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The Saga Begins... The Star Wars saga has thrilled audiences for over 20 years, and now we are all invited to bear witness to what started it all. In Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, George Lucas takes us to the beginning. This movie is set many years before the events in Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, in a time that old Obi-Wan referred to as a time of peace and justice, before the dark times, before the Empire. This movie was fairly light in tone, given how this new prequel trilogy is designed to shed light on Anakin Skywalker's rise and fall from Jedi grace. Some have said this was more of a kid's movie, I disagree, though yes there are elements that appeal to kids more than adults (the excessively irritating Jar-Jar Binks is the prime example, and the fact that Anakin is a just a small boy). There are many elements that are quite adult oriented, such as; honor, sacrifice, love, evil, and deception. This movie sows the seeds of what will occur not only in the other 2 sequels in the trilogy, but also what has already transpired in the original trilogy. The special effects in this movie were top-notch, the acting was good (Ewan McGregor seemed a bit wooden, he was much better in Episode 2), and the story was a great launching point for one of the greatest sagas in movie history. The interesting thing about this prequel trilogy is that even though we all know how everything ends up, it's fun to watch and see how we all got to that point. It's interesting to see how Anakin went from this young boy with a big heart, became the scourge of the galaxy in the form of Darth Vader; or how the Jedi went from large in number to but a few. If you are a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, this movie is a must see and for that matter the entire Prequel trilogy is a must see. Rated PG for sci-fi violence.