What the hell happened?

Rating: 1/10 (7 January 2006)

After almost two full centuries of absence from the big screen, Star Wars finally comes back to the big screen. Not only that, but it also has a dream team of a starting line-up cast. Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman. There are directors out there who would probably sell their souls for a starting cast like this one. Add to that the prospect of improved special effects and you have yourself a movie with oodles of promise. So here's my question:
"What the hell happened?"
I've seen high school plays with better dialogue than the crap that haunted this picture. And who thought it would be a good idea to make Darth Vader a cute little kid? Although that idea doesn't suck nearly as bad as the true stain on the Star Wars legacy: Jar Jar Binks. Didn't anyone involved in making this film stop to realize how truly annoying this character was before the film came out? Not only does he get just as much screen time as the leads, but he also gets a lot of dialogue, which is really bad because listening to him is like listening to fingernails scratch chalkboard. Another area that the makers of this film totally blew it on was the villain. They create the impressive looking Darth Maul and then totally waste their creation. Bottom line: This film marks to low point of the Star Wars franchise. It is the only movie I don't own from it, with good reason.