Why critics are wrong (SPOILERS)

Rating: 7/10 (2 September 1999)

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS.
After waiting for nearly three months after it's release in the States I was finally able to see The Phantom Menace on Opening night at the world's largest (and best!) THX certified theater.
IÂ‘ll preface my comments with the following background:
1. I am a huge fan of the original trilogy, though I haven't submerged myself into any secondary entertainment (novels, comics, roll-playing games, etc.). My knowledge of Lucas' creation is based purely on the films themselves.
2. To find out about it I purchased the novelization by Terry Brooks (admittingly a first for me), and read the screenplay. So I knew the story and it's characters pretty thoroughly before my first viewing.
3. At 29 I am still pretty much a kid at heart and have three young ones of my own.
4. I am extremely open minded and my movie tastes vary from sappy melo-drama's to complex thrillers to Shakespear. I look for the overall quality in movies, not surface-value.
With this said I submit my "educated" opinion of TPM:
It's "style" or "feeling" is (IMHO) totally in harmony with the others. There may be some new ideas here to swallow (Anakin's conception, the midi-chlorians in general, etc.) and one could arguably question the consistency of the story, but to say that the original three were made for adults while this one was aimed for audiences of children is (again IMHO) completely unjustified.
Remember this about "Jedi":
1. Hokey lines, such as Han's: "What? Luke's a Jedi Knight? He can't hardly take care of himself, let alone..." and threepio's: "Look Artoo... and Han's still frozen in carbonite!" and TONS of infantile others.
2. The revelation that Leia was Luke's sister (How much more soap-opera-ish can you get?).
3. The Muppet-family-world of creatures around the rancor pit in Jabba's palace. (Too much!)
4. Boba Fett's lame demise.
5. The incredibly poorly choreographed final light-saber battle, Vader's sudden change of heart and the Emperor's death.
Still, I consider ROTJ to be a worthy end to the story.
Jar Jar Binks was NOT as annoying as everyone made him out to be. I was pleasantly surprised. I admit he could have had a tad less screen time, but he was pretty funny (most of the time) and I actually liked him. I think his purpose in the story was mostly to show Qui-Gon's obsession for helping the less fortunate.
Darth Maul was perfect. People say he had too few speaking parts and too little screen time. I disagree. He fulfilled his purpose. Boba Fett was also rad, but you didn't see Lucas feeding on this and squeezing him into every imaginable scene. He used him when it was appropriate. Maul's death was necessary for us to understand Palpatine's future frustration in trying to replace him (and forthcoming Sith apprentices).
Dull characters? Remember Luke in ROTJ? I rest my case. Jedi are trained to not show their emotions. Royalty are just the same. On the other hand the pod-racer announcer was anything but dull.
Weak story line? Again, I refer to ROTJ. A "new" Death Star - ooooh! Original, huh?
No character development? Again it appears everyone has forgotten the original three. Was Han Solo's character developed AT ALL in ANH? Anything-for-money was all we knew about him. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru? Nope. Vader? Just a mystical dude in black that liked to choke people with the force. Obviously I would strongly disagree with this point. As with the original trilogy, Lucas will use the next two instalments for better developing the characters.
Here's what I loved the most:
1. The Jedi council. This is a nice way to introduce to us what the Jedi were before being eliminated by the Sith.
2. The Force. Watching the Jedi (and Maul) leap through the air feigning weightlessness. Their speed in escaping the Destroyers on the Federation control ship - Awesome!
3. The perfect world. As this was before the Empire took over and destroyed everything it was nice to see the immaculate beauty of their peaceful existence.
4. The special effects (of course). The beauty of the underwater scenes, all the backgrounds in their entirety, and the CGI characters. AMAZING!
5. The costumes. The Queen's wardrobe. Basically everyone's from Boss Nass to Senator Palpatine to Captain Panaka. Impressive to the last drop!!
6. The sound. Intense and loud! Perfect!
7. The editing. The seamless scene shifts were fantastic. Especially in the final battle scenes.
8. The acting. Everyone did an exceptional job portraying their respective roles. My favorites were Portman, August, McDiarmid, Neeson and Hugh Quarshie (Panaka). Ahmed Best and Brian Blessed were excellent as well. Lloyd did well, but could have had a little more enthusiasm in his "Yippi"s.

I am certain there will be Oscar nominations (if not the award itself) given to points 4-7, and perhaps (however unlikely) to a couple actors.

Of course there were small things I didn't like as well:

1. Annie's friends (Kitster excepted): Wald & the group of heckler-kids. Too much!
2. The music was pretty bland aside from the last 10 minutes (Duel of the fates and the final celebration song). Not enough like the original trilogy (IMHO).
3. The space battle at the end didn't have enough close-up shots like ANH and Jedi - the ones where you're looking through someone's cockpit at other ships swarming at you, getting blown away while others crash into larger ships, etc.
4. The Hero-making of Anakin at the end.
I think that's about it. I loved the rest and want more of the same.
My recommendation to all you nay-sayers is this: Take a closer look at the original trilogy before (mis-) judging this fine beginning to the saga.
I could say much more, but I've reached the 1000 word limit.
Overall a solid 9 out of 10. Better than Jedi. Not quite up there with ANH or Empire.