One word: What the heck were you thinking, George?

Rating: Null/10 (9 February 2001)

Ok, well.how do I respond to a recent imdb.com critic against the movie? To take his style and refute his points!
Let us begin by stating what some said was a bad idea, and look at what was bad about it. Jar Jar Binks was annoying, if not useless to the movie. Nobody saw the first Star Wars movie and said, "it was great, but I hated C3PO." Some liked the droid, some didn't. But it didn't ruin the movie for legions of fans and non-fans alike. Jar Jar might have been funny if he were used sparingly, but he wasn't. In the battle scene, he accidentally killed a few bad guys.funny the first time, but then it kept happening and most people would have preferred to have been given a break. It's funny when Austin Powers did it, because it was a comedy. Comedic moments are fine in a drama, but farce wasn't needed, nor was it appropriate. Take him out of the movie and most of the movie would have been cut? That's only true because he was relied on so much. Just because you CAN do a computer animated character doesn't mean you SHOULD do one like that and monopolize the movie. How cool would Jar Jar have been if he didn't have a 5-year-old's mentality? Anakin was bad enough. No problem with the character conceptually.no problem with the "physical" execution.no problem with his underwater world. But let's ask ourselves this: if that were NOT a computer animation, would we have tolerated it?
Darth Maul. He looked good, he moved well, he was someone you want to love to hate. YOU KILLED HIM! Liam Neeson could go.no problem. But you set up this very evil looking character, made him creepier by killing the main Jedi guy, which actually made Qui-Gonn's death OK. But you took him away from us! Arcing storyline aside, Darth Vader was but a pawn in the first movie, and as bad as he was, we loved him. Maul was a better butt-kicker than Vader, though not more powerful, and it's unfortunate that he won't be back. *HE* should have been the one to rest the licensed properties on, but the fact that he won't be back probably hurt sales.
Did the movie look good? Of course it did. But as good as the movie LOOKED, it's not about the looks. Which technically looked better: Jedi or the original? Which is the one we still look to as the benchmark and which is the one that people remember for the stupid teddy bears? (Empire REALLY was the benchmark, but we'll get to that later). Robots and ships did look great, and the effects were still wowing.
Actors and actresses? Liam was fine, although some better lines and directing would have made him better. Ewan was a very good Kenobi. Natalie was underdirected. Mr. McDiarmid is very good in his dual role, where you can see both his evil and political side play out.especially since he's the same guy who played the Emperor in Jedi. But let's not for a SECOND pretend that Little Anakin wasn't a detraction to the movie. He might be okay as an actor, but Jake Lloyd's lines were poop, and he probably wasn't directed well either. "But mom, didn't you say that people not caring is what is bad for the universe?" That may not be the line verbatim, but it's not any poopier. POOP, I tell you. POOP!
And of course lets not forget the wonderful score by John Williams. What else can I say but to say it's JOHN WILLIAMS. I can't put words to how good he is. Just to say again, JOHN WILLIAMS is the best. No one else could do this. (I just cut and pasted the previous reviewer's lines. He's right).
The battle scene was fine, except for Jar Jar. The Darth Maul scene was fine except for his dying. The special digital effects were fine except for Jar Jar. The awareness of Anakin at that age is fine, except for the whole "scientific" aspect of it, which ruins the mysticism. Except, except, except, except, EXCEPT!!!!
This movie is full of excepts, and almosts, and not-quites, and why-did-they-do-that's! I came out of there saying that I felt that it almost was written for kids. My good friend told me that the movie probably wasn't written for 33-year-olds. No.it wasn't. But neither was Star Wars, the 1977 movie. When we look at the magic that introduced us to the Star Wars universe in the first movie, it's exciting to look at the first flick and see what was great and what they managed to accomplish and how they did it and what it meant. Great stuff, Maynard. It wasn't written for kids, but kids could relate to it. It wasn't written for adults, but adults could understand and enjoy it. It wasn't a kid movie, it wasn't a sci-fi, it wasn't an adult movie, it wasn't a love story. It may have had elements of all those and a western or two, but when you look at what kind of movie it was, it was a GOOD movie. It was nominated for best picture because it WAS one of the best pictures. Period.
Then, what did George Lucas go and do for Empire Strikes Back? He got himself Lawrence Kasdan, and made the movie darker. He got himself a different director and took a step back from it. It wasn't what we were expecting. We were expecting a lot, and what did we get? We got something even better than we expected. We got a sophisticated, well-done, thought out story that, rather than appealing to the masses, made the story and the legend BETTER. The original may have been the original, there for everyone to enjoy, but Empire was the better movie.
But then what? The teddy bear cutesiness in Jedi, and the cloying Jar Jar and dumb kid in Menace. WHY, GEORGE, WHY?!?!?! Lucas is loved and respected throughout the universe and he gets credit for EVERYTHING. We even forgot about Howard the Duck.well obviously not, but forgave him at least. Anyway, it shouldn't be an ego thing.so why does he not let the pros write and direct and let his job be approvals, focus and vision? And if not.could he at least remember what made American Graffiti and the first Star Wars great? Or even THX1138?
Should you see the movie? Yeah. Will you enjoy it? Maybe. It's the first of the next three, and the first of the first six, so it's a should-see. But don't count on loving it. And if you do love it, I won't begrudge you. I also can't wait for part 2. I just hope this time it lives up to expectations...not expectations of Star Wars geeks everywhere, but expectations that it won't oversugar, overtechnology or understory us