I couldn't believe they made it this good!

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2015)

When the original trilogy came out, it totally amazed me. Although I didn't find everything perfect- certain things could have evolved differently etc, these movies got imprinted in me and my imagination. They were bright, innovative, artistic, had an atmosphere of devoutness and awe, and in a lot of ways represented things scarce in our world: Beauty, innocence, clear distinction between "good" and "evil", along an entire versatile universe, likable characters, imaginative scenery, compelling and tense story and a lot more. In some ways, I think, they inspired me as a person- and this capability, to inspire beyond simply entertaining, is a trait of many great movies arguably but rarely accomplished by SF! In any case, they were a point of reference to me- an almost perfect sample of fantasy/science fiction. Thankfully, a lot of people in the world felt the same!
However, when episode I came out I was reluctant to see it. A lot of films which are produced considerably after their original (sequels, prequels, remakes etc), have a tendency to loose their innocence or their spirit, to become more vulgar, commercial, more standardized, more "common" than their original counterparts and since "Star Wars" still held an iconic place in my imagination, I didn't want anything to spoil the image I had of them!
Gratefully, when I actually did see "episode 1", I found out it had retained exactly its initial brightness, beauty and spirit! The fact it was created by George Lucas, whose life is connected to "Star Wars", is obviously related! JL handled the task of creating the saga's prequel while maintaining its feel with the utmost care- and it paid off! Because without loosing the original atmosphere, it delivers a compelling story that lays the ground for everything to follow. The backbone of course is the fight for freedom of an innocent planet against a greedy federation, similar although in scale to the future battle of the entire galaxy (every major process has a start!), but if you look closely, the events there (SPOILERS: especially concerning "Palpatine") have an absolute connection to the route to "Empire".
In effect, continuity is the stronger card of this movie. What happens here fits perfectly with what will come! Unlike other franchises like Star Trek and Xmen, with tons of plot-holes between prequels and sequels, things here actually make sense! For instance, the Senate is corrupt and run from bureaucrats - and reasonably so, you can't go from a galactic Democracy to a dictatorship so shortly if the whole system isn't corrupt! The Jedis are the noble, kind, and generous peacekeepers we envision but hardly see in the original trilogy- and what a contentment it was to see them in their prime! And above all, all the main characters are likable! Queen Amidala (which Portman plays like she was born for it) is caring, courageous, idealist, unselfish- everything you would want her character to be (how on earth Anakin slips to the dark side with her as wife?), Jale Loyd is amazing as a selfless, loving little boy with tremendous talents and aspiration- nothing saying "dark" to him yet, Neeson delivers a strong lead as the wise, noble master Jedi always in control, and Binks is a fun and sympathetic character, not at all annoying to watch! All the other actors (McGregor, Pernilla, McDiarmid, Park = Darth Mall, Terence Stamp etc) deliver solid performances too and play brilliantly their role. Overall the acting is great, and as for the lack of heartbreaking moments, expected for instance when Anakin parts from his mother, lets just remember that this is "Star Wars" and DOES NOT want to make us depressed!
So, all in all, this is a wonderful movie and deserves our appreciation. It may not reach the height of the original trilogy, but this is to be expected as this episode concerns the beginning of events, in a seemingly peaceful period before major wars, and everything happens in smaller scale! Nevertheless, there is plenty of action, agony and remarkable special effects to go around, although occasionally the action seems to stall a little. Of course, this is a fantasy movie, so a lot of things don't follow strict reason (like the republic allowing unjustified planet invasions, and how it tolerates slavery), but all these fell within the spirit of the "Star Wars" world. Besides if everything worked fine, no Sith could take over the entire galaxy!
Having said the above, I have to say that, besides recently reseeing this film, one main reason I decided to write a review now, is my anger with all the negative criticism this movie has received! This movie was realized by people like George Lucas who both love and respect the original films, and you can see this throughout. In fact, its 100% ''Star Wars'' material! Having watched also extracts about how it was produced, how enormously hard work it took, the scrutiny given for every detail and how innovative it was in some fields (like pioneering digital technology that would become the canon later), one cannot but refute as unjustified and unacceptable this blind rejection, coming from people who sit in the comfort of their chair and just like to be mean! But then again, its a mean world altogether, so...
To wrap this up, this was an excellent effort who deserves appraisal, not only from "Star Wars" funs but from anyone who appreciates good movies! And as we know, the new trilogy's 2 other movies turned out to be just fine too! I hope this new installment, that now comes out from Disney, will manage not to spoil this magnificent Universe so many people love!