So many things to consider

Rating: Null/10 (11 April 2000)

George Lucas has successfully revived,no, propagated a new genre of cinema. The Star Wars trilogy will never be forgotten among film lovers like Citizen Kane. His romantic tales laced with mythological, Arthurian and otherwise, while not original, have sparked the imaginations of even the most dour viewers. He did it right. They were the ultimate stories of good vs. evil, good and evil having definite boundaries, no gray. They had memorable characters. With this set against the sweeping landscape of space and other exotic planets, one could totally forgot the mediocre direction and just get immersed in the moment. He truly created an experience.
And now, there's the Phantom Menace.
I was excited, I'll admit. I reveled in the idea of seeing a new segment to Lucas' artwork. I saw this film with a group of my friends. This I had to share with others. I was excited as hell. Here I was, just me and the guys, waiting for that Williams overture to blast me away. It came. I read the rolling intro and waited for the movie to begin. I sat back and relaxed as the two jedi entered the ship. Then BLAM! action two seconds into the movie. That took me off guard. Oh well, his pacing a little off, so what? So I shrugged it off and watched the rest of it.
At the end of the movie, I lost something. I didn't feel that absolute satisfaction that I was supposed to feel at the end of a Star Wars. I waved goodbye to my friends. I felt jilted. Then I felt I must have missed something in this film, so a couple of months later, I saw it again, vowing never to be so ignorant. Two hours later, zippo.
Then I realized it: I was watching a Saturday Morning Cartoon. This film had the substance of Saturday Morning Cartoon. I wasted ten friggin dollars on a Saturday Morning Cartoon. ARgh!
Some of you might think of me as rather harsh, but listen: How many of you liked Jar-Jar? The Return of the Jedi had the Ewoks, but no one sent death threats ewoks. Why? Because Ewoks were better implicated in the film. Jar-Jar was there so Lucas could plaster him all over the place to make money. Another thing, the pacing was shot to hell. Lucas took little time to develop the plot, even though it was over 2 hours! You basically sat through a technology showcase, like back in the early twentieth century when people would crowd in seats to see a moving train. Come on people, we deserve more than a spectacular advertisement. We want plot. We want a memorable experience.
Again, George Lucas knows what he's doing. I heard that the other two are going to be better, but..... Would it be worth your while? Will it be worth the hype? In the end, I'll see them all. Why? Because Lucas defined the genre, and I want to see if anyone else in the business will best him.\
God, I hope so.