Better than EPI but not much.

Rating: 5/10 (20 November 2002)

I think what sets this movie apart from EPI is the acting. It's a little better. I thought the acting on behalf of Ewan McGregor was better than in EPI. He seems to take on the role that Alec Guinness left us in Star Wars.

I would have loved to see more of Christopher Lee. I think he is such a great actor. He almost steals every scene that he's in with the exception of the fighting sceen with Yoda. This movie would have been much better if they wrote Count Dooku more into the script. He takes the role of a villian very brilliantly as did Darth Vader in the original series. Samual L. Jackson also did a wonderful job for the scenes that he was in. His one liners are great, "This party's over!" He's begins to take on that Bad Mother F**ker role that he once played in Pulp Fiction. He even told Lucas himself that he doesn't want to go out like a bit**. It's a shame that Mace Windu will have to die in EPIII.
Hayden Christensen does a decent job of acting in this movie. He shows emotion at times but it's just not that believable. I blame part of this on the director. Lucas fails to capture or deliver the emotions that need to be displayed. It's just like Lucas just cuts and pastes this on the film and it's going to work.
I believe all the other characters do a decent job with the exception of one person. Either Natilie Portman can't act or there's some bad directing. She isn't believable. She comes across as fake. The writing doesn't help her much. She really doesn't do anything with the putrid lines she's given. I think her and Jake Lloyd are the ones who helped EPI sink. I don't feel any chemistry between the two like Han and Leia. The love sceen doesn't feel believable. I just doesn't work here. It seems like Lucas just put these two together just so they'll have Luke and Leia.
As for special effects and sound, I'm not going to go there but I'd just like to add one thing. Great movies are not built on special effects and sound, they're built on great story telling. Any great director could have made a great film out of a low budget.
Overall, I miss Han Solo. I'm glad that R2D2 and C-3PO add some humor and nostalgia back to the series. I miss the fights between Han and Leia, the feeling of mentor and student with Luke and Obi-Wan, and the darkness of Darth Vader. I would say this is a mediocre movie that doesn't do much better than it's predecessor. This series doesn't come off as adventuresome as the original trilogy did. The promise is that this series has some great actors. Hopefully they should utilize their talent in the last installment and lay down a little on the special effects.