A welcome addition to the Star Wars series

Rating: 8/10 (25 June 1999)

After reading endless reviews of this film I went to see it, and i was surprised by how good it actually was. I grew up on the Star Wars trilogy and countless other science fiction films, mainly because I has sci-fi freaks as parents. Not only did this film take me back to my childhood where many fond memories lie, it also reminded me of just why Star Wars films are miles above the rest. They are so entertaining, and imaginative, George Lucas has created an entirely different universe and made it real. The special effects in this one are better than its predecessors, but that is to be expected with the advancement of digital technology in the 1990's. The story line made sense as you can see how it will pan out until Episode IV, where it all began for many of us. On its own it doesn't really gel too well, but it is meant to be part of the series and in the grand scheme of things it is a welcome edition to the Star Wars series. If I could I would rate it an 8.5/10 because its higher than an 8 but not quite up to a 9. Mainly because Empire and the Original Star Wars were better, but Phantom menace is better than Jedi.