Disappointment doesn't begin to cover it

Rating: Null/10 (19 May 1999)

We all knew the hype for this movie would almost certainly make it impossible to live up to. We were all prepared for a *bit* of a disappointment. What people all over the country are now realizing is that this movie isn't a mild disappointment- it's downright bad. Don't get me wrong- on every technical aspect, this movie wins- the special effects are dazzling, the set and costume design are beautiful, the mechanical designs stand out, and the musical score is excellent also. The problem is, this movie was made for 7-yr olds. This is Star Wars gone Disney. Scatalogical humour and slapstick abound, dialogue uses silly American slang and catch-phrases for comedic effect. Furthermore, the acting is wooden, and the emotional involvement of actors and audience was nil. The plot is serviceable, but the characters were extremely poorly developed. Natalie Portman did well for herself- about the lone exception. Darth Maul also, for such a terrific makeup job, had about 3 lines and was never developed as a villain. I won't go into specific problems, both because I don't want to give away spoilers on principle (not because this movie deserves our respect), and because it would take a very long time. What makes it really tragic is that the money was not an issue- we can't say 'oh, Lucas sold out to ____', because we know it's not true. Money was not a driving factor for Lucas in any aspect of this production. Nor even was there any studio interference. This is the movie as Lucas wanted to make it. We've been had.