Star Wars

There's not a lot that can be said about this movie.  It's probably the best of the prequels, but that's not saying much.  In fact, the best thing that can be said about this movie is that it doesn't suck.  I enjoyed most of it, although some moments were severely wince-inducing.  The lightsaber battles were a minor disappointment, with camera tricks and plot events being used to "explain" the outcome rather than actual skill, but they weren't awful.  The central drama of the story was handled fairly well, albeit the acting could have been better. 

Overall, I went in with low expectations, and came out without being disappointed.  It's about on the same level as a B+ or A- action movie: the plot is simple, with maybe one or two attempted subtleties and a number of minor gaps, the writing has a few wincers and a few good lines but is generally mediocre, there's a romantic angle thrown in for no other reason than to allow the fairer sex an excuse to say yes to date invitations, and the movie generally rests on its above-average action and special effects without reaching true excellence in either.

The first three movies spoke to something mythic, and deliberately so.  The prequels are just action movies set in the same universe. 

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was almost universally panned by fans of the original trilogy, and deservedly so. Hopes, and expectations, were high following the smashing success of the earlier films and the intervening two-decade improvement in technology. What the fans received was not what they had desired: a children's movie that replaced many of the most popular elements with a cute kid and a racist portrayal of a repulsive amphibian. But there is one redeeming virtue: Darth Maul's lightsaber duels. That's all that needs to be said. They are that good.