entertaining, but not up to the hype

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 1999)

First of all, I have to say that I am a big star wars fan and loved episodes 4, 5 and 6. So naturally I was extremely excited about the prequels and was waiting impatiently for this movie months before it came out. When it finally did, I went to go see it and came out with an empty feeling. It was still Star Wars. It had the Star Wars feel, it had the Star Wars characters but it did not have the same depth and meaning as the older Star Wars movies. It felt like one long commercial promoting george lucas' technological capabilities and the countless number of Star Wars merchandise ready to be sold on the shelves of every store. I gave this movie a 7 because it was fun to watch at times and set the stage for a potentially interesting episode 2. For every Star Wars fan it's a must, but for those who have little interest in it, don't expect a great movie, just go in and watch a great exhibition of modern computer technology.