double standard

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2001)

Let's be honest, this movie isn't flawed in any way that the older films weren't. think about it...jar jar/wicket. Captain panaka/captain needa, the wooden delivery in EPI/the even more wooden delivery in EP IV. One might question why obiwan didn't mention that anakin was 9 when they met or that yoda wasn't his only trainer, but he also said that vader killed anakin(and that stormtroopers were 'precise'), so this is nothing new.
The story was actually quite a good setup for the new trilogy. It's not as tight as episode IV's narrative, but it's preparing for heavier material, so this only makes sense.
There are also little details that seem to lead in to the later movies. For example, yoda has a bit of a pompous streak in his 'performance' that is bitterly absent in Episode V. Qui-gon tells anakin to 'feel not think' which we know gets him into trouble later, and in Episode V obi wan tells luke to 'bury his feelings' because they 'could be made to serve the emperor.'
And the notion that the special effects were excessive somehow is absurd. They were used the exact same way that the older effects were, to create a vast alien galaxy where the story can take place. The technology was more advanced in 1999 so it was better.
This movie has been criticized for all of the wrong reasons. It was partly because of high expectations. But mostly because it was new, popular, and had pretty effects and as such was an easy target.