A major surprise!

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2002)

I despised Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back, felt mild amusement with Return of the Jedi and walked out of the theatre during the Phantom Menace. So, it was most unhappily that I was dragged to the theatre by my Star Wars-obsessed friends to view this latest installment.
First off, most naturally: some bad acting, even worse dialogue. However, I was totally shocked by how much good acting there was -- and for once, how I enjoyed the story. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman have great chemistry, unlike Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the first (or second, whatever) three installments of the series. Ewan McGregor was positively delightful -- he definitely didn't have enough screen time (does he ever?), and the Yoda scene was, well...you'll just have to see it for yourself.
How to make Star Wars really good, as opposed to a cultural phenomenon? Rewrite the dialogue in the scripts. I'm sorry, but George Lucas should never, never be allowed to write his own scripts, and I truly resent the person who started off letting him do so. He ruins his own stories with his cliched and trite dialogue. He can clearly make a great movie, as proved by this installment and in particular its sets, special effects and cinematography. Go see it, anyway -- I give it a shocking 9 out of 10.