The saga begins! Two Jedi Knights, Young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), and his elder master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) must help save a Queen who is caught in between a trade dispute. In the process, they meet up with young Anakin Skywalker, who joins them on their quest (Anakin later becomes Darth Vader who we know from episodes 4-6)

Rule #1: Ignore Critics. And since I'm not an official mindless critic, you can listen to me. :) Actually, we were lucky to get to see this film opening day by catching an evening showing at a theater that had just opened for business that same day. I would have had this review sooner, but due to site redesigning, I couldn't get it to you guys earlier. Sorry for the delay.

For those of you who grew up with Star Wars and are looking for a "4rth" installment. You're in for a treat. Star Wars is back, no matter what the boneheaded critics say. If you're looking for a serious, 11-oscar-nominated theatrical extravaganza, stay home. Star Wars is Star Wars. It's campy/corny at times, serious and adventurous at other times... and will never earn any academy awards for best acting. Although, this installment serves up some good acting.

You've got your action, you've got your ever-so-slight romance, you've got your heroes, you've got your humor. Yes, the animated character "Jar Jar Binks" tends to get annoying, but he also adds some comic relief too.

Star Wars fans, (and even though I'm not a big fan, I liked this too) will love to see the origin of C3PO and R2D2, as well as seeing Jabba the Hut and Yoda again. For those who are older now, (and may have had the old Star Wars toys as kids even) will enjoy seeing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan whipping out the light sabers and trashing the bad guys, as well as the highly entertaining finale of the film. And it's really interesting to see Anakin Skywalker, a little boy, who fans will know becomes Darth Vader and has Luke as a son. So, the fight of Good vs. Evil continues once again.

OK, I'll nit-pick a little now (Just a tad). One thing I have to complain a little about, besides Jar Jar's occasional annoying antics, are the aliens in the beginning of the film who are involved in the trade dispute. With all the computer effects in the whole movie, these aliens are as puppet-like as they come. Plus they were rather corny. Another [minor] complaint would be most of the other "monsters/creatures" in the movie were down-played as being corny and goofy, instead of more serious like episodes 5 and 6. I can see why my brother called it a "Happy Meal Menace" but it doesn't detract too much from the film. It still feels like Star Wars and is still very good. But before I wrap up my criticism spot, I have to say that I would have liked to have seen more Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. The "force"-type stuff that we know Star Wars for the most was kinda thrown on the backburner in this one. Instead of Luke battling Darth Vader and the Emperor for exciting pro-longed scenes, the main excitement-filled battles were shortened and reduced to "teasers." But does this mean they weren't awesome? Hardly. I just wish they could have been longer and that I could have seen more of them.

As a whole, the movie's great. No sex/nudity, no swearing, no drinking/drugs, etc... There's pretty much no blood or gore, just LOTS of violence, which is seen in all the Star Wars films. When it comes to rating it... I can't give it any less than 3 stars. It was too entertaining. Plus, the rating comes on a "Star Wars" scale. You just can't compare them to movies like Titanic or Truman Show. It'd be unfair.

In conclusion, If you have any questions about the film before you see it, feel free to contact me.