Good set up for II & III, leaves plenty of mysteries.

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 1999)

What both bothered and fascinated me is the number of mysteries this movie set up, however. I say "bothered", but I mean it in a good way. The kind of way that makes you say, "How fast can they come out with II & III?"
All in all, the story is a good beginning that quite appropriately leaves gaps into which many additional pieces must fall for the tale to be complete, and yet, it is a story which can stand alone in and of itself --- for now. In the image of Episode IV (the original Star Wars), it contains a complete-in-itself story which is nonetheless part of a larger epic. An excellent first chapter for a classic saga.
There is only one reason I can think of for the critics to pan this movie: pre-release hyper-hype. It is clear that if you build a movie up as greatly as this one was built up, it's sure to stir the cynical juices in people who were just hoping to find something wrong with it.
Now, as to the movie: beautiful work. Absolutely beautiful.
Well worth the money to see it, even if you're just a casual fan (are there any?) There were awesome special effects, yes, but there were also astonishingly subtle touches, like the "crackling" in the film, and the ocassional bit of "lint in the camera lens" effect, that I've actually heard people complaining about as if it were a flaw. I can't say I've checked it out on every screen in every theatre, but I'm 90% sure those "flaws" would be in every copy, since they appear to be deliberate finishing touches introduced by post processors to give the story more of a "long ago in a galaxy far far away" feel. I smiled when I heard people complaining, as I remember seeing similar effects in the original Star Wars, and I could hardly believe they did it, myself.
As for my part, I loved the characters (even Jar Jar, whom so many seem to despise --- every action movie needs a comic relief to keep the audience sane in the midst of so much tension). I was kind of shocked by critics who implied Jar Jar's people were promoting racial stereotypes. I mean, DUH! Part of the movie implied they were typically treated as inferiors, and in turn bore no love for the Naboo. By the end of the film, this situation turns around in a very positive manner. That is, if you haven't already tuned it out because you've made up your mind to hate it before you walked in the theatre.
The same can be said for most of the critical comments I've heard. If you even just LIKE Star Wars, see this film. It will astound you.