What's wrong with The Phantom Menace?

I am a huge Star Wars fan and I have been noticing a disturbing trend developing here on Epinions. Tons of people had been waiting over a decade for another installment of the famous movies, and now that they have it they feel the need to bash it to death!

I have read review after review of people who say the are fans tearing it apart piece by piece. The say the CG sucks, the plot doesn't exist, the acting is terrible and that the story line doesn't follow the original trilogy at all. I have even read reviews of Star Wars games where the reviewer starts off saying that the movie was horrible! How can you people call yourselves fans if you hate the one thing that you have asked for the most.

First of all, I defy anyone to find a movie that exists today that doesn't have a few flaws in it. You can't do it! Every movie, without exception, has things wrong with it. So why do you feel the need to find every little flaw in The Phantom Menace and blow it so far out of proportion? You would think that George Lucas had Made Obi-Wan a transvestite! Yes, you could tell where the CG was and it wasn't as real as most of us had hoped, but I don't see anyone else out there with a movie that can even come close to being as good. It's a new technology and it will get better. And yes, I did think Jar Jar was annoying, but he was crucial to the story. Without him they would not have made the alliance with the Gungan army and would not have won the battle, think about it.

Secondly, The plot, which unfolds over the span of all six movies, is the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. This is the beginning of it all and it does a superb job of showing how they found Anakin, what he was like as a child, and how his path to the dark side begins. Sure, the whole devine conception thing was a little much, but like I said, all movies have flaws, and I'm sure GL is kicking himself for it now.

Third, the acting. All of the actors in this movie did an amazing job, period! Natalie Portman was perfect as Luke and Leia's mother and I am overjoyed that GL picked her for the part. She was a terrific actress when she was younger (The Professional), and I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of her in the years to come. Liam Neeson is another great actor and he made a very convincing Jedi Master. I have been a fan of his through Micheal Collins, Rob Roy and Schindler's List. Ewan MacGregor was another great choice, anyone should have known he had a promising career since Trainspotting, plus he is Dennis Lawson's nephew! What a great tie to the original trilogy! I have no idea how anybody in their right mind could say the acting was substandard.

Finally, I would like to address the story line. This movie was made with the FANS in mind first. All of the questions people have been asking for the last 16 years are what GL is now answering for us. Questions like, who was Luke and Leia's mother, why did Anakin turn to the dark side, how did Palpatine get started. We also wanted to know where C-3PO and R2-D2 came from, what Coruscant looked like and what is was like during the Old Republic with thousands of Jedi. These are some of the things GL is trying to answer for us as well as giving us the entire story of Anakin/Darth Vader. He also give us some insight as to why Obi-Wan tried to train him even though he was only a Knight, not a Master. This movie ties in perfectly with the other movies as well as the books, but you have to be knowledgeable of the Star Wars universe for most of it to make sense to you. Maybe that's why some people didn't like it as much. I explained this to a woman a while ago, she went back and watched it again and she told me that it made a lot more sense this time.

If this is you position too try reading the books: The Creative Impulse, From Concept To Screen To Collectable, and if you can find them, any of the source books from the Star Wars Role Playing Game. These were published by West End Games back in the 80's.

Now I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that some of you are going to hate the movie no matter what I say, but if you are a true fan your going to overlook the small imperfections and see the overall story for what is was meant to be, a great space saga. Any true fan would feel the same way.

May The Force Be With You.