Mixed reviews in papers around the country did not stop die-hard Star Wars fans from waiting on line for days in some cities for Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The film opened this past Wednesday to one of the biggest box offices in movie history.
The general consensus seems to be that his royal digital genuis himself, George Lucas, has used a few too many special effects in the latest installment of his sci-fi brainchild. The fact that Lucas uses digital work in 95 percent of the frames of the film awe-inspiring, but it is said that he relies too heavily on the computer to create his alternate reality. Still, reviews have been positive for the cast which includes the likes of Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Liam Neeson, who has received extremely good feedback nationwide. In addition, as New York Daily News reviewer Jack Mathews said, no matter what, "Children under 12 will love it. Old Star Wars fans, having waited 18 years will likely embrace it."
What the second installment of trilogies does is bring Star Wars into the collective consciousness of another generation of young dreamers, too often inundated with the blockbuster rot of movies like Independence Day and Armageddon. Star Wars is science fiction mainstreamed for both boys and girls, adults and children. It captures the struggle between good and evil as no other series has been able to do since, and its recreation of a galaxy long ago and far away, makes willing suspension of disbelief a pleasurable task. It creates heroes, tears down enemies, and builds new worlds. Movie magic has never looked so good.
