positive

Rating: 6/10 (29 April 2000)

After reading all the other comments, I agree with most. Liam Neeson does a good job of acting, but the rest of the acting is so-so and the plot is weak -- but the movie is fun to watch, and there is a lot of humor. Unlike some others, I enjoyed Jar Jar, though I couldn't understand him a lot of the time -- but I don't think we're supposed to.
Basically, I thought the movie was fun. One shouldn't compare it with the first 3 (though I agree with some others that the third was not as good as the first two).
I hope Star Wars 2 has more (numerically) "real" characters, characterizations and plots. The banter and attraction between Han Solo and Princess Leia in Star Wars I is one of the things that made it so enjoyable, and I'd like to see something like that in the sequel to Phantom Menace.
Recommendation: just relax and enjoy the movie for what it is (and the music).