This movie is great, no matter what you hear from others...

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 1999)

OK, I'll admit I was maybe a little worried when hearing all the critics shoot this down...just a little. Those worries vanished as soon as I saw "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away" and then heard the initial attack of the STAR WARS theme song. I felt like a kid again. Lucas starts us out with our two jedis Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. And Lucas already gives us a taste of a STAR WARS action sequence. (enough said there, see for yourself) Don't worry about the plot either. If you are a true Star Wars fan you will see the plot of this movie is the beginning, it sets everything up and it does a good job of doing it.
The great thing about Star Wars movies is this. They can grab an audience of all ages by their seats and take them one of the best movie experiences ever without having to throw in vulgarity, nudity, sexual content, and hard-core violence. I bet you can't name any other movies that can do that. That is one reason why Lucas should be commended alone. Especially the society we live in today. It's almost impossible for kids to watch a good movie without one of the above mentioned qualities in it. Anyways back to the movie...
Great action sequences, especially the pod racing and jedi showdown. i will leave somethings unsaid, but I bet if you haven't seen it you can figure out a few things that must happen at the end of this one.
Quick comments on the characters- Leeson is great. He just really impressed me on screen. He has a great comedic part with a merchant where he attempts to use the old jedi mind trick...its classic. I was glad to see that Lucas made anakin a 10-year-old boy with 10-year-old qualities and not some kid with a 40 year old mind. Anakin was spunky and still immature but Lucas still showed us signs of the force with him. Anakin was played very well. Finally all I have to say about Jar-Jar Binks is that yes, he can be annoying. There is a funny tongue scene but other than that you sit there wanting to shoot him with a blaster whenever he talks.
FINALLY- STAR WARS FANS WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!
9.5 out of 10 (minor problem in character development in Darth Maul and also take a little off for annoying Jar-Jar)