Better but not the best

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2002)

What can we say. I am a life long Star Wars fan and will defend all of the movies with no limit. BUT it has to be said Phantom Menace was a low point in the saga. It had the obvious problem of having to start off from scratch with characters that we already new. To add to that it then had to fit with the original trilogy, for which it tried and frankly didn't quite make the grade.
I waited 3 years for this in the vain hope that Star Wars would once again reign supreme but what can I say. Lord of the Rings is the new Lord of the movies.
As far as the film looks it is once again visually stunning. The effects on the whole are first rate. But the story was a little slow going and it could have done with some more action.
Once again Lucas shows he has the vision, of this no one in the world can doubt.
But is it any coincidence that the best of the saga, Empire, was directed by someone else.
Once again I am on tenterhooks waiting for Episode 3 and once again it can only get better.
Maybe the real problem is that I along with all the other 30somethings out there that saw Star Wars at the cinema and remember the first film can never again have that feeling re-captured. I remember the volume as the Star Wars logo drifted of the screen before the crawl actually thumping into my chest and then watching in AWE as the endless imperial cruiser passed overhead. These things are what the new triology has to bear up to and alas I think it is something even Tom Cruise couldn't pull off and after all, he is used to Mission Impossible.