George you ought to be ashamed

Rating: 5/10 (27 May 2000)

I so looked forward to this film. It was so disappointing and perplexing how it could have been completely ruined in the hands of such a supposedly competent director.
The acting was absurdedly stilted and unnatural, directing confusing, the editing was even sloppy. The first half an hour was simply boring. I couldn't help wondering when this movie was going to start telling me something interesting, and showing me some characters I actually cared about.
The script was a shocker. Lousy character development (nil), contrived and uninteresting plotline, if plotline you can call it, boring dialogue and no real dramatic and suspenseful development. If this was a student script it would be sent back pronto with a 'complete overhaul' instruction attached to it.
The two Jedis spouted the most inane stuff at each other, Jake Lloyd was bratty, Natalie Portman was frankly bewildering in her delivery and her portrayal, and the only interesting fella in the whole damm thing was Palpatine. Jar Jar was annoying but at least he was more alive than the humans in the story.
The first trilogy was wonderful storytelling and had just the right amount of conscious popcorn in it. It was fun. In this travesty 22 years later, George Lucas has obviously had a brain fade and tried to do something Deep and Meaningful. Forget it George. Go back to popcorn which you are good at, and leave the serious stuff, at which you are abysmal, to others.