Worth the wait.

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 1999)

As I waited for the film to roll, I reminded myself that it was unfair to expect any movie to live up to so much hype, or even to match the entertainment value of the previous Star Wars films.
Well, maybe that was unfair, but as it turns out, I actually underestimated just how much I would enjoy it. The movie is not without its flaws (pacing is uneven, for example, and there are pieces of the story that just don't play right), but fans will find those flaws very forgivable because the outstanding qualities more than make up the difference.
People who aren't Star Wars fans probably won't like this movie. I don't know why they'd want to see it. They won't have the thrill of watching all the pieces fall into place, because they don't know what the pieces are. They won't get any of the jokes. They won't be impressed by the stunning special effects, the magic of the story, the fun of the action, or the charm of the characters.
I know the critics trashed this movie and few of them had anything nice to say about it at all. What I don't understand is why a critic reviews a movie that's in a genre he or she doesn't appreciate in the first place.