If this had been the first Star Wars film, there wouldn't have been any sequels.

Rating: 5/10 (24 May 1999)

Episode 1 is entirely too dependent upon knowledge from the book series, which most people have not read. In addition, a movie should be able to stand on it's own, regardless of prequels or sequels. The Empire Strikes Back came the closest to Episode 1 in dependency upon other movies, but still stood on its own. As one of those who waited anxiously for the "most anticipated movie in the history of movies" I was severely disappointed. I only hope Y2K is as big a flop.