Better than the originals...

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 1999)

Man oh man, Episode I blew away my expectations. In my opinion, critics who gave negative reviews of the movie simply jumped on the "hipper than thou" bandwagon. The movie had mega-hit written all over it the moment it was conceived and of course the media, preferring to root for underdogs, was eager to shoot the film down rather than honestly gauging its quality. Why was the film wonderful? The special effects were seamless. The fight scenes were choreographed beautifully. The story was exciting while completing the task of laying the groundwork for the next two films. The film introduced important characters without becoming character driven, which is what helps Episode I stand on it's own, apart from the original trilogy. The film transcends the traditional ideas for what a "good" or a "bad" movie is. I walked in to the theater almost expecting to be disappointed (thanks to closed-minded critics) and I left the theater mentally placing Episode I in my list of all-time beloved films. I don't think that older people can appreciate a film like this with the same perspective as people from my generation. Grownups complain about how Episode I was just a big video game. My generation was the first to grow up on video games. We see and appreciate the world in a different way than any generation that has come before. And this film was made for my generation, just as it's predecessors was made for generations past. Go see the movie. And when you're done, go see it again and again.