to time. Another excellent thing about this film is that it has it's own very good self contained plot, while at the same time alluding to episodes IV-VI, showing how certain things came to be in these episodes. The film also does a good job of aluding to things to come in episodes II and III, things we don't know for sure but have our theories about. My only real complaint about this film is that Darth Maul should have been developed more--he was a frightening villain, and his appearance alone causes reaction in any crowd. But I think he could have been even more terrifying had he been developed more. On the whole though, I highly recommend this movie. It was very fun, and quite enjoyable. Although I know no film could EVER live up to the hype this one had surrounding it, don't go in expecting the greatest film ever. Go in willing to suspend disbelief and just be entertained by a great story and some great effects. If you do that, you should certainly be swept up in the film just like I was.