Not The Greatest But Still Enjoyable

Rating: 7/10 (6 June 2002)

What can I say that has not already been said? First off, many people love to bash this movie because they loath George Lucas. They say that it does not compare to A New Hope or Empire. Well, maybe it doesn't. But perhaps part of the reason for this is simply that many of us were young impressionable children in 1977 or 1980 and so we were more likely to be overwhelmed by a picture (any picture) than we are today.
Having said that, I will say that this movie certainly has its flaws. Unlike a lot of people, I did not find the visual effects to be as impressive as some viewers. A great deal of the effects reminded of a high tech video game. The performance of Hayden Christensen was not exceptional but okay. Natalie Portman did a fine job. The story still seems a little empty to me, in terms of information that Lucas has yet to cover (i.e.: the Solo family, the conversion of Anakin to Vader, Anakin's children, Grand Moff Tarkin and so on). Worth seeing and certainly an improvement over Phantom Menace but by no means a masterpiece.