Appealing to the demographic shouldn't require selling out.

Rating: Null/10 (9 July 1999)

On a whole, I adored the movie...however, there were several things that annoyed the hell out me. I suppose you have to take the good points with the bad, but that doesn't mean you can't post 'em on IMDB.
Good...
1) The visual effects. (for obvious reasons)
2) Neeson, McGregor, Portman, Jackson. All cool, low profile actors with great charisma...they brought no preconceived character traits that come with superstars.
3) Light saber battles. Oh man, comparing these duals to those of the 1st trilogy is like comparing a Macintosh to an abicus.
4) The interwoven plot structure: Jedi issues, Republic politics, Naboo invasion, etc.
Bad...
1) Little, if any, character development. Darth Maul spoke once during the entire movie! And where did they dig up the kid playing Anakin? I'd have preferred they get a child whose words didn't sound contrived than a child that fit into some cute, cookie cutter profile.Character development is key. That's why "Empire" is often the most popular of the original trilogy. Luke has his own internal struggle while training with Yoda. Han and Leia find there's more to each other than they first believed. Vador turns out to be Luke's father. Han is separated from the gang in a heart-wrenching moment. It's full of great emotion.
2) Meta Chlorians? Personally, I liked it better when the Force was a rare power and the source of its endowments remained a mystery; it brought a more spiritual aspect to the movies.
3) Jar Jar Binks got a little too slappy sticky for my taste during the GunGun/Droid battle.
4) The destruction of the Federation control ship was a huge disappointment. It just so happens that Anakin "accidently" flies into the docking bay of the ship with his fighter and "woops!"...while firing at droids, destroys the ships generators. What happened to all the precision military attacks against the Empire's fleets and Death Star we saw in the first trilogy? No one wants to believe that Anakin's victory was an accidental fluke; that sucks.
I figure Lucas has two more movies and two more chances to accentuate these good points and remove the bad...no more selling out! And would it kill him to have the movie PG-13, or even R? I mean, these are supposed to be some pretty dark times coming up, am I right? Okay, Anakin's supposed to be years older and is gonna wind up slaughtering most of the Jedi Knights, so do we really want bloodless, droid battles or do we want some action. I don't think it much to ask, nobody's looking for love making scenes with Amidala and Anakin or things of that nature, just some wholesome action and violence. Don't take away from the potential coolness of the movie just to make it safe for the kids to enjoy; they'll get older and just have to wait a few years to enjoy it. Finally, get someone decent to play Anakin as a young man. If I find out that Leonardo Dicaprio or the guy from Dawson's Creek gets the part, I'm picketing outside the studio.
Thanks for your time.