An Enjoyable film despite harsh criticism

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 1999)

Well, I finally saw TPM. Before viewing the movie I had an advantage of reading people's positive and negative reviews which, on par, were evenly balanced from those who loved the move to those who despised TPM. I walked into the theatre feeling neutral due to the even feedback presented by the public.
I came out of the cinema feeling satisfied about TPM. For the critics who slammed TPM I think they over react. One must remember that this is the FIRST movie out of six and therefore has to set a foundation which focused on Anakin. So there did not have to be an emphasis on Darth Maul or the Jedi characters and I felt we were sufficiently educated on Anakin's background.
TPM was high on special effects I agree, possibly too high, but it's a sci-fi movie meaning that its ALL artificial anyway. So what's the difference can I ask those harsh critics between an artificial sci-fi movie world low in SFX and another movie with high SFX such as TPM? The panoramic views of the cities and landscapes were fantastic but I felt the SFX fell down with the characters on two grounds, one I felt they were copied and pasted as one does using a graphics programme causing over duplication of the same character thus losing individuality of creatures. The other ground where SFX fell down was the motion of the created creatures which appeared unnatural.
Now for Jar-Jar Binks. Let's face it, you either like him or hate him. I personally found him an ok addition. I would have liked him more if he and his race spoke without that jibberish dialect and a little less of the slapstick clumsy comedy would have definitely done Jar-Jar's character more justice.
The plot has come under criticism but I found it simplistic like the other three Star Wars movies which is not a bad thing at all. At least one can sit down and enjoy the movie rather than have to think through a movie about what people did or said earlier on. And whilst on speech, yes, the script was light on and over done with "the force" cliches. But overall the plot and the dialogue was ok.
I can't understand critics saying TPM was boring. They must have been asleep that's all I can say. The fight scenes were great. Especially the final fight sequence accompanied by some fantastic classical music. And if that didn't capture your eye, as I previously mentioned, the pure creation of these cities are incredible. The pod race was also exciting but I must agree with critics who say it was a Ben Hur chariot race "Star Wars style". It was appropriate in my mind and I liked how Lucas threw in the Jawas and Tuscans from Star Wars in that scene. The only thing which made it a bit corny and cliche was the sport commentators.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie, the effects, the characters and even the plot. I think it is a must see if you want a fun time. If you want an in-depth and highly developed character and plot this movie will be disappointing. I liked the movie, it's a good foundation to the Star Wars series. I expect Lucas will heed the critics and the best is yet to come. And yes...."may the force be with you".