Good, yet, dissapointing

Rating: 5/10 (8 December 2000)

I grew up with Star Wars. Everyone my age did. Everybody feel in love with it. It was truly the first and only movie that everyone loved. Young and old. Male and Female. Democrat and Republican (GO BUSH!). However, many people in my grade growing up seemed to out grow it. It's sad really, many people my age think of Star Wars as a kids thing. And a lot of it is. The toys make it appear to be childish. But the Star Wars movie (I consider all 3 originals to be one movie) Were spectacular, no matter who you were. So, I don't think it is necessary to say that I had high hopes for the prequel.
Well, their is a good side to Episode one and a bad side to it, a dark side and a Jedi side. I'll start with the positive side.
The fun of Star Wars is here. The special effects are beautiful and glorious. They are truly breathtaking. My favorite feature of the movie is the music. John Williams is a genius, period. No discussion. He just is. His music is SO emotional and beautiful. Many of the movie's scenes will make you feel like a kid again. The lightsaber battles are brilliant. The sound is worthy of an Oscar. I mean, that pod racing scene is spectacular! So far, I think I have established that the movie is gorgeous and fun to watch.
Well, on to the bad. Number 1: Characters. I haven't seen characters this poorly done in a long, long time. Even truly bad, un-fun movies have better characterization than this. A lot of it is truly sad. Obi-Wan is the biggest let-down. We don't get to know him, at all. There is no characterization for him. I was wondering what the hell George Lucas was thinking! How can you just forget to give at least SOME depth to one of the most important characters! I mean, I don't care how much money you have, that is just wrong! Forshame Mr. Lucas!
Number 2: Bad acting. Don't get me wrong, not all of the acting is bad. Natalie Portman gives a great performance; in fact the best of the movie. Who ever plays the future emperor Palpitine is also great. But one person, one little boy, take all of that away. Of course I am talking about the kid who plays Anikan "Darth Vader" Skywalker. That kid is terrible. I heard that Lucas was going to use the kid who appeared at the beginning of ALMOST FAMOUS, who has some great acting ability. But, Mr. Lucas decided to go with this kid because he is more "cute" looking.
Well, there is more acting problems. Not much more, but some little tid-bits. Liam Nelson is "okay". It ain't great, but at least it's better than that half-assed job he did on THE HAUNTING. Ehhhhhhh. It hurts to think of that movie. The Obi-Wan guy never gets a chance to act, so no comment on him. Samuel L. Jackson (the greatest actor under 50) is wasted. COMMON SAM!!!!!! Ah, I was so made to see him not being used. Now, Ray Park is also wasted. that was the guy who played Darth Maul. I think the man is a good actor. He has never been given a good role, but he is going up in Hollywood, instead of the opposite direction, he only speaks a few times, which is sad.
I wish that they had made this movie at least an hour longer for more TALKING!!! Why do these big time, hotshot directors who love pretty special effects have this pet peeve against talking!! It is not a bad thing!! It actually can be highly entertaining!
Eh hem, now that I'm calm, on to Number 3: the OVERUSE of special effects. Obviously, this idea of OVERUSE never entered Mr. Lucas's mind. The CG scenes are great, don't get me wrong. I think the movie is beautiful. But some things in this movie just seem to be there for no reason other than to look nice. Like those "shields". Okay, starfighters have shields. Okay, I can live with that. But swamp people? I know they built their technology around force fields (those air bubble cities) but common, this is too much. And the whole "Going through the planet's core". In a word: UNESSECARY. Oh, and Jar Jar Binks should be killed in Episode 2. I don't care if that is unnecessary, the people want that thing dead so Mr. Lucas, to make the people happy, KILL HIM PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lastly, Number 4: Targeting. This truly upsets me over all the other bad points. The other Star Wars movies were made for everyone. There was NO target audience. You hear me: zero, not there, didn't exist. This movie does have a target: CHILDREN! This movie is so obviously targeted at kids that it is ridiculous. It makes me SOOOOOO MAD! Well, I'm getting a bit tired, so I think you got the point on that issue.
Conclusion: Episode One is a bad movie that is enjoyable. Everyone SHOULD see this movie at least once. Hell, why am I saying this? Of course you've seen it. Everyone in the freaking country has seen it. And if you haven't, you obviously haven't seen the other Star Wars movies, and you don't really care either. Well, I liked the movie. I know it's bad. It's bad because the plot is weak, the characters are weak, and Jar Jar is more evil than Janet Reno. But see the movie. Do it to appease your inner child. Have fun for once in your life! Be a kid again!
And to quote a great philosopher:
"That's all I got to say about that." - Forrest Gump.