Second Best Star Wars film ever...

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2002)

Relax. This film is everything you wanted The Phantom Menace to be, and if you're into lists then the top five Star Wars films of all time run like this: Empire, Clones, Hope, Jedi, Phantom.
When `A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far Away.' appears on the screen, objectivity goes out of the window. Actually, the 20th Century Fox fanfare always makes me anticipate the beginning of a Star Wars film. And the logo which recedes and gives way to an opening crawl - doesn't matter what it says - is just terrific on a big screen. This is just the result of having seen the first three films on a tiny screen way too often. When the first screen full of stars slowly pans onto a huge planet you can tick of three iconoclastic cinema moments of the last thirty years and realise that someone, somewhere knows how to make a sci-fi film that'll get you going. And you're still only in the opening titles.
It is a return to form. It is spectacular. It is an effects-laden masterpiece. It is complex enough to warrant further viewing. It is a lot of fun.