Okay, but not worth the hype

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 1999)

George Lucas certainly deserves credit for changing the way movies look, but it seems he's forgotten some things as a storyteller. The original STAR WARS, as you may remember, was culled together from a whole bunch of sources; people today keep trumpeting Joseph Campbell as the primary influence, but let's not forget Flash Gordon serials, Kurosawa films(particularly THE HIDDEN FORTRESS), and THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD), not to mention the science fiction/fantasy novels like the FOUNDATION trilogy and THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. I had some problems with the first STAR WARS, but its grab bag of influences helped lend it an air of unprententiousness that was cheering. And, of course, when things got too leaden, there was Harrison Ford as Han Solo to lighten things up.
Now we have the new one. Like the first three, this has awesome special effects, and the look is incredible. And the action scenes are quite good. But the dialogue is incredibly wooden(it brings to mind what Ford said to Lucas during the first one, "You can write this s--t, George, but you sure can't say it"), and all the actors deliver it in a stilted matter(with exceptions I'll get to later). In the first one, since I never knew who Ford, Carrie Fisher, or Mark Hamill were before I saw it(or even Alec Guinness), it didn't seem so bad, because they had a fresh, callow look to them, and they at least seemed to believe what they were saying. But you've got some great actors here; Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, and Natalie Portman, and they're all hamstrung by the dialogue. Also, they all look like they'd rather be somewhere else. Portman at least has moments when she's not dressed up like something out of a horror movie, but those are few. The only one who escapes this trap is Jake Lloyd as the young Anakin Skywalker. He at least acts like a kid, but there's no hint of him becoming Darth Vader in the future. Perhaps that will come out next time.
In addition, the story is somewhat confusing at times, and seems misplaced in movie like this(taxes?). Finally, there's the matter of Jar Jar Binks and some of the other aliens. Unlike many, I liked the Ewoks in Jedi, but Jar Jar Binks brought back memories of Stepin Fetchit and Butterfly McQueen, and if the aliens Senator Palpatine(Ian McDirmarid does a good job) enlists to do his dirty work were intended to show off Lucas' Kurosawa influence, they instead come off as Charlie Chan stereotypes. Only Darth Maul seems free from this, but they give him a motive of revenge without explaining it.
Then again, with all the hype, it's hard to give a really objective opinion here. I didn't walk out unhappy, but it's certainly not worth all the hype.