Mission Accomplished.. SUCCESSFULLY!!!

Rating: Null/10 (26 May 1999)

First of all, to get it off my chest.. THIS MOVIE ROCKS!!!
Now, for those ignorant, uncivilized, brain-dead, in-desperate-need-of-a-reality-check-about-Star-Wars people, let me set a couple of things straight.
This is NOT a sequel to the previous three movies. Those of you old enough to remember (myself included) can recall that there were supposed to be THREE TRILOGIES; that's NINE Star Wars movies. Later it was decided there were going to be only six, or TWO TRILOGIES. George Lucas himself has admitted several that he started on THE SECOND TRILOGY (that's why they're called Episodes 4, 5, and 6); and he did it ON PURPOSE (for marketability reasons).
Moreover, this is a character-development movie. A lot of things have to be explained for when the next two movies come out.
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Case in point: Naboo's Senator Palpatine (the one who eventually became EMPEROR Palpatine). Those of us that have followed Star Wars beyond the first three movies know that HE was the one who orchestrated getting the Supreme Chancellor kicked out of his job (with the help of the Sith Lords, therefore the Dark Side of the Force). On Episode 1, we see him using Queen Amidala to achieve his task successfully. By the way, that IS the Phanthom Menace.
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I've heard people, both on the Internet and in real life, complaining how Episode 1 is dull, boring, etc. etc. THIS IS A WHOLE NEW STORY, ladies and gentlemen; it has to explain how a lot of things happened. I don't know about you people, but I would have a hard time having to tell a story that HAS to end in a specific way.
So in conclusion, if you haven't seen it yet, go see it with an open mind, make mental notes on all the loose ends, and see you in Episode 2. And if you DID NOT LIKE IT, don't go see it again. That way I know there would be a seat available when I go see it again.