Ewan 'disappointed' by Phantom Menace

McGregor (r) plays the young Obi Wan Kenobi

Actor Ewan McGregor has said he was disappointed by the Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace, which he described as "flat".

In the past, McGregor has said he found filming for meticulous director George Lucas "boring", but this is the first time he has publicly criticised the film.

The star played the part of Obi Wan Kenobi - the sage played by the late Sir Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars film - in Episode One: The Phantom Menace in 1999.

The Phantom Menace was the third most commercially successful film in history.

The critics, however, failed to warm to it.

I think there's much more humour and there's much more colour in Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Ewan McGregor

McGregor's comments came in a yet-to-be-published interview with the FilmFour website, which is running a series of the actor's films in April.

The star said the next film in the space saga, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, was an improvement on the first.

"One of the things about Episode One I was slightly disappointed by was, I thought it was very kind of flat," he told the website.

"I think there's much more humour and there's much more colour in Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

"I think it's more reminiscent of the original three Star Wars films than Episode I was."

The new Star Wars opens in the UK with a series of midnight screenings on 16 May.

Because of the transatlantic time difference, UK Star Wars fans will get the chance to see Attack of the Clones several hours ahead of US devotees.

FilmFour is screening a series of Ewan McGregor's biggest film hits, including Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and Velvet Goldmine.