stunning visuals and actions but marred by an unconvincing cast

Rating: Null/10 (22 May 2002)

I was disappointed with Lucas's previous movie Phantom of the Menace as I found it to be flat with a slow development of the storyline. Lucas used a new approach to this movie and wastes no time in getting the audience straight into the action. You can almost compare this movie with those of James Bond where a simple storyline is woven with lavish settings, visuals and actions. There are some spectacular scenes of cities and locations shot on the various planets but the overall feel appears slightly artificial. The alien characters also appear animated and not as lifelike as one would have expected. Acting is also somewhat sub standard and was particularly disappointed with Samuel Jackson's somewhat muted performance. However, performances by the old veteran Christopher Lee and the voice of Yoda (Frank Oz) lifted this movie. There seemed to be an urgency in the film as the scenes were shot in quick succession in various locations and so tended to depart away from the central theme of the story. Normally the musical score gets unnoticed in most epics but in this case it appeared more pronounced which could be argued as good or bad. The intimate relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padme Amidala was tackled early in the movie with the premise that that the Star Wars saga will continue. The final battle scenes was by far the best part of the movie. The complex mechanics of machinery, robots, humans and aliens battling on the desert was very well captured on screen. Like all good spirited action movies we see the supreme republican members of the council also engaged in hand to hand combat. Stunning visuals with good actions are let down by a weak cast but entertaining to watch nevertheless.