Where does one begin...at the beginning.

Rating: 6/10 (27 March 2005)

George Lucas may or may not have exploited his own fame and the STAR WARS fantasy. Definitely not sluggish and sometimes taxing the viewers intelligence. Some scenes seem like Lucas himself ran out of imagination. All this said...this prequel of the original STAR WARS trilogy does have enough merit to stand on its own and is no less visually stunning. A Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn(Liam Neeson)and his young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi(Ewan McGregor)travel to the small peaceful planet of Naboo to assist the beautiful Queen Amidala(Natalie Portman)in her efforts to bypass any disputed control by the Trade Federation on the ready to blockade her planet. After a battle the Jedis and popular Queen Amidala make their way to the planet of Tattooine where they come across a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker(Jake Lloyd)who appears to be empowered with the FORCE and possibly the holder of enough information to thwart the evil influence of a challenging pursuit by the Federation and evil Dark Lord, Darth Maul(Ray Park). I really enjoyed the final saber duel. Really the one and only thing I disliked is the stupid character Jar Jar Binks. Just continue forward...an may the FORCE be with you.
Rounding out the cast are: Pernilla August, Terence Stamp, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Andrew Secombe, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda, Sofia Coppola and Ahmed Best as the voice of Jar Jar Binks. A star studded cast that over flows with talent and loaded with charm and intensity.