Enjoyable, but lacks soul.

Rating: Null/10 (21 June 1999)

This is disappointing tripe. The script clunks, the characters plod, and the medicloreans need medichlorinating. The special effects were grand, the fighting brilliant and the score wondrous, but: the comic relief was ill-conceived and offensive, the accents of aliens seemed almost bigoted (the greedy trade federation have Japanese accents, the slave-driving underworld figure has an Italian accent, and the planetary underclass speaks West-Indian Pidgin English), and the "emotional" scenes (Anakin says goodbye, the Naboo appeal to the Jungians for help) lacked all human substance. Plus, the Christian mythology takes over the core of the plot. Lucas's story is less something we can all relate to now and more something the young children of Christian parents can relate to. Also, if Lucas didn't need a character as dumbed down as Jar Jar to appeal to children the first three times out, what in the world does he need one for now? Overall not bad, but overwhelmingly not in the class of the first three.