A wasted opportunity

Rating: Null/10 (18 January 2002)

I was very fortunate to be on set for the making of this movie. (I'm an extra and was a Naboo pilot). I heard that something like 300 hours of film was shot for this movie and it shows. If a film is storyboarded correctly, you'll end up with a movie that at least has a chance of direction and good pacing which this obviously did not.
Star Wars original movies were a phenomenon because there was nothing quite comparable. The characters were very likable and there was a sense of magic where the force was concerned. This has been killed by TPM. We learn that the force is in fact something that is easily identifiable in the blood-stream. Killing the mystery. The characters seems to have slightly less depth than the original movies. However, this criticism may be harsh, because we are comparing all three previous movies to one.
As a movie on it's own it's great for kids, but it really is quite a departure from the previous adventures. Star Wars has become a victim of it's own merchandising success. Hence, the hated Jar Jar, the extreme plethora of aliens, resembling a bad episode of The Muppet Show, and the downgrading of the enemy to a set of robots which can be killed by switching off the power!
Everything is too clean and vast, which Star Wars freaks will tell is because it is supposed to be set during a wealthy era in the fictional Galaxy. But we have lost other characters as well. The Millennium Falcon was a character in itself being so temperamental, but instead we have sterile ships, buildings and cities. So much character has been lost.
George Lucas is a great producer, but I'm not so sure about his directing ability, which is why Empire Strikes Back is such a superior effort. I do fear for his next two efforts. I hope he proves me wrong. I will be the first one to say that the movies are great if they deserve it but let's just wait and see.
As a film on it's own which the score system is for, I'd have to give it a seven. Mainly for the the special effects and really it is a decent film, after all. The pod-race and the Jedi battle saves the movie. But without the special effects this would be a poor film indeed. (Shows what money can do eh? Both ruin (Jar-Jar) and enhance a movie).