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opened, for:
2) They had this AMAZING ride that I forced my family to go on over and over again..... Star Tours.
I am still, just that hip. I was one of those spiffy individuals you saw on your televisions while you were comfortably ensconced in your home environments. We were not at home. We, the Kings and Queens of niftiness had lined up the night before advance tickets for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace went on sale. Yessir, I waited for 32 hours to be one of the first to see it, in the 12:01am showing on opening day. 32 hours of Star Wars monopoly, and Trivial Pursuit (to this day I still know the answer to “how many TIE fighters followed the Millennium Falcon into the Death Star in Return of the Jedi). This time though, I was determined to be more collected. This time, I thought about the incredible amount of teasing I took after being seen sitting on the pavement along with my fan brethren, waiting for tickets, on countless news shows. This time, I waited, until the day AFTER opening day. Of course, I have since seen it four times.  Ewan McGregor (The Pillow Book, Eye of the Beholder) reprises his role as Obi-Wan, and is a picture perfect model of a younger Alec Guinness (the original Obi-Wan). In truth, I think it is he who has the hardest job in this film, for where fellow castmates Natalie Portman, and Hayden Christensen can create personalities that are all their own, McGregor has a fairly straight and narrow path to follow, trying to develop his own character in Kenobi, but not leaping too far off Guinness’ trail, lest he perturb legions of Star Wars fans. McGregor has laced Kenobi with heaps of good natured charm, but the truly impressive thing here is how fast his good natured sparkle can flash to menace. McGregor has obviously put just as much work into his stunt choreography here as he did in his first Star Wars outing, as his lightsaber sequences are truly impressive, as are his lightsabre-less moments. There is one sequence that leaps to mind that is so detailed it would have taken an impossibly long time to execute, that in fact features McGregor soaking wet for the entire time, and though he is being dragged across stone, and flying through the air, he never seems to lose his wicked sense of humour. I am totally blown away by the fact that McGregor is almost continually having conversations with beings that are complete CGI creations, and to his credit, not once does anything appear forced. He also manages to be a saving grace for parents in this one, for while you would be none to happy about your young son playing at being Anakin, the most evil thing ever to walk the earth, playing at being Obi-Wan, a loyal patient friend, and heroic crusader for good seems totally acceptable.  Hayden Christensen (Life as a House, The Virgin Suicides) has taken on a boatload of pressure to step into the shoes of the adolescent Anakin Skywalker, and has far and away exceeded all my expectations. He, like Portman, has created a very human character in an unreal world. He is the embodiment of a young man trying to impress, whether it’s complaints about his mentor, or using the force to make pieces of fruit fly through the air. Christensen has also poured natural chemistry into the onscreen relationship between Amidala and Anakin, but he foreshadows what he is to become by seeming more aggressive towards her than she would like. The subtle switches from a genuine admiration for Padme to a need to control her are very nicely done. His flares of temper are skilful and effective, never seeming over the top in the slightest. Not only is Christensen’s onscreen chemistry with Portman well done, but his obvious riendship with McGregor adds a layer of warmth to the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin. It will be very interesting to see how the connection between the two twists in Episode III. The effects in Lucas’ latest epic are more mind boggling than in the last instalment. The scenes are so well constructed, everything from your first view of Coruscant traffic jams, to Padme’s Naboo home looks and feels like a painting come to life. John Williams’ incredible score only manages to add to that feeling bringing goose bumps in everything from Yoda’s lightsabre battle sequence to Anakin’s speeder search at dusk on Tatooine to find his mom. I just hope that technology keeps leaping ahead with Lucas, lest new improvements on his wizardry become impossible. 
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