The Beginning

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2002)

The original trilogy came out before I was born and I didn't see it until the year before TPM came out. My expectations were high and so was everybody else's. In the end I was somewhat disappointed, but I'd been taken on a good ride. It was a wonderful movie visually and the plot seemed historical in origin. I'll admit the acting and script were on the downside. There were some exceptions though. Liam Neeson was strong in a few scenes and so was Ian Mcdiarmid. You can tell Lucas was not really confident that he could make another SW film. That's why the script was so-so. Jar-Jar is funny in some scenes and annoying in others. Jar-Jar was a risk, but an overall entertaining one. Jake Lloyd was a fair choice for a 9 year old Anakin. Natalie Portman was not given much to work with which is why her performance is just ok. I have to say I like it overall, we see how things were in the glory days of the galaxy and when Jedi were numerous. The Beginning is an interesting one that starts the most famous saga of all time. It doesn't hold a candle to IV- VI, but it's better than general Hollywood fare.
**1/2 out of ****