Still have a fair amount of the marketing involved with this film

Rating: 6/10 (31 January 2008)

I'll admit that I'm quite the pack-rat when it comes to movie memorabilia,from the normal(posters,stills,ticket stubs,scripts,t-shirts,etc.)to the odd and even worthless(corporate tie-in products like bottles,cans,toys issued by whoever the film is doing a product tie-in),so I am offering this fact up with little or no deserved shame:I own quite a bit of the stuff issued by Pepsi-Cola,Pizza Hut and Taco Bell related to this movie. Cans and game pieces,and as long-since worthless as they are now,I still can't really part with them.
Looking back on it now,it seems like this movie probably succeeded much more in the commercial aspect than it did in regards to the movie franchise it was given to pick up the baton for. I recall that the build-up to this film's May,1999 release was HUGE,and the initial two-month business in the US seemed unstoppable,but then,almost twice as quickly as it had built up a following,the business--both box office and later on video--seemed to dry up fairly quickly. That's where my review comes in.
The first of the "pre-quels" to the first trio of director George Lucas' space operas is mostly meant as a set-up back-story for Annakin Skywalker who,while siring someday young restorative Jedi Luke,would also morph into the deformed and evil dark lord Darth Vader. But for now,he's a cute,can-do kid who knows how to build helper droids and racing vehicles.He has the confidence of two Jedi knights--the younger,suspicious Obi Wan(Ewan MacGreggor,subtly limning Sir Alec Guiness)and the older,more positive Qui-Gon Jin(Liam Neeson)--and he gets to show off his skill at the most pivotal plot point. He also wins the friendship of Queen Amidala(NAtalie Portman,blossoming into womanhood)and the doubts of Jedi Elders MAce Windu(Samuel L.Jackson,NOT yelling)and Yoda(voice of Frank Oz,of course),as they seek to liberate both Ani's mother and stop the dark side from unification.
Arguably the low end of the Saga pool,it's just entertaining enough to distract,and with plenty of colorful CGI,it's able to do that flawlessly. Complaining about a Star Wars scripted dialog is sort of like complaining about long lines at an Airport,DMV or Bank. To me,the memorabilia of this film still seems more worth collecting,since half the fun of its release was the anticipation of it. Strictly a "companion" piece for your Star Wars collection series.