One of the best films of '99

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 2000)

For a start, what did everyone expect of this film. Brand new and ground breaking special effects? A totally new idea? Come on! What can anyone think of (special effects wise) that hasn't been done before? The original Star Wars films are excellent but half the magic of those films were the special effects being so ground breaking for that time. Nowadays you can make entire films using computers (toy story, a bugs life, antz), you can make the white house explode without a single person saying "That didn't look realistic". It looked so real that you couldn't have done a better job if you'd used the real thing.
Everyone who watched Star wars in the first place were about 20 years younger than they are now. Your tastes when it comes to films are going to be different. I am 18. I didn't understand the story of star wars properly until I was about 16 because I'd never watched the films before in the right order. I am only a little older from watching and enjoying the original films so I had the same interests when it came to watching Star Wars Episode I.
The hype did the film no good at all. People who didn't like star wars in the first place went to watch the film and of course the majority wouldn't like it now. Lucas was always going to be restricted in the story for the first film as it HAS to set the ball rolling. He had to include this and he had to include that. Before he knew what was going on the story had already written itself without him having to think about it.
The film is superb, the special effects are stunning. I like the battle scenes, the fighting scenes between the Jedi and Darth Maul and the Pod Race was a must see. The acting was excellent, especially by McGregor. There wasn't much to the plot I agree but thats because like I said before, the film has to set the ball rolling. As for Jar Jar I thought he was a nessesary character, and a good one at that. His voice may be anoying at times but the more you watch the film the more you understand him and the more you like him. If you hav'nt watched this film WATCH IT but put all the hype behind you. If you have seen this film think to yourself, was it really as bad as I thought it was? Then vote for the film on this web site and lets see it on the top 250 films list!