preparing for the future

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 1999)

Overall, I thought this was a great start to the "new trilogy" of Star Wars movies. Visually, of course, it is stunning, but there are some very sophisticated themes that Lucas is introducing here. They will later become crucial to the whole Star Wars saga. For example, the lightsaber fight at the end of the movie -- besides being possibly the best fight of sci-fi history -- turns out to have fateful consequences unforseen by those involved. Also, I found the young Anakin's gift with machines to be a chilling counterpoint to his eventual robotic fate. Overall, despite the universally-loathed Jar Jar Binks, I gave this one an 8/10 -- and that would possibly go up as the new movies continue to add context.