Must be popular to attack Star Wars

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2002)

I can't believe the amount of negative press this movie has gotten. But then I'm not a Star Wars fanatic. I loved the first one and enjoyed both Empire and Return of the Jedi. Phantom Menace would have been better without Jar Jar Binks but I would still rate that viewing experience as positive also. The dislike for this film may be explained by the bandwagon effect. It's become popular to bash Star Wars. If you forget the first three films, after all this is a separate trilogy, there is some good stuff. The special effects are superb, the acting salvages most of the dialogue and the plot moves along at a respectable clip. The viewer is left with a sense of foreboding over what is to come in episode three.
I thought Hayden Christensen did a good job as Anakin. Admittedly I was in agony when he gave that speech about being in agony but I fault Lucas' screenplay for that not him. Natalie Portman however just didn't cut it as Amidala. She sounded too much like a little girl and not enough a young woman. She was bland in The Phantom Menace and doesn't do any better here. Ewan McGregor is great as Obi-Wan, sounding a lot like the late Alec Guiness.
The plot wasn't as slow or confusing as I'd read in other posts. I'm looking forward to the third one.