Technology triumphs over humans

Rating: 4/10 (20 May 2002)

As usual with a Star Wars film, the special effects are top shelf. The creatures, planets and space ships are all perfectly rendered. Unfortunately, it's the human element -- the actors, scripts and dialogue -- that is a major disappointment. No one has conversations. They give speeches, and some are unintentionally funny, even during serious moments. No one truly seem connected on any level, except that the script says they have relationships of one sort or another. Except for Christopher Lee, who does an excellent turn as an evil Jedi, the main actors are outclassed by their computer generated co-stars. Quite frankly, I've seen better acting in junior high school productions. The core of the storyline is a split within the Republic that some are trying to heal. But it's never explained why it's such a tragedy that it's happening. And the cutting between one plot line to another was maddening at times. All in all, it's a jumbled mess. The required light saber fights and the battle scenes were spectacular, but in other parts of the film, the computer generated effects just got in the way, as the frame was filled with so many moving objects it was hard to tell what the audience was supposed to be looking at. With a built-in market of hardcore Star Wars fans, George Lucas could just go through the motions of making a film and still rake in millions of dollars. To his credit, he tried, but fell far short of a satisfying film experience. Perhaps the third time will be the true charm.